Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle presented the Cook County executive budget recommendation for fiscal year 2026 and the board voted to refer the proposal to the Finance Committee for further consideration.

Preckwinkle told commissioners the executive recommendation is a moral document that prioritizes protecting the health care safety net, violence prevention, technology modernization, and economic and small-business development. “This budget is more than a ledger of dollars and cents,” Preckwinkle said. “It represents our collective commitment to fairness, to dignity, and to opportunity.”

Preckwinkle outlined a series of line-item commitments and program highlights in the speech, including support for Cook County Health and CountyCare, expanded community violence intervention funding, a medical debt relief initiative, investments in digital infrastructure and cybersecurity, and workforce and small-business programs tied to a Project Rainbow partnership with Google. She said the plan reflects continued pension payments, debt reduction, and recent bond rating upgrades.

The resolution submitting the president’s recommended budget and annual appropriation bill for fiscal year 2026 (item no. 253979) was moved and seconded and—after a roll call—referred to the Finance Committee. The Clerk recorded a roll call vote of 16 ayes and 1 absent. The board also moved that item no. 2540003, described as the fourth installment spending plan for the 2026 Equity and Inclusion Special Purpose Fund, be referred to the Finance Committee for its October 22 meeting; that motion carried on a 16–1 vote.

Separately at the start of the meeting the board approved a procedural motion allowing members not physically present to participate remotely. The clerk announced 13 yeas and 4 absent on that vote.

Preckwinkle highlighted specific items in the presentation: Cook County’s Medicaid-managed plan CountyCare, which she said serves nearly 400,000 members; a medical debt relief program she said has forgiven $122,000,000 in this round, bringing the initiative’s total to $900,000,000 for more than 700,000 residents; continued investments in community violence intervention (including a planned $20,000,000 investment this year and a prior $25,000,000 summer allocation); and technology investments including retiring a decades-old mainframe and funding cybersecurity and digital-equity efforts. She also announced partnerships and programs such as Project Rainbow scholarships with Google and expansions planned for 2-1-1 Metro Chicago and homeowner relief.

Board members did not vote on the budget ordinance itself at the special meeting; the action taken on the floor was to refer the executive recommendation and the equity-fund spending plan to the Finance Committee for committee hearings and further deliberation.

Votes at a glance:
- Motion to allow remote participation: carried, 13 yeas, 4 absent (roll call recorded by clerk).
- Motion to refer the FY2026 executive budget (item no. 253979) to the Finance Committee: carried, 16 ayes, 1 absent (roll call recorded by clerk).
- Motion to refer the fourth-installment spending plan for the FY2026 Equity and Inclusion Special Purpose Fund (item no. 2540003) to the Finance Committee for Oct. 22: carried, 16 ayes, 1 absent.

The board adjourned after the referrals. Future budget hearings and Finance Committee meetings will provide opportunities for public testimony and committee-level amendments and votes.