2024 Chicago City Budget Hearings [Joint Hearings: Inspector General, Civilian Office of Police Accountability, Police Board, Board of Ethics] MORNING

Finance

Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023
10:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m. CDT

121 N La Salle St, Chicago, Illinois 60602 Chicago, IL 60602 (Directions)

Chicago City Hall, 2nd floor, Council Chambers

This is an assignment to document part of Chicago City Council’s 2024 budget process. Because most departmental budget hearings last the better part of a work day, we have broken each day into morning and afternoon assignments (if you want to cover a full day you can apply to both). A lunch break is usually taken sometime between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. If you are assigned we will follow up via email to coordinate further.

Budget meetings are a lot easier to follow if you’ve done your pre-research! Check out The Chicago Documenters Guide to the 2024 City Budget Process (https://tinyurl.com/ChiDocs2024BudgetGuide) in preparation for this assignment.

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.

Applicants who attended the Oct. 10 training will be prioritized and will receive an extra hour of pay on each assignment they submit. A video recording of that training can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nqun6oXam8.

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Live reporting by Sonal Soni

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) may receive $1 million in additional funding, which would allow additional hiring – something the OIG says it desperately needs.

Sonal Soni (They/Them)

Good morning Chicago! I’ll be livetweeting today’s City Council 2024 Joint Budget Hearing of License Appeal Commission, Dept. of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection starting at 10 AM for @CHIdocumenters #CHIdocumenters. Follow along to this thread⬇️

09:42 AM Oct 17, 2023 CDT

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 2/25

@CHIdocumenters You can view the in person meeting's livestream on the Chi City Clerk website. Currently waiting for the budget hearing to begin.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 3/25

@CHIdocumenters A bit about the budget process that occurs each fall: Chicago government determines how it will generate revenue and fund its initiatives. The Mayor's office then develops the budget for City Council members to review.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 4/25

@CHIdocumenters Each city department meets with the Committee on Budget and Government Operations to present on the year’s accomplishments, challenges and goals for the upcoming year.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 5/25

@CHIdocumenters Read this explainer by @TheTRiiBE for an overview on Chicago's 2024 budget season. thetriibe.com/2023/09/explai…

thetriibe.com/2023/09/explai…

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 6/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE The meeting begins around 10:20 AM.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 7/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE This meeting also includes the Inspector General's office (OIG), Civilian Office of Police Accountability, Police Board (COPA) and Board of Ethics. OIG presentations start off the meeting.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 8/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE OIG investigates and helps prevent misconduct and waste while promoting efficient City operations. Their jurisdiction extends to City employees, programs, licensees and those seeking to do business with the City, according to 2024 budget recommendations.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 9/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE According to opening statements, OIG's anticipated budget for 2024 is "flat to the 2023 (budget)" other than increases in personnel costs.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 10/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE These opening statements are also provided in writing, and discussion arise over whether or not to skip the verbal statements. Despite those conversations, the verbal opening statements continue.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 11/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE $14.2 2 mil (more than the 2023 budget) is proposed for the OIG's FY 2024 budget. The recommended personnel budget shows an approximate 9 percent increase, according to the departmental overview.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 12/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE All of OIG's funding is devised from the corporate fund. "the corporate fund, which is the largest of the six funds, is used for city operations and services like the Chicago police and fire departments, business and consumer services and city services" according to The Triibe.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 13/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE Conversations about where the OIG conducts operations and space challenges follow. OIG is making progress in looking at potential main spaces to lease amid current structural building issues, like leaking ceilings.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 14/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE Council members say it's important for OIG to have a separate space from other city departments. This move request is outlined in the proposed budget.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 15/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE The OIG's investigations have been backlogged in part due to inadequate staffing over the past year. Those cases are beginning to shrink as more folks have recently began filling those vacant positions, council members say.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 16/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE OIG is conducting proactive data analyses on PPP loans. City Hall's inspector general said her office found more than 1,000 loans that city employees got from the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, according to reporting from the Sun Times.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 17/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE Read more about PPP loan investigations: . chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/20…

chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/20…

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 18/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE Ald. Riley asks about the amount of audits OIG conducts. Potential proposed projects including audits for the following year are provided for constituents to provide feedback, which will go up on the OIG site in the next month or so, to determine how OIG expends its efforts.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 19/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE OIG proposes additional outreach endeavors including attending ward nights across the city to promote more effective engagement efforts with Chicagoans. City department partnerships, providing materials in Spanish, and other initiatives are currently in practice.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 20/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE OIG's public safety section found that that the Chicago Police Department is costing the city dollars and legitimacy, and suggested investments to reduce those expenditures are outlined.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 21/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE Those specifications are not further outlined in the opening statements due to time constraints. The meeting continues.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 22/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE Questions arise over OIG's role in upholding the city's compliance to the consent decree and police oversight work. OIG is a permanent city government structure, and as the city nears the end of the consent decree, OIG will continue to conduct compliance oversight.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 23/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE How successful has the city been in complying with the consent decree? Meeting attendees ask. "Not very."

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 24/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE The meeting breaks for lunch at around 12:05 PM.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 25/25

@CHIdocumenters @TheTRiiBE The meeting will reconvene in about one hour. And that wraps up this thread over the morning portion of today's hearing for @CHIdocumenters. Follow along to additional livetweeting from @KateLinderman4 when the meeting resumes. Thanks for following along!

View thread

Note-taking by Karmeisha Boyd

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) may receive $1 million in additional funding, which would allow additional hiring – something the OIG says it desperately needs.

View notes

Attachments

1 attachment

Meeting details

By India Daniels ⋅ October 17th, 2023

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.