The Cook County health board’s decision to part ways with its CEO will prove costly to taxpayers, with the tab expected to top $600,000.
Not only does Dr. John Jay Shannon stand to collect $542,000 in severance pay and health insurance benefits per the terms of his contract, but his interim replacement got a raise of more than $40,000. In addition, the county will have to spend tens of thousands of dollars more on a national search for a permanent successor.
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.