Public Meetings Report. Illustration by Holley Appold/South Side Weekly
Public Meetings Report. Illustration by Holley Appold/South Side Weekly
  1. Public Meetings Report – March 18, 2021
  2. Public Meetings Report – April 1, 2021
  3. Public Meetings Report – April 15, 2021
  4. Public Meetings Report – April 29, 2021
  5. Public Meetings Report – May 13, 2021
  6. Public Meetings Report – May 27, 2021
  7. Public Meetings Report – June 10, 2021
  8. Public Meetings Report – June 24, 2021
  9. Public Meetings Report – July 08, 2021
  10. Public Meetings Report – July 22, 2021
  11. Public Meetings Report – August 05, 2021
  12. Public Meetings Report – August 19, 2021
  13. Public Meetings Report – September 30, 2021
  14. Public Meetings Report – October 14, 2021
  15. Public Meetings Report – October 28, 2021
  16. Public Meetings Report – November 11, 2021
  17. Public Meetings Report – November 25, 2021
  18. Public Meetings Report – December 9, 2021
  19. Public Meetings Report – January 13, 2022
  20. Public Meetings Report – January 27, 2022
  21. Public Meetings Report – February 10, 2022
  22. Public Meetings Report – February 24, 2022
  23. Public Meetings Report – March 10, 2022
  24. Public Meetings Report – March 24, 2022
  25. Public Meetings Report – April 7, 2022
  26. Public Meetings Report – April 21, 2022
  27. Public Meetings Report – May 5, 2022
  28. Public Meetings Report – May 19, 2022
  29. Public Meetings Report – June 2, 2022
  30. Public Meetings Report – June 22, 2022
  31. Public Meetings Report – June 30, 2022
  32. Public Meetings Report – July 14, 2022
  33. Public Meetings Report – July 28, 2022
  34. Public Meetings Report – August 11, 2022
  35. Public Meetings Report – August 25, 2022
  36. Public Meetings Report — October 20, 2022
  37. Public Meetings Report — November 17, 2022
  38. Public Meetings Report — December 1, 2022
  39. Public Meetings Report — January 12, 2023
  40. Public Meetings Report — January 26, 2023
  41. Public Meetings Report — February 9, 2023
  42. Public Meetings Report — February 23, 2023
  43. Public Meetings Report — March 9, 2023
  44. Public Meetings Report — March 23, 2023
  45. Public Meetings Report — April 20, 2023
  46. Public Meetings Report — May 4, 2023
  47. Public Meetings Report — May 18, 2023
  48. Public Meetings Report — June 1, 2023
  49. Public Meetings Report — June 15, 2023
  50. Public Meetings Report — June 29, 2023
  51. Public Meetings Report — July 13, 2023
  52. Public Meetings Report — July 27, 2023
  53. Public Meetings Report — August 10, 2023
  54. Public Meetings Report — August 24, 2023
  55. Public Meetings Report — September 7, 2023
  56. Public Meetings Report — September 21, 2023
  57. Public Meetings Report — December 7, 2023
  58. Public Meetings Report — February 1, 2024
  59. Public Meetings Report — February 15, 2024
  60. Public Meetings Report — April 11, 2024
  61. Public Meetings Report — May 9, 2024
  62. Public Meetings Report — May 23, 2024
  63. Public Meetings Report — July 18, 2024
  64. Public Meetings Report — August 1, 2024
  65. Public Meetings Report — August 15, 2024
  66. Public Meetings Report — August 29, 2024
  67. Public Meetings Report — October 10, 2024
  68. Public Meetings Report — October 24, 2024
  69. Public Meetings Report — November 7, 2024
  70. Public Meetings Report — November 21, 2024

October 7

At its meeting, the City Council Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development reviewed provider agreements that cover the scope of service, budget, tax levy, and services; approval of public hearings for establishing Special Service Areas (SSAs), and class 6B tax incentives. The meeting opened with thirty minutes of public comments on topics such as ShotSpotter and funding for migrants. The committee took ten minutes to approve twenty-four reappointments and appointments of members of SSA commissions, “local tax districts that fund expanded services and programs through a localized property tax levy within contiguous areas,” the department’s website states. The meeting concluded with a review of tax incentives for two projects in the 28th Ward, together involving investments of more than $15 million. One project includes 42,750 square feet of warehouse space and 4,200 square feet of office space. It’s expected to generate $1.6 million in tax revenue over twelve years. The second project calls for a warehouse with loading docks on a city-owned vacant lot at 2515-2561 W. Taylor Street. A potential partnership with USAMAA Construction might be able to leverage the company’s status as a Minority or Women-Owned Business (MWBE). Once completed, the project is expected to boost tax revenues from the property to $419,000 annually from the current $2,000. 

