Public commenters at Cook County meeting accuse officials of mismanaging assets and criticize remote participation policies

Three public commenters raised sharp criticisms during the public-comment period of the Cook County Asset Management Committee on March 11.

George Blakemore (first public speaker announced) questioned the purpose and fairness of remote participation rights for commissioners, calling their use “an abuse” when officials are able to be physically present but participate remotely. “If you continue to be remote…that shows you have no respect for your job,” Blakemore said within his allotted time.

Jessica Jackson accused county leaders of failing to audit or properly manage public assets and alleged that public land and real estate have been improperly transferred. Jackson asked the county to audit her mother’s probate estate (reference given as 2016p005729) and urged officials to examine patterns she said show unfair transfers and demolitions.

Zoe Lee described the purpose of asset management and then alleged a pattern of corruption — she said public land transfers, demolitions and displacements frequently occur without proper notice and that political insiders benefit from redevelopment deals. Lee urged the county to review her and other citizens’ records and to ensure that demolitions and disposals follow due process.

None of the public-comment speakers identified any immediate corrective actions taken by the committee during the meeting; staff and commissioners did not provide substantive responses during the allotted time beyond time-limited acknowledgements. Several speakers’ time limits were enforced (30 seconds and one minute notices were given by staff).