December 4
At the Chicago City Council Budget Hearing for the Department of Procurement Services and Department of Law, procurement commissioner Sharla Roberts, who was appointed in July of last year, explained her strategic plans and goals. Focusing on a hiring freeze that left the department with several vacancies, much of the meeting dealt with how Roberts would reorganize the department, its roles, and how she planned to fill vacancies. Council members noted that more resources and staffing would be needed. Roberts also said she wants to increase the number of women and minority-owned businesses that work with the city by removing barriers to certification and centralizing various data and compliance requirements for contracts. She pledged to realize her strategy efficiently by streamlining procurement procedures, hiring adequate staff, and standardizing operating procedures. The technology used by the department (Certification and Compliance Network System) was reviewed and plans for updating it discussed. Their goals are to streamline processes, create transparency, and expedite services.
At the Chicago City Council Budget Hearing for the Department of Law, the city’s corporation counsel, Mary B. Richardson, introduced the office’s fourteen staff members attending. Her presentation noted that the 2025 budget was reduced by $45.9 million from 2024, the number of full-time employees by twenty-one (to 406 from 427), and personal services cost by 1 percent. The department staff is fifty-five percent female or non-binary, fifty-one percent female attorneys, sixty-one percent female senior management, forty percent ethnically diverse staff, and seventy-five percent ethnically diverse senior attorneys. Forty-four vacant positions have been reduced to eighteen; inclusivity and recruitment are being prioritized. Attorneys have opportunities for education and skill development. Richardson also reviewed a number of the department’s responsibilities, which include consumer protection, special collections, risk mitigation (a new division) focusing on forecasting financial exposure and assessing risk, and building and license enforcement.
December 9
At its meeting, the Chicago City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards approved a CTA request to rezone properties for the Red Line Extension, which was described as a significant investment in the South Side with a positive impact. The committee also heard from thirteen public commenters. Concerns included rezoning issues in connection with a train project affecting a commenter’s home on West 99th Street; the commenter asked for clarity on whether she will be able to stay in her neighborhood. A self-identified third-generation resident of the 10th Ward said he favors rezoning the South Works steel mill for a proposed multi-billion-dollar quantum park. Citing vacant lots and an absence of small businesses, he stressed the need for economic development in the area. Steve Simmons, director of business and economic development for the North Branch Works, supports Chicago Planned Development No. 1399 for property on or near 700 West Chicago Avenue. He asked that transportation be emphasized. The proposed development calls for 2,451 residential units and 1,950 parking spaces along with retail space. A member of the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council supported the development because it would provide some 1,400 construction jobs, including local hires. The committee also passed a Municipal Code Amendment that modified sections concerning the right of first refusal in the Block 606 district pilot program.
December 12
During a thirty-minute meeting of the Chicago City Council Committee on Real Estate, members signed off on a single agenda item: the acquisition of twelve properties in the 34th Ward to build a bridge and viaduct along Taylor Street connecting Canal and Wells streets across the river. The “total project cost” is estimated to be $93.5 million. (The published agenda showed an incorrect cost.) The project would receive up to $3 million from the Roosevelt/Clark tax increment financing (TIF) district. Presenting for the Chicago Department of Transportation was William Higgins, an assistant commissioner. Here are some of the properties to be acquired: 805, 807, and 900 South Canal Street; 413, 415, and 463 West Taylor Street; 880 and 976 South Wells Street. “Rail” is listed as the “current use” for seven of the properties, “utility” for three. The properties are scheduled for acquisition by June 1; for bidding to be completed by June 1, 2027, and construction by September 1, 2027. Separately, two public speakers advocated for more minority hiring by the city.
At its meeting, the Chicago City Council Committee on Finance reviewed planned housing for working families and individuals and lifestyle and entertainment for visitors. Public speakers included a diverse group of residents, elected officials, and contractors. As much as $5.5 million in tax increment financing funds could go to redevelopment of LeClaire Courts, a former public housing site in Garfield Ridge. The overall LeClaire Courts plan, first approved in 2021, provides for about 440,000 square feet of commercial space, open space for public use, multiple mixed-use buildings, up to 700 residential units located at 4400 South Cicero and 4458 South Cicero, and parking. The site is bounded by South Cicero Avenue, West 45th Street, South Lavergne Avenue, and the Stevenson Expressway. The City Council is winding down TIF districts, which are designated areas in which the city funds development by borrowing against future tax revenue. The 2025 budget projects $570 million in TIF funds, according to a press release from the Mayor’s Office.
December 16
At its meeting, the Chicago City Council approved the city’s 2025 spending plan by a close vote of twenty-seven to twenty-three, which is just one vote over the minimum needed for passage. Council members saw the final version of the budget less than twenty-four hours before the vote. The approved budget does not include a property tax increase, instead adding smaller taxes on other services. It also includes plans to ask large event planners to reimburse the city for police overtime and identifies other efficiencies. Those measures would reduce the number of mayoral staffers and pursue innovative efforts such as a guaranteed income program relying on COVID-19 relief funds. During the four-hour meeting, some alderpersons commended Johnson for his compromises; others chastised him for a lack of transparency, collaboration, and expediency. “I’m sick and tired of coming down here [to City Hall] myself,” said Council Member Emma Mitts (37th Ward), adding that she has lost critical time with her constituents. Included in the budget are the “largest city-funded youth jobs program in Chicago’s history,” according to a press release, with 29,000 summer jobs slated. Also provided for is a program that moves responsibility for responding to “individuals in crisis” from police to mental health care professionals.
This information was collected and curated by the Weekly in large part using reporting from City Bureau’s Documenters at documenters.org.