October 18

At its meeting, the Chicago Transit Authority Citizens Advisory Board heard a presentation on the CTA’s proposed 2025 budget of $2.16 billion. One set of unsettling numbers revealed that the CTA’s operating cost per ride averages $5.93, while regular fares range from seventy-five cents to $2.50 per ride—an estimated difference of more than one hundred percent. The CTA’s subsidized and charged fare amounts are lower than most other comparable public transit systems, CTA officials explained to the Board. Not surprisingly, the officials emphasized that ridership—and revenue—must increase to decrease operating losses. Ridership has been slow to rebound since COVID. In 2019, it was projected to reach sixty percent of pre-pandemic rates in 2023, the Illinois Public Institute reported. Three years ago a study by Block Club Chicago based on Freedom of Information Requests (FOIAs) and use of official work cards, which allow free use of CTA services, showed that CTA senior management rarely used the system. One individual had not used their pass in two years. The Citizens Advisory Board meets four times a year, and several of the eleven seats are held by regular CTA riders and transit activists. The Advisory Board has no official decision-making power and cannot effect change directly. It can, however, increase awareness of the status of the CTA operations, revenues and cost to the public. The Board can also bring rider feedback and other input to CTA’s staff leadership and Board of Directors.

October 23

“Imagine for a moment your daughter, your sister or friend just disappears, and the silence that follows is deafening,” Jaribu Lee, deputy director at the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO, told the City Council Committee on Public Safety at its meeting. “That is the reality for far too many Black and Brown families here in our city. When our girls go missing, their stories don’t make the headlines.” Families, advocates and police were invited to speak at the meeting, which was conducted as a hearing to learn more about Chicago’s crisis of missing Black women and girls. Some speakers contended that CPD is not doing enough to solve the problem. The hearing came about mostly thanks to a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation, “Missing in Chicago” published by City Bureau and the Invisible Institute. “Everybody failed my mother,” another speaker, Teresa Smith, told committee members. “Every last one of y’all. I’m so serious. Everybody failed my mother. She got nothing.” Smith’s mother, sixty-five-year-old Daisy Hayes, went missing in 2018. A suspect was convicted of her murder, spent four years in jail, and was freed in 2022 after a judge ruled that the evidence introduced during his trial did not prove he was guilty. Hayes’ body has not been found.

October 24

Despite persistent concerns about reliability and privacy, the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted at their meeting to renew a victim notification technology contract. The system—Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE)—is intended to automatically notify victims of violence, such as assault and stalking, of changes in alleged or convicted abusers court hearings, release dates, and other information. Several public commenters opposed sharing personal data with VINE because, they contended, its parent company is one of several commercial data brokers that have provided information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This data can be used by ICE to target and deport undocumented residents in spite of local sanctuary laws, critics have said. The system can also suffer outages and other issues. In such cases, government resources may be used to conduct the notifications. In 2022, Cook County Board members raised similar concerns

October 25

At its meeting, the City Council Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation heard from Sharon Bush, the mayor’s choice to fill an open seat on the Chicago Park District’s board of commissioners and an experienced nonprofit leader. Committee members questioned Bush on several matters, including the handling of problems related to tent cities, decreased TIF funding, and unleashed dogs in a city neighborhood. Bush grew up playing at Garfield Park and is the president of the Grand Victoria Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Elgin riverboat casino and oversees a $150 million budget. She has served on the board of trustees of Roosevelt University and is a graduate of the school. If the appointment is confirmed by the full City Council, Bush would fill the vacancy left by former board chair Myetie Hamilton, who abruptly resigned over the summer. Prior to her resignation, Hamilton had overseen the creation and development of the Office of Prevention and Accountability and an amendment to the district’s code to improve reporting and transparency. Her appointment in 2021 came on the heels of allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct in the aquatics program. Senior leadership on the Park District Board and professional staff resigned after the scandal came to light.

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This information was collected and curated by the Weekly in large part using reporting from City Bureau’s Documenters at documenters.org.

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