Cook County's public safety agencies are going digital

Tracking individuals through the Cook County criminal justice system is no small task. For years, this was done using paper--- but not for long. Last month, the Cook County Board of Commissioners approved a $2.3 million contract to create a digital platform connecting the county's public safety agencies, allowing them to exchange data securely using an enterprise service bus.

Civic Consulting Alliance and pro bono partner DLA Piper began paving the way for this milestone more than two years ago. Civic Consulting and the legal professionals at DLA Piper worked through a complex process to define the legal agreements that would enable the agencies to exchange the right data in real time.

"Civic Consulting Alliance and DLA Piper were vital in helping us create the framework to design a central system for sharing data between criminal justice agencies," said Simona Rollinson, CIO at the Cook County Bureau of Technology. "Because of their work, we are now on the verge of having a working data exchange that could tremendously improve the inner workings of the County justice system and bring with it greater efficiency and cost savings."

The initial contract includes two data exchanges: one between the State's Attorney and the Circuit Court Clerk (to expedite charging information) and one between the Clerk and the Cook County Sheriff (to expedite release information).