About the Candidate
Candidate Statement
Hi there, thanks for listening to this clip and for being interested in local elections. I’m Bridget Degnen, the Cook County Commissioner in the 12th District, which covers about half of the North and Northwest side of the City of Chicago. I’m finishing my first term in office and am running for re-election. The question I’ve received most over the last four years has been, “What does a County Commissioner do?” Well, we are your legislative representatives at the county level of government, and I help create local laws and make sure the county’s budget makes sense and is balanced.
When I ran last time, I promised to work on revenue generating initiatives, environmental matters and to be a full-time commissioner dedicated to attending all the board and committee meetings. I’m proud to say I have over a 99% meeting attendance rate. I’ve worked diligently on environmental initiatives for example, creating an environmental commission at the county, planting hundreds of trees, starting dozens of pollinator gardens and we’ve been working for three years on infrastructure improvements to accommodate large scale industrial composting.
I’ve also been successful at revenue generation initiatives at both the county and in the Cook County Forest Preserves. An increased focus on public safety work has also become a priority in the last two years, as has my work helping local families reduce their property tax burden. My office and I have helped thousands of local families on these two fronts.
If elected to a second term, I’ll continue to work on these matters and add work on behavioral and mental health care. Because the county’s budget includes a significant investment in its public health and hospital system, a strong behavioral health component makes good sense. It reduces crime and ensures better health outcomes across the board.
Over the last four years, I have loved serving in this role. Listening to constituents about concerns or complaints, and helping make people’s lives better. It means more to me than I can express. I’m so grateful for this work and honored for the opportunity to do it.
