Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced Tuesday that the 56-member jobs staff will be cut to 33. She claimed that some employees at the President's Office of Employment Training, or POET, were hired for their political connections, not competence.
Preckwinkle said the new agency will be called Cook County Works.
"We have a real opportunity to redefine Cook County as the economic hub of the Midwest. Workforce development and job training are particularly critical as we continue to struggle through a prolonged economic downturn," said Preckwinkle.
The restructured agency will serve military veterans, ex-offenders, and other adults as well as young people.
