[remote or in-person; 1:30-5pm] 2025 Chicago budget hearing: Board of Elections, Human Resources, Environment, Admin, Animal Care & Control, City Treasurer

Chicago City Council

Finance

Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024
1:30 p.m. — 5:00 p.m. CST

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

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

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Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Note-taking by Cordell Longstreath

The Department of Environment is securing funding from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs act. Alders raise questions regarding the sustainability of those bills under the new federal administration

View notes

Live reporting by Kerry Snider

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI

I'm live tweeting the second half of today's 2025 Chicago Budget Hearing: w/ @CHIdocumenters. Departments including: Board of Elections, Human Resources, Department of the Environment, Department of Administrative Hearings, Animal Care and Control, and City Treasurer

01:29 PM Dec 3, 2024 CST

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 2/56

Watch the live stream here: chicityclerk.com/committee-budg…

chicityclerk.com/committee-budg…

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 3/56

Kicking off the afternoon session with human resources, with Commissioner Sandra Blakemore speaking on behalf of the department.

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Regarding the Do Not Hire List, Commissioner Blakemore stated she does not have the final say. Alder Jason Ervin states this question has been answered already.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 5/56

Commissioner Blakemore talking about department improvements: removal of testing requirements for hiring, recruiters and job postings working across multiple departments.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 6/56

Ald. Lopez asked about long wait times between hiring and onboarding, some taking 6-9 months due to delays in background checks.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 7/56

Commissioner Blakemore said in 2023 the average amount of time between hiring and onboarding was 155 days. In 2024, that average dropped to 103 days.

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Ald. Nicole Lee asks if the DHR tracks applicants who remove their applications from the city. Blakemore said departments have that info, DHR would need to work with IT to collate that data, they are currently not tracking.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 9/56

Ald. Pat Dowell asks how much it would cost for a new HR system, as the current provider has poor UX. Taleo is 15 years old, and they are looking for a better opportunity according to Blakemore.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 10/56

Ald. Julia Ramirez asks about vacancies and competitiveness for recruiting. What are comms the DHR are building? Blakemore responded with the weekly job flash that will restart after the current job freeze. Several initiatives will be restarted after said freeze.

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Ald. Ramirez asks how the DHR looks at diversity by department. Blakemore said each department head manages their own workforce. The city works for outreach for "all demographics."

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 12/56

Ald. Michael Rodriguez asks about success strategies for faster onboarding. Blakemore responds with universal posting, the same position is posted across different departments. "It's all about keeping vacancies top of mind for HR," said Blakemore.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 13/56

correction: average amount of time between posting the job position and onboarding was 155 days in 2023.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 14/56

Ald. Jeanette Taylor says "I want you to go ahead and use a dashboard. If you're going to wait for the IT department, you're going to wait for a long time."

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 15/56

Ald. Taylor asks for a centralized location for all city jobs. In the ward offices, they're unaware of vacancies available.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 16/56

Ald. Samantha Nugent asks if DHR had any responsibility for the "do not hire" list before recent policy rewrites. Department heads are now responsible for writing a clear record of why individuals are added to the "do not hire" list.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 17/56

The DHR does not have a "master list" of the DNR lists for each department.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 18/56

Ald. Scott Waguespack says the DHR should absolutely have a master list of everyone put on a DNR "do not rehire"

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 19/56

Ald. Erwin clarified DNH and IFR are being used interchangeably : do not hire and ineligible for rehire.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 20/56

Ald. Brendan Reilly clarifies: the mayor's office is required to take sexual harrassment modules? Blakemore says yes, every city employee is required Reilly: that includes the mayor chief of staff and the mayor? Blakemore: yes

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Ald Reilly asks who investigates or imposes discipline on a department for not following protocol on reporting harassment?

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Ald. Reilly confirms with commissioner, the DHR cannot intervene in a department discipline. DHR does not have the authority change the department head's recommendation

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 23/56

Ald. Reilly asks Commissioner Blakemore about "peace circles" for sexual harassment. Blakemore said she's never seen any peace circles at DHR.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 24/56

more about why peace circles are coming up so much now: chicagotribune.com/2024/11/26/may…

chicagotribune.com/2024/11/26/may…

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 25/56

Ald Reilly, after several rounds of questions and interjection from Ald. Ervin, asks, isn't it a conflict of interest for the mayor to be responsible for discipline discernment their own department?

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Ald. Sigcho Lopez asks how the DHR will improve personell issues, ethics considerations and due process. Blakemore says the DHR has set up a performance review process for all employees that should start in January.

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ald lawson asks if misconduct reports involves the mayors office or the clerks office, does attorney general also get involved? blakemore responds the supervisor aware of the misconduct should report to the EEO, not their own investigation.

