[remote or in person; 10am-1:30pm] 2025 Chicago budget hearing: Chicago Fire Department
Chicago City Council
Finance
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024
10:00 a.m. — 1:30 p.m. CST
121 N La Salle St Chicago, IL 60602 (Directions)
City Hall, 2nd floor, Council Chambers
This is an assignment to document a 3.5-hour portion of Chicago City Council’s 2025 budget process.
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. Please note that there may be increased security and restrictions; use a clear bag if possible and leave large water bottles, thermoses and pepper spray at home. 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.
Other notes and pre-research resources
- For more info and resources, see our Chicago Documenters Guide to the City’s 2025 Budget Process (in 2024).
- Chicago Councilmatic: This civic data org’s website has a lot of the information that can be found on the city’s database in a more user-friendly format, as well as context on City Council and alders.
- Applicants who completed 2025 budget season training on Oct. 21 or 22 will receive an extra hour of pay on each assignment they submit.
- New this year, we are capping departmental budget hearing assignments at 3.5 hours (plus 2 hours outside work). Please take note of the time slot indicated in the assignment title. You will be paid for the full 3.5 hours regardless of whether the meeting starts late or a break occurs, but you should conclude your coverage when the end of your shift arrives. In the event that a meeting runs past the end of the afternoon shift, we will assign someone to take notes on the remaining portion. More details here
Check the source website for additional information
Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team
Note-taking by
Brooke Greene
The Chicago Fire Department says is engaged in an aggressive recruitment outreach program to youth of color to combat the lack of diversity in the fire department.
Live reporting by
Caeli Kean
The Chicago Fire Department says is engaged in an aggressive recruitment outreach program to youth of color to combat the lack of diversity in the fire department.
Caeli Kean
@keancaeli
Good morning, I'll be covering today's 2025 Chicago Budget Hearing for the Chicago Fire Department, for @CHIdocumenters
10:24 AM Nov 19, 2024 CST
See the 2025 Chicago Fire Department Budget Recommendations here, on page 356: #ChiDocumenters @CHIDocumenters chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…
chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…
@CHIdocumenters Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt began with an overview presentation of CFD's budget. The floor is now open for alders to pose questions to the commissioner.
@CHIdocumenters 3rd ward Alder Pat Dowell expresses concern over possible medical leave abuse. Dowell says she learned there were over 237 fire personnel on lay-up (or medical status), amounting to around 5% of the dept. At the same time, Dowell says, their overtime cost has gone up.
@CHIdocumenters Alder Dowell asks if a data analyst will be hired for the department, and the commissioner confirms that a data analyst is under the recommendations for new hires in 2025.
@CHIdocumenters Ald. Dowell asks about whether CFD's contract accounts for more personnel in ambulances and trucks, and the paramedic shortage. Nance-Holt responds that she can't speak on Local 2 negotiations, but that CFD does need more personnel in the trucks, to account for injury + time off.
@CHIdocumenters 1st Ward Alder La Spata noted 2023 expenditures for overtime was around $77 million. La Spata points out the 2025 budget for only half the year is $45 million, and asks if that is realistic. Nance-Holt says no, it's a placeholder amount.
@CHIdocumenters Commissioner Nance-Holt says CFD is trying to cut overtime wherever possible. @CFDMedia
@CHIdocumenters CFD says they're applying for more grants than they ever have before, from the federal level to private grants.
@CHIdocumenters At the start of 2021, Chicago was allocated $1.887 billion in federal COVID relief funds (ARPA). The city will loose any ARPA funds it doesn't allocate by the end of 2024.
@CHIdocumenters Both Ald. Dowell & Ald. Moore asked why CFD didn't qualify for ARPA funds. The department responds that it wasn't a priority locally compared to the city's other departments.
@CHIdocumenters The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was a $350 billion stimulus package signed into law in 2021, "to deliver comprehensive relief to individuals, businesses, and governments affected by the COVID-19 pandemic."
