Finance Committee approves up to $100,000 for outside legal help on county cyber incident

The DuPage County Finance Committee on May 27 approved a contract recommendation to retain outside legal services to support the county’s response to a recent cyber incident. The contract to "Constagni, Brooks, Smith and Profit LLP" (as listed in the procurement recommendation) is for the period April 28, 2025 through April 28, 2026 and is not to exceed $100,000.

Member Covert moved the contract recommendation and Member Krejewski seconded; the committee voted in favor and the motion carried.

Anthony McPherson described the relationship among the county, the technical incident responders and outside counsel: “Coalition Incident Response is the body who's actually helping us investigate and recover,” he said, and outside counsel coordinates legal and documentation needs across the technical response, the county’s sheriff’s IT and vendors. McPherson told the committee outside counsel helps with document review, wording of public materials, coordination with vendors (including Fortinet on the sheriff’s side) and preparation of a summary report.

Committee members asked about funding source and scope. Staff said the expense will be charged to the county’s tort liability account. McPherson said the contracted firm is providing legal coordination tied to the technical incident response and that the contract covers services incurred so far and those anticipated during the response and recovery.

Details: the contract was presented as a recommendation (FIP‑425) to provide legal services relating to the cyber incident; staff characterized Coalition Incident Response (CIR) as the technical arm, with outside counsel performing legal coordination and documentation. The committee approved the contract recommendation by voice vote.

Ending: Staff said a summary report prepared with the contractor will be released soon and that the county will continue to coordinate legal and technical response under the approved contract.