lives of any kind. 2. Banners, flyers or other forms of signage. 3. Food and beverages,
including in glass or metal canisters. 4. Backpacks, large bags and sealed packages.
Clear bags, not tinted in color, that do not exceed 12 inches by 6 inches by 12,
are permitted and subject to search. And 5. Firearms, ammunition, fireworks,
laser pointers, stun guns, tasers, mace pepper spray, and toy weapons.
Cell phones and other small handheld recording devices must be placed in silent mode,
can only be used while seated, and can only be used in a manner that does not interfere with
the ability other individuals to view or hear the proceedings. Individuals or groups failing
to adhere to these rules will be subject to removal from the remainder of the meeting by
the sergeant at arms city of chicago city council rules of conduct for public meetings 2023 to 2027
pursuant to rule 58 of the chicago city council rules of order and procedure the sergeant at arms
sets forth the following rules of conduct for members of the public these rules shall be in
effect at all times that a viewing gallery or room is open for a meeting of the city council
or any of its committees. All individuals and their belongings are subject to search at entry
or upon request. Individuals must remain seated at all times except, one, when entering or exiting
the gallery, two, when providing public comment during the portion of a meeting, set aside for
that purpose, or three, when asked to rise and be acknowledged by a member of the City Council.
profane threatening harassing abusive or defamatory behavior or speech which in the judgment of the
meeting's chair or the sergeant at arms may lead to a breach of the peace or disrupt the orderly
conduct of the meeting is not permitted disruptive or distracting actions such as the stomping of
feet, waving of arms, throwing any item, whistling, booing, shouting, or other loud
utterances, are not permitted when in the judgment of the meeting's chair, or the sergeant-at-arms,
such actions are disrupting or impeding the orderly conduct of the meeting.
Any item that poses a potential safety hazards, as determined by the sergeant-at-arms, is
prohibited in the gallery. Such items include, but are not limited to, 1. Any pointed
objects, including knives of any kind. 2. Banners, flyers or other forms of signage.
3. Food and beverages, including in glass or metal canisters. 4. Backpacks, large bags and
sealed packages. Clear bags, not tinted in color, that do not exceed 12 inches by 6 inches by 12,
are permitted and subject to search and five firearms ammunition fireworks laser pointers
stun guns tasers mace pepper spray and toy weapons cell phones and other small handheld
recording devices must be placed in silent mode can only be used while seated
mode, can only be used while seated, and can only be used in a manner that does not interfere with
the ability other individuals to view or hear the proceedings. Individuals or groups failing to
adhere to these rules will be subject to removal from the remainder of the meeting by the sergeant
at Arms. City of Chicago City Council Rules of Conduct for Public Meetings 2023-2027
Pursuant to Rule 58 of the Chicago City Council Rules of Order and Procedure, the Sergeant at
Arms sets forth the following rules of conduct for members of the public. These rules shall be
in effect at all times that a viewing gallery or room is open for a meeting of the City Council
or any of its committees all individuals and their belongings are subject to search at entry
or upon request individuals must remain seated at all times except one when entering or exiting the
gallon good morning ladies and gentlemen uh the committee on the budget and government operations
will come to order as we do every day of these sessions we'll begin we'll begin the we'll begin
okay so if you want to stand up and make outbursts I'm going to ask the sergeant at
arms to remove you from the chambers today again that's number one keep going and you're going to
be outside just be clear about it okay that's number two keep going all right today we will
have public comment we had 32 people to sign up for public comment of which i asked the sergeant
at arms of which to pull 15 uh pull pull 15 out of the box he's giving me 15 every individual will
have two minutes for our public comment this morning and we're going to start with
And we're going to start with Amanda Ramirez, followed by Anthony Baraka.
Amanda Ramirez, yes, step up.
There you go, right here to the microphone, right here.
Can I start?
Yeah, again, you have two minutes because of the numbers of people that we have.
We're limited to two minutes.
Okay, you may proceed.
Good morning.
My name is Amanda Ramirez, and I'm a resident of Chicago's Northwest Side.
i'm here to ask you to invest five million dollars in the tenant opportunity to purchase act or topa
i live in a gentrifying neighborhood and when my neighbors and i learned our building we'd be
listed for sale topa was the only lifeline we had to keep our homes after months of work
and at 1 p.m today i'm happy to say we are set to make history as the first tenant association
to close on a building through TOPA.
Yes.
We will continue to have affordable rents because of TOPA.
We will remain in our homes because of TOPA,
but getting here was incredibly challenging.
Organizing our neighbors and learning the complexities
of a new ordinance is hard, but doable.
Finding the funding to purchase an entire building
at market value in just 30 days,
that felt nearly impossible.
And we're not alone.
Nearly every TOPA tenant association I've spoken with
has hit the same financial wall tenants are willing to organize and get pre-approval loans
but they need financial support to bridge the gap to get to the closing table without that support
our homes can end up in the hands of private equity firms and investment buyers a five million
dollar fund would help turn the legal opportunity topa provides into actual purchases preserving
affordable housing and keeping communities together.
housing and keeping communities together you all took the first landmark step to pass topa
now we need your help to fund it thank you thank you for your comment next we have mr baraka
from my oxy welcome thank you uh my name is tony baraka i'm the business manager for chicago
studio mechanics local 476 representing behind the scenes workers and the president
of the Illinois Production Alliance. I would also like to thank you for this opportunity to speak
on behalf of labor and workforce programs regarding the impact the PPLT ordinance has
on the film, television, and commercial production industry. I am proud to say that in the last
decade, our union has doubled its membership to over 2,100 members. In 2025, there were over 18,000
job hires, over 90% of which completed their work in the city of Chicago.
Unfortunately, many of my members are sitting at home right now waiting on the call for
their next job.
Our goal is to not only sustain these job numbers, but to increase them in maintaining
a competitive marketplace that is necessary for that goal.
This October, as part of our efforts to increase film and television jobs, the Illinois Production Alliance and the Chicago and Illinois Film Offices hosted executives from Netflix, HBO, CBS, 20th Century, Amazon, and NBCUniversal for the first Greenlight Chicago and Illinois Fam Tour.
While we received excellent feedback from our studio guests, attracting productions remains highly competitive.
95% of production companies determine the location of their film.
Determine the location of their film and shows based on economics, comparing potential budgets all the way down to light items like the PPLT.
As a film community, we must collectively place the challenge to maintain competitiveness through sound public policy and strong public-private partnerships.
These partnerships have also been...
Thank you for your comments.
Next, we have Mia Carvajal, followed by Jonah Karsh.
Oh, wait a minute.
Never mind.
Good morning.
My name is Mia Carvajal.
I am with the Here to Stay Community Land Trust.
Here to Stay works to ensure that legacy residents on Chicago's northwest side can remain in the neighborhoods they help build.
in historically latino communities we create opportunities for permanently affordable home
ownership so that working class families can put down roots and build generational wealth
in neighborhoods they grew up in but can no longer afford we are grateful for the city's
continued investments in affordable housing particularly the shared equity investment
program or seip seip provides community land trust and housing cooperatives with the resources to
acquire existing buildings remove them from the speculative real estate market and preserve them
as permanently affordable homes it also helps working class families overcome the financial
barriers to home ownership by providing them with down payment assistance so in other words
SEIP preserves affordable housing that already exists and creates
and creates pathways for families to become the homeowners.
And these investments are working.
Since launching in 2024,
SEIP has helped community land trust and housing co-ops
acquire eight buildings with two more in the pipeline,
creating 44 permanently affordable
home ownership opportunities across neighborhoods,
including Little Village, Pilsen, Humboldt Park,
Avondale, South Shore, Woodlawn, Riverdale, and Englewood.
At Here to Stay, we've seen firsthand
what these investments can accomplish through the city's acquisition funding we have developed
10 affordable homes with another 11th unit in the pipeline and of our 23 homeowners 14 have received
these down payment assistance from seip and these are not just units or transactions these are
artists musicians faith leaders and working-class families who can continue living and contributing
to the communities they've called home for decades but the need is far from met and across
neighborhoods like logan square we're seeing two flat c converted into single family homes
and that's why we're asking city leaders to confirm a new five thank you for your comments
next uh jonah karsh followed by brian campbell uh good morning uh to the few aldermen that are in
here uh thanks for being here my name is jonah karsh i'm a community organizer with the metropolitan
tenants organization we are chicago's oldest largest uh ongoing tenants rights organization
we respond to calls thousands a year from all 50 wards helping tenants in crisis in chicago and
we're proud to be doing that i'm here today because uh the city council has made a commitment
to come to an agreement to expand renters rights in the city of chicago uh by uh negotiating
between the pro ordinance which mto is supporting and the fair ordinance introduced by alderman
viegas we're very much looking forward to what comes out of those negotiations and i just like
to talk about some of how I think that might intersect with the budget one of the place
might intersect with the budget. One of the places where there's agreement, thankfully,
is on a rental registry. What I think is important is that that rental registry have the funding
to be successful. PRO provides per unit registration fees that top out at $5 per unit per month for
the most expensive or largest buildings in Chicago. I think that's reasonable. If the
fair proponents have an alternative proposal to fund the rental registry, we're happy to see it.
