Sean M. Morrison
| Sean M. Morrison | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from the 17th District | |
|
Assumed office July 22, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Liz Doody Gorman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 8, 1967 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Lora |
| Residence | Palos Park, Illinois |
| Alma mater | Moraine Valley Community College |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Sean M. Morrison, Republican from Palos Park (Illinois), was appointed Cook County Commissioner of the 17th District on July 22, 2015, to serve out the unexpired term of former commissioner Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman who resigned her office to accept a position in the private sector. Sean brings an extensive business background to the Cook County Board of Commissioners and has made fiscal responsibility and innovative reform key pillars of his agenda. Morrison is the owner of Morrison Security Corporation, Inc., Morrison Security Group, Inc., and Morrison Investigations, Inc., all Chicago area companies.
Professional/Security Background
Sean Morrison is the CEO and Founder of Morrison Security Corporation, Morrison Security Group & Morrison Investigations, Inc. Sean has been in the Security Industry since 1986, spending 7 years in the Corporate Retail Loss Prevention field as a District Loss Prevention Manager for two major Retail Establishments with average sales exceeding two billion dollars annually. Sean has been an owner/partner in the Private Security Industry since 1993, holding the positions of Director of Operations, Vice President of Operations, and President of a Private Security Firm. In 1999, he became the sole owner of Morrison Security. Sean attended Moraine Valley College where he majored in Business and Accounting.
His experience in the Security Industry includes clients such as, Motorola, Coca-Cola, Sysco, DOD, ACOE, The Art Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University, South African Counsel General, Chicago Midway Airport, The Field Museum, Twentieth Century Fox, Amsted Industries, Toys R Us, Just for Feet and Staples to name a few. Morrison Security was recognized as a Fortune 500 fastest growing firms in 2008 & Sean was recognized as one of Illinois’ top twenty-five businessmen.
He has served as a Board Member on several Security Organizations and has received numerous awards and commendations for outstanding service and expertise in the security industry. He is a member of the American Society of Industrial Security, Illinois Security Chiefs Association and the Associated Detectives of Illinois. He was featured on the PAX Television program "Primary Focus", as a Security Expert in the area of client confidentiality during executive protection details. Commissioner Morrision has appeared on NBC, ABC, FOX, and WGN news networks as an insider pundit regarding high profile protection clients. He has also been featured in Crain’s business magazine and several newspapers discussing The Effects of Terrorism and how it relates to the security industry.
Cook County Commissioner
Appointment to the Cook County Board of Commissioners
On July 22, 2015, a special meeting of Republican Committeemen representing the 11 townships within the suburban 17th District met to appoint the replacement for Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman who stepped down as commissioner on July 20, 2015 to accept a position in the private sector. The meeting which was held at Hackney’s restaurant in Palos Park drew a 'standing room only' crowd of nearly 75 people.
Sean M. Morrison, CEO and founder of Morrison Security Corporation and Palos Township Republican Committeeman, was the only candidate to submit his candidate credentials for nomination and was overwhelmingly selected by the 17th District appointment committee. "I’m honored to be given the opportunity to represent the citizens of the 17th District. I know expectations are high for me and I will do my very best to meet those expectations. I plan to bring a business man’s approach to the county board and make fiscal responsibility a pillar of my agenda," said Morrison.
The Honorable Judge James Reilly of Cook County was on-hand to immediately swear-in Morrison as the newest commissioner of the suburban 17th District. Morrison will fill the remaining three years of former commissioner Gorman’s four-year term which she was re-elected to in November 2014.
Commissioner Morrison hit the ground running in his first month in office with introductory meetings with each county elected official and the staffs for every county department and agency. "Right now, I’m making the needed preparations for the upcoming 2016 budget process which begins in just a couple of months," stated Morrison.
|
Cook County Board Committee Assignments
|
Forest Preserve District Board Committee Assignments
|
Legislative Initiatives
The Cook County Board of Commissioners closed out the 2015 calendar year with the passage of three important reform-minded initiatives at the December 16 board meeting. "Having worked closely with the administration over the last several months, I’m very pleased to see these three initiatives passed and look forward to their implementation as it will move Cook County government in the right direction of reform, efficiency and consolidation," remarked Commissioner Morrison.
