Public Meetings Report — May 23, 2024

April 26

At its meeting, the Cook County Health and Hospital System Board of Directors received good and bad news. The good news included full accreditation of Stroger Hospital’s Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons; the launch of a six-week “Unfriend Tobacco: Your Lung, Your Rules” campaign designed to educate young adults about the harmful effects of tobacco products; the expansion of robotic surgery efforts predicted to generate revenue, and that improved efficiency from digitization has saved some 20,000 hours in staff time. The bad news revolved mainly around human resources and labor issues. Nurses in the Chicago area are still asking that the system invest in and support nurses who serve diverse roles and who have demonstrated dedication to patients. Recruitment, onboarding, and retention are the three main focuses of the CCH Human Resources Committee, with recruitment continuing to be a primary challenge. Three major consulting companies are assisting CCH with efforts to improve human resources efficiency overall, reported Interim Chief Human Resources Officer Carrie Pramuk-Volk. Even so, the system has 1,700 unfilled positions, she reported. During the pandemic, unfilled positions totaled about 600. The robotic surgery program is being implemented in cooperation with healthcare services company Intuitive using its Da Vinci system. Robotic surgeries are considered cost efficient because they tend to reduce recovery times and the length of hospital stays. Information on the “Unfriend Tobacco” initiative is available by visiting unfriendtobacco.com, calling 866-QUIT-YES, or texting “Start my Quit” to 36072. 

May 6

Along with other communities across the country this summer, Chicago is making a proactive investment in young people facing significant barriers to employment such as housing insecurity, criminal records, or disabilities. The goals are to reduce or prevent violence and to improve other life outcomes, the City Council Committee on Workforce Development: Subcommittee on Youth Employment learned at its meeting. To that end, the city plans to hire 28,000 young people ages fourteen to twenty-four over the summer. During this public hearing with City Council members, public commenters offered their thoughts. Jack Wuest, executive director of the Alternative Schools Network, told the committee that some 85 percent of Black teens and 40 percent of young Blacks ages twenty to twenty-four are unemployed, arguing that employment can reduce violence by as much as 43 percent. Student commenters said they supported jobs programs, which can provide a sense of responsibility, help them stay off the street, build communications skills, and offer a future. Committee members also heard about the city’s One Summer Chicago (OSC) program. A speaker explained that paid opportunities from community peacekeeping to coding would be available over six weeks. Last summer, Chicago paid out $34 million to participants. Mayor Brandon Johnson budgeted $76 million for the program. OSC is also active year round, employing individuals ages sixteen to twenty-four in leadership development and civic engagement roles. The Department of Family and Support Services manages the program.

May 7

“Rogue” tow truck drivers may face more roadblocks to their operations, through actions discussed at a meeting of the City Council Committee on Public Safety, including licensing requirements. Concerns about such drivers, in part, are that their pricing “gouges” drivers and that they sometimes hold vehicles hostage outside Chicago city limits. Council members noted that the industry is not well regulated, even though it falls under state-level controls. On the other hand, participants said tow truck drivers are themselves “highly organized,” setting up identifiable territories and applying effective techniques to advance their operations.

May 8

During a highly charged meeting of the City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate, public housing residents complained of frequent elevator breakdowns, corroded water pipes, mold, insect infestations, and poor responsiveness from Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) staff. Beginning at 11am, thirty public commenters began waiting to speak at the 1pm meeting. The meeting’s start was delayed by attempted disruptions. When she reached the microphone, one resident said, “The elevators are always broken down . . . Sometimes I have to stay home for days and weeks at a time, missing appointments. I would like to know why . . . is this acceptable?” To emphasize that insects are not simply a nuisance, Alderperson Jessie Fuentes (26th) related a story of a boy who lost his hearing because roaches laid eggs in his ears. In her testimony, CHA Chief Executive Officer Tracey Scott defended her track record, including the decision to lease vacant public housing land to the Chicago Fire soccer team. Scott explained the deal was justified because the CHA receives $1 million in return each year. She reported that some 120,000 applicants are waiting for housing on 247 different wait lists. The federally funded Housing Choice Voucher program, which provides partial private market rent subsidies for participating families, for example, has 22,000 names and is closed. Alderwoman Jeanette Taylor (20th) was accepted two years ago for housing after waiting twenty-nine years (she no longer needed it). Eric Garrett, the CHA’s chief operating officer, updated the committee on five hundred unused scattered-site residences that sparked controversy at a previous committee meeting. Garrett reported that forty-seven of those units have been leased and ninety-two are in the process of being leased. Seventy percent, or 346 of the 500 properties, are undergoing renovations and being assessed for repairs.

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