Cook County, IL, health board seeks infusion

The new independent board overseeing Cook County, IL's vast public health system wants an extra $103 million next year and permission to hire more than 400 new workers. The panel's chairman is defending the request as a needed first step before the troubled operation can be made more efficient, with fewer employees and more money collected from patients and their insurers. The board is also conducting studies to determine how to cut about 500 employees, although the 2009 spending plan calls for adding about 415 workers, mostly doctors and nurses. This is because the skills of those who are needed in new spots and those who aren't needed in their current posts don't match, said the health board chairman.