Additional Resources:

City of Chicago
Shakman Monitor
shakmanmonitor.com

Cook County Sheriff
Compliance Administrator
sheriffshakman.com

Forest Preserve District
of Cook County
Shakman Compliance
Administrator
cookfpshakman.com

Filing a Claim

The deadline to submit a claim to the Compliance Administrator has passed and our office may not accept additional claims.

Who is entitled to file a claim?
Who is not entitled to file a claim?
What actions may be included in a claim?
What does it mean to opt-out? FORM
Would you like to file a claim? FORM
What documentation should be included with a claim?
What happens after you file a claim?

Any Class Member who believes that she or he was a victim of unlawful political discrimination in connection with hiring or any aspect of government employment with the County, including but not limited to promotion, job assignment, termination, other disciplinary action and overtime, prior to the date of final approval of the Supplemental Relief Order (SRO).

WHO IS ENTITLED TO FILE?
Those individuals whose claims relate to the following offices:

• Offices under the Bureau of Administration
  • Animal Control
  • Auditor
  • Building and Zoning
  • Capital Planning and Policy
  • Environmental Control
  • Facilities Management
  • Highway Department
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Judicial Advisory Council (previously under Public Safety & Judicial Coordination)
  • Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (previously under Public Safety & Judicial Coordination)
  • Law Library
  • Medical Examiner
  • Planning & Development
  • POET
  • Public Defender (previously under Public Safety & Judicial Coordination)
  • Real Estate Management
  • Supportive Services (previously under Public Safety & Judicial Coordination)
  • Veteran’s Assistance Commission
  • Zoning Board of Appeals
• Offices under the Bureau of Finance
  • Budget & Management Services
  • Comptroller
  • Contract Compliance
  • Purchasing
  • Revenue
  • Risk Management
• Centers under the Bureau of Health Services
  • Cermak Health Services
  • Ambulatory & Community Health Network
  • CORE Center
  • Oak Forest Hospital
  • Provident Hospital
  • Department of Public Health
  • John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital
• Offices under the Bureau of Information Technology & Automation (BITA)
  • Central Services
  • Management of Information Systems (MIS)
  • Office Technology
• Human Resources
• Offices under Human Rights, Ethics & Women’s Issues
  • Commission on Human Rights
  • Board of Ethics
  • Commission on Women’s Issues
• Inspector General
• Public Affairs and Communications
• Secretary to the Board

This list and more information about the offices may be viewed at http://www.co.cook.il.us/agencyDetail.php?pAgencyID=42

WHO IS NOT ENTITLED TO FILE?

• You should not file a claim with the Compliance Administrator if the agency or department involved in your claim is the:
  • Cook County Assessor
  • Cook County Clerk
  • Cook County Sheriff
  • Department of Corrections
  • Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County
  • Cook County Treasurer
  • Cook County Recorder of Deeds
  • Cook County State’s Attorney
  • Office of the Chief Judge
  • Forest Preserve District of Cook County
• You should not file a Claim with the Compliance Administrator if you are alleging that unlawful political discrimination took place after February 2, 2007.
• The plaintiffs have requested that the Court extend the deadline for filing claims for an additional sixty days, or until October 3, 2007. The Court has not yet ruled on the motion. Thus, a claim filed with the Compliance Administrator after August 3, 2007 may or may not be timely. If you choose to file a claim after August 3, 2007, you should include the reason you did not file by August 3, 2007. You should not assume that the Court will grant an extension regarding your claim. However, the Court may approve an extension for good cause shown on a case by case basis..

WHAT ACTIONS MAY BE INCLUDED IN A CLAIM?
Generally, only unlawful political discrimination that took place between August 28, 2004 and February 2, 2007, may be included in a claim against the County. Any Class Member who believes that she or he was discriminated against on the basis of unlawful political discrimination prior to August 28, 2004, in addition to setting forth the facts and evidence supporting her or his claim, must also allege facts showing one of the following:

1. facts showing why the Class Member could not have discovered her or his claim before August 28, 2004
2. facts that would support a claim for fraudulent concealment
3. facts that would support a claim for equitable tolling of the limitations period or
4. facts that show that the County or its employees did something to hide the discrimination from you or to convince you not to file suit.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO OPT-OUT?
You may decide that you want to pursue your own individual lawsuit and not file a claim pursuant to the SRO. The Court will exclude from the classes any Class Member who requests exclusion. A Class Member who wants to be excluded from the Classes must give written notice of her or his intent to opt-out of the Classes no later than August 3, 2007. The Opt-Out Request must be received by the Compliance Administrator by August 3, 2007. You may complete the Opt-Out Request and mail it to the Office of the Compliance Administrator, 300 South Wacker Drive, Suite 1700B, Chicago, Illinois 60606.