We're still waiting on that. Another thing that we want to make sure we're funding is enforcement of the residential landlord and tenant ordinance in the city of Chicago. Believe it or not, we do not enforce the tenants rights statutes in Chicago right now. It's left to the courts and lawyers and tenants with self-help remedies. And I can tell you firsthand that I have tenants coming into our office every day where the landlord is breaking the law and we just have to tell the tenant, well, maybe hire a lawyer. That is not an effective way.
If we had a city department, like a Bureau of Rental Housing Services, that could ticket landlords that are violating tenants' rights, I think that would establish a lot of deterrence.
And finally, I want to make sure that there's, I think there's agreement on this, but that we're funding what has been a very successful eviction council program in Chicago past 2027.
Thank you.
Thank you for your comments.
Next, we have Brian Campbell, followed by Tonette Hendrick-Sanders.
Hey, good morning, everybody.
My name is Brian Campbell, and I'm a resident services manager at Delmar Apartments in the 48th Ward.
I work for Mercy Housing Lakefront, where we provide affordable, service-enriched housing to Chicago's most vulnerable, low-income adults.
I'm calling on the mayor's office and Chicago City Council to allocate an additional $13 million for the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund,
because this program is one of the key financial pillars allowing us to continue in this important work.
important work. It's been my privilege to know and work with the 30-plus residents receiving this
subsidy at the Del Mar. These individuals are generally older single adults living on a fixed
income from Social Security. They include veterans, former construction workers, pastors,
and the retired DJ who puts me on to overlooked house and disco records from the 80s.
In just this cohort of people, we have a brilliant diversity of race, different ethnicities,
sexual orientations, and life experiences. What they share is they live on a meager income,
usually from Social Security, and owing to their disability or their spotty official work history,
their monthly income is usually in the range of $900 to $1,500. As anyone who's tried to
rent an apartment in the private market in Chicago recently knows, without this subsidy,
these individuals have no place else to go. It's important to me that Chicago can continue to be a
home for these neighbors of ours. The trust fund makes this possible by
providing landlords with a reliable rental subsidy so we can offer affordable
units and continue serving residents who might otherwise struggle to find or keep
housing in Chicago. I want to be clear the 13 million dollar request is not new
funding to expand the program. It is restoring historically allocated
funding and addressing the existing structural deficit. Without it we could
lose affordable housing and put tenants, property owners, and neighborhood stability at risk.
Please protect this existing investment and help keep Chicago housed. Thanks.
Thank you for your comments. Next, we have Tonette Hendrick-Sanders, followed by Zoe Lee.
Good morning. Good morning. My name is Tonette Hendrick-Sanders. I'm the program manager of
special projects at the Center for Housing and Health and represent the Keep Chicago House
coalition the keep chicago house coalition the key
The Keep Chicago House campaign is advocating for funding for housing and servicing in this
year's budget so that 3,000 Chicagoans do not lose their housing and become homeless.
One of the investments we are asking the city to make is an additional $13 million in the
Department of Housing budget for the Chicago Low Income Housing Trust Fund.
This funding is necessary to preserve housing for the 2,800 households relying on the program.
As a housing provider, I see how housing instability affects every aspect of a person's life.
Housing is the foundation that makes it possible for people to access services, address other challenges, and build a future.
We know that homelessness is not simply the absence of a home.
It can disrupt employment, education, health care, family relationships, and access to essential services.
Once someone loses their housing, helping them regain stability can require significantly more resources and coordination.
That is why preventing homelessness matters.
The Chicago Low Income Housing Trust Fund is an important part of Chicago's homelessness prevention infrastructure.
It supports households across 41 of Chicago's 50 wards, including seniors, people with disabilities, and families living on extremely low incomes.
The program also supports the broader affordable housing ecosystem.
85% of participants participating in properties have six or fewer supporting units.
This is an investment in residence, neighborhood stability, and the network of housing resources that makes our work possible.
And I want to underscore an important distinction.
The additional $13 million being requested is not new funding for program expansion.
It is a restoration of historically allocated funding needed to address an existing structural deficit and maintain assistance for households already enrolled.
We cannot talk about preventing homelessness while allowing existing housing assistance to disappear.
Thank you for your comments.
Next, we have Zoe Lee followed by Simone Montgomery.
I remember last year at the Black Caucus,
Ann's LaRide told me housing was a human right,
and the city of Chicago still hasn't settled my family's lawsuit
from knocking it down.
Y'all stealing black people's property.
Then I hear around here, housing is a human right.
When last year the homeless budget that they passed was $46 million,
now this year they're trying to put 70 uh past 72 million when i've watched people come in here
asking for housing and y'all don't give it to them so while y'all come here and champion that bs
to continue to get money to continue to sell us out like y'all did last night it's never going to
change. The Montgomery bus boycott, a year. We protested for a year. Freedmen, the
civil, the Republican Party is ours. The reason why the Republican Party is here
to free us from slavery and y'all are going back. The Democratic Party is full
of weird queers foreigners white weird liberals that malcolm x told told us about and he sell out
blacks for these checks and these pensions that our property taxes are paying for that wasn't no
win yesterday that was yeah yeah at the end of the day man like kids our freedmen kids this is
our country this is our country and ain't nobody gonna take it away danielle carter watches for
mayor
Thank you for your comment. Next, we have Simone Montgomery, followed by Sam Rose.
My name is Simone Montgomery, and I am an attorney at Impact for Equity and a member of the Chicago Healthy Homes Coalition.
For years, the coalition has advocated for proactive rental inspections, and this year, City Council authorized a working group to make recommendations on how to implement them in Chicago.
One essential component of a proactive rental inspection system is a rental registry.
City Council is also currently considering implementing a rental registry as part of negotiations surrounding updates to the residential landlord-tenant ordinance, or the RLTO.
As Council continues these negotiations, the coalition urges members to create and fund a rental registry that follows best practices set forth by pure cities and meaningfully advance advocates for rights of Chicago tenants.
City Council members generally agree that the goal of a rental registry should be to make investors transparent and accountable for their properties.
This requires landlords to disclose their ownership structure so that tenants and city staff are able to reliably communicate with landlords.
Additionally, a robust rental registry mandates an annual registration fee or other mechanism to pay for its own administration.
The RLTO is due for an update, and the city's residents have placed their trust in this body to get that update over the finish line.
As council discusses what a modernized RLTO might look like, reviews recommendations generated by the Proactive Rental Inspections Working Group, and solidifies next year's budget,
we urge council to prioritize a registry that fully contemplates the safety and well-being of Chicago tenants and is sufficiently funded. Thank you.
sufficiently funded. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Next we have Sam Rose followed by James
Shearer. I was only homeless for a year. One year and I was lucky even then to have family that I
could stay with. But the consequences of that year follow me. There were lasting impacts on my mind
and my body. Mental health impacts as well as impacts from not having access to my asthma
medications. But there were also impacts on my future. That year, I was a junior in high school.
Without a consistent place to live, I couldn't focus on my tests, my grades, who I wanted to be
when I grew up, and my college applications. How can we count the losses from what never was?