@CHIdocumenters Mayor Brandon Johnson said, "When I took office, I made it a priority to ensure that federal resources would benefit the communities most impacted by both the pandemic and the long-standing inequities it has intensified..." continued:
@CHIdocumenters "...My administration’s plan for this historic stimulus package includes investing over $576 million in initiatives aimed at assisting Chicago communities recover from the pandemic"—Brandon Johnson. This image shows the budget breakdown of how the city planned to use these funds.
@CHIdocumenters To view full annual reports for how the City of Chicago has allocated ARPA funds since 2021, visit: experience.arcgis.com/experience/0f8…
experience.arcgis.com/experience/0f8…
@CHIdocumenters Chair Nicole Lee asks about the impact of promotions on overtime. The commissioner responds that promotions would certainly make an impact, but that overtime challenges are a cyclical issue.
@CHIdocumenters 22nd ward Ald. Rodriquez says the department's efforts to diversify hiring "looks better than it is." He requests, through the chair, demographic information on promotions.
@CHIdocumenters The department responds that they can't go into detail, but that promotions are an area where they are making progress with Local 2.
@CHIdocumenters 40th ward Alder Andre Vasquez asks what the Urban Area Security Initiative is. CFD Assistant Commissioner Bethany Hand says, "it's one of our largest grants." The initiative is part of a counter-terrorist effort by Homeland Security.
@CHIdocumenters Alderman Nugent, a well-known anti-immigrant alder, who has called for an "accelerated moving event" of a homeless encampment in her ward, tried to get CFD to say that having a propane tank in a park is illegal, to criminalise homeless people trying to stay warm. @39thWardUnited
@CHIdocumenters Nugent said, "I don't think we should be having homeless encampments at parks." This is coming from the same alder who refused to attend a hearing on the Bring Chicago Home ordinance last year to address rising homelessness in the city. @CHIdocumenters
@CHIdocumenters By refusing to support solutions to homelessness in the city, & trying to both drive out homeless encampments and criminalise homeless people who make fires to stay warm during the winter, Nugent is unashamedly proving herself to be anti-immigrant & anti-homeless. @CHIdocumenters
@CHIdocumenters Alder Jeanette Taylor, 20th ward, expresses concern that CFD is not hiring enough Black firefighters. "It seems like to me... and this is not about commissioner Holt... it's a part of a system that keeps Black people from being firefighters."
@CHIdocumenters Commissioner Nance-Holt agrees, saying that "affirmative action has been struck down by the courts," in all departments... from the fire department to universities. Another CFD rep says, "The courts have deemed it no longer appropriate... along with the DOJ."
@CHIdocumenters Commissioner Nance-Holt says that, under Mayor Harold Washington, the situation was different. But now, CFD has to work excessively hard to recruit people into the department.
@CHIdocumenters Ald. Jeanette Taylor asks, why the Fire Advisory Board was never reinstated? A CFD rep shares that the mayor's office is involved in the process of filling that board with the appropriate community representatives. Chair Lee asks for the status of that board through the chair.
@CHIdocumenters Alder Taylor also says that no-one ever addressed the fact that applicants to CFD got "failed drug-test results" for a drug test they never took. This was not addressed by the department.
@CHIdocumenters The Chicago Fire Department frequently referred to the Urban Area Security Initiative, which, as mentioned before, is a counter-terrorism initiative under the Homeland Security Grant Program. @CHIdocumenters
@CHIdocumenters If you look at the City of Chicago's 2024 Grant Detail, the actual amount the city was granted by the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) is not disclosed. @CHIdocumenters chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…
chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…
@CHIdocumenters But if you add up every single line item (coincidentally very spread out and opaque throughout the document) Johnson recommended a total of $169,413,583 be appropriated to various departments throughout the city from the UASI grant. @CHIdocumenters #ChiDocumenters
@CHIdocumenters That means that more than $169 million are being funnelled into the City of Chicago by a grant aimed at "preventing, protecting against, mitigating, responding to and recovering from acts of terrorism and other threats." @CHIdocumenters #ChiDocumenters
@CHIdocumenters Throughout the hearing, several alders asked for information that the department could not share due to ongoing contract negations by Local 2, the Chicago Fire Department Union.
