[remote or in person; 10am-1:30pm] 2025 Chicago budget hearing: Department of Innovation and Technology & Department of Fleet and Facility Management

Chicago City Council

Finance

Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024
10:00 a.m. — 1:30 p.m. CST

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

City Hall, 2nd floor, Council Chambers

This is an assignment to document a 3.5-hour portion of Chicago City Council’s 2025 budget process.

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. Please note that there may be increased security and restrictions; use a clear bag if possible and leave large water bottles, thermoses and pepper spray at home. 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.

Other notes and pre-research resources

For more info and resources, see our Chicago Documenters Guide to the City’s 2025 Budget Process (in 2024).
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, as well as context on City Council and alders.
Applicants who completed 2025 budget season training on Oct. 21 or 22 will receive an extra hour of pay on each assignment they submit.
New this year, we are capping departmental budget hearing assignments at 3.5 hours (plus 2 hours outside work). Please take note of the time slot indicated in the assignment title. You will be paid for the full 3.5 hours regardless of whether the meeting starts late or a break occurs, but you should conclude your coverage when the end of your shift arrives. In the event that a meeting runs past the end of the afternoon shift, we will assign someone to take notes on the remaining portion. More details here

Check the source website for additional information

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Note-taking by Angela Ybarra

Alders seem invested in finding alternative ways to manage budget

View notes

Live reporting by Charlene Rhinehart

Alders seem invested in finding alternative ways to manage budget

ChicagoSouthsider

In Chicago: Hi, I’ll be live-tweeting today's Chicago City Council 2025 Chicago budget hearing: Department of Innovation and Technology & Department of Fleet and Facility Management at 10:00 a.m. CST #CHIdocumenters @CHIdocumenters

09:33 AM Nov 21, 2024 CST

ChicagoSouthsider @ChiSouthsider 2/44

Meeting started at 10:03 with Public Comment from George Blakemoore who is a concerned citizen.

ChicagoSouthsider @ChiSouthsider 3/44

Next is presentation by the Department of Technology and Innovation.

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City's Chief Information Officer Nick Lucius presented the 2025 budget for DTI. He mentioned progress on city's goal to "harden our cybersecurity posture".

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Nick Lucius mentioned that DTI made great strides on modernization efforts and efforts will save 1.4 million annually. See additional savings by migrating to cloud infrastructure.

ChicagoSouthsider @ChiSouthsider 6/44

Other accomplishments include establishing an apprenticeship program in Greater Grand Crossing to provide training and employment opportunities, as well as modernizing the city’s ERP system, according to the City’s Chief Information Officer, Nick Lucius.

ChicagoSouthsider @ChiSouthsider 7/44

This year, the city moved system from city servers to cloud infrastructure. Next year, the goal is to take paper and PDF processes and move them into ERP system, according to the City’s Chief Information Officer, Nick Lucius.

ChicagoSouthsider @ChiSouthsider 8/44

Commissioner Lucious addresses questions about his confidence in the city's efforts regarding cybersecurity and data threats. "I will never be satisfied because it's a never-ending effort," he explains, emphasizing the challenges posed by those seeking to exploit insecurities.

ChicagoSouthsider @ChiSouthsider 9/44

Ward 43, represented by Alder Timmy Knudsen, utilizes an internal tech portal that provides immediate access to all 311 requests within the ward. He asks "how do you see the relationship with 311?" and also inquires about OEMC.

ChicagoSouthsider @ChiSouthsider 10/44

Alderperson Andre Vasquez of the 40th Ward raised concerns about scrambling in the fourth quarter to gather data and numbers and have more transparency. He asked, "What conversations have been had about the budget process? Have there been talks to improve our budget process?"

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Commissioner Lucious responded that the current budget technology system is stable but emphasized the need for a modern replacement with greater functionality in the long-term.

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Alder Vasquez suggested a system that provides all city council members with access to comparative ward performance data. "We are all elected officials, and I’d like to know where everyone's scoreboard is," Vasquez stated.

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Alderperson Emma Mitts of Ward 37 inquired about the list of Women Business Enterprise (WBE) and Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) client firms, as well as their prime contractors. She also sought information on apprenticeship programs and future opportunities in tech.

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Alderperson Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth of Ward 48 inquired about departmental support for enhancing ward operations. "Do you see this dept helping us on the frontends being better at what we do so that we can make the city better. Not every ward has a website."

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A question was raised about the diversity of contracts and how the numbers break down among different ethnic groups.

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Melissa from DTI shared the statistics for the period from January 1 to July 31, 2024: 3.84% of contracts went to African American businesses. 16.21% went to Asian businesses. 3.41% went to Hispanic businesses. 6% went to Women Business Enterprises (WBEs).