Ending permanent supportive housing will result in immediate suffering from the families that are
no longer able to be housed. It will result in long-term suffering on their minds and their
bodies and it will result in an uncalculable loss to our future what might our community be capable
of if we all had secure housing i urge you to fully fund homelessness services to protect not
only our communities today but our communities tomorrow and in the future thank you thank you
for your comments uh next james shearer followed by noah basis hi uh my name is jim shearer i i'm
resident of the 36th Ward. I've been in the motion picture industry for over 30
years, the last 25 of which is at S&A Studio and Lighting. Our company provides
specialty equipment and studio rentals exclusively for use in film and motion
picture production. We've been locally owned by city residents for nearly a
century. I'd like to thank DK's Commissioner Kenya Merritt and Deputy
Commissioner of the Chicago Film Office Natasha Oguin. Their advocacy for film
production in Chicago, along with the creative ways they bring attention to
our city's unparalleled locations and production infrastructure, help bring
production infrastructure help bring production here and grow the industry
year-over-year when the state film tax credit was enhanced at the end of last
year Illinois became a national leader the only credit has led to increases in
production spend every single year since its inception with total spend for 2025
reaching over 700 million dollars and approximately 90% of that is
concentrated in Chicago it's well known the film production in general has
outsized ancillary spend on everything from hotels location fees restaurants
construction materials specialized businesses like S&A and most
importantly labor which are largely union positions with better than average
compensation benefits the olsberg report an independent study commission to quantify the
return on investment from the state tax credit found that for every dollar and credit issued
six dollars and 81 cents is returned to the local economy our industry is inherently portable so we
have to compete both nationally and globally to bring the work and associated spending here the
the current pplt is over double the national average getting it down to the lower rate as
proposed would keep chicago in conversation while still generating revenue for the city via pplt
collections coupled with film productions outside spend on everything else most of which is also
tax in various ways. Growing this industry will more than make up the difference in revenue from
a more competitive lease rate promotion future equipment rentals. I'd like to thank the City
Council for the opportunity to speak today and specifically express the gratitude to Aldous
Nugent, Dowell, Lagaspack, and Lee. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Next we have Noah
Bezos followed by Remington Price. Good morning and thank you for having me. My name is Noah
Bezos, Illinois Legislative Strategist with the IJ Clinic on Entrepreneurship at the University
Chicago Law School. We spent the last 25 years helping entrepreneurs and small business owners
navigate licensing and regulatory barriers, and our goal is to make it cheaper, faster,
and simpler for small businesses to thrive in Chicago. We first want to applaud BACP and the
city of Chicago for their red tape cutting efforts in this budget and in the past year.
Reducing fees for home occupations, expanding the foods that pushcart vendors can serve,
and developing a plan for the one-stop shop business licensing and permitting portal are
real steps toward making Chicago a better place for people to launch their dreams.
place for people to launch their dreams but there are ordinances moving forward that agencies can
make stronger right now the vendors ordinance before the city council expands what kinds of
food sidewalk vendors can sell but it drastically limits where they can sell it the passes currently
written we encourage bacp to work with the commissioner of transportation right away
to clarify vendor zones how large are they how long can a vendor stay and how will vendors know
that they're in compliance. We also encourage alders to look to their own wards and identify
the spaces where they can designate vending zones, welcome sidewalk vendors, and create real
opportunities for working people to get ahead. Likewise, the city is investing in our creative
economy, but the license required to host amusements and activities and to pay artists
and performers is so time-consuming and expensive that many of our neighborhoods are entertainment
deserts. Reforming that license means Chicago can maximize the returns on those creative
economy investments. We stand by ready to help. We offer nonpartisan technical consulting,
and we welcome the chance to work with all of you on right-sizing our rules
and streamlining our processes so that even the smallest businesses have a real shot at success.
Thank you very much. Thank you for your comments. Next, we have Remington Price,
followed by Jessica Jackson. Good morning. My name is Remington Price, and I serve as
Executive Director of the Gary Comer Youth Center on the South Side. We serve over 2,000
young people ages 11 to 24 annually in enrichment academic and workforce development programming
i'm here today to share the impact of the neighborhood opportunity fund and what this
program has made possible in our community the neighborhood opportunity fund is more than a
grant program it's a tool for neighborhood transformation it invests directly in communities
that have historically been experiencing disinvestment and helps local organizations
and small businesses create lasting assets that residents can use benefit from and take pride in
for generations at gcyc neighborhood opportunity fund support is bringing our food sovereignty hub
to life located in greater grand crossing the food sovereignty hub is an innovative urban agriculture
Crossing, the Food Sovereignty Hub is an innovative urban agriculture and workforce
development campus designed to address multiple community needs at once. Food access, environmental
sustainability, youth opportunity, and neighborhood economic vitality. Through this investment,
we have been able to expand our agriculture infrastructure, increase local food production,
and create hands-on learning opportunities for young people, community members, and the robust
urban farming community here in Chicago. The project includes a 1.75-acre youth-led urban farm,
1,200-square-foot, four-season greenhouse, hydroponic container farm, outdoor classroom
and kitchen space, and entrepreneurship workshop space. The Food Sovereignty Hub increases access
to fresh, healthy food in a community that has faced significant barriers to food equity.
It creates welcoming green space, strengthens community connections, and demonstrates what
is possible when residents are given the resources to build solutions for themselves.
Programs like the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund recognize that community development is about
more than buildings. It's about people. It's about creating spaces where residents can learn,
grow, work, and thrive. For organizations like ours, the fund provides access to capital that
exponentially increases the impact of other philanthropic efforts and investments.
For communities like Greater Grand Crossing, it accelerates projects that generate measurable
social, economic, and environmental returns. And for our city of Chicago, it represents a
smart investment in neighborhood-led solutions that strengthen the fabric of our city.
thank you for your comments next we have jessica jackson followed by regina jones
a notary republic a notary public made a
survey and it revealed that the city of chicago has over
that the city of Chicago has over 1 million 501 c3s and nonprofits over 1
million so that means that these people that's in here today sponsored by these
nonprofits that's why they're here that's why they're here and this man
Jason Irvin who has been over the budget for the last four years and the budget
keeps getting deeper and deeper in debt because he has people like this to come in here and
give a fake facade like he's benefiting the city.
Now, you all are sitting up here listening to this man.
Are you all aware that this man, Jason Irvin, him and his wife, Melissa Kanye Irvin, cheated
on Mayor Brandon Johnson's petitions for signatures?
They photocopied petitions for signatures and then shuffled in his wife's old petitions to fake that Brandon Johnson has signatures to be on the mayor ballot.
So what we did, Chicago flips red, we filed with the Chicago Board of Elections on November 2nd to have Brandon Johnson disqualified as a mayor candidate.
And we're going to lock him up.
Because him and his wife are committing election fraud.
So the next time y'all get up and clap, understand that we know that the 501c3s are paying y'all to be here and to move us out of our communities and to steal our property out of South Shore so that J.B. Pritzker can keep on stealing over there at the Obama Center.
We coming for these seats.
Thank you for your comments.
Next, we have Regina Jones, followed by our final speaker, Catherine K. Vila.
panel speaker, Catherine K. Vila, Vila Men.
Ms. Jones, are you still here?
Regina Jones.
Regina Jones.
Regina Jones going twice.
Regina Jones.
Okay, we're going to move on.
Sergeant at Arms, could you pull,
could you pull one additional one out of the,
out of the car?
It's not Regina Jones, that's Sarah Wilson.
Are you, okay.
Next, we're going to have Catherine K. Villeman.
Catherine, very well.
You may proceed.
Good morning.
My name is Kay Villeman, Executive Director of the North River Commission.
We're a community development organization in Albany Park, serving Chicago's northwest side since 1962.
I'm here today to emphasize the importance of sustained funding for the Neighborhood Business Development Center Program,
transitioning to the Neighborhood Business Network, or NBN. At North River Commission,
we help entrepreneurs navigate licensing, access grants, improve storefronts, strengthen marketing,
and connect with critical resources. But our greatest value is something that cannot always
be captured in a report. It's the relationships and trust that we build with business owners.
For many entrepreneurs, particularly immigrants and first-time business owners,
navigating city processes can be overwhelming organizations like ours bridge that gap serving
as an extension of the city's small business support infrastructure but we cannot provide
consistent support to small businesses without consistent funding for the organization serving
them long-term investment allows us to retain experienced staff maintain relationships and
respond to changing neighborhood needs i also want to emphasize the importance of bacp's small
BACP's small business roundtables and the cut-to-tape initiative. These efforts create a
direct feedback loop between neighborhood businesses and city government, allowing us
to elevate real challenges, identify regulatory barriers, and help shape more accessible and
responsive city services. So as you consider the city's budget, I encourage continued investment
in the neighborhood business network. When a city invests in neighborhood business support
organizations, it strengthens its own capacity to reach entrepreneurs, deliver resources, and
sustained, vibrant commercial corridors. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. And our final
speaker, Dante Hall. Dante Hall, are you here? Thank you. Thank you. May proceed. Pull the mic
up. I'm being heard. Hey, thank you, everybody, for the opportunity to speak. My name is Dante
Hall. I'm here as an organizer with Chicago Votes, and I'm here in support of the vision
for the city's budget that was put forward by the People's Unity platform. Further, I'm
here as a proud native of the city. I was born and raised on the city's south side,
and I warmly remember the distinct pleasure and honor of having been brought up in a neighborhood
or a community where people still could ask each other for a cup of sugar or ask somebody to watch
the kids while they were at work or well we still had block parties like I still remember that
and how impactful that was for me when I was younger um and with that being said those
And with that being said, those kind of communities can only happen when there are safety nets or when there are opportunities for people's base needs to be met.
