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Cook County adopts expanded bereavement policy and promotes Emily Westerlund to assistant county attorney
Summary
The board adopted an expanded bereavement leave policy increasing leave from three to four days and broadening qualifying family members; it also approved the internal promotion of Emily Westerlund to Assistant County Attorney 2 after discussion of experience and continuity.
Cook County commissioners on Jan. 13 adopted an updated bereavement (funeral) leave policy and approved the promotion of Emily Westerlund to Assistant County Attorney 2.
Allison (human resources) explained the new bereavement policy increases leave from three to four days and expands the list of qualifying family members to align with Minnesota paid leave definitions, including domestic partners and household members who are not blood relatives. Allison said the extra day helps account for rural travel times: “So we're kind of, figuring about a day, extra to account for, basically, up to a day of potential travel.” Commissioners discussed how bereavement fits with other benefits and adopted the personnel policy by motion.
Commissioner Gamble had pulled Westerlund’s promotion from the consent agenda for committee‑level discussion about internal posting practices and succession planning. County attorney staff and Attorney Peterson described Westerlund’s caseload experience handling misdemeanor through complex felony matters and recommended the promotion to preserve continuity of service. The board approved the promotion unanimously.
Next steps: the personnel policy will be incorporated into the county personnel policy manual and staff will record the promoted classification and start date for Emily Westerlund.
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