Commissioner Quigley On the Issues

Fiscal Responsibility

Commissioner Quigley consistently demonstrates his commitment to being a fiscal watchdog. Throughout his first term, he has not only questioned county expenditures and non-bid contracts, but he researches alternative revenue sources and cost cutting measures for the County. Commissioner Quigley has issued five separate reports on cost cutting measures and revenue enhancement for County agencies. In relation to Cook County government and agencies, he called for privatization and joint purchasing with other government agencies.

In relation to Forest Preserve District finances, he has issued three reports on creative fiscal strategies. His suggestions include land acquisition through intergovernmental agreements, the use of sponsorships and advertising to fund recreational activities, the privatization of golf and maintenance and an increased sharing of resources between Cook County and the Cook County Forest Preserve District.

Commitment

Mike Quigley does not just write about ways to bring cost accountability to Cook County, he acts on them. He authored and sponsored an ordinance which caps the County's outside attorney's fees. And he also opposed the use of funds for a new traffic court and instead offered a proposal to more efficiently manage the current facilities. As chair of the Industrial Claims Committee, Commissioner Quigley reduced injury compensation costs to the County over the course of his first term in office.

The Commissioner also consistently votes against tax increases. He voted against the Forest Preserve tax levy increase in 2002 and was the only Democrat to vote against the County Parking Tax in 2000. During the 2004 budget process, Commissioner Quigley helped to prevent both a proposed lease tax and an increase in the sales tax.

A priority for the Commissioner is making the County's Real Estate Classification Ordinance more responsive to the changing needs of the County. He sponsored and helped pass all of the Assessor's property tax reform proposals including Class 9, Incentive Class S, Class L and the longtime homeowner exemptions.

Ethics

Commissioner Quigley successfully sponsored a series of amendments to the County Ethics Code that allows the Board of Ethics to initiate investigations into potential ethics violations and to penalize ethics violators by levying fines against them. The new amendments also require ethics training for upper level county staffers.

Environment

Commissioner Mike Quigley's devotion to the environment is unsurpassed on the County Board.The Commissioner has fought to protect the forest preserves even in times of financial hardship,and has brought many innovative environmental programs to the County.

Recycling

Mike Quigley sponsored amendments to the Recycled Purchasing Ordinance, which require the County to buy recycled and recyclable products wherever practicable. As a result, most of the paper products now purchased by the County have recycled content, as do many other products.

The Commissioner also successfully sponsored an ordinance requiring the County to reduce its waste stream by at least 25 percent and develop a plan to reach this goal. The County is at present developing recycling and waste reduction plans for its facilities as a result of this ordinance.

The Commissioner has introduced an environmentally preferable purchasing ordinance for the Forest Preserve District (FPD) as well as an ordinance directing the FPD to develop a plan to reduce its waste stream by 25 percent. Commissioner Quigley believes that in the future the County and FPD should adopt environmental legislation in tandem, when appropriate.

Innovation

Commissioner Quigley also committed the County to using green building techniques for all new construction. An ordinance introduced and passed by the Commissioner requires that any new construction by the County must meet the guidelines for green buildings developed by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Council (LEED).Commissioner Quigley, as chair of the County Board's Environmental Control Committee, is conducting a series of hearings on sustainability, examining how the County could make its own operations more environmentally responsible and could assist other local governments, businesses, and individuals to adopt sustainable practices as well. The end product of this current effort will be a report proposing a series of policies, resolutions, and ordinances designed to make Cook County the "greenest" county in the nation.

Open Space

Currently, the Cook County Forest Preserve District is acquiring land at a slower rate than during the Depression and war years. As our last remnants of open space succumb to development, Commissioner Quigley is working to help the FPD reach its statutory maximum of 75,000 acres. To support this effort, Commissioner Quigley sponsored and passed a resolution requiring revenues from surplus land sales to fund future land acquisition. He also introduced a successful legislative initiative to protect environmentally sensitive land.

In another example of his on-going commitment to land acquisition, Commissioner Quigley issued a report urging the Forest Preserve District to acquire 1,190 acres in the Lake Calumet region. The area is home to over 2,000 species, many of which are listed as endangered by the State of Illinois.