And so like so many other people in the room today, I'm here to sort of assert and insist that housing has to be a human right and has to be treated and respected, upheld and honored as that.
uh and uh given the uh vision put forward for the budget by the people's unity platform we need to
see investments in um those kinds of safety nets wraparound services we need to see a commitment
to not only housing or homelessness um ways to respond to homelessness but ways to prevent
and prevent homelessness and so with that being the case i stand wholeheartedly behind the vision
for the city's budget that was put forward by the people's unity platform and yeah i i appreciate
the opportunity to have had the floor and to speak today thank you thank you for your comments
uh this concludes this concludes our public comment portion uh we will begin shortly with
uh department of planning and development committee with stand at ease while they
come in what's happening you got a long statement a short statement
No, no, he was talking about.
Okay, we're back on.
Today we have before us the Department of Planning and Development, led by Commissioner Sierra Boatwright.
We are going to have a brief overview from the Department, I'm sorry, from Council Office of Financial Analysis,
after which we will have introductions from the commissioner of our staff
that is with us in the well and those that are in the box,
and she'll give a brief opening statement.
Today we're going to go to the five and five,
so you'll get a five-minute – your first five minutes,
you'll get the clock to kind of let you know where you are,
and then we'll follow with the second five minutes
because we do have four departments today
and would like to see some portions of daylight.
light so um so we're going to proceed in that manner uh director please proceed good morning
proceed good morning chairman irvin vice chairman lee members of city council and guest today kofa
will provide an overview of the proposed fyi 2027 budget for the department of planning and
development for fyi 2027 the department is proposing a budget of approximately 158.1 million
representing an increase of $11.6 million, or 7.9%, over the FY2026 revised appropriation.
When we break that down, we see that personnel spending increases by 5.1%,
bringing the personnel budget to approximately $20.99 million. Non-personnel spending accounts
for approximately $137.09 million and increased by 8.36 percent. From a staffing perspective,
the department is budgeting for 193 FTEs, one fewer than the prior year. As of October 21,
2026, the vacancy rate stands at 14.2 percent. So while the department's overall budget is
increasing, the number of budgeted FTE positions is essentially unchanged. When we look beyond the
total budget, we see some significant changes in the department spending category. The most notable
change is within the purpose-specific appropriations. The 9,000 category increased by approximately 35.5
million while the 9100 category decreased by approximately 21.2 million we also see a reduction
of approximately 3.75 million in contractual services what this tells us is that the department
is not simply increasing spending across the board there's a substantial redistribution of resources
among appropriations.
among appropriations. Don't you like technology?
Personnel costs also increased by approximately 5.1% or $1 million.
Appropriation by fund. Turning to the funding sources, we see that the department's budget is supported by a combination of local resources and grant funding.
The corporate fund increased by approximately $1.2 million.
The neighborhood opportunity fund increases by approximately $6.2 million.
And the state grant fund increased by approximately $7.2 million.
At the same time, there are reductions in other funding sources.
The citywide adopt-a-landmark fund decreased by approximately $2 million, while the disaster
recovery fund declined by approximately $1.25 million.
These changes are important because they show that the department's overall budget
increased increases being influenced by different funding sources, but not just the corporate fund.
Looking at the department's historical appropriations gives us a broader perspective
on how its funding has evolved. The department's budget reached approximately $208 million in 2023
and has gradually declined with the FY27 recommendation, which is now at approximately
$158 million. One important factor in understanding this trend is the Department's
previous reliance on ARPA funding. From 2022 through 2026, ARPA resources contributed to
the Department's overall funding. Those resources have since tapered off and are not included in the
FY 2027 proposal. The historical chart also shows the Community Development Block Grant funding,
which is approximately $30.71 million in the FY 2027 proposal.
71 million in the fy 2027 proposal local other funding has increased to approximately 104.26
million while corporate fund support has remained relatively stable in recent years
with approximately 15.89 million proposed for fy 2027 as temporary federal resources phase out we
see the department relying more heavily on other funding sources and grant resources
Finally, let's look at staffing. The department has 193 FTEs budgeted for FY 2027, again one fewer than the prior year. The historical staffing chart shows that ARPA-supported staffing peaked around 2023 and 2024. Those ARPA-funded positions are no longer included in the FY 27 proposal.
By comparison, grant-funded and locally-funded staffing has remained relatively stable from 2023 through the FY 2027 proposed budget.
As of October 21, 2026, the vacancy rate is approximately 14.2%.
This concludes the overview for the Planning and Development Department.
Thank you, Director. Commissioner?
Thank you Chairman Irvin, Vice Chair Lee, and esteemed members of City Council. I'm Sierra Boatwright, Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development. I want to thank Mayor Brandon Johnson for his leadership and continued support of DPD's important work and the members of this committee. Thank you for your partnership and your commitment.
I'm happy to provide a brief overview of the department's work in 2026 and our priorities
for the year ahead.
With me on the dais is my first deputy and zoning administrator, Patrick Murphy, Deputy
Commissioner of Finance, Alex Butnick, and Assistant Commissioner, Paul Moody.
In the box, we have Managing Deputy Jeff Cohen.
In the box, we have Managing Deputy Jeff Cohen, Deputy Commissioner Tierra Hughes, Deputy
Commissioner Mary O'Connor, Deputy Commissioner Khalid Floman, Director of Planning, Research
and Development, Brad Robick, Director of Land, Disposition and Acquisition, Whitney
Mungin, Human Resource Director, Amy Henry, Supervising Planner, Heidi Sperry, Assistant
Commissioner, Deanna Cavallo, Assistant Commissioner, Noah Safranek, and Assistant
Commissioner Nolan Zaroff. We're currently staffed with 164 full-time professionals across five
bureaus, plus a sixth bureau of operations that we share with the Department of Housing. We
currently have 29 vacancies, including seven with pending job offers and five that will be
advertised by years in. I'll start with a quick overview of our core planning functions that are
foundational to holistic neighborhood improvement strategies that we're implementing across the
city. 16 business corridor or neighborhood land use studies are currently underway or recently
completed, such as the South Chicago Land Use Framework, the Bronzeville Trail Framework,
Moving Archer Forward, and the Cicero Avenue Land Use Plan. Each of these efforts include broad
community engagement activities to ensure their planning goals, land use recommendations,
and improvement objectives are community-driven. Over the last two years, our planning efforts have
involved 32 separate studies and initiatives across 46 wards citywide. I want to note that
50 percent of our 2026 planning studies are being conducted entirely in-house or with grant support
resulting in considerable cost savings, a ratio that's expected to hit 67 percent in 2027.
A key outcome of neighborhood planning efforts are proactive zoning changes that enable new construction projects and new businesses to advance without costly and time-consuming map amendments or special.
and time-consuming map amendments or special approvals.
Through automatic partnership, DPD advanced new zoning designations for about 2,000 properties in 2026,
including 1,000 parcels at the September City Council meeting alone.
That makes 7,000 parcels that were proactively rezoned in the last three and a half years.
Planning studies also help residents identify potential requests for proposals for city-owned land.
The 10 RFPs issued to date in 2026 are expected to produce more than $200 million in neighborhood
investment, including transit-served development sites like 95th and State and 63rd and Ashland.
Our most recent RFP is seeking to reestablish a courtyard building typology that was instrumental
to the city's growth in the first half of the last century. Courtyard construction was
essentially terminated citywide by the 1957 zoning code rewrite, which prioritized rear
setbacks versus front yard open space, and that Typology's rebirth with modest zoning updates
can help the city substantially address its housing shortage. We hope to announce winning
responses for three sites in Garfield Boulevard early next year. On the subject of market rate
housing, I'll add that our Missing Middle initiative is rapidly advancing across the
south and west sides of Chicago, with the first seven buildings completed last month in North
Lawndale. In two short years, this repopulation and community wealth building initiative is
advancing 376 units in 137 buildings valued at $139 million, with much more to come. In addition
to missing middle and RFPs, we're aggressively marketing city land twice a year on Chi Block
Builder land sale portal. In 2026, we listed more than 1,100 parcels collectively valued at $70
million. So I expect significant returns from more than 536 purchase applications submitted
applications submitted this spring and more to come this fall. Land sale closings in 2026 have
already exceeded 2025's totals with $4.7 million in revenues. 85% of those revenues are for new
construction projects valued at $180 million. About 85% of revenues are for new construction
projects versus side yards and open space that dominated our land disposition a few years ago.
