In order to communicate with residents on the 2024 Budget, Alderman La Spata has collected the following statements in a format that is hopefully accessible and helpful for residents to learn the Budget process:
The 2024 Budget season formally opens with the issuance of the 2024 Budget Forecast, which you can review online. Both my Ward Office staff and Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety staff have started budget review processes, where they review potential areas of improvement for City services and ensure that I am prepared to make accurate and impactful budget demands externally (through Committee on Budget and Government Operations hearings, and communications like this) and internally (through written and spoken communication with City officials).
“Through the Chair” Letters (October 25, 2023)
One of the more interesting functions of Committee on Budget and Government Operations hearings is to compel each department to share specific statistics or other data on the record. However, since Alders only have approximately 10 minutes on the clock for most hearings, data requests can eat up a disproportionate amount of time on the clock and data are often returned “through the Chair” when a department does not have a specific answer at the hearing. Therefore, Alderman La Spata sends “through the Chair” letters in advance of each Committee hearing, to give departments a chance to procure the data; to save time on his hearing clock for other substantive matters; and to place data requests in specific, written format to be as clear as possible.
“Through the Chair” letters would be searchable due to Freedom of Information Act laws because the City Council is a public body, and Budget hearings are a matter of specific business for the body, so 1st Ward staff are publishing the Alderman’s letters here for transparency and accessibility. To the extent that we can publish responses, we will strive to do so.
Daily Budget Videos (October 25, 2023)
In order to provide specific highlights from as many Committee on Budget and Government Operations hearings as possible, Alderman La Spata is recording videos to discuss the 2024 Budget. Those videos are available via Instagram (@1wardchi) and Facebook:
Budget Season Begins! (October 11, 2023)
On October 16, 2023, the Committee on Budget and Government Operations has scheduled the budget overview meeting, featuring the City's lead finance and budget officers (10am, use the City Clerk's website for livestream). This is one of the most important hearings of the entire budget season, because it is a chance to discuss the Mayor's overall priorities in the budget, the results of Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (which are legally mandated audits), pension performance, and general financial issues with the City. I will be ready with a list of priorities to ensure that the City is on the right track in terms of setting realistic revenue expectations and estimates given its recent recoveries from the earlier years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to better understand how the City is using its recent budget surpluses.
Based on the Committee's schedule, at this point it is expected that the hearings will occur on the following dates. It is expected that each meeting will begin at 10:00 AM, and each will be streamed at the City Clerk's website (this list is subject to change! For an updated, official schedule, you can always double check the Clerk's posted notices)
October 16: Budget Overview (Budget Director, Chief Financial officer, Comptroller)
October 17: Joint Hearing (Inspector General, Civilian Office of Police Accountability, Chicago Police Board, Chicago Board of Ethics) and Joint Hearing (License Appeal Commission and Business Affairs & Consumer Protection)
October 18: Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events; Department of Planning and Development; Department of Housing; Department of Assets, Information and Services
October 19: City Clerk; Department of Public Health; Chicago Public Library; Department of Family & Support Services
October 20: Department of Streets & Sanitation; Department of Procurement Services; Department of Aviation
October 23: Office of Public Safety Administration; Office of Emergency Management and Communications; Department of Fire
October 24: Office of Public Safety Administration; Department of Police
October 25: Office of Public Safety Administration (if needed); Department of Police (if needed); Commission on Public Safety & Accountability; Department of Buildings; Chicago Council on Human Relations; Mayor's Office of People with Disabilities; Commission on Animal Care & Control
October 26: Department of Environment; Department of Water Management; Department of Transportation
October 27: City Treasurer; Department of Administrative Hearings; Board of Elections; Department of Human Resources: Department of Law
Alderman La Spata on the 2024 Proposed Budget Gap (September 21, 2023)
In the past, I have used each City Budget to advocate for progressive updates to revenue sources and efficient services, and I will continue to do so. I do not believe in a false dichotomy between finding better sources for revenue and ensuring that services are as efficient as possible. I believe we can do both.
Let’s review the 2024 Budget Forecast. The City projects a budget gap of $538 million. What accounts for that? Page 13 of the 2024 Forecast summarizes the line items contributing to the gap. I am going to focus on some priorities here.