Opt-Out Request Form (rev 6-07)
("cc_shakman_SRO-OptOutForm.pdf" - 53 KB)

The Opt-Out Request must state: (a) the name and docket number of the case; (b) the Class Member’s legal name, address and telephone number; and (c) that the Class Member wishes to be excluded from membership in the Classes.

Class members who elect to opt-out of the SRO and who wish to pursue any claim they may have against the County must opt-out of the SRO and file their own enforcement action or a separate lawsuit. Claims based on alleged political discrimination in employment in violation of the 1994 Consent Decree may be subject to a limitations period. A Class Member who elects to pursue a remedy outside of the SRO should act quickly to protect whatever rights he or she may have.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO FILE A CLAIM?

If you would like to file a Claim with the Compliance Administrator, you may complete the Claim Form and the Release of Claims Against County County Form and mail them to the Office of the Compliance Administrator, 300 South Wacker Drive, Suite 1700B, Chicago, IL 60606. Both forms must be properly signed by the claimant and notarized.

Claim Form and the Release of Claims Against County County Form (rev 6-07)
("cc_shakman_Pre-SROClaimForm.pdf" - 80 KB)

Claimants may only submit one Claim Form, but may allege facts supporting more than one Claim on their Claim Form. The Compliance Administrator will evaluate all of the claims included in the Claim Form.

WHAT DOCUMENTATION SHOULD BE INCLUDED WITH A COMPLETED CLAIM FORM?

Claimants should provide all evidence, information, and documents known to them in as much detail as possible in their Claim Forms to assist the Compliance Administrator in assessing claims. Anyone submitting a Claim Form must attach to the Claim Form any supporting documentation in her or his possession. This includes documentation supporting any damage claim.

If a claimant does not have any documents in her or his possession, the Claim will still be evaluated on its merits. The Compliance Administrator may grant you additional time to submit additional documentation. Documents may be submitted at a later date but only with permission from the Compliance Administrator for good cause.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU FILE A CLAIM?

If you file a Claim, the Compliance Administrator will determine whether you are eligible for recovery. The Compliance Administrator and her staff will review all timely Claim Forms to determine whether the Claimant is entitled to a damage award. As part of her review, the Compliance Administrator may request additional information from Claimants to help her identify valid claims and eliminate those that are not. During the claim review process, Claimants must provide any information and documents reasonably requested by the Compliance Administrator.

Within ninety (90) days of the August 3, 2007 Claim Deadline (the “Claim Review Period”), the Compliance Administrator, in her sole discretion and after consideration of all of the evidence, will determine whether each Claimant is eligible for recovery and, if so, will assign a monetary award to each Claimant based on the relevant information presented to the Compliance Administrator. You should not expect to hear anything from the Office of the Compliance Administrator until after November 3, 2007. You will receive in the mail a Notice of Determination once the Compliance Administrator has made a decision.

If the Compliance Administrator needs additional time beyond November 3, 2007 to evaluate the merits of a claim, the Compliance Administrator will inform the Claimant of the need for additional time and the date by which the review will be completed.

The Compliance Administrator will notify each Claimant of her decision with respect to the claim by sending a Notice of Determination to each Claimant by November 3, 2007. The Notice of Determination will tell Claimants whether they are entitled to a damage award and, if so, the amount of the award. If the Claimant or the County disagrees with the Compliance Administrator’s determination, the Claimant or the County may file an objection to the Notice of Determination with the United States District Court in the Shakman Case within thirty (30) days of the date the Notice of Determination is sent by the Compliance Administrator. The Court will affirm the Compliance Administrator’s decision unless the Court finds that the Compliance Administrator abused her discretion. If neither the Claimant nor the County files an objection within the thirty (30) days, the Compliance Administrator’s decision will become final.

Within thirty (30) days following the Compliance Administrator’s determination on all claims, the Compliance Administrator shall provide the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office with a list of Claimants eligible for an award, the Claimants’ last known mailing address, social security numbers of any non-employee, and the amount of each award.

Within sixty (60) days of receipt of the Compliance Administrator’s list of Claimants and awards, the County will mail a check in the amount of the award to each Claimant who has received an award at her or his last known mailing address; except that if an appeal is taken from an award as described in the preceding paragraph, no payment will be made until the issues involved in the appeal are resolved.

Any Claimant who submits a Claim Form thereby agrees to have her or his claim for damages resulting from political discrimination in connection with employment with Cook County decided by the Compliance Administrator. By submitting a Claim Form, Claimants agree to waive their right to file their own lawsuit and to have their claims decided by a court. Claim Forms must be accompanied by a signed Release of Claims Against Cook County Form.

Submitting a Claim Form does not guarantee you a damage award.

page updated 9-10-2007