@CHIdocumenters Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 has been in a 3-year fight for a new contract that would win them more paramedics, higher pay, and 20 more ambulances. While the city doles out millions in overtime pay for paramedics, they refuse to hire more paramedics. @CHIdocumenters
@CHIdocumenters The Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 applied for a permit to protest at the DNC to raise their contract demands. Their permit was denied twice by the city. @CHIdocumenters #ChiDocumenters @CFDMedia
@CHIdocumenters Paramedics & fire fighers also marched at NASCAR, a month before the DNC, to bring attention to their fight and the fact that they've been working without a contract for years. @CHIdocumenters #ChiDocumenters @CFDMedia
Live reporting by
Caeli Kean
The Chicago Fire Department says is engaged in an aggressive recruitment outreach program to youth of color to combat the lack of diversity in the fire department.
Caeli Kean
@keancaeli
Good morning, I'll be covering today's 2025 Chicago Budget Hearing for the Chicago Fire Department, for @CHIdocumenters
10:24 AM Nov 19, 2024 CST
See the 2025 Chicago Fire Department Budget Recommendations here, on page 356: #ChiDocumenters @CHIDocumenters chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…
chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…
@CHIdocumenters Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt began with an overview presentation of CFD's budget. The floor is now open for alders to pose questions to the commissioner.
@CHIdocumenters 3rd ward Alder Pat Dowell expresses concern over possible medical leave abuse. Dowell says she learned there were over 237 fire personnel on lay-up (or medical status), amounting to around 5% of the dept. At the same time, Dowell says, their overtime cost has gone up.
@CHIdocumenters Alder Dowell asks if a data analyst will be hired for the department, and the commissioner confirms that a data analyst is under the recommendations for new hires in 2025.
@CHIdocumenters Ald. Dowell asks about whether CFD's contract accounts for more personnel in ambulances and trucks, and the paramedic shortage. Nance-Holt responds that she can't speak on Local 2 negotiations, but that CFD does need more personnel in the trucks, to account for injury + time off.
@CHIdocumenters 1st Ward Alder La Spata noted 2023 expenditures for overtime was around $77 million. La Spata points out the 2025 budget for only half the year is $45 million, and asks if that is realistic. Nance-Holt says no, it's a placeholder amount.
@CHIdocumenters Commissioner Nance-Holt says CFD is trying to cut overtime wherever possible. @CFDMedia
@CHIdocumenters CFD says they're applying for more grants than they ever have before, from the federal level to private grants.
@CHIdocumenters At the start of 2021, Chicago was allocated $1.887 billion in federal COVID relief funds (ARPA). The city will loose any ARPA funds it doesn't allocate by the end of 2024.
@CHIdocumenters Both Ald. Dowell & Ald. Moore asked why CFD didn't qualify for ARPA funds. The department responds that it wasn't a priority locally compared to the city's other departments.
@CHIdocumenters The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was a $350 billion stimulus package signed into law in 2021, "to deliver comprehensive relief to individuals, businesses, and governments affected by the COVID-19 pandemic."
@CHIdocumenters Mayor Brandon Johnson said, "When I took office, I made it a priority to ensure that federal resources would benefit the communities most impacted by both the pandemic and the long-standing inequities it has intensified..." continued:
@CHIdocumenters "...My administration’s plan for this historic stimulus package includes investing over $576 million in initiatives aimed at assisting Chicago communities recover from the pandemic"—Brandon Johnson. This image shows the budget breakdown of how the city planned to use these funds.
@CHIdocumenters To view full annual reports for how the City of Chicago has allocated ARPA funds since 2021, visit: experience.arcgis.com/experience/0f8…
experience.arcgis.com/experience/0f8…
@CHIdocumenters Chair Nicole Lee asks about the impact of promotions on overtime. The commissioner responds that promotions would certainly make an impact, but that overtime challenges are a cyclical issue.