The board approved the $2.3 million purchase of an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) to facilitate communications between the different software applications used by each of the County’s justice agencies: Chief Judge, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Public Defender, Sheriff, State’s Attorney and the Cook County Bureau of Technology, which operates under the Office of County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. The Bureau of Technology was given approval by the Board for the implementation of ESB software and hardware, as well as development and managed services for data exchanges among County criminal justice agencies.
As Vice Chair of the Technology & Innovation Committee, Commissioner Morrison sees consolidation and modernization of IT services as critical to raising efficiencies and cutting long-term costs for county government. And, he sees the ESB as a significant step which will improve communications and data exchanges between multiple county agencies while providing significant cost savings.
A new ordinance approved by the county board will require businesses that store hazardous chemicals such as acids, solvents and other highly toxic chemicals to report the type of substance in the facility, the location of the chemicals and how the chemicals are stored. This information will provide a measure of safety for nearby residents and first responders. The information collected will be kept by the Cook County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and will be available to first responders.
Upon its approval, Commissioner Morrison said, "This ordinance is a very important public safety issue for our communities and our first responders who many times walk into an unknown location which presents a very dangerous and life-threatening situation as we saw recently with the tragic loss of Chicago Firefighter Daniel Capuano."
The third item approved at the December board meeting involves the county reducing and streamlining its vehicle fleet operations and creating a more efficient system of vehicle purchase, use and maintenance that will save taxpayers money. President Preckwinkle’s administration will now partner with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office on vehicle maintenance with a more efficient system to save money and promote use of ‘green’ vehicles. The Sheriff’s Office will now maintain and service all county passenger vehicles.
The three reform initiatives passed in December come on the heels of the November 18 passage of the FY2016 Cook County Budget which included four new taxes which was in addition to the 1% Sales Tax increase passed in mid-July just prior to Commissioner Morrison’s appointment to the board.
After several weeks of budget hearings and negotiations, the FY2016 Budget was passed but with significant opposition. "It was my goal to see the county budget passed without any new taxes but unfortunately that was not the case. That’s why I could not support it. Those targeted businesses will now face an additional financial burden which in my view is not beneficial to the long term health of our county’s economy," Morrison concluded.
According to Morrison, raising taxes can no longer be the primary remedy to addressing fiscal matters because creating new tax revenue streams inevitably leads to new spending. He believes the path to fiscal stability needs to be built squarely around strong fiscal reform policies across all areas of Cook County government along with fostering a positive economic environment where businesses can thrive.
Republican leadership
On April 13, 2016, Sean was elected Chairman of the Cook County Republican Party. He has served as the elected Republican Committeeman of Palos Township since 2012 which includes the communities of Bridgeview, Hickory Hills, Orland Park, Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Palos Park, Willow Springs and Worth. He also serves as the Republican State Central Committeeman for the 3rd Congressional District.
Operation Restoring Innocence
Sean is a founding member and executive board officer of "Operation Restoring Innocence" a 501-C3 organization dedicated to recovering children from the world of child sex trafficking. In 2009, Morrison Investigations Inc. created an elite team of private investigators dedicated to networking with the FBI and the Chicago Police Department's Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, religious leaders and members of the community to fight human trafficking using a front-line approach. Their efforts have led to the safe recovery of dozens of victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking and the arrest of traffickers. Their activities include working free-of-charge on behalf of the victims and their families, conducting covert surveillance and gathering information vital to locating victims and identifying potential traffickers, sharing information with law enforcement, holding public forums educating the general public, teenagers, and law enforcement about human trafficking. The organization maintains a 24/7 toll free phone center designed to encourage the public to provide tips and information pertaining to victims and offenders. In 2011, Sean received the Humanitarian of the Year award from the LEADS organization for his many years of volunteer work and his company’s Pro-Bono services in the field of missing and exploited children, namely "human trafficking of children".
Family
Commissioner Morrison is a resident of Palos Park where he resides with his wife, Lora, and their two young daughters.