As promised, retired Cook County Judge Julia Nowicki spoke to the board of county commissioners yesterday about her most recent hiring report. Nowicki, who was appointed to oversee hiring practices as part of the patronage settlement with the county, told the board that she had "information about current illegal patronage," and that she is still receiving dozens of allegations of illegal patronage hiring. She also discussed the need to hire more staff for the county's HR department, saying that the lack of adequate staff has negatively impacted the county's ability to police itself. more ›