Forest Preserve District of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and General Superintendent Arnold Randall commend President Barack Obama on the creation of his new program, appropriately titled “America’s Great Outdoors.” The program focuses, in large part, on encouraging citizens to enjoy their vast open spaces, like the 68,000-plus acres that Cook County’s forest preserves offer.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has selected Maria Saldaña as the Director of the county’s new Bureau of Economic Development. Preckwinkle said the county can and should to more when it comes to job creation, workforce development and retaining and attracting businesses. “Previously, the county’s economic development functions were spread among disparate departments and agencies. There was a lack of coordination and as a result, the county hasn’t done its share and hasn’t worked efficiently as a partner with the City of Chicago, the state and the federal government.

Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart is offering to assist suburban towns with snow removal from fire hydrants and emergency routes by assigning those completing community service hours to that effort. The work done by those in the Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program comes at no charge to the municipality and can be arranged by village leaders, preferably those from the suburb’s fire or public works departments. Those in the SWAP program have been sentenced to complete hours of service after being convicted of a low-level, non-violent crime.

Originally published December 9, 2010 --

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced two major personnel decisions on Thursday afternoon.

Originally published December 7, 2010 — Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle released her transition report today.  Following her victory in the general election, Preckwinkle asked a diverse group of civic, business, and community leaders to come together and focus on creating a plan that would guide Cook County forward both in the short and long term. Staff from the Civic Consulting Alliance augmented the transition efforts, providing pro bono consultants, legal resources, and financial experts from across the public and private sector.