The Cook County (Ill.) Board voted this week to amend an ordinance that will give it more control and oversight of the county-run health system, including the ability to help select its next CEO, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
The changes approved by the board give the Cook County Board the ability to appoint a member to the Cook County Health & Hospital System's board and have more power over the Chicago-based system's budget and executive hires.
Before the changes, the system's independent board of directors had final say on budget, executive hires and compensation packages.
The proposed changes come after Cook County Health & Hospital System's board of directors voted unanimously to oust Jay Shannon, MD, as CEO, and after news broke that he was being offered a $542,000 severance package and an annual pension of more than $250,000.
It also comes on the heels of Cook County's CFO Ekerete Akpan resigning.