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Ald. Lawson asks if any employment recruitment outreach has been directed toward LGBTQ+ groups. Blakemore said not specifically, but the third party vendor they use reaches across various affinity groups.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 29/56

Ald. Ervin confirms with Commissioner Blakemore, DHR sends a letter to the person notifying they have been added to a DNH/IFR list. People can appeal their placement on the list. Ald. Ervin said the appeals process is "grossly to the employees disfavor"

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Ald. Vasquez: regarding harassment protocols for the city of Chicago "women and women of color are carrying the burden."

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Ald. Vasquez asks about the role of the DHR for performance reviews? Blakemore said DHR will be tracking performance review training completion and reviews completed. Vasquez says he wishes the DHR had more authority to hold people accountable for completion

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 32/56

Ald Daniel La Spata asks how we will work with these budget cuts so people can get back to working for the city. Blakemore said recruiters have capacity for 296 positions per month, for all of 2025. This has increased from 210 per month for 2024.

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Ald. La Spata said regarding peace circles, st.hyacinths in avondale has a program for youth conflict resolution as an alternative to punitive discipline.

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"77% of new hires are people of color" reports Commissioner Blakemore, when Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth asks how the HRD fits in data collection and inclusive recruiting efforts.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 35/56

1:39pm concludes the end of questioning for the department of HR. Next up, department of environment!

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quick cheat sheet for department of environment from the budget overview

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Meeting resumed at 1:46 as Ald. Ervin introduces the department of environment commissioner and Chief sustainability officer for the city of chicago, Angela Tovar

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Chair Maria Hadden says 4 new project managers added were to the department of environment, are there any more incoming positions for 2025? Commissioner Tovar said nothing for 2025, but they are conducting additional studies for migrating positions for future budgets

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Chair Hadden asks for an update on the comed franchise agreement. Tovar says both of our utilities this past year, had rate increases, and Comed should be wrapped up by the end of this month.

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Chair Hadden asked given the presidential election, how will the DOE ensure funding for the city? Commissioner Tovar said "we are very hopeful." The state of Illinois received funding upwards of $160 million from the EPA.

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Chair Hadden asked what role does the DOE play in reviewing city contracts or vendors to ensure environmental compliance? Commissioner Tovar said they do not have formal authority, but they are in a cross-departmental working group to identify solutions.

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Commissioner Tovar said the DOE is partnering with the department of procurement to devise more strategies

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Ald. Lee asks about impact once Chicago municipal buildings are on 100% renewable energy Tovar responded Chicago is expected to reduce their carbon footprint by 2900 metric tons each year, equally about emissions from 62 passenger vehicles.

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Ald Taylor asks what the DOE will do to keep the railroads accountable? Commissioner Tovar said the DOE has No regulatory authority, that is under the authority of department of public health, but she's open to a greater discussion with alders

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 45/56

Ald Taylor said the railroad is buying more land in her ward when they are already bad actors. Taylor wants to work with the DOE to hold them accountable.

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Chair Tovar spoke about her role in making the most sustainable DNC to date. Initiatives included Bus idling plans, micro mobility projects (encouraging public transit and Divvys) food waste and food recovery.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 47/56

Ald Manaa-Hoppenworth asks what the DOE plans to do for homeless people in the coming winter months. Kyra Woods from the DOE says they have several city and county level plans for emergency response efforts.

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Woods also said the DOE will support the emergency operation plan next year, making annexes for extreme weather, detailing responsibilities departments will assume.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 49/56

Ald Vasquez asked for the DOE to work with the department of buildings for people who want to voluntarily "green" their homes. Tovar responded they will work toward providing front facing resources for people.

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Someone (sorry, did not catch his name) asked what can we do for more solar panels in the city, both on public and private buildings Commissioner Tovar said they are piloting what solar looks like on public assets today, 4 libraries are line afterwards

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 51/56

Ald signo lopez asked for an update on cumulative impact ordinance Tovar said the ordinance is still in development. Every commissioner working on that ordinance has been in the midst of transition, but they continue to meet. Next step for the ordinance is socialization.

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Tovar said socialization is the focus for the upcoming year.

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Tovar said even if they don't have regulatory authority, they continue to work with other departments to ensure protections for residents of the city

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Ald Dowell asked what the department of enviromnet is doing to incentivize electric charging stations. Tovar said funding for public EV charging was awarded to CDOT. There is an EV team at CDOT the DOE is working with to create a framework.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 55/56

As of 3:01pm , questioning for the department of environment has concluded.

Kerry Snider @ksniderCHI 56/56

correction: the meeting resumed at 1:38pm CST and concluded at 5:01pm CST.

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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

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