This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter shares a new Transit Reform Resource Page launched by ISACo, announces expanded eligibility for energy efficient grant opportunities through the Energy Efficiency Assessment and the Energy Efficiency Trust Fund Programs, links to an Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) grant opportunity, reports on a federal disaster declaration for severe weather and flooding in several Illinois counties, shares what ISACo staff is reading to stay informed, announces upcoming Public Surplus and National Association of Counties (NACo) webinar opportunities, highlights ISACo's corporate partnership with Mahoney, Silverman and Cross, LLC and invites counties to join ISACo.

ISACo Transit Reform Resource Page

A significant issue to be addressed by the Illinois General Assembly in 2025 is the looming $730 million budget shortfall confronting the Chicago-area transit agencies. This effort is likely to include proposals exploring additional funding for, and consolidation of, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra, and Pace—into a single entity.

ISACo has created a resource page (linked here) to house current and emerging information about this issue for affected counties and others who may have an interest in following new developments. Two identical transit reform bills filed to date are HB 5823 (Representative Buckner) and SB 3937 (Senator Villivalam). ISACo has reviewed these bills and prepared an 11-page index of their various provisions (linked here). 

Affected counties in the northeastern region of the state are likely to hold differing opinions on issues relating to transit reform. For this reason, ISACo will refrain from taking a position on the various proposals and legislation unless the affected counties have a uniform opinion on a legislative solution. 

Expanded Eligibility for Energy Efficiency Grants Announced

On September 26, 2024, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Director James Jennings announced the expansion of two energy efficiency grant opportunities. The Energy Efficiency Assessment Program and the Energy Efficiency Trust Fund Program provide funding for energy efficiency assessments and upgrade projects at eligible properties serving residents receiving housing assistance. These grant programs will now accept applications statewide for single-family residential and multifamily properties with up to 20 dwelling units serving residents receiving housing assistance.

The press release is available via this link.

ICJIA Grant Opportunities
 
The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) released notice of funding opportunities for the Multijurisdictional Violent Crime Enforcement and the Violent Crime Prosecution grant programs. Both programs offer Illinois local governments and state agencies violent crime reduction services and strategies in the communities they serve. The goal of these programs is to increase public safety and reduce the large social and economic cost of violent crime through specialized law enforcement and prosecution. A total of $2.4 million is available statewide. The deadline to apply is Monday, October 7, 2024, by 5:00 p.m. CST. More information can be found on ICJIA’s website (available via this link).

President Biden Approves Illinois Disaster Declaration for Severe Weather and Flooding

On September 20, 2024, United States President Biden signed a federal Major Disaster Declaration authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Individual Assistance program for Cook, Fulton, Henry, St. Clair, Washington, Will, and Winnebago County.

FEMA’s Individual Assistance could include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the severe weather the state experienced on July 13 through July 16, 2024.

The press release is available via this link. 

What We're Reading

Early Voting for the Nov. 5 Election is About to Begin. Here's What You Need to Know (Journal Star)

State Board of Elections Warns of Sample Ballots Through Mail (WCIA)

Illinois Supreme Court Rulings Address FOID Seizures, Hospital Room Privacy (Illinois Capitol News)

Upcoming Public Surplus Webinar Dates

Public Surplus will be offering 20-minute webinar sessions to interested individuals to learn more about Public Surplus and its online auction site. Participants will also be guided on how to register, or re-register to create a new account.

Public Surplus is an online auction platform that offers services to local government agencies.  

ISACo has partnered with Public Surplus to provide large discounts for our county members when it comes to doing online auctions, specifically real estate sales.

Through a partnership with ISACo, Illinois counties are eligible to list items with a reduced buyer's premium, which will encourage competitive bidding on surplus items listed. With Public Surplus, buyers are responsible for all service fees, and it costs counties nothing to use the service.

Public Surplus will also provide a 10 percent rebate to ISACo on each sale so that the Association can continue to offer a high level of service at minimal cost to members.

The webinar will take place on the following dates:

• October 10, 2024, at 2 pm CST
• October 22, 2024, at 3 pm CST

Please contact Member Services and Communications Manager Tiffani Homer at thomer@isacoil.org to sign up for the webinar. 

Upcoming NACo Webinars

NACo has announced the following upcoming webinar opportunities. ISACo is a proud partner with NACo and encourages counties to participate in NACo membership and activities.  

NACo Cyberattack Simulation: Financial Access

(Monday, Sept. 30 - Friday, October 4, 2024, 12:00pm-1:00pm CST)

Financial transaction systems are prime targets for cyber threats due to the value and sensitivity of the data. This cyber simulation assesses risks and fortifies safeguards within financial access systems. The simulation involves breaches from unauthorized access to financial systems, often obtained through what seem to be legitimate contacts, but in reality, are not. The simulation seeks to foster a comprehensive understanding of the complexities inherent in securing financial access to systems, enabling the development and testing of proactive strategies to mitigate cyber risks effectively. Insights derived from this simulation will empower institutions to fortify their cybersecurity posture, implement stringent controls, bolster incident response capabilities, and proactively defend against evolving cyber threats targeting financial infrastructure.

Click on this link to register for the webinar. 

A Better Path to Priority-Based Budgeting: How Do We Get There and What’s the Payoff?

(Tuesday, October 1, 2024, 1:00pm-2:00pm CST)

Seeking to modernize budgeting, local governments are looking to priority-based budgeting to enable budget decisions that relate directly to their priorities and save money. This session will explore the steps toward priority-based budgeting, obstacles, and payoffs.

After an overview of priority-based budgeting and its benefits, a public sector budgeting expert and a Collier County, Florida, commissioner will explore best practices for implementing this new budgeting approach.

