[remote or in person] Committee on Budget and Government Operations

Chicago City Council

Finance

Politics

Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024
1:30 p.m. — 3:30 p.m. CST

View meeting details

Add to iCal

Add to Google Calendar

121 N LaSalle St Chicago, IL 60602 (Directions)

Chicago City Hall, 2nd floor, Council Chambers

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. You may be asked to provide government-issued photo ID and to go through a metal detector.

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.

The end time listed on this assignment is an estimation based on the duration of past meetings of this type.

Other notes and pre-research resources

Meeting details page: https://chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov/Meeting/?meetingId=B70A3150-9EB4-EE11-A568-001DD8052A05
Be sure to check the “attachments” tab for the meeting agenda and other documents. You can access more information about items on the agenda at https://chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov/. You can search keywords or click the “Show more filters” button and enter the legislation number (i.e. [O as in Ordinance][year introduced]-####, [R as in Resolution][year introduced]-####).
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, with info on this committee, plus headshots of members

Check the source website for additional information

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Note-taking by Kenji Granberry

Chicago Public Library branches in Little Village (Toman) and West Lawn will be the first city-owned buildings to have solar panels.

View notes

Live reporting by Ayesha Riaz

Chicago Public Library branches in Little Village (Toman) and West Lawn will be the first city-owned buildings to have solar panels.

ayesha_offline

Afternoon, covering City of Chicago's Committee on Budget and Government Operations for @CHIdocumenters. Meeting is scheduled to begin at 1:30PM.

01:42 PM Jan 23, 2024 CST

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 2/27

The livestreamed video of the meeting shows the Chicago seal and a repeated automated voice warning/reminder about the Rules of Conduct during the Public Comment period and meeting.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 3/27

Chair Jason C Ervin calls meeting to order and quorum is established at 1:47 PM.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 4/27

Time is given for public commentary with 1 speaker: Mr. Blakemoor. He comments that its unfortunate that more people are not speaking up and that the city spends thousands of dollars on bad websites.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 5/27

He mentions that the chair was late, and is angry with Item 3 of the agenda and the transfer of funds for the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights. His last comment is that the ethical thing to do in city council would be to introduce term limitations.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 6/27

The committee approved last year’s Monthly Rule 45 reports of October, November and December 2023.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 7/27

3 Items are listed on the agenda. From the Office of Budget and Management: 1) Annual Appropriation Ordinance Year 2024 amendment within Fund 925. There is also a substitute sent around the members.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 8/27

From City Council, 2) Resolution regarding City Council Office of Financial Analysis Director, and 3) Transfer of funds within Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights for Year 2023.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 9/27

Item 1 includes: $2 million for solar at 2 Chicago public libraries, Dept of Public Health requests $294,000 for vax program, CPD requests $308,000 from state grant for organized retail crime and $9000 for impaired driving program.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 10/27

Alder Villegas (Ward 36), asks to elaborate on total cost of solar program for Chicago Libraries and if there are existing solar operations?

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 11/27

The cost is mentioned to be more than $2 million. This project is being run as a pilot and there are currently no solar projects with city-owned buildings.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 12/27

Alder Pat Dowell (3rd Ward) asks about organized retail crime grant. Sergeant Ryan Delaney states that the funds cover the national conference, Cook County regional organized crime conference, and investigative overtime. The task force includes 9 people.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 13/27

Alder Dowell and Chairman Ervin clarify the question of management and not operation: who are the other people in charge on the task force and if there are external partners? Dowell asks for a list through the chair of the members of the task force.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 14/27

Alder Dowell asks if the focus on retail theft is along the rail lines or just in stores? Delaney confirms that it is for both.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 15/27

Alder Lee (Ward 11) asks about what funds will be going to: establish a pilot program to report hate crimes, to increase recording of hate crime, hate instances, and hate graffiti.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 16/27

Opportunities for public to go to community-based organizations as safe zones to assist the person, either in their native language or with cultural sensitivity.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 17/27

Alder Moore (17th Ward) requests additional info about CPD's request of $109,000 for impaired driving program. The program is in partnership with the Department of Transportation.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 18/27

Chair Ervin states something confusing: “I’m gonna ask the committee to pass on this, after which I will potentially not report this item out--received a phone call on this but I do want to pass it out of committee.”

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 19/27

Alder Moore asks for clarification and Jason Ervin reiterates: “I would like to pass it out of committee but not report it out” and “if we do not pass it out of committee, it would be another month that we have to go through this.”

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 20/27

Moore replies “That’s fine too. I think we should too. If we need to hear it, then I think we should hear it, not just pass it out.”

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 21/27

Chair Ervin seems strained, talks about not wishing to create a negative atmosphere for an individual (does not state the individual’s name). Alder Moore wants to address why we need to remove this person and what the issue is since it is the first time he is hearing about it.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 22/27

Chair Ervin “prefers to not get into that on the record.”

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 23/27

Alder Michelle Harris (8th Ward) suggests moving the meeting to executive session ‘considering the nature of this’ to discuss the mystery topic.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 24/27

Alder Sposato (38th Ward) addresses Chairman Ervin and their previous personal conversation about the subject matter yesterday, and asks “Am I the only person you called and talked to about this?” Ervin says he was not.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 25/27

Jason Ervin calls for a brief recess until 2:24PM.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 26/27

Meeting resumes and Items 2) Resolution regarding Financial Analysis Director and Item 3) Transfer of funds within Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights for 2023 are both passed. Alders Mitchell (7th Ward) and Moore (17th Ward) are listed as no’s.

ayesha_offline @ayesha_offline 27/27

Meeting is adjourned at 2:27PM.

View thread

Attachments

4 attachments

Meeting details

By India Daniels ⋅ January 23rd, 2024

Agenda

January 23rd, 2024

Notice

January 23rd, 2024

Summary

January 23rd, 2024

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

If you attend a meeting in person, be prepared to go through a security checkpoint and show photo ID.

Meetings are also livestreamed 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.

Recordings of past City Council meetings may be found here: https://vimeo.com/user100351763/videos/sort:date.

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