New to the ChiBlock Builder portal this year are direct links to environmental records for each property, which is a major step forward for our transparency initiatives.
I want to also mention our other major repopulation initiative, which is LaSalle's Revitalization Program, which saw its first project completion last month at 79 West Monroe.
This is a $64 million adaptive reuse project that created 117 units with 35% affordability,
thanks to $28 million in TIF support.
Collectively, these six participating buildings represent $900 million in new investment,
1,759 mixed income units, and $316 million in TIF.
Since the LaSalle Initiative launched roughly three years ago, an additional 23 conversion projects have emerged downtown on market forces alone, with 4,300 total units planned or underway.
That's more than $1.8 billion in total investment and 4. million square feet of former office space.
I'd like to pivot to Chicago Plan Commission projects and our plan development zoning designations and groundbreaking.
So far this year, Plan Commission has approved more than $3.3 billion in new PDs containing 3,900 mixed-income housing units.
In terms of construction, the 1901 Project, the 78, and Foundry Park all broke ground this year, representing more than $18 billion in construction.
more than $18 billion in construction and more than 23,000 mixed-income units on 143 acres of
land that's been followed, paved, or underutilized for far too long. This is the second full year
that DPD's updated sustainable development policy has been in effect for planned commission projects,
and we're seeing new and innovative approaches to meet and exceed compliance thresholds,
including the city's first geothermal multifamily high-rise, 16 all-electric projects, and 80%
usage of bird-friendly design details. All these efforts are shaped by public engagement. To date,
in 2026, DPD staff have participated in nearly 200 automatic briefings, more than 140 community
events, and several thousand business and ward interactions that help to inform our policies
and programs. Staff are coordinating several special events, like the third annual Preservation
Expo this spring, the fourth annual Manufacturing Excellence Awards this fall, and our fourth annual
City Civics Day being held next Saturday, November 14th, for Chicagoans that want to play more active
roles in their communities, including our youth. Authentic engagement also results in better grant
applications from businesses, along with better project outcomes. In 2026, DPD announced more than
$820 million in grant awards and incentives for over 275 neighborhood projects valued at more
than $1.8 billion, including $626 million for Foundry Park and the 78's public infrastructure.
More than 90% of these awards are $250,000 or less for sole proprietorship and mom-and-pop-type enterprises, 80% of which are located on the West, Southwest, or Southside.
These also include Adopt-a-Landmark grants that help maintain the city's ever-growing list of official city landmarks.
city landmarks. Twelve new or pending designations in 2026 include the Shops Building in Altgale
Gardens, the Logan Square Boulevard District Extension, and four historic churches, ensuring
these community anchors will continue to serve their neighborhoods for years to come. Before I
close, I want to highlight our continued effort to cut the tape and modernize how DPD operates.
These efforts are producing measurable results. We've reduced plan commission timelines by 40%
shortened parcel valuation timelines from six months to one month, and reduced right of entry
approval from months to days. We've also eliminated redundant design reviews and cut zoning board
meeting lengths by half. Beyond these improvements, 2026 brought significant advancements in
transparency, accountability, and operational efficiency. We implemented an internal tracking
system that's monitoring more than 3,000 active projects and begin automating public datasets to
improve access to information. We've also strengthened coordination across our bureaus
and standardized internal processes to improve how we deliver services. On behalf of the entire
Department of Planning and Development, thank you for your time, your consideration, and your
partnership as we work towards our collective planning goals. Thank you, Chair. Thank you,
Commissioner, we'll begin today's questions with Chairman Villegas, followed by Alderman O'Shea.
Thank you, Chairman. Good morning, Commissioner and APD staff.
You mentioned about the office to residential conversions, which we appreciate.
Great. What was that number again one more time on that?
Six city-assisted, TIF-assisted projects and 23 private markets, so a total of 29 projects that support over 4,000 units.
projects that support over 4,000 units of new housing and over $1.8 billion of new investment.
Yeah. And I wanted you to highlight that second portion, which is the 23 private,
which is important because we needed that shot in the arm with the TIF. And as a result of that,
you're seeing that. Through the chair, if you could, if you have any numbers around what the
projected property tax revenue would be off those projects, that would be great.
Sure.
Yep. And then you talked about the land sales. Obviously, in the budget, we have some numbers tied to it as well. I know that you're advertising them. Could you talk a little bit more about that? What is it that we can do as a body to help you with this too? Because these vacant property lands, we got to get them back out of tax.
Yeah, we do. We have right now just over 7,000 lots. We list lots twice a year. These lots are
listed through Shyblock Builder, which is our land disposition platform. I think that's the
very first thing that we're doing that's leading to an increase of these land sales, as well as
an increase of revenue. I think working closely with our partners, you all, we know how to list
the lots based off the priorities for your particular wards. I mentioned during my statement
that 85% of our lots have been listed for vertical construction. What we're seeing is that the need
for more vertical development is supporting the need for density, the need for retail, the need
for more population and neighborhoods that have lost population. The majority of our lots are on
the South and West sides. These are lots that are not on the property tax roll. So as we list these
lots twice a year because this is a publicly facing platform. Chicagoans, developers,
nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations are able to see what's available, search by ward,
search by community area. Some of the projects are proactively rezoned. That makes it easier
for the investment and the development to occur. And we're seeing a reduction in our timeline.
One of the biggest advances that I'm most proud of is our partnership with DOE for this particular
with DOE for this particular round where we're actually providing environmental disclosures.
This matters because it takes so much of the guesswork out, right? You're starting to de-risk
the projects, if you will. And so when an applicant applies, they understand the environmental
condition when they actually apply. And so that's been a huge advancement for us. Whitney Mungin has
done a phenomenal job from our team with just operationalize the process and really coordinating
with our Bureau of Planning and Design and our Alders to ensure that we're able to roll these
projects out in a strategic and a more consistent basis. Yeah. And then market rate housing.
What else could we do? What else can we do? What else can we do in order to help you and really
help the city with this market rate? I know that there are certain communities that have
thousands of units that have been entitled, but you're just missing that oomph and just curious
as to whether or not you've thought about what that oomph is in order to get it over the cross
of a finish line. I think continued partnership with our developers, you know, when I look at our
PDs and some of which have already have permits pulled, we are really being proactive and talking
to those developers that have not pulled permits to understand what's the challenge. You know,
some of the challenges are beyond our control, challenges with attracting investment and things
like that. But what is in our control, I think that we are doing a pretty good job on. Some of
the things that we've heard in prior years is zoning. How do we proactively rezone these parcels
so that our smaller developers don't have to spend the time or resources to zone it? Hence,
over 2,000 proactive rezonings across the city just this year alone. And I believe that we're
over 7,000 proactive rezonings under this administration. And so I think those are
things that we can do to certainly prime the pump. I don't think it's just one activity or
one tool or one development focus that we should lean in. I think it's really thinking about
that we should lean in, I think it's really thinking about development holistically. So as
we think about missing middle, as we think about our land sales, as we think about proactive
rezoning, as we really highlight these office to resi conversions, it's all of those components
that can help us bring more housing stock online, streamlining the development process and creating
more predictability. Developers just need predictability. And I think that we're doing
that through our cut the tape initiatives and being better partners, streamlining the reviews,
you know of our permit um uh timeline certainly help as well so those are a few of the activities
that we're focusing diligently on yep yep and you mentioned read the cut the red tape a few times
and i've been in discussions with abby if through the chair you could provide some of your ideas
that you think may need some legislative changes so we can socialize it with our colleagues
and talk about what the what the benefit is to the budget the overall budget
well and then and then lastly uh commissioner um again it's always a pleasure working with your
team um i just wanted to know could you provide through the chair a list of the positions that
are associated with the funding source and i saw up there neighborhood opportunity fund tiff
just curious as to what how what positions are tied to those specific funds sure we can get
that through the chair cool thank you cool thank you well we're here to help so let us know how we
can assist. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The last
request you have is in the budget book, so
by position, it is
in the budget. Let me read that whole damn book.
Yeah, okay. All right.
All right, next up, we have Alderman
O'Shea, followed
by Alderman
Moore.
Thank you,
Chairman. Good morning,
Commissioner. Good morning.
I'd like to start out, could
you explain to us
one of your
newest programs, the Workforce Solution
Program. Sure.
So our Workforce Solution program, for many of you all, you may remember TIF Works.
And TIF Works is a program that created both workforce dollars for existing employees,
but dollars for companies that are hiring new staff.
