Cook County, Illinois General Obligation Refunding Bonds
County Overview and Primary Functions.
The County is a diverse international center of business, industry, and culture and the
leading economic hub of the Midwest
With a population of over 5.17 million, the County is the second most populous in the country
and central to the U.S.'s third largest metro area¹
The County's 946 square miles consist of the City of Chicago (population 2.7 million) and
131 additional suburban municipalities; 29 townships; 220 special districts; and 164 school
districts²
The County is a home rule unit of government under Illinois law and may exercise any power
and perform any function relating to its government and affairs, except as expressly limited
by State law
•
No current statutory limitations on power to levy real property taxes or issue GO Bonds
Powers are exercised through an elected 17-member Board of Commissioners and the
Board President
Chicago
Chicago MSA
Cook County
Provision of Public
Health Services
•
Protection of Persons
and Property
General Governmental
Services
Principal Functions of County Government
The Cook County Health and Hospitals Systems ("CCHHS"), consisting of:
Department of Public Health
Stroger and Provident Hospitals
Outpatient health centers and clinics
Cermak Health Services
Consists mainly of operations of Circuit Court (second largest unified court system in the U.S.) and
County Jail (the largest single jail site facility in the U.S.)
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Sheriff's police department, criminal prosecutions
The assessment of property and the levy, collection, and distribution of taxes to all underlying
jurisdictions
Maintenance of certain highways, services for unincorporated areas of the County, and county-wide
regional economic development efforts
Finance and Administration of County government
1. Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census as of July 2021. See also p. 11 of the Preliminary Official Statement dated August 3, 2022.
Source for City population: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census as of April 2020. See also p. 11 of the Preliminary Official Statement dated August 3, 2022.
2.
CO
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