Every year your Cook County government budgets and spends more than $3 billion. Your County's budget impacts your life every day. All of its funding comes from you - your sales and property taxes, your purchase fees on gas and other goods. All of its spending exists to support you, too. County funding drives the forest preserve district, the jail, public hospitals and clinics, the Cook County courts and dozens of other civic institutions designed to make our region prosperous, efficient and fair.

Yet too many residents don't understand what Cook County government is or what it does. They keep asking, "where exactly does our money go?"

Commissioner John Fritchey created this budget transparency tool to answer that question, but it's only a first step. We need your help. What questions do you have about County spending? What do you want to know about the County budget that this visualization isn't explaining to you? What do you think of our spending? What can we do to make Cook County government better?

The department is court ordered to complete a home investigation to determine if potential adoptive family whom is seeking permanency is suitable for placement. This data represents the number of home investigations undertaken by this office in 2008.

The department is court ordered to complete a home investigation to determine if potential adoptive family whom is seeking permanency is suitable for placement. This data represents the number of investigations undertaken by this office in 2008

When an individual or family wish to adopt, they must obtain fingerprint clearance. This Office is the pass through agency from the FBI, Illinois State Police and the courts. The data represents the number of people fingerprinted by this office for the purposes of adoption in 2008.

PIN information for 2010

PIN information for 2009

County general fund expenditures by major category by year. Actual data for 1996 to 2010. 2011 is estimated as of August, 2011. 2012 is preliminary as of August, 2011.

Trails within the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. To view or use these shapefiles, compression software and special GIS software, such as ESRI ArcGIS, is required.