One of the challenges with TIF Works is you had to be in a TIF to be able to take advantage
of the resource.
And you had to be in a TIF that actually had resources.
Workforce Solutions expands TIF works so that you don't have to be in a TIF district for your company to take advantage of the resource.
We're leveraging our housing and economic development bond to level the plan field, if you will.
And so this was approved last year in June, and I'm really proud of the progress that we're making.
I'm going to actually pass it to Mary O'Connor to highlight some of just the success that we're seeing
and some of the concerted outreach efforts
that we're making to make sure
that our businesses are aware of this program broadly.
Mary O'Connor, Deputy Commissioner
of Small Business Development.
So last year in June of 2025,
we launched the program
and we are really pleased with the progress
that has been made.
To date, we have awarded $4 million to 44 businesses
And this is supported training and upskilling for 551 incumbent workers and on-the-job training for 320 new employees.
And the new employees are all Chicago residents.
So the purpose of the Workforce Solution Program is to offer businesses support and in training their incumbent workers,
as well as building their growth of their business and then bringing on new hires.
And have we been meeting our goals with that? Have we exceeded them as far as the outreach and giving people opportunities?
The last group, so in 2025, we were in about 33 tips and currently now is.
TIFFs. And currently now, over this last year, we expanded the program to reach 80 TIFFs. So you
will continue to see the growth. And there's a lot of excitement and energy. It's one of the few
programs that offers businesses some operational support. That's great. Thank you, Mary.
We talked a little bit about this a few minutes ago. We still have more than 7,000
city-owned lots across um all our communities what more can we do as a council to help
get the word out to to create opportunities for people i think share with your constituents
just the opportunity i think you all are doing a really great job i i i am proud of the partnership
that we have with highlighting what the priority lots are in your respective wards and not just
highlighting priority lots, but highlighting the priority uses for those lots. I think continuing
to do more of that. I think that we have addressed some of the bottlenecks, some of the challenges
with the actual disposition process and the sale process. And so I think it's making the land sale
process just easier for the buyer, faster for the buyer. I think that we're going to see some
really positive results from this particular round, our October 1st round. This is the very
first time that we've been able to list environmental dispositions. We've never been
able to do that. And so I do believe that that will lead to faster land sales and much faster
closings, which ultimately lead to permits being pulled. I think continued collaboration is just
the key for us thank you um i have several i have multiple historical landmark districts in my
community um it's been challenged
Um, it's been challenging recently as, as these beautiful older homes need more care
and we're trying to get young folks to buy them.
Uh, I really appreciate your staff's willingness, uh, to meet with, to work with, to try to
find solutions, uh, middle ground, uh, in many of those instances.
Um, and I think just in closing, you are a true professional.
you have a wonderful team that is extremely responsive and helpful to the small business
owners in my community the passion you exude it's evident to those of us that pay attention
and that care i wish some people would get out of your way to let you to do more work because
you're really doing a great job here and we really appreciate it look forward to working
with you moving forward thanks chairman thank you alderman thank you um alderman osei uh alderman
more followed by uh chairman down um thank you um mr chairman and i just want to pick up but
that's because that was going to be where i started from um where alderman osei stopped and
that's your leadership you are by far um one of the most respected people in this administration
You, along with people like Marlene Hopkins, Cole Stoller, a couple of others, just really stellar in terms of your communications and your relationships with the aldermen.
And not only the aldermen, but our communities.
There are people in our communities that know who you are and the work that you and your team does.
So I just want to thank you for everything that you're doing.
I mean, Patrick Murphy, we deal with so much stuff and he has to get us straight and, you know, help us.
straight and you know uh help us um make sure that we have these um developers doing what they
need to do and i want to thank you because we sometimes going back and forth back and forth
in order to get that information and we want to stay on track with what he's doing and i appreciate
you so much and this entire team and um for me mary o'connor mark roshan norah curry chris jane
And you all, anytime my team calls or when I call, they're there to make sure that they're helping.
And so we're going to continue to work closely that way.
I want to thank you.
26 years now, almost 27, the 69th Street between Ashland and Damon has had no redevelopment.
And this was on my radar starting with Bram Emanuel when I came in.
And we had to focus on, as we was doing development, we focused on Auburn Gresham.
But at the same time, we were doing things, we down-zoned 69th Street so that anybody just wouldn't come in.
And then your leadership came in and said, no, let's up-zone this so that we can get people interested in it.
And because of that, we were able to up-zone it, get some interest,
and hopefully 69th Street, between us and Damon, is on the brink of getting some development.
And I appreciate that. And then also your work in helping with the Park District so that we can get a new field house at Ogden Park.
All these things that people can see, touch and feel in the community.
It's great that your team, they can just pat themselves on the back and take an applause for it because teamwork makes the dream work.
Neither department or no one could have done this alone. So I just want to say thank you for that.
I can just tell by the questions that's being asked that, you know, generally some of them just ask questions because we have to.
But at the end of the day, it's almost like when we was up here with Marlene, you so keep us so involved that it's, you know, really nothing to say.
involved that it's you know really nothing to say all i'm all i'm gonna ask is that if you can
provide through the chair so we got organizations like teamwork inglewood that does great work we
got organizations like greater southwest development corporation um chatham business association jgdc
can you provide to the chair all the funding that we provide um to these organizations that i just
mentioned i don't need it for the whole city i guess if if if an alderman want theirs their
request that but if you can provide through the chair those these organizations that touch the
17th ward all the funding they get from the city uh from dpd huh from department of planning
development oh yeah because i'm gonna have to ask housing and um probably the department of
dfss the same thing but on your end if you can provide that i'll appreciate it will do
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you, Alderman Moore.
Alderman Dow, followed by Alderman Lopez, isn't here.
Go ahead, Alderman, Chairman Dow.
Thank you very much, Chairman.
Good morning, Commissioner.
Morning.
I, too, want to just say that you're a tremendous professional,
and I have enjoyed the partnership that we've had working on items within the third ward.
I just wanted to lay that out. First, you've got a great staff. They're very responsive.
I could call names, but I would be naming everybody literally in that box. So I won't.
I do have a few questions on, I noticed that CPS is beginning to sell land. And do they
coordinate with you at all they do they they notify us on the the sale of their
land they often will ask for complimentary kind of developments that
they should just be aware of and so I would say that they do provide periodic
that they do provide um periodic updates to us and they talk to you about potential land uses that
they're that uh would be acceptable yeah for the most part i'll pass it to to patrick um
to kind of chime in short specific uses thank you commissioner yes alderman we'll we'll meet with
cps and talk about what the the properties are that we could reuse either to reuse or
for new construction uh if there are things that trigger uh various zoning actions such as plan
developments given the size of some of these campuses uh they'll work with noah and his staff
but yes we've we will regularly talk to them about how to reuse their properties best okay i just
wanted to make sure that that connection was being made the parcels that i'm seeing are not the large
school campuses these are like one-off parcels that might be in in the middle of a residential
community. Thank you. The announcement last week on the BUILD program, how is that going to
differentiate between, how's that going to work? And is it similar to NOF, different from NOF?
It was complementary to NOF. You're talking roughly $20 million to invest in smaller
neighborhood scale projects. So the number's 20 million? I thought it was 37. For build.
So $20 million being set aside for small developers and small businesses for local
community development. And so it's complementary to NOF in the targeted approach, south and west
sides. Just as a reminder, not all of the south and west sides are designated as NOF areas. So
I would argue that it complements maybe where NOF can't go from that, you know, the target is your
small developers. If you think about NOF, I've got NOF small, but I also have NOF large. And so
depending on the scale of your project, the scope of your project, you may need
larger financing that extends beyond what bill.
that extends beyond what Bill can provide. And so again, think of it as another complementary
tool in the economic toolbox. Complementary, but can be directed to non-TIF areas, right? Yes.
