Cook County Board to Interview Potential Administrators March 5

At their February 11 regular board meeting, Cook County Commissioners ranked their candidates for the Administra­tor position from one to five. Numbers, not names, identi­fied the candidates. The com­missioners had previously re­ceived and reviewed packets of information, including a work personality index, resume, and the consultant’s video inter­view with each candidate.

At the Cook County Board Special meeting on Monday, February 3, Pat Melvin of DDA Human Resources, Inc. informed the commissioners that he received and reviewed 41 applications for the County Administrator position. At that time, he had narrowed the field to 12 top candidates, but sev­eral dropped themselves from consideration before the 11th, leaving eight candidates to rate.

There was little in common in the rankings of candidates: Commissioners Gamble and Sorlie preferred candidate number six in the first place. Commissioner Sullivan pre­ferred number two, White number 4, and Mills number 7. The other preferences were more diverse.

Commissioner Gamble de­sired to add a Core Values As­sessment for each candidate before the March interview sessions. On Monday, February 17, the commissioners received a “Core Values Assessment” form that commissioners and candidates will complete. The form states, “Core values are the most important values that guide a person’s actions and decisions. Please select your top ten (10) top core values and list 1-10 in importance to you.”

The form lists and defines 33 values, which are Acceptance, Accountability, Achieve­ment, Altruism, Apprecia­tion, Authenticity, Authority, Commitment, Compassion, Competence, Courage, Inqui­ry, Determination, Empathy, Ethics, Fairness, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Honesty, Humility, Influence, Integrity, Kindness, Objectivity, Open-mindedness, Resilience, Resourcefulness, Servant Leadership, Spiritual­ity, Stewardship, Trustworthi­ness, Truth, and Wisdom.

Details of the March inter­views have not been finalized as of this week’s deadline. The Northshore Journal will pro­vide a follow up in a future is­sue.