While local governments want the benefits of program- and priority-based budgeting, they often lack the resources to undertake the process. Speakers will discuss how AI modeling technology offers a solution to reduce the program budgeting lift significantly. Attendees will learn how AI modeling can analyze huge data sets to make logical connections and discover patterns in the data to predict programs – including inventory, costs, and scores.

Collier County will share real-world insight into how priority-based budgeting can surface innovations for how programs are funded, resources can be freed up and reallocated, and spending can be optimized to support community priorities.

Upon completion of this session, participants will:

- Recognize the critical steps involved in implementing priority-based budgeting.
- Know how to leverage machine learning and AI to streamline translating existing budget data into actionable program data, mitigating a primary obstacle to enacting priority-based budgeting.
- Understand how to use priority-based budgeting to further the mission of local government while saving money.

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

Unlock the Power of CJCCs: Responsive Policies Through Community Engagement

(Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 12:00pm-1:00pm CST)

Active community collaboration is crucial for shaping county operations and policy priorities. Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils (CJCCs) are one approach to ensure that community members are involved in county governance. Many counties form CJCCs to identify systemic challenges and work across stakeholders to guide local policy to improve public safety.

In this webinar, NACo explores how ongoing and consistent community engagement enhances the impact of CJCCs and how these bodies can serve as effective tools for county leaders to actively involve their residents. Learn from real-world examples and discover strategies to create a more responsive and inclusive criminal legal system.

Unlock the Power of Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils is NACo’s series on how counties can develop and leverage CJCCs to more effectively administer and strengthen their criminal legal system. Learn more at NACo’s CJCC Resource Hub.

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

Pre-Proposal Content Webinar for 2025 NACo Technology Innovation Forum

(Monday, October 7, 2024, 12:00pm-12:45pm CST)

This 45-minute webinar will provide an overview of the process for submitting content for the 2025 Legislative Conference Technology Innovation Forum (formerly CIO Forum). 
 
Proposed Theme:

• Risk Management in a Digital World
• OR Empowering Leaders: Navigating Technology Risks in County Government

Subtopics that can be covered:

• Managing risk in general - strategies including cost benefit analysis of deciding on the level of risk a county is willing/able to accept
• ADA Compliance - Websites, electronic documents, adaptive technologies, regulations, upcoming legislation, etc.
• FOIA/Public Records - Records retention, response timeliness and completeness, redaction, compliance, etc.
• Investigations - Employee primarily, policy allowing review of content created by personnel, access to personal drives and email accounts, network and web activity, etc.
• Resilience – How to respond to technology crises (cyber and other)
• Reputation - Managing organizational image and communications in times of crisis
• Human Resources – the human factor in technology risk management
• Insurance – Cyber Insurance
• Contractual Terms and conditions – general legal technology, cyber clauses
• Federal and state obligations - HIPAA, CJIS and Technology
• IoT risk – best practices around managing the risk of various devices (cameras, HVAC, etc)

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

AI in County Government: Today's Impact and Tomorrow's Potential

(Tuesday, October 8, 2024, 12:00pm-1:00pm CST)

Join NACo for a 1-hour roundtable discussion where county leaders discuss the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in county government services – both now and tomorrow. The speakers will cover strategies to overcome barriers to entry, share real county use cases, and explore the challenges of integrating AI. They'll also highlight emerging technologies and how county governments can start building a strong foundational understanding of AI before planning future investments.

Key takeaways:

• Learn about the barriers to implementing AI and hear how counties have overcome obstacles.
• Discover AI use cases that are enhancing county service delivery and the challenges faced along the way.
• Get insights into emerging technologies and how to take the next steps to exploring how AI can impact your county.

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

Think Outside the Box: Coal Communities Embracing New Roles to Spark Economic Development

(Thursday, October 10, 2024, 1:00pm-2:00pm CST)

Coal-impacted counties are taking on new roles to promote economic development in their communities. Join the BRECC National Network this October to learn how counties are stepping into innovative sectors and pursuing unique projects to diversify their local economy. This learning session will spotlight inspiring projects on engaging community members, growing industry clusters, and addressing housing challenges.

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

Stage CARES (Community Abatement Resources & Economic Solutions): Patent-Pending, Evidence-Based Too

(Thursday, October 17, 2024, 1:00pm-2:00pm CST)

Join NACo for a webinar to spotlight Stage CARES – Community Abatement Resources Economic Solutions. CARES is designed to help counties and states effectively solve their opioid epidemic through innovative, evidence-based tools and strategies.

This session will share insights from national and local leaders.

• Discover how CARES patent-pending technology provides data-driven recommendations along with program cost estimates from Stage Analytics’ Co-founders and Principals, Dr. Caleb Alexander, and Dr. Bill Padula.
• Learn how to develop evidence-based plans and budgets for your county’s opioid abatement strategy.
• Gain practical knowledge from local leaders on how CARES enables efficient collaboration and coordination among stakeholders.
• Explore the platform’s capabilities in collecting, measuring, and visualizing real-time, compliant data to meet settlement requirements.

This webinar offers a unique opportunity to see firsthand how Stage CARES can empower your community with the tools and insights needed to solve your opioid epidemic.

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

CORPORATE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT 

The law firm of Mahoney, Silverman and Cross, LLC strives to provide superior legal representation with the objective of exceeding our clients’ expectations. Each member of our firm is committed to utilizing critical analysis and innovative approaches to achieve timely resolutions with the best possible results for our clients.

More information about Mahoney, Silverman and Cross is available via this link.

Click on this link to learn more about the benefits and opportunities available through ISACo's Corporate Partner Program.

Become an ISACo Member!