Okay. And is any of that money, will any of that money be set aside for
pre-development fund? How is that pre-development fund going? So the pre-development fund is going
Well, there's not a separate pre-development application. Applicants apply for the regular
CDG round. We review the application and not every application is ready for full funding. So as an
example, we see projects where they don't have the site plans, they don't have the drawings,
and we recognize that they actually need to engage an architect. Otherwise, it's a fairly strong
application. We then provide a pre-development grant. And so it's a little different in that
we have a path through our housing and economic development bond to provide pre-development
grant dollars. And so I would think that Bill, just the amount of dollars, $20 million,
and that's a lot of money that can go far. But if you think about pre-development dollars,
I don't know that that funding source is the best funding source for pre-development dollars. It
feels like that's a really great funding source for those smaller yet catalytic projects to get
off the ground. Whereas our housing and economic development bond, our NOF dollars, our larger
funding sources allow us to make deeper investments in some projects and some earlier investments in
the pre-development works that cost a lot of money. I mean, developers spend quite a bit of
upfront soft costs to determine if a project is a go or no go. And so that's when our pre-development
dollars come in handy. So again, different, but complimentary. Can you feel you have enough
pre-development resources do you do you can i can always i would love more and more pre-development
resources i would love to be able to help every single developer that has a really great concept
that we need to move to a price
to move to a project that's funding ready all right uh point of information information uh
was the ottoman more thank you um to that point on the pre-development and and you said they may
not have an architect before we give them that grant money do we make sure that the project is
financially doable that they can do the project because i don't want pre-development money go
they get an architect and then we done lost that money. No. Okay. No, we have examples of
pre-development grantees that have then followed up and submitted a full application for funding.
And that's ultimately what we want. What we don't want is for applicants to have amazing projects
that can transform our community, but lack the dollars to be able to advance it. And so that's
where our pre-development dollars should come in, right? Turning these really great concepts into
projects that are ready to fund. And so they do come back and submit full applications for funding.
thank you okay thank you all a little bit more um um just moving along i was a little critical
last year of i believe one million dollars that was in the professional services
category that was earmarked to uli for uh work how many studies did they do
I can get you the full total.
And how much money of that?
How much of that money was used?
I can get you the full amount.
Nolan, if you want to kind of hit high level,
and then all the outstanding detail, I can get you through the chair.
What's the big dollar amount?
Yeah.
Nolan's our assistant commissioner for the Bureau of Planning and Design.
Let's confirm those numbers for you.
We did complete this year one ULI technical assistance panel.
those are $25,000 each. We did one for Stony Island, looking at it as a cultural district.
We're teeing up two more for next year, but I'd like to confirm those numbers to get back to you.
So we still, you're carrying over then the money from, I'm still critical.
We can get you all the details.
And I'm happy to talk in greater detail just to learn, you know, the biggest critique and how.
Just that it was a lot of money for $25,000 for a, I mean, we got a lot of concerns in the city,
$25,000 for one ULI study and having a million dollars set aside for that, it just seemed to be
out of balance. The idea, though, is how do we activate some of these corridors and how do we
think about the vacancies and the decades and decades of disinvestment in a very thoughtful
but holistic way, right? And not just focus on one project to kind of turn the tide on disinvestment.
I understand that.
I just, it was just to go, only do one this year.
That was just it.
Okay.
Do you foresee the expansion of the Missing Middle Program to other neighborhoods?
And what would it take?
Yes.
So we are actually, this is our fifth round.
I'm jealous Alderman Scott.
This is our, this was our, that was our very first round.
And we cut the ribbon on our first project with more to go, which we're really, really proud of.
The first round was on the west side.
The second round was on the south side.
We picked three areas.
West Chatham, Morgan Park, South Chicago.
We came back to the west side and did east and Garfield, west, excuse me, east and west Garfield Park.
um we are um we currently have a round for um humble park that's active and open in shy block
builder and i believe there's one more round that i just left out nolan maybe you can chime in i know
for a fact i just left out one round no i think you got again nolan saroff assistant commissioner
Commissioner for the Bureau of Planning and Design.
No, I think you got it.
We have five.
We've had five rounds.
Last one is Humboldt Park.
South Chicago, if I didn't say that.
And the Alderwoman says, I can come back.
But I think that we're seeing success on the program.
The idea of the program is to not necessarily have to come back.
The idea is to provide the subsidy that's needed to address market rate development.
The reality is whether I'm building a home in Washington Heights or I'm building a home
in Lincoln Park, the cost to build does not change. The construction cost doesn't change.
The appraised value can change drastically, and so we want to work with developers with our city-owned
land, emphasis on city-owned land because we've got 7,000 lots available. We want to provide
subsidy up to $150,000 per unit to developers so that they can keep those units affordable.
I think the one caveat is these are not single-family homes. These are two to six units
because that density is really important to us for the neighborhood, but it's also an important
avenue to build wealth because you can own one of the units and then you can collect rent,
thereby building wealth from those other units. And so it addresses multiple needs. But the idea
again is not to come back. The idea is to go to other areas like yours. All right. I just,
I don't have a lot of time, but the Washington Park is an area that I'd like to focus on. One
concern that I have is that I think the zoning that we have in our ward makes it entices
developers to come in and not do the two-flat, right? Yes. What can be done? Proactive rezoning.
For every single missing middle parcel, they're already proactively rezoned. So before we even
list it, we proactively rezone it. One less thing for the developer to do, one less expense for them
going to have to bear. Can you proactively rezone for an area that does not have a missing middle
program? Yes, we're doing that right now. So just 2,000 lots this year, not every single
parcel has missing middle. So we're working with you all to just proactively.
missing middle so we're working with you all to just proactively rezone and put that on shy block
builder and list those and list those for sale okay thank you uh i'll take around too i do have
um two more questions go ahead um 47th and king tiff i know expires in december is that on your
list to we believe so i think it expires in december yes uh jeff you're shaking your head
okay good all right just verbally yeah uh jeff cohen managing deputy uh bureau of economic
development yes uh alder willman the 47th and king tiff district is slated for an extension this
year all right and uh lastly just wanted to thank you i don't think we solved the problem but
But I want to thank you for interceding in the 43 green, trying to get commercial on
the first floor.
We still don't have it, but I want to thank you for giving it a good try.
And we have to figure out another way and what else could be done to make sure we get
the commercial there.
We've got investment in the adjacent area.
The CTA is upgrading the station.
There's no reason not to have commercial.
We'll continue to work with the developer on that.
I think there's a will, and I think that there is a challenge that is beyond just like the capital investment to occupy that space.
But if capital is the need, there's certainly conversations we can have with potential tenants to address that from a build-out perspective.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Chairman Dow. Vice Chair Lee, followed by Audemore Lopez.
thank you chairman and good morning commissioner and my favorite department dpd um i meet with your
staff monthly like clockwork um and i'm always excited for this meeting because we're always
talking about really good stuff um you know i'm i'm a growth-minded alder here uh and always looking
to partner with the with dpd um i'll go through all the names later so i want to dig into the
questions first but i just want to just want to say for the record sorry everybody else i do have
lots of other departments that i love but i look forward uh every month to this meeting um
just because of what the what the potential is that comes out of these um i have a few questions
and they're going to feel like they're a little all over the place but that's just how i have them
um i appreciate the the conversation around the the the build program um i want to just touch
back on land sales, because that was an area of efficiencies from the EY report from last year.
Can you talk about how you're sort of performing against what EY or what we budgeted for
previously and how land sales are going and sort of what some of the market conditions are? Because
I understand that certain times are better to sell than others. If you can talk a little bit
about that. I'd appreciate it. Sure. I'll start off from the EY recommendations. A couple of the
recommendations specific to land sales was to consider land assemblage in a thoughtful way.
And we're doing just that. We're assembling city-owned vacant land and listing those lots
for RFPs in response to some of the community priorities. And so that's one way that we're
selling more lives as opposed to individual lives for larger scale developments while still
leveraging our housing and economic development bond and other tools to address economic needs
when and if applicable for development. Other recommendations both from EY but outside of EY,
of EY, just what we're hearing from our buyers and partners is the need for, and I mentioned
this earlier, greater predictability. Like what's in the soil? What type of remediation needs
are there? Removing a lot of the guesswork by working with DOE and providing those disclosures
is a real game changer in my perspective. This is the very first round, October 1st,
that we were able to provide those environmental disclosures. And so I think time will tell how
successful that is for our land sales program overall. But I think it's going to have a positive
impact. We have a pretty robust pipeline of pending land sales. I think right now we're at
$4.6 million in land sales. We exceeded last year's land sales numbers in June of this year.
So, again, last year's numbers, I believe, Whitney, 3.3.
Whitney Mungin, Director of Land Acquisition Disposition.
So, $3.3 million last year, 4.6 this year with additional closings in our pipeline.
And so, we're on our way.
Some of the recommendations was to list higher-valued lots, and we're doing that as well.
We've already started.
We've got interest expressed from some of those higher-valued lots.
And when I say higher value, it lies as determined by land valuations provided by CBRE.
And so I think that we're taking on a lot of the recommendations that we've heard both
from EY, but the feedback that we're hearing from our developers, our partners, our buyers
to help better inform us so that we're strategic with our listings.
And I appreciate that.
