>> As Chicago wrestles with its own budget challenges.

Cook County is unveiling a 10 billion dollar budget proposal for next fiscal year.

The plan includes no new taxes, employee, layoffs or fees, but things aren't completely in the clear officials warn of tough waters in the years ahead as potential federal funding cuts threaten to hit the county's bottom line.

Joining us to discuss all that and more is Cook County Board.

President Toni Preckwinkle, Madam President, welcome back to the program.

Thank you so much for inviting So this spending plan closes the 211 million dollar budget gap.

The county was facing doesn't high property taxes or impose any new fees.

How did you manage to to come up with the needed money?

There?

first of all, I want to thank my team.

The bureau financed on Anthony M Conoco.

Cheetah Musselwhite and their crew.

You know, we've made hard choices and tough decisions over the last decade and a half and it's paid off in these in this difficult moment.

We've got a 10.1 billion dollar budget.

No new taxes, fines or fees.

I'm proud of the work that we've We have a a healthy Reserve and our pensions are funded at 66%.

And we have a 20 year plan to get to full funding.

So we're in great financial shape.

We've had bond rating upgrades each of the last 4 years.

So the bond rating agencies are are happy with the work we're doing.

And I hope our residents are.

Yeah.

When I want to talk about some of the specifics coming up, but you know, you referred to last year's spending plan is scored a good-news budget when this year's budget came out.

You did warn there could be some turmoil ahead.

What are the storm clouds you see on the horizon?

Well, half of our budget is health care.

And I'm very proud of that.

We have a health care system that for 190 years has helped to ever comes to your door.

Regardless of immigration status, ability to pay race, age, gender, ethnicity.

We should always Cook County residents be proud of that.

You know, President Trump has declared war basically on the health care system in this country, particularly on Medicaid.

It just never meant insurance for people with moderate incomes.

Now those of us who are over 65 get Medicare right.

But and there's there's no income eligibility for Medicare.

But for Medicaid, people under 65, there's a federal program which was expanded under President Obama to include more of our residents.

And we have provided not just Karin our facilities, our hospitals and clinics, but we've created a Medicaid insurance program.

Medicaid managed care program called County care, which hopefully you've heard about candy and protect the lives of about 400,000 people in Cook County, who are part of our county care program.

So we provide insurance for them.

In addition to delivering direct care to people through our hospitals clinics.

And, you know, are you concerned?

You know, we've seen massive cuts to Medicaid this year that those could hit Cook County health County care.

You know, how can you address a potential budget gap for some of those needs?

Well, but health and hospital system is putting aside a reserve to help them get through these tough waters.

We have reserves on the county side as well.

But the way in which the the Congress push implement these cuts.

Many of them going to take effect, not not in the 26th 27th, but we know that that their turbulent waters ahead because Medicaid is our principal provider of revenue for health and hospital system.

I think 53% of our our patient revenues come from Medicaid.

Well, you know, speaking of those sorts of cuts, this plan also calls for setting aside some 65 million dollars to cover, you know, potentially essential services paid for by federal money to you.

See, you know, concerns about more cuts ahead, not even just to to Medicaid down the line from Congress from the Trump administration.

Well, it's unclear what's going to happen outside of healthcare.

We're concerned, of course, of maybe some of our transportation projects might not be funded, but are particular concerns.

I healthcare get health care is 50% of our budget.

So when the federal government says we're going to make you determine eligibility twice a year, instead of it magnifies not just the red tape that people have to deal with, but we think it's good.

It's it's a way of reducing the roles without saying you're reducing the rolls right.

when they talk about work requirements again, most people on Medicaid.

Are doing something right here working.

They're going to school, whatever right.

in the places in this country where they've implemented work requirements like Arkansas, one of the things they found is that.

Most of the people who were kicked off.

Suppose because they didn't meet the work requirements were, in fact eligible right?

So, you know, it's instead of a frontal assault on Medicaid.

They're doing all these things around the edges.

2 reduce the program and it's diabolical.

Well, you mentioned transportation, you know, another thing that, you know, falls under the county's purview.

The Trump administration has had some legal trouble trying to freeze or cancel money for sanctuary jurisdictions, but now it's going after infrastructure programs like the Red Line extension that take into account.

Women owned businesses, Black and Latino owned businesses.

Are you concerned that those attacks on infrastructure money could hit Cook County beyond just the red line?

That's the reason we put aside the 65 million dollars you know, he's declared war on blue cities, blue counties, blue states.

I can't recall in my present.

United States has been so explicit about going after his political enemies.

You mentioned as well.

You know, the issue of of immigration status, there's been dramatic escalation of pretty aggressive immigration enforcement around Chicago land over the last weeks.

Agents to playing tear gas, an attempt to deploy National Guard troops helping the county respond to this so-called Midway blitz.

The governor of the state has described the ICE agents is Jack booted thugs.

He's right.

The kidnapping people off our streets.

Dragging people out of their homes, sunny and the detention centers in this country and blogs and foreign countries.

It's disgraceful.

Its absolutely disgraceful.

And this week, Judge Evans issued an order that ice may not come on to county property without a warrant for the rest of a particular person, warrantless arrests.

And likewise, I have issued an executive order to the same effect.

I don't want them on county property.

There.

This is.

This it's hard.

It's hard for me to put it simple terms, right?

The president states is not following the Constitution.

He doesn't believe in the rule of law.

And as I said, they're kidnapping people off our streets.

Well, obviously there are a lot of issues going on on policy side.

There is also the the March primary coming up, which will probably be here before we know you're facing.

A challenge from Chicago Alderman Brendan Reilly who's said, you know, the county budgets tripled in the 15 years since you've taken office.

He wants to address crime spending, corruption.

What's your response to his effort to unseat Well, first of all, let's talk about the budget.

I began by saying we have a 10.1 billion dollar budget.

Its balance without new taxes, fines or fees, and that our pensions are funded at 66%.

We've for upgrades in our bond ratings in the last 4 years the bond rating agencies say that we're in pretty good shape.

take their word my opponents.

>> And let me just say, I mean, this is a tough job and I think I've done it well for the last 15 years.

We've got after really struggle for the first 2 or 3 years.

We've got the county on on good physical in good physical shape.

We've addressed the challenges and in public safety by working together with the stakeholders to reduce our jail population, get people out who are accused nonviolent crimes and sometimes shoplifters or stayed in jail because they can pay, you know, nominal cash, bonds.

So we've done a lot of work around criminal justice reform.

We've kept steady or increased the budgets for our stakeholders and public safety.

I think we've a good job and worked with the state in end, the city.

We have a government alliance for safe communities and cents 2021, the state in the county and the city of Chicago have invested 350 million dollars in violence prevention.

And that's working with community-based organizations who do the tough work on the streets of trying to work with people who are likely to be shooters are victims of shooting of shootings to help people who are coming out of the tension or incarceration and to work with community-based organizations that serve at-risk youth.

I'm proud of the work that we've done collectively with the city and the state.