The Good Jobs Challenge was a COVID-19 relief-funded, community-driven, employer-led workforce development federal grant housed at the Economic Development Administration at the national level and administered by the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership at the regional level. When Health &...
Health & Medicine Policy Director Wesley Epplin recently delivered testimony to the Cook County Board of Commissioners during the FY2026 budget hearings. The testimony called for increased investment in public health and stronger protections for immigrant communities across Cook County. Read...
The Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI) conducts an annual evaluation of our newly expanded Suburban Cook County Community Health Worker (CHW) Initiative. This report, Piecing the Mosaic: Strengthening Community Health Through Partnership, represents the findings of this phased formative and...
On July 22nd, Health & Medicine’s Senior Policy Analyst, Mayra Diaz, delivered remarks to Chicago’s City Council at a hearing for the Committee on Health and Human Relations. The hearing focused on a resolution, introduced by Alderman Anthony Quezada and Alderwoman Rossana...
On April 16, 2025, Health & Medicine Policy Director Wesley Epplin delivered remarks at a press conference supporting the Hazel M. Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance. Speaking on behalf of both Health & Medicine and the Collaborative for Health Equity Cook County, he emphasized the...
On January 24, 2025, Health & Medicine Policy Director Wesley Epplin delivered testimony to the Cook County Health Board of Directors, highlighting the urgent need to address immigrant fears and threats caused by unjust ICE raids. His recommendations included: Establishing a dedicated...
The Healing-Centered Illinois Task Force, established by SB 646 in January 2024, has released its comprehensive recommendations report, offering a blueprint for advancing trauma-informed and healing-centered policies and practices across the state. The Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative at...
On November 7, 2024, Health & Medicine Policy Director Wesley Epplin delivered testimony to the Chicago City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations regarding threats to the Chicago Public Health Department’s budget. “In the shadow of the Federal election results this...
On October 24, 2023, Health & Medicine Policy Director testified before the Cook County Board of Commissioners about the dire need for public health funding. “If there’s one lesson you take away from the COVID-19 pandemic, I hope it is this: People’s lives depend upon us having both a...
We are all aging, all of the time, and virtually all of us care about—and many provide care to— older persons; so, we all have a vested interest in moving toward aging equity. Further, as our population gets older, to successfully provide services to all, every agency of our government and sector...
On October 18, 2024, Health & Medicine Policy Director Wesley Epplin delivered testimony to the Cook County Board Finance Committee requesting a $23 million increase in the Cook County Department of Public Health’s budget. Read the full remarks here.
A group of 80 Chicago-area organizations signed letters requesting significantly increased funding for the Chicago and Cook County departments of public health to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago City Council, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, County Commissioners, and other relevant...