2024 Chicago City Budget Hearings [Dept. of Streets and Sanitation, Dept. of Procurement Services] MORNING

Finance

Friday, Oct. 20, 2023
10:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m. CDT

121 N La Salle St, Chicago, Illinois 60602 Chicago, IL 60602 (Directions)

Chicago City Hall, 2nd floor, Council Chambers

This is an assignment to document part of Chicago City Council’s 2024 budget process. Because most departmental budget hearings last the better part of a work day, we have broken each day into morning and afternoon assignments (if you want to cover a full day you can apply to both). A lunch break is usually taken sometime between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. If you are assigned we will follow up via email to coordinate further.

Budget meetings are a lot easier to follow if you’ve done your pre-research! Check out The Chicago Documenters Guide to the 2024 City Budget Process (https://tinyurl.com/ChiDocs2024BudgetGuide) in preparation for this assignment.

You have the option of documenting this meeting in person or remotely.

If you choose to attend in person, an additional hour will be added to your total assignment hours. You may be asked to provide government-issued photo ID and to go through a metal detector.

If you choose to document remotely, the meeting will be live-streamed at https://www.chicityclerk.com/.

At this link, scroll down to “Meeting Notices.” Look for “Watch now” and click on the link with the meeting title to go to a livestream page.

If you don’t see a link for the meeting, you may be early or the meeting may be starting late. Wait a few moments and try refreshing your Internet tab.

Applicants who attended the Oct. 10 training will be prioritized and will receive an extra hour of pay on each assignment they submit. A video recording of that training can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nqun6oXam8.

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Live reporting by Monique Petty-Ashmeade

The city is on track to plant over 18,000 trees by the end of this year as part of an initiative to increase Chicago’s tree canopy according to Cole Stallard, commissioner of the Department of Streets and Sanitation.

mo✨

Good morning everyone I’m Monique and I’ll be live-tweeting today’s City Budget Hearing for the Department of Streets & Sanitation/Department of Procurement Services at City Hall for #CHIdocumemters @CHIdocumenters. The meeting is set to start at 10AM

09:50 AM Oct 20, 2023 CDT

mo✨ @parttymewriter 2/15

Laura Sabronsky from Savior Ash is giving public comment requesting that the Ash trees around the city. There is a concern for public health and well-being. Funding has not been given towards this effort

mo✨ @parttymewriter 3/15

Public comment given by Jessica Jackson expressing lack of care and sanitation for South and West Side while dealing with migrant influx in the city. She stresses the importance property taxes being driven down on the South and West Side of the city due to negligence.

mo✨ @parttymewriter 4/15

Michael Young Bay provides his public comment agreeing with Jackson and adds on to lack of street sanitation on South & West Side and city segregation. Bay calls out lack of respect from alderpersons. Public comment has ran over.

mo✨ @parttymewriter 5/15

General public comments surrounded street sanitation and influx of migration proposal for porta potties as a solution to street sanitation.

mo✨ @parttymewriter 6/15

COFA presentation begins showcasing budget for the year and highlighted issues. Some being Alley maintenance, tree trimming, recycling. Below is the budget in past years as well as this years proposed budget w/ $344.74 million.

mo✨ @parttymewriter 7/15

Commissioner of Street Department and Sanitation Cole Stallard is speaking on environmental efforts done so far. City is on track to plant 20,000 trees by the end of the year as part of the city’s environmental equity plan.

mo✨ @parttymewriter 8/15

Stallard expressed increase in tree trimmings by 172% compared to fall of 2022. The city has trimmed down 53,188 trees in the city. Additionally 3-1-1 has been consistent on rodent control.

mo✨ @parttymewriter 9/15

Questions of reimbursement for services such as NASCAR, Lollapolooza and other special events in the city. Council expressed they have a cost of service however did not share financial rundown.

mo✨ @parttymewriter 10/15

Questions has been posed to the department about snow plow trucks for the winter. Commissioner expressed that it is in the works but not fully laid out yet. An additional 20 sweepers and 37 more garbage trucks by the end of the year.

mo✨ @parttymewriter 11/15

As winter approaches there are roughly 800 drivers that will be dispersed throughout the city to keep roads clear through the winter.

mo✨ @parttymewriter 12/15

Reverting back to forestry in the city. Crews are being added. Suggestion made to have a trucking crew in each ward to quicken the process on tree trimmings and up-keeping throughout the city.

mo✨ @parttymewriter 13/15

Commissioner expressed assisting in public safety (snow plowing, street blocking, etc) $200,000 difference from last year. Overtime spent on public safety is based on seasons.

mo✨ @parttymewriter 14/15

Tree gridding is the next topic on the agenda. A projected 90,000 trees are set to be trimmed in the next 12 months. With an ultimate 5 year plan to have every tree in the city trimmed. 75,000 trees are to planted over 5 years. 40,000 have been planted last year.

mo✨ @parttymewriter 15/15

Moving forward effort for community outreach so that citizens can have trees in their areas. Language barriers serve as an issue and therefore working through that by referring to the trees as “Street Trees” instead of Parkway trees.

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Note-taking by Holland Harmon

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Attachments

2 attachments

Meeting details

By India Daniels ⋅ October 20th, 2023

Video recording

By India Daniels ⋅ October 20th, 2023

Agency Information

Chicago City Council

chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov

(312) 744-3166

@ChiCouncil

See Documenters reporting

The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago and consists of the Mayor and Aldermen elected from each of the City’s fifty wards. Source

If you attend a meeting in person, be prepared to go through a security checkpoint and show photo ID.

Meetings are also livestreamed at https://www.chicityclerk.com/.

At this link, scroll down to “Meeting Notices.” Look for “Watch now” and click on the link with the meeting title to go to a livestream page. If you don’t see a link for the meeting, you may be early or the meeting may be starting late. Wait a few moments and try refreshing your Internet tab.

Recordings of past City Council meetings may be found here: https://vimeo.com/user100351763/videos/sort:date.

See also: “What to Expect at a Meeting of Chicago’s City Council” via the Better Government Association.