Cook County named Top 10 Digitial County

Cook County has been named one of America's Top 10 Digital Counties with a population of more than 1 million by the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute focused on technology policy.

The award recognizes the county for its investments in broadband, remote collaboration and digital resident engagement.

Among the innovative technology initiatives Cook County brought forward this year were a COVID-19 Dashboard and "Social Vulnerability Index" (SVI) Interactive Map, officials said. The COVID-19 Dashboard provides direct access to critical information about coronavirus deaths in the county, and the SVI Map is an interactive way to share information about which communities likely will need the most support during a catastrophic event such as a pandemic.

"I'm grateful to be recognized for our efforts to leverage technology to support Cook County's mission," said Tom Lynch, the county's chief information officer.

Other county initiatives noted by CDG include the launch of department-level public dashboards to track performance goals with open data; new cybersecurity policies from the county's Information Security Working Group; and innovative approaches to technology infrastructure.