“Last night’s tragic shooting in Las Vegas is heartbreaking. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this senseless act of violence. To every courageous first responder, your selfless acts of bravery saved countless lives — thank you.

Lora and I continue to pray for all those impacted by last night’s horrific shooting. Our hearts are with you during this time of need.”

Sean M. Morrison
Cook County Commissioner
17th District

What will it take for the brutal reality of violence to hit home for the elected officials of Chicago and Cook County to take additional action above and beyond existing measures?  More than 900 homicides were committed in Cook County in 2016 with 762 in the city of Chicago alone, which means Chicago had more people killed last year than New York City and Los Angeles combined.

On January 24, President Trump, once again, offered to provide additional federal resources to Chicago to combat this epidemic of violence and it is my unyielding intention to hold President Trump’s feet to the fire on his offer of federal assistance.

There are multiple areas where the federal government can provide critical assistance without the use of the National Guard. An expanded commitment to anti-violence initiatives, economic investment programs for in-need communities, and additional technical support to our overly tasked and undervalued local law enforcement agencies are just three vital areas where the federal government can provide invaluable resources.

With the rising death toll, not accepting an offer of federal help at this juncture would be an inexcusable dereliction of duty by our local elected leaders.  We cannot continue to repeat the same conversation and apply the same stagnant strategies and methods to no avail. We have an obligation to put all people’s lives before partisan politics.

That is why I’m joining with fellow Commissioner Richard Boykin and several of our colleagues to ask for help on behalf of our citizens.  At the February Cook County Board meetings, we will present a resolution urging Cook County government to pursue additional federal assistance.  It is my hope that the Cook County Board will not pass up this opportunity to receive additional federal resources in the battle against this epidemic of violence.


Sean M. Morrison
Cook County Commissioner
17th District  

Chicago, IL – Cook County Commissioner Sean M. Morrison has called a meeting to deliberate on the board vacancy for suburban Metra District #3.  The seven Cook County Commissioners who represent suburban Metra District #3 will hear from prospective candidates who will have submitted resumes for consideration to replace the Hon. Brian Reaves of Lemont who resigned from the Metra Board effective October 14.

The meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, December 13 at 12:00pm in the Cook County Building, Board Room #569, 118 N. Clark Street, Chicago.  The Commissioners intend to have a replacement selected and in place for the next Metra Board of Directors scheduled for Wednesday, December 14. The selected candidate will serve out the remainder of the District #3 board term which will expire on June 30, 2019. The appointment process is conducted by weighted vote and includes Commissioners Sean Morrison (46.71%), Jeffrey Tobolski (30.67%), Richard Boykin (11.85%), Edward Moody (6.38%), John Daley (4.29%) and Peter Silvestri (0.11%). 

Individuals wishing to be considered must reside in one of the following townships that compose Metra District #3, which are: Berwyn, Cicero, Lemont, Lyons, Orland, Palos, Proviso, Riverside and Stickney.  All candidates wishing to be considered must submit their resume via email to: sean.morrison@cookcountyil.gov by no later than Monday, December 12.

“I’m quite confident through this open process we will come away with a fine candidate to serve on the Metra board and represent suburban District #3 with integrity and professionalism” stated Commissioner Morrison. 

The 11-member Metra Board of Directors is made up of members representing the six-county Chicago metropolitan area, generally meets once a month to discuss various matters such as Capital Oversight, Audit & Finance, Real Estate & Contract Management and Employment Practices.

A Beverage Tax was passed by the Cook County Board on November 10th as a key element to fund the Cook County 2017 Budget.  This new tax would add one penny for every one ounce of a beverage drink which means an additional $2.88 for a 24-pack of beverage drinks.

I appreciate the fact that many Cook County constituents have paid close attention to Cook County’s 2017 Budget Process and specifically this tax proposal as hundreds contacted my office to express their opposition to this tax. 

Contrary to most public headlines that call it just a “soda tax”; that couldn’t be further from the truth. This massive and expansive tax includes a list of nearly 1,000 individual beverages including fruit juices, teas, coffees, energy & sports drinks, enhanced waters, sodas and diet sodas.  This Beverage Tax goes too far by hitting our residents too hard in their pocketbooks, especially Chicago residents, and hurts our local businesses.

I firmly opposed this heavy-handed tax for multiple reasons. First, the tax purposely singles out a specific private sector industry and is too expansive and creates a revenue stream that goes far beyond the means it is intended to serve. Second, there is still too much redundant and unnecessary spending and political clout jobs that could be cut from the 2017 budget before looking at additional taxes to fix budget shortfalls.  Third, this tax will cause further damage to private sector jobs in exchange for protecting government patronage jobs. Fourth, it further places Cook County businesses at a competitive disadvantage against our neighboring counties and the State of Indiana when just a short commute to shop across the border means lost customers and lost revenue for Cook County.

Once again, Cook County government is committing itself to another horrible tax policy which will add more long term damage to our local economy.

Sean M. Morrison
Cook County Commissioner
17th District

On October 5, certain commissioners introduced a Minimum Wage Increase Ordinance for all Cook County businesses with a vote scheduled for October 25.  This quick action leaves local businesses with only a few days to analyze the financial impact and assess their ability to cover this immense and unexpected new cost.

Businesses were not informed of this huge cost increase nor did they have an opportunity to prepare or budget for it. With their yearly budgets already set, they will now be forced to increase their staff salaries by 27% literally overnight and 58% over the next 20 months.  This massive wage increase will undoubtedly create a substantial financial disadvantage for Cook County businesses and will hurt the extensive efforts by suburban municipalities to attract new businesses, create new economic development opportunities and grow jobs.

Recent actions by the Cook County Board to pile on a massive Minimum Wage Hike, an expensive Paid Sick Leave regulation and a costly Beverage Tax all at once will be devastating to our local economy and will no doubt shutter the doors of many businesses along with the loss of numerous jobs for our hardworking residents. All of this excessive government regulation thrown onto small businesses is a formula for economic disaster.

The Illinois State Supreme Court has concluded that local labor conditions in our state should rest with the Illinois General Assembly who are charged with legislating “carefully crafted and balanced economic policies”; not local home rule units of government. And the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has opined that “Cook County lacks the home rule authority to enact such an ordinance.” That’s why I strongly urge any of my board colleagues who want to legislate fiscal policies over private employers to seek office in the Illinois General Assembly which is the appropriate venue to do so. Not the Cook County Board.

Sean M. Morrison
Cook County Commissioner
17th District