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