@CHIdocumenters 22nd ward Ald. Rodriquez says the department's efforts to diversify hiring "looks better than it is." He requests, through the chair, demographic information on promotions.
@CHIdocumenters The department responds that they can't go into detail, but that promotions are an area where they are making progress with Local 2.
@CHIdocumenters 40th ward Alder Andre Vasquez asks what the Urban Area Security Initiative is. CFD Assistant Commissioner Bethany Hand says, "it's one of our largest grants." The initiative is part of a counter-terrorist effort by Homeland Security.
@CHIdocumenters Alderman Nugent, a well-known anti-immigrant alder, who has called for an "accelerated moving event" of a homeless encampment in her ward, tried to get CFD to say that having a propane tank in a park is illegal, to criminalise homeless people trying to stay warm. @39thWardUnited
@CHIdocumenters Nugent said, "I don't think we should be having homeless encampments at parks." This is coming from the same alder who refused to attend a hearing on the Bring Chicago Home ordinance last year to address rising homelessness in the city. @CHIdocumenters
@CHIdocumenters By refusing to support solutions to homelessness in the city, & trying to both drive out homeless encampments and criminalise homeless people who make fires to stay warm during the winter, Nugent is unashamedly proving herself to be anti-immigrant & anti-homeless. @CHIdocumenters
@CHIdocumenters Alder Jeanette Taylor, 20th ward, expresses concern that CFD is not hiring enough Black firefighters. "It seems like to me... and this is not about commissioner Holt... it's a part of a system that keeps Black people from being firefighters."
@CHIdocumenters Commissioner Nance-Holt agrees, saying that "affirmative action has been struck down by the courts," in all departments... from the fire department to universities. Another CFD rep says, "The courts have deemed it no longer appropriate... along with the DOJ."
@CHIdocumenters Commissioner Nance-Holt says that, under Mayor Harold Washington, the situation was different. But now, CFD has to work excessively hard to recruit people into the department.
@CHIdocumenters Ald. Jeanette Taylor asks, why the Fire Advisory Board was never reinstated? A CFD rep shares that the mayor's office is involved in the process of filling that board with the appropriate community representatives. Chair Lee asks for the status of that board through the chair.
@CHIdocumenters Alder Taylor also says that no-one ever addressed the fact that applicants to CFD got "failed drug-test results" for a drug test they never took. This was not addressed by the department.
@CHIdocumenters The Chicago Fire Department frequently referred to the Urban Area Security Initiative, which, as mentioned before, is a counter-terrorism initiative under the Homeland Security Grant Program. @CHIdocumenters
@CHIdocumenters If you look at the City of Chicago's 2024 Grant Detail, the actual amount the city was granted by the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) is not disclosed. @CHIdocumenters chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…
chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…
@CHIdocumenters But if you add up every single line item (coincidentally very spread out and opaque throughout the document) Johnson recommended a total of $169,413,583 be appropriated to various departments throughout the city from the UASI grant. @CHIdocumenters #ChiDocumenters
@CHIdocumenters That means that more than $169 million are being funnelled into the City of Chicago by a grant aimed at "preventing, protecting against, mitigating, responding to and recovering from acts of terrorism and other threats." @CHIdocumenters #ChiDocumenters
@CHIdocumenters Throughout the hearing, several alders asked for information that the department could not share due to ongoing contract negations by Local 2, the Chicago Fire Department Union.
@CHIdocumenters Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 has been in a 3-year fight for a new contract that would win them more paramedics, higher pay, and 20 more ambulances. While the city doles out millions in overtime pay for paramedics, they refuse to hire more paramedics. @CHIdocumenters
@CHIdocumenters The Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 applied for a permit to protest at the DNC to raise their contract demands. Their permit was denied twice by the city. @CHIdocumenters #ChiDocumenters @CFDMedia
@CHIdocumenters Paramedics & fire fighers also marched at NASCAR, a month before the DNC, to bring attention to their fight and the fact that they've been working without a contract for years. @CHIdocumenters #ChiDocumenters @CFDMedia
Agency Information
Chicago City Council
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.
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