[remote or in person; 10am-1:30pm] 2025 Chicago budget hearing: Department of Water Management & Chicago Department of Aviation

Chicago City Council
Finance

Friday, Nov. 22, 2024
10:00 a.m. — 1:30 p.m. CST

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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 Susan Carlotta Ellis

Lead service line replacement, Restaurants at the airport

View notes
Live reporting by Parker Garlough

Parker Garlough
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 2/55
DWM's proposed budget by program:
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 3/55
The meeting has been called to order.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 4/55
The public comment section has begun.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 5/55
George Blakemore said that many people he has seen comment in previous meetings are not here, which disappointed him. "This is how government is supposed to happen... we are dealing with millions of dollars."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 6/55
"I'm here to speak about my loved one, Ramon Banks, who has been wrongfully detained in Cook County Jail for a year," the next speaker said. She said two police officers had planted a weapon on him and falsified their police report to indicate a confession.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 7/55
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 8/55
DWM Commissioner Randy Conner, in response to a question from Alderperson O'Shea about aging infrastructure: "Roseland pumping station was built in 1912. We've done some upgrades, but we're always looking for what else needs to be done."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 9/55
"We're looking at billions of dollars of upgrades. We're looking at whether it makes sense to repair them or just start fresh," so they're doing an infrastructure assessment to determine this at each pumping station.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 10/55
O'Shea: "Is there a plan to get some of that money back" from delinquent water payments? How much money is it? Conner: "It's around $600 million that we're working to try to recover. We're working with the finance team."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 11/55
O'Shea: 120 municipalities get their water through us. Can we talk about how we're retaining them and the Joliet pipeline? Conner: "Those are moving forward, a little bit behind schedule."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 12/55
chicagoreader.com/news-politics/…
chicagoreader.com/news-politics/…
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 13/55
Chairperson Pat Dowell: "There were drastic (~$30 million) cuts to the Bureau of Water Supply, and you created this new division for pumping station. Is that just a renaming of a department?" Conner: "Yes, to give us a truer cost of our pumping."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 14/55
Dowell: "How do you plan to fill your 372 vacancies? How many do you expect to fill in in 2025? Can any vacant positions be cut?" Conner: "We hire about 200 people a year, to counter our aging workforce and those that move on after gaining experience."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 15/55
Conner: "We're doing a study to make sure we have the right number of people in the right places and the right titles." He expects the study to be complete second quarter of 2025.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 16/55
Chairperson Gil Villegas: "We're number one in the country for lead service lines... We're competing with other municipalities for $20-$30 billion of grants from the federal government." Chicago is receiving $14 million in 2025, "as a first installment" of foreseen future grants.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 17/55
That $14 million is out of $230 million allocated to the state of Illinois, Conner said. Villegas: If the state issued a mandate to fix the lead pipes, and we're not even getting 10% of their money, we need to get more aggressive in Springfield.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 18/55
news.wttw.com/2021/03/24/chi…
news.wttw.com/2021/03/24/chi…
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 19/55
Conner: Because "aquafers are starting to dry up downstate," several municipalities are interested in purchasing water from Chicago. "We're in constant conversation with all of our suburban customers."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 20/55
Alderperson Nicole Lee: "How many water test kits were requested [by Chicago residents? What languages are they available in?" She did not get an immediate answer but will be followed up with later.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 21/55
Chairperson Jeanette Taylor: Why don't we cut off water for municipalities that owe millions of dollars, but we cut off a resident's water once they owe $2,000? Conner: "If I can recall, we haven't done any water shutdowns since COVID. If we did, they were for sanitary issues."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 22/55
Taylor: "Are you still going to schools and bringing students down to see the water facilities?" Conner: "Yes, if there's a tour, we absolutely accommodate that."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 23/55
Alderperson Emma Mitts: "There's one thing on my mind, and that's the flood that occurred two years ago. What are you doing to alleviate that?"
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 24/55
Conner: "I wasn't there for the 2023 flood, but I was there for the 2024 flood." After the 2023 flood, DWM did $1.6 million of work. The number of standing water calls went from 7,000 standing water calls in the 2023 flood to 700, "so we know it's working."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 25/55
Alderperson Byron Sigcho-Lopez: "Might there be federal funding changes that will affect our ability to perform at a local level? How are we shifting our priorities in anticipation?"
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 26/55
Conner: "Until they come down, I can't concern myself with that. I have to keep pushing with all the work we need to get done."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 27/55
