Cook County Department of Public Health

To improve food sanitation practices and prevent outbreaks of foodborne diseases, PDCU initiated successful legislation requiring all municipalities in Suburban Cook County to inspect retail food establishments within their jurisdictions.

To increase funding for lead poisoning prevention, PDCU drafted and worked to pass legislation requiring excess funds in the County Torrens Fund, be directed to lead poisoning prevention program activities.

PDCU, as part of a coalition of injury prevention advocates, supported failed legislation that sought to require riders of motorcycles wear helmets.

To address a significant gap in our food recall protocol, PDCU drafted legislation requiring all food pantries to register with their local certified public health department. This new law enables CCDPH environmental health staff to communicate directly with food pantries, soup kitchens and other emergency food centers during food recalls.

To prepare for and effectively respond to potential bioterrorism events, CCDPH Community Preparedness and Coordination Unit have worked closely with the education community to identify emergency pharmaceutical distribution sites. The PDCU drafted and help pass legislation requiring all Illinois community colleges to make their facilities available to local public health departments and the American Red Cross during public health emergencies.

Policy staff drafted successful legislation to abolish the Tuberculosis Sanitarium District of Suburban Cook County and integrate the program into the CCDPH communicable disease control service unit. Both the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and ASTHO (The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials) recommended integrating HIV, STD and TB prevention control programs into one public health program. A stand alone TB program was outdated and inefficient. The legislation abolished the local TB tax levy and transferred all assets and liabilities to CCDPH.

As a member of a statewide coalition, PDCU played an integral role in the passage of the Illinois Smoke Free Act which prohibited smoking in all public work places.

To address health risks related to the transmission of blood borne diseases during tattooing, Illinois law required individuals obtaining tattoos to be prohibited from donating blood for one year unless the tattoo shop was licensed and inspected by a local public health department. Illinois blood banks requested our assistance to enact legislation requiring tattoo shops to be licensed and inspected by certified local public health departments. CCDPH policy unit worked closely with Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium (NIPHC) to amend the legislation to ensure that LHDS received adequate compensation for their inspectional services.

PDCU drafted an update to the Cook County Mobile Home and Mobile Home Park Ordinance which strengthened the code to improve public health and fire safety standards. Staff worked closely with local Fire Chiefs to revise to the code.

As a member of the Illinois Coalition Against Tobacco, policy staff supported a successful legislative campaign to reverse the home rule preemption in the Illinois Clean Indoor Air Act. This legislation led numerous municipalities to enact local clean indoor air ordinances.

CCDPH licenses and regulates manufactured housing communities in unincorporated areas and in municipalities without a local law. In the spring legislative session, the manufactured housing industry / park owners, passed legislation that weakened our ability to increase fire safety regulations in more than 30 mobile home communities in suburban Cook County. Our policy staff worked closely with a coalition of mobile home park residents, local fire officials, and the Illinois Municipal League to support a gubernatorial veto of the legislation and succeeded in preventing an override in the Illinois Senate.

The policy unit drafted legislation requiring all self service displays of cigarettes to be located behind a counter to prevent youth access through theft. CCDPH worked closely with the Illinois Coalition Against Tobacco (ICAT) on this successful legislative initiative.

To prevent IDU cases of HIV / AIDS, policy staff worked with a coalition led by the Chicago AIDS Foundation to adopt successful legislation authorizing retail pharmacies to sell syringes without a prescription.

To prevent automobile related deaths and injuries, policy staff supported successful legislation making failure to wear a seatbelt a moving violation.

Following a CDC recommendation, policy unit drafted and secured adoption of legislation requiring pet shops to educate consumers about the health risks of reptile associated salmonella infection. Illinois became only the fifth state in the nation to adopt such regulation.

In 1997, the policy unit helped draft the Cook County Youth Tobacco Control Ordinance. The ordinance requires licensure and inspection of all retail tobacco vendors in the unincorporated areas. Merchant caught selling to minors now face some of the stiffest penalties in the state including license suspension and revocation for repeat violations. The ordinance is considered a model by tobacco control advocates.

In response to the significant increase upswing in child and teenage smoking rates, staff actively promoted the adoption of a model youth tobacco control ordinance. Since the inception of the Reducing Youth Access To Tobacco (RATT) program, at least 60 municipalities in suburban Cook County enacted ordinances requiring the licensure of retail tobacco merchants.