Protecting our Natural Lands

In addition to land acquisition, Commissioner Quigley is committed to the protection of our lands and insuring that all uses of FPD land are consistent with the core mission of the District. He introduced amendments to our Land Policy (last revised in 1962) that reaffirm our current policies and state statutes relating to use of Forest Preserve District Land. In addition, the new ordinance provides that no transfer or authority to control or manage Forest Preserve Lands in a manner inconsistent with the mission of the District shall be made for public or private uses.

Ongoing Commitment

Commissioner Quigley's passion for environmental issues extends outside the County Board as well. Each fall, he teaches the "Environmental Politics" course at Loyola University Chicago. In addition, each year he is a site captain for River Rescue Day (sponsored by the Friends of the Chicago River) organizing over a hundred volunteers to clean the Chicago River. He also volunteers for a number of other environmental activities throughout the year.

Equal Rights

Domestic Partners

Commissioner Quigley promised in his first campaign for the County Board that he would sponsor and pass legislation to provide benefits to domestic partners of county employees. The commissioner followed through on that promise his first year in office, when he introduced and passed the Domestic Partnership Benefits ordinance that provides full benefits to domestic partners of county employees.

In his second term, Commissioner Quigley continued to work towards full equal rights for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community in Cook County by passing a Domestic Partnership Registry ordinance. Commissioner Quigley worked with community advocates to draft an ordinance that details how domestic partners can register their relationship with the County Clerk's office. The Domestic Partnership Registry is a way for the County to officially recognize same-sex relationships, as well as to help make it easier for companies within Cook County to offer domestic partnership benefits.

Anti-Discrimination Measures

Commissioner Quigley continuously works with a coalition of LGBT advocates to make sure that the County does not do business with groups that discriminate against the LGBT community. For example, when the County considered the Salvation Army for a contract to provide counseling services, Commissioner Quigley made sure that this contract was removed from the agenda because of the Salvation Army's discriminatory practices.

Commissioner Quigley's past successes on LGBT issues led Illinois Gender Advocates to approach him about sponsoring an ordinance to add gender identity to the County's Human Rights Ordinance as a protected class. The ordinance was introduced in the Human Relations Committee and passed at the subsequent board meeting. As a result of Commissioner Quigley's leadership, Cook County became the second largest jurisdiction in the nation to add gender identity as a protected class.

Commissioner Quigley has also taken his leadership on LGBT issues to the national level. When President Bush announced his support for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman, Commissioner Quigley introduced a resolution denouncing the amendment as discriminatory.

Leadership

In order to add diversity to the County's Commission on Women's Issues, Commissioner Quigley appointed the first openly lesbian woman to be appointed to that Commission.

When several community-based HIV/AIDS service providers, experienced difficulty with the county's disbursement system, they came to Commissioner Quigley for help. He worked with the Comptroller's office to streamline and expedite the disbursement system so that providers receive grant funding more quickly and efficiently.

All of these accomplishments make Mike Quigley the leader on the Board on issues of equal rights.

Womens Rights

Commissioner Quigley's focus on women's rights is unfailing.

Domestic Violence

Commissioner Quigley is the most outspoken member of the board when it comes to the Domestic Violence Courthouse. The courthouse is currently located at 13th and Michigan in Chicago and the facility is grossly inadequate. Commissioner Quigley led the fight to make the opening of a new Domestic Violence Courthouse a priority for the Board. As a result of his efforts, a new Domestic Violence Courthouse is now under construction and scheduled to open in the Summer of 2005. He has also been instrumental in keeping the domestic violence advocacy community involved in the planning process, making sure that the new courthouse will be easily accessible and safe.

Family Friendly Programs

After bringing the County's maternity/paternity leave policies into review, the commissioner helped implement a new policy that no longer requires employees to exhaust all leave time before taking maternity disability leave payments.

Commissioner Quigley also wholeheartedly supported the combined effort of the city and the county to provide a first-ever day care center for their employees' children

Health Care

The pro-choice community has a true friend, ally, and leader in Mike Quigley. Historically, service providers at Cook County Hospital have been unable to meet the demand for abortion services.

Commissioner Quigley continues to strategize with women's health care advocates, hospital staff and the Cook County administration to expand service levels in the near future.

Discrimination

Commissioner Quigley was the first Cook County Commissioner to support the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). He first sponsored a resolution urging the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to pass CEDAW in 2000 and co-sponsored a similar resolution passed by the Board in 2004.