Sigcho-Lopez: "What demographics do you have in the department? Broken down into levels of management as well." Conner: "Our department is 96% union. White 41%, Black 35%, Hispanic 22%, Asian 2%, multiple races 1%, Native American 0%, 1% no data."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 28/55
Conner: Most of our municipalities that we sell water to consistently pay on time. There are four that have not, and I cannot comment much on them because they are in litigation.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 29/55
Sigcho-Lopez: "How can we make water bills more equitable to seniors and low-income families?" Conner: "That's an ongoing conversation. There's no silver bullet. We have to speak to the comptroller and make sure any solutions are sustainable for years to come."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 30/55
Conner: "I think Chicago does a good job of maintaining the water rates we have. We're the second or third lowest in the country."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 31/55
Conner: "Many of the trees in Chicago are not urban trees. They were planned 100, 150 years ago when nobody could fathom what the city of Chicago would look like today... As you plant more trees suited for urban environment, the roots don't grow out, they grow down."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 32/55
Conner, in response to a question about DuPage potentially disconnecting from the Chicago water system: "We have been in constant communication trying to understand their intentions. They have signed a 17-year contract extension."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 33/55
"We've been talking about what it would take to keep them on our system: cost of service, pumping system maintenance. We're making great progress. If we're transparent, I don't think we'll have any issues."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 34/55
therealdeal.com/chicago/2024/0…
therealdeal.com/chicago/2024/0…
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 35/55
Alderman Scott Waguespack: "As we see more development throughout a lot of the areas we provide water to, water conservation is a huge issue. In your discussions with everyone, what other conservation issues are being discussed?"
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 36/55
Alderperson Jason Ervin: "Where are we on equity-based lead pipe changes at/near daycares?" Conner: "We're hoping to do 600 replacements in that category next year," which will cost ~$7.6 million from the CDBG fund.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 37/55
chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…
chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 38/55
Alderperson Gilbert Villegas: Have we considered issuing an RFI and having industry people coming to us to introduce what technology they have? Conner: "Absolutely. We've put it on the companies to talk to IEPA and make sure their product is compliant." epa.illinois.gov
epa.illinois.gov
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 39/55
Alderperson Nicole Lee: "Often, folks come into the ward office after getting a water meter put in that says 'you owe $5,000 from ther period when your water meter was broken.' How does the city know?" Conner: "We take the average of the next few readings after the replacement."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 40/55
Lee: "How are we ensuring competition between contractors keeps prices down? Do we ever have only one bidder?" Conner: "Absolutely... there aren't a lot of contractors that can do water main work or sewer work."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 41/55
Conner praised the effectiveness of his department's staff, saying their work often goes unnoticed.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 42/55
The committee is taking a 5 minute break and will return to discuss the Department of Aviation.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 43/55
The committee has returned.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 44/55
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 45/55
Department of Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee: Because airport concessions are a federal program, we are not allowed to specifically require or incentivize local restaurants, but we are working around that to increase the proportion of local vendors.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 46/55
"The mayor has been very clear from the beginning that casting a wide net and getting the youth involved [with aviation-related employment] is important."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 47/55
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 48/55
Rhee: "Since 2018, we've increased our parking spaces by 16%," which requires increased staffing.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 49/55
The department is adding 110 positions, primarily in safety and security.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 50/55
O'Shea: "What is the timeline on replacing airport windows?" Rhee is summarizing the past process but has not yet stated a future timeline.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 51/55
After O'Shea repeated his question, Rhee said it would likely occur in the summer, but it would depend on bidding.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 52/55
Rodriguez asked about the department's climate plan. Rhee listed sustainability measures including food waste reduction, working with ComEd to reduce energy usage, LED lights, and using goats to clear vegetation rather than mowing.
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 53/55
flychicago.com/community/envi…
flychicago.com/community/envi…
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 54/55
Moore praised the Department of Aviation's staff. "I see the city of Chicago in you."
Parker Garlough @parker_garlough 55/55
I'm signing off. See @CHIdocumenters for more coverage of this event.
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Agency Information

Chicago City Council

chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov

(312) 744-3166

@ChiCouncil

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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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