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Cook County Bureau of Technology outlines AI readiness, IAM rollout and network upgrades
Summary
Bureau of Technology leaders presented strategic priorities including AI acquisition policies, enterprise hybrid cloud, WAN redesign for evidence bandwidth, identity and access management rollout and a resident portal roadmap; officials said projects will move from readiness and procurement into implementation this year.
Cook County’s Bureau of Technology presented a technology strategic plan and a series of near‑term projects to the Technology and Innovation Committee, emphasizing governance for artificial intelligence, identity and access management, and infrastructure upgrades to support increased audio and video evidence across county justice agencies.
Tom Lynch, Cook County Chief Information Officer, summarized countywide principles: standardize procurement to improve interoperability, prefer reuse before buying new systems and include AI in standard BOT review processes. "We formalized policies and procedures for acquiring artificial intelligence related technologies," Lynch said, adding the bureau plans to move from assessment into projects that will utilize AI in 2026.
Hema Sundaram, chief technology officer, described two priority programs: an identity and access management (IAM) implementation to automate employee and contractor onboarding/offboarding, introduce privileged access management, and deliver a future resident portal that would allow users to do business with multiple county offices through a single ID. Sundaram said the bureau has completed an AI readiness assessment with Guidehouse, established an advisory board that includes members from elected offices, and is preparing procurements for professional services to begin implementation work.
Derek Thomas, Deputy CIO, and other presenters outlined infrastructure initiatives: a phase‑2 wide area network redesign to add capacity and bandwidth for audio/video evidence across justice agencies; rollout of an enterprise hybrid cloud strategy (cloud + local + colo) and construction of a new colocation facility to improve disaster recovery and lower infrastructure costs; and continued work on the Integrated Property Tax System project, where the bureau is coordinating migration and defect triage.
Officials said they are prioritizing cybersecurity and accessibility: they have moved to a government‑led security control assessment process and are coordinating with County Clerk and election officials on election security. The bureau is also analyzing quantum‑safe cryptography and investing in staff recruitment for cybersecurity and data services.
Committee members had no major objections to the strategic framework and asked follow‑up questions about project timelines and staffing for refunds and tax operations, which were addressed in the committee’s subsequent discussion with treasurer and clerk staff.
BOT leaders said they will provide follow‑up updates to the committee as procurements progress and implementation contracts are awarded.
