2022 City Budget Hearing [Dept. of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection, Dept. of Streets & Sanitation, Dept of Buildings]

Finance

Politics

Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021
9:00 a.m. CDT

Note: This meeting is expected to last the the better part of a work day, with a lunch break. We are looking for a pair of Documenters to cover the morning portion before lunch (roughly 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and another pair to cover the afternoon portion (roughly 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.). Please apply if you are interested in either portion––if you are assigned we will follow up via email to coordinate further.

This is a remote assignment to document a hearing with the following city departments on their proposed 2022 budgets:

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Note-taking by Ayanna Watkins

Tree trimming, Small businesses

View notes

Live reporting by Ahmad Sayles

Tree trimming, Small businesses

Ahmad Sayles

Good Morning! I’ll be tweeting today’s City Council’s 2022 Budget meetings for @CHIdocumenters #CHIdocumenters. The meetings are scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. Due to COVID-19, the hearings will be held remotely.

08:57 AM Oct 5, 2021 CDT

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 2/22

Full calendar here: https://chicago.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=E1&ID=895216&GUID=699A7BB4-EA5A-47FD-94D7-6D2AF282EDE9

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 3/22

Today’s lineup :
• Dept. of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection
• Dept. of Streets & Sanitation
• Dept of Buildings

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 4/22

View the hearings along with me here: https://livestream.com/accounts/28669066

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 5/22

Listening to Wildflower by New Birth waiting for the hearings/meetings to begin. Real dustie

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 6/22

Ald. Dowell starts roll call to establish a quorum. Quorum reached. 17 members are present.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 7/22

Public comments begin with Laura S. advocating for Ash Trees and climate mitigation. Wants the city/mayor to follow through on planting samplings.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 8/22

The next Speaker’s name is Rob. He’s also advocating for Ash Trees as well. For more info on the issue, check this out https://news.wttw.com/2020/03/04/ash-tree-last-stand-chicago-and-why-it-matters

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 9/22

Next public speaker Susan wants the budget to address at-risk Ash Trees in the city.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 10/22

John Friedmann wants the city through our budget to help save 45k mature Ash trees.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 11/22

Matthew Beaudet, Commissioner of Chicago Dept. of Buildings begins his opening statements detailing the department’s attempts to modernize codes, commitment to access, and growth throughout the city.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 12/22

Ald. Waguespack (32) and Ald. Austin (34) ask for stiffer fines for illegal businesses and more cooperation from the courts to stop issuing continuances.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 13/22

Commissioner Beaudet says that the department plans to increase the number of building inspectors from 178 to 183. The commissioner also wants to address vacant buildings used by owners for tax breaks.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 14/22

Commissioner Beaudet says DOB revenue during COVID has been down 19% during 2020 and 18% in 2021.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 15/22

Commissioner Beaudet says that the average time for permit issuance is 72 days. https://t.co/1Ti3G9JII9

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 16/22

Chairperson Dowell calls for a 5 min recess.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 17/22

City Council members Ervin (28) asked for increased hiring of black/brown tradespeople for building inspectors. Ald. King asks for a crackdown on bad contractors.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 18/22

Dilapidated buildings and rodent inspection are concerns of the council members. DOB has little recourse in this matter compared to the courts.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 19/22

Chairperson Dowell calls for a lunch break until 1:45 p.m.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 20/22

And we’re back! Maintenance of high-rise buildings were brought up in the aftermath of the Surfride tragedy that happened in FL. Commissioner Beaudet said that the building in FL was built on sand and the concrete was mixed with saltwater.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 21/22

The commissioner says Chicago highrises are built on clay and bedrock and receive regular inspections.

Ahmad Sayles @ahmad_sayles 22/22

City Council’s 2022 Budget hearings/meetings ends for me at 3:45 p.m. Right now Dept. of Streets and Sanitation & Dept. of Business Affairs are up. This ends my coverage for @CHIdocumenters more information through Ayanna Watkins/Izzy Stroobandt notes at http://documenters.org

View thread

Note-taking by Isabelle Stroobandt

Tree trimming, Small businesses

View notes

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.