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Recess started at 11:14am and will resume shortly.

ChicagoSouthsider @ChiSouthsider 18/44

Back at 11:21am

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Janice Oda-Gray from the Chicago City Council Office of Financial Analysis (COFA) presented the budget overview. The proposed budget for FY25 is $558.3 million, representing a 5% reduction from the revised budget for FY24.

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Julie Hernandez-Tomlin, Commissioner of the Department of Fleet and Facility Management, highlighted progress: The department has improved fuel efficiency by incorporating hybrid vehicles into its fleet. Library Solar Projects have resulted in $141,000 in utility savings.

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In Ward 37, represented by Alderperson Emma Mitts, a question was raised about how obsolete equipment is handled. The Commissioner of Fleet and Facility Management explained: "We pretty much run our equipment to the end of its life until it is no longer operable."

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Then they work with the Department of Procurement.

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The Commissioner of Fleet and Facility Management provided details on payments to prime contractors and subcontractors: 24.5% African American-owned firms, 16% Hispanic-owned firms, 2.6% Asian, and 4.9% women owned businesses.

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The Department of Fleet and Facility Management has initiated a shadow program in collaboration with Kennedy-King College, allowing two students to shadow mechanics and gain firsthand experience in the field.

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The Commissioner of Fleet and Facility management also mentioned exploring the possibility of establishing an apprenticeship program through a City College.

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A question was raised about the 25 city-owned buildings that are currently vacant, specifically whether there are active discussions about putting them on the market. Concerns were expressed about the number of city-owned properties in communities that have been left unused.

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The Commissioner of Fleet and Facility Management responded: "Our job at 2FM is to ensure these buildings are safe, with snow removal, landscaping, and security in place. We are constantly assessing whether we can sell them or what condition they are in."

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Mark Chapulis, Deputy Commissioner of Fleet Operations for the Chicago Department of Assets, Information & Services, provided an update on the city's police vehicle fleet. 268 vehicles are currently out of service, 191 have some form of body damage, about 90% availability rate.

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Commissioner of Fleet and Facility Management responded to a question about staffing levels for mechanics: the number of Down 10 electrical mechanic automotives, 17 machinist automotives.

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Commissioner Fleet noted The hiring freeze has not impacted hiring process for automotive mechanics. Responder 2: 186 budgeted positions for automotive. Currently 17 vacancies. By December 13, an additional 4 positions are expected to be filled, and 8 new hires joined in 2024.

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Commissioner Hernandez-Tomlin responded to inquiries about EV fleet count: Since 2022, 236 electric vehicles have been acquired, representing a portion of the total fleet of 14,000 vehicles.

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@CHIdocumenters Commissioner Hernandez-Tomlin addressed a question regarding the City of Chicago's take-home vehicle fleet, stating that there are currently 176 take-home vehicles assigned to city employees, which is a reduction from last year.

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@CHIdocumenters Alderperson Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth of Ward 48 inquired about the department's approach to prioritizing maintenance for libraries citywide, noting that libraries play as safe havens for Uptown residents.

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@CHIdocumenters Alderperson Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth of Ward 48 inquired about the department's approach to intern recruitment. It was noted that the department had seven internship positions and hired one intern.

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Alder Jason C. Ervin inquired about the $5 million transfer from Millennium Park to the corporate fund, asking what facilitated the need for this adjustment.

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Alder Jason C. Ervin questioned why the city relinquished ownership of a property in favor of leasing space. The Commissioner responded that this decision was made before her tenure and mentioned she would look into this.

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Alder Conway inquired about the cost savings of electric vehicles, noting their higher upfront costs and asking for confirmation that the difference is offset over time through fuel savings.

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David: In 2023, the city entered into a power purchase agreement with Double Black Diamond in Waverly, Illinois, to purchase energy credits. While the city does not own the solar farm, it is a customer, leveraging these credits to support its energy needs

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David: The increase in electricity costs is driven by three main factors, with one key contributor being capacity supply costs.

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An Alderhighligh ted that Simeon High School offers an automotive mechanics class, suggesting the importance of connecting students from such programs to address the city's shortage of mechanics.

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As part of the mental health system expansion initiative, the Roseland Mental Health Center was reopened. Alder inquired about the costs associated with reopening mental health centers.

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The Commissioner of Fleet and Facility Management explained discussed cost for reopening mental health facility. For the Lower West Mental Health Center, in-house crews were utilized, with costs totaling approximately $59,000.

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For the Roseland Mental Health Center, in-house crews handled part of the work, while the remaining costs went to masonry repairs. The budget for Roseland was $100,000, with around $75,000 spent in total, according to Commissioner Hernandez-Tomlin.

ChicagoSouthsider @ChiSouthsider 44/44

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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/.

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.