Health services chief in Cook County, IL, submits resignation

Robert Simon, MD, the oft-criticized interim chief of the troubled Cook County, IL, public health system, has submitted his resignation. Simon took the brunt of criticism for the implementation of $85 million in budget cuts that slashed the Bureau of Health Services' clinic system, dramatically slowed some routine care and demoralized public healthcare workers. Simon later said that while the layoffs were difficult, it achieved goals including making budget cuts while maintaining essential services and not closing any of the county's three hospitals.