Additional Resources:

City of Chicago
Shakman Monitor
shakmanmonitor.com

Cook County Sheriff
Compliance Administrator
sheriffshakman.com

Welcome

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Status on Objections
May 5, 2009

The Court has decided all of the Objections to the Determination of the Compliance Administrator. You should receive notification of its decision shortly. The CA has no information about when the County will issue checks to the awardees. We will update the website upon receiving further information.

Status on Objections
March 9, 2009

The Court is now reviewing all Objections to the Determination of the Compliance Administrator. The next status date for Michael Shakman, et al. v. Democratic Organization of Cook County is on March 20, 2009. We will post additional updates at that time.

Award checks were mailed via U.S. Certified Mail to those claimants who were awarded money and withdrew their objections on March 5, 2009.

Status on Objections
February 25, 2009

Judge Andersen will be reviewing all objections and will decide them on a rolling basis. No decisions have been rendered as of this date. The CA office has not yet been informed of a final date by which all objections will be decided. Please continue to check the website for additional information concerning the status of objections and when they will be finalized.

Regarding Withdrawl of Objections to the Determination
January 15, 2009

The deadline to withdraw Objections to the Determination of the Compliance Administrator expired on December 24, 2008. The State's Attorneys Office has received notification of those individuals who have withdrawn their objections.

The CA office has no further updates about when the remaining claims checks will be issued by the County. We will post an update on the website once we receive further information. If you have any questions please call our office at (312) 603-8905

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New Office Location
January 5, 2009

The Office of the Compliance Administrator has relocated.
Please contact us at our new location:

Office of the Compliance Administrator
69 W. Washington, Suite 1416
Chicago, IL 60602

phone: 312.603.8905

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Message from the Compliance Administrator
December 9, 2008

Withdrawal of Objection to Notice of Determination
The Office of the Compliance Administrator reached an agreement with the County to permit individuals to withdraw their objections. The County will process award checks to those individuals who opt to withdraw. The CA cannot make any guarantees about when these checks will be issued, but it is our understanding that they will be processed shortly after the deadline for withdrawals.

If you choose to withdraw your objection, you must complete the Withdrawal of Objection to Notice of Determination form.
Withdrawal of Determination Form (PDF)
"cc_shakman_WithdrawalofObjection.pdf" 11KB

Withdrawals must be received by the:

Clerk of the United States District Court - Northern District of Illinois
Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 20th Floor
219 South Dearborn
Chicago, Illinois, 60604

on or before December 24, 2008.

Our office is not the proper recipient of the Withdrawal of Objection forms.
Please file the form with the Court as described above. Any withdrawals must be filed by the deadline and no extensions will be granted.

Message from the Compliance Administrator
December 2, 2008

Checks were sent out via U.S. Certified Mail to all claimants who received an award and did not file an objection. If you filed an objection to the award, your check will be issued once the Court has rendered a decision in regards to your objection.

Claims Adjudication Status
September 23, 2008

All Notice of Determination letters were mailed out today. Should you wish to object to your determination or award, you may obtain an Objection to Notice of Determination form outside our offices at 221 N. LaSalle, Suite 455, Chicago Illinois 60601, or you may download a form from this website on the "Filing an Objection to Notice of Determination" page.

Objections must be received by the Clerk of the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 20th Floor, 219 South Dearborn, Chicago, Illinois, 60604, on or before October 31, 2008. Our office is not the proper recipient of the Objection Forms; please file Objection Forms with the Court as described above.

Please understand that in response to filing an Objection, the Compliance Administrator may be required to provide your claim file to the Court and the Court may provide your file to the State’s Attorney and that your file may become public.

Questions regarding the determination letters can be directed to our office at (312) 386-1532 x1246.

Message from the Cook County Compliance Administrator
September 23, 2008

The Compliance Administrator has a duty to monitor and investigate unlawful political discrimination occurring within Cook County under the Office of the President and the Health and Hospital Systems (formerly the Bureau of Health). The CA wants to thank those employees who have come forward with information and encourages others to do so. Please see the "Reporting Retaliation" section of this website for information on how to handle retaliation.

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Countyshakman.com is an online resource for residents and others who may be interested in the on-going work of the Court-appointed “Compliance Administrator.” On November 30, 2006, Judge Wayne Andersen appointed a Compliance Administrator to ensure that the County of Cook complies with all proper hiring and employment practices as they relate to political considerations. The Compliance Administrator was appointed pursuant to the federal civil lawsuit titled Michael L. Shakman, et al. v. Democratic Organization of Cook County, et al., Case No. 69 C 2145. The holding in that lawsuit includes the prohibition of employment practices that are based on political considerations. This lawsuit is discussed in detail in the Background page of this website.

The Order entered on November 30, 2006, is entitled Supplemental Relief Order (SRO). It contemplates a two year plan by which the County, if found to be compliant by Judge Andersen, will be dismissed from the lawsuit. The SRO also details the duties and responsibilities of various individuals and entities, including the Compliance Administrator. The Compliance Administrator’s duties include studying existing employment practices, policies and procedures for non-political hiring, promotion, transfer, discipline and discharge; observing actual hiring sequences; assisting in formulating a new hiring plan; aiding in establishing a training program to educate and train supervisors and employees on non-political hiring practices; making recommendations to the Court as to how to resolve issues regarding Shakman exempt positions; monitoring compliance; adjudicating pre-SRO violations and filing periodic reports.

The Compliance Administrator filed her Initial Report on January 3, 2007. It details the results of her study and her recommendations as of that date. It also sets out her staffing needs and the powers she deems appropriate to effectuate her responsibilities.

There are a number of components to the SRO and the Compliance Administrator’s duties. Some are in the process of being addressed and some will be addressed in due course. We encourage you to contact us on the Contact Us page of this website. If you previously have contacted the Compliance Administrator's office and did not recieve a response, please contact us again. Your input on any aspect of the SRO is important to us.

You may have a claim as an aggrieved individual because you believe that political considerations affected your job or you were denied employment because of political considerations. If that is the case, then you should visit the Filing A Claim page of this website to find out information related to your claim and access a Claim Form.

Your input on any aspect of the SRO is important to us.

This website addresses issues related to Cook County. If you are looking for Shakman information related to the City of Chicago, visit www.shakmanmonitor.com.