County continues job description reviews, prepares for courthouse security assessment

The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved a new three-year contract with David Drown Associates (DDA) during its Aug. 25 meeting to continue reviewing and updating county employee job descriptions and compensation.

Under the agreement, DDA, a Minnesota-based consulting firm, will conduct a market analysis of all county positions and review, rewrite, and classify all county job descriptions.

County Administrator Kristen Trebil-Halbersma said the newly approved contract builds on work that began with DDA in 2022.

In 2022, the county hired DDA to conduct a classification and compensation study. At the time, county officials said the study would help ensure salaries and benefits remained competitive as it worked to recruit and retain employees. The study analyzes job descriptions, the labor market, develops a compensation plan, and models financial impacts, among other deliverables.

DDA compares the data to 20 selected other counties across the state to see if Cook County is “aligned with where we should be in terms of salary based on the comparable counties,” said Trebil-Halbersma.

After completing a classification and compensation study, Trebil-Halbersma said annual “maintenance” is needed to keep job descriptions updated and aligned. In February 2023, the board of commissioners approved a three-year contract with DDA to undergo maintenance. The newly approved contract continues that same approach for another three years.

“They’re taking a third of all of our job descriptions and reviewing them and comparing them to the market and our comparable counties and making any updates needed at that time,” she said.

She pointed to the emergency management director position as an example. With Mike Keyport retiring and Ruth Vogel preparing to take over the role, the county reviewed the position’s job description to ensure it reflects the work moving forward.

“When we have a transition like that and bring on a new director, that’s a perfect time to look at the job description and make sure that it aligns with where it needs to be as we move forward,” Trebil-Halbersma said.

The process uses benchmarks and indicator data from other counties for comparison. The benchmarks and indicators are selected based on factors including population, leisure and hospitality sales tax, median household income, tax rate, and more.

She said the county intends to remain within 95% of the comparable counties used in the study. Trebil-Halbersma said the annual maintenance is intended to help the county stay closer to that benchmark, rather than allowing positions to drift further out of line between full classification and compensation studies.

Sixth Judicial District – Courthouse Security

Over the next couple of months, the county will undergo a courthouse security assessment led by the Sixth Judicial District.

As part of that process, the Cook County Board of Commissioners approved a Memorandum of Understanding and Non-Disclosure Agreement with the Sixth Judicial District during its Aug. 25 meeting.

The Judicial District will hire security consultants, fund the assessment, and provide a confidential copy of the report and findings. Every county within the Sixth Judicial District will undergo the same security assessments.

The county last underwent a courthouse security assessment in 2012.

“So this is not a new practice; it’s something that should be occurring,” said Trebil-Halbersma.

The timing of the security assessments aligns with the county’s ongoing capital improvement plans. “The timing couldn’t be better,” said Trebil-Halbersma.

Over the past year, the county has worked to address space and security needs in county buildings, as well as deferred maintenance at the courthouse. In May, the county hired architectural firm BKV to formulate a feasibility study for capital improvements.

Trebil-Halbersma said that once the security assessment is complete, the county will review the findings and likely incorporate the proposed improvements in the capital improvement plans. “The county is per statute responsible for the facility, and so it’s our responsibility then to take the information we receive from them and figure out the next steps.”

WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with County Administrator Kristen Trebil-Halbersma in more depth about the job description update process and the newly approved DDA contract, the Sixth Judicial District security assessment, prepping for the preliminary levy, and more. Audio below.

Kalli Hawkins August 27, 2026