One of the things that my ward's involved in is the reassessment or evaluation of the
Pilsen Industrial TIF.
mm-hmm um and I've you know I've asked for as much of the 11th word to be pulled out of
the industrial tiff as possible as the PMD sorry not the
as the PMD, sorry, not the TIF. They're both things over there. So it's easy to get confused,
but the PMD is being evaluated. You know, what we've seen in the 11th Ward across different
regions of the 11th Ward is just a move towards really pulling away from these industrial areas to
more mixed use, potential residential. You and I have talked a lot about my need for additional
residential um is that a trend we're seeing across the city just a you know i i've got the i've got
the stockyards i have an area where it's really dedicated to more industrial type uses but are we
seeing more of that across the city at this point yeah i'll have patrick kind of chime in on some
trends that we're seeing in different areas sure uh thank you oliver thank you commissioner so we
have been working for a number of years throughout a number of industrial corridors in the city
including those with PMDs, and we have been reevaluating some of the land uses and what
property should be subject to the PMD designation. So Brad, rollback from our staff, is the one that
him and his staff are working on, both Pilsen and in the other industrial corridors in the city.
So we could follow up with you specifically about some particular parcels, but yes, that is
definitely something that we're reevaluating over the 25 to sometimes 30-year life since some of
these industrial corridors were established. I ask that selfishly because, and I wish that
the 14th street co-chaired was located inside of a pmd because it probably should be uh but just to
uh to drive the point home um about moving industrial operations into residential areas
i know it was not something that this city um would under today's conditions be a proponent of
and i just want to say how much i appreciate your your help and assistance with that um
I'm going to move on to my other points here because I've got, I've got like three or four
more minutes here. Can you talk about the TRR process? You know, you've heard in this body,
several of us talk about the TRR.
us talk about the TRR process, how we're accessing TIF funds, how projects are getting
approved. Can you just talk about the new process, your role in it, the different folks that are
involved and kind of what, you know, best practice should be in terms of just response times on
answers for those? Sure. So the TRR replaces TIC for those, just as a reminder. TIC is no longer
thing because there were challenges with the open meetings that you say what trr means too by the
it's the tiff review process um you all actually entered you begin the process and so it's your
inquiry whether it is for a cdot request whether it's a cps request it's in collaboration with
the alderman um the very first step of the trr process is for the department of planning and
development to review the request based off of eligibility and by eligibility
we mean is the project in a TIF district are the uses eligible the second and a
series of other kind of eligibility reviews the second review after we say
yes and advance it is under OBM OBM is then reviewing for TIF availability at
that point the funds are on hold once they advance it
it then goes to the mayor's office the mayor's office is then reviewing for operational sequencing
and so this is an asynchronous kind of review process um the department of planning and
development you mentioned timeline on average seven business days is how long we typically
take to review and advance the project to obm okay i think a few of us will probably have some
questions um along the way i i know i've asked um a few times where i've got one one tiff request in
where I've got one one TIF request in particular for Donovan Park I know that you've already
approved it it's really not a question for you I'll just repeat it on the record as I've asked
several people in the mayor's office about this project that's now you guys reviewed it OBM
reviewed it they approved it a year ago um the TIF funds are held and we've still had no progress so
as you can imagine um like so many of my other colleagues it's very frustrating to be stuck in
this loop um and that's less about dpd of it this was helpful to understand what the process is
because i think many of us didn't understand what the the new process was um mr chairman can i get
just thank you um because i want to want to be able to say thank yous properly here but i have
one other just a point i'd like to ask about uh not directly it's not your world completely but
you touch it. Can you talk about participation of minority businesses and redevelopment agreements?
You know, I think that's an important thing that every department has some role in. So I'd love
to hear about how DPD is doing. Sure. In terms of percentages? Yeah. Percentages, just, you know,
how we're engaging minority and women-owned businesses. Sure. So just in terms of RDA
percentages to date, we're at roughly 40% MBE and I believe 8% WBE to date. But I'm going to
actually pass it to Jeff Cohen, my managing deputy, so he can just highlight kind of how does
that number trend in terms of like prior years and what we're doing to ensure that that number
continues to increase from our RDAs. Yeah. Thank you, Commissioner Jeff Cohen,
managing deputy. Through July of this year, we've had total inclusion spending of around
82 million dollars that's about 85 percent of the full 2025 year and a 23 increase in inclusionary
spending over 2025 uh through that same time period and to confirm with the commissioner
yeah we are tracking about 40 percent mbe inclusion on that spend and eight percent wb
mbe inclusion on that spend and eight percent wbe on that spend as well that's great um thanks for
all the hard work there um i'm i have a lot of thank yous patrick murphy whenever i call
wherever he is actually probably shouldn't say that out loud um since i started five years ago
um has been just such an incredible resource and resource to the city um he can probably recite
chapter and verse out of the zoning code um so thank you jeff cohen has spent an inordinate
amount of time with me on zooms on friday nights um thank you for for everything that you've done
on that front with my community your your team is consistently um really engaged in my community in
a lot of different ways whether that's sitting in on a zoom meeting being on the ground at the
chinatown summer fair handing out surveys um doing great studies um you know so i'll just i'll run
through the rest of the list, but I meet monthly with my gang here, Haley Cannon, Nolan Zeroff,
Roberto, I'm going to butcher his name, Astudio, Rodrigo Martel, Brad Roback, Calvin Cottrell,
Max Lyon, Noah Zafranik, who was a constituent of mine for three days recently, Mary O'Connor,
of course, with all the grant programs, you know, Workforce Solutions and especially the
Commercial Corridor Storefront Activation, you know, been really pleased to bring grant dollars
into the ward um on many parts of the ward between bridgeport mckinley park um heidi sperry paul
moody i'm sure i'm missing folks and i'm sorry but like literally your whole department is awesome
and you print really pretty maps whenever we need them so thank you i appreciate you that's all
chair thank you thank you vice chair alderman lopez followed by alderman basket thank you
chairman and good uh oops sorry too early good morning uh members of the committee good morning
commissioner to you and to your team um i wanted to touch on a couple things real briefly but first
real briefly, but first and foremost, I finally get to say thank you. I get to say thank you for
your department working with housing to introduce the ordinance for the TIF Neighborhood Improvement
Program reiteration and reemergence. So I'm very thankful for that. And thank you to
Mary O'Connor for doggedly chasing me up and down the stairs to make sure that I answered the email.
and I think that that will be quite beneficial but I do have some concerns with regards to our
TIF and seeing that in the budget book there's a number of them that are being referenced for
being surplused this year were you a part of that conversation to surplus these TIF
these various TIF districts, and were there any outstanding
requests associated with these TIFs that were punted to make this surplus possible?
No. TIF surplus is not a function of DPD. It's a function of OBM. Now, OBM does check in
to find out if projects that are pending are still projects that are moving forward. So from that
perspective yes we will confirm yes this is still an active project we're working on the
working with the developer they're seeking to close their financial gap um that's really the
extent of kind of our way in in terms of whether or not a tiff is surplused um in terms of your
second question are projects punted for the surplus i think is the question okay um that's
actually part of the trr process so when we start the trr process once obm reviews it the ask that
those funds are held in essence protected from the surplus so i heard so i heard if i may i heard you
say that to my colleague just now um and i appreciate that
and I appreciate that version of how things go.
But we also heard the OBM earlier last week at a different hearing talk about
the fact that unless your projects and your philosophies are keeping in line
with this administration, nothing moves forward.
So I,
I know that's not exactly the response from your department because it didn't
come out of anyone from your department, but it impacts your department and it impacts your
ability to address the use of TIF dollars in neighborhoods. Um, when you, when many of us
feel we have projects that are waiting for responses or movement, um, and in some cases
even lose viability because we've waited so long for response, um, in communities all across the
city what and sometimes it's not just a park district or a field house um you could have
as we've gone back and forth a hundred unit building waiting for responses so i would
just share my frustration and i think that's a collective one that many of us have
because whatever iteration we have of tick trr whatever's going to come next after this
all of us feel like we're always left out of the loop in the chain of in the sequence of events
and we don't know where the bottleneck happens so I would love to be able to have a greater
explanation because I think even in the committee on finance we had various discussions about
the openness of the trr the projects that are floating around and also the question of do we
even have to wait for a TRR recommendation? Because I don't think we do. I think that review
process is appreciated, but I don't think any of us have challenged the idea that I can introduce
Many of us have challenged the idea that I can introduce an ordinance and just start
spending TIF money directly if the finance committee agrees with me.
One of the things that I also would like to ask about when it comes to these requests
are CPS related, board of education related.
Do you or your team have conversations other than just like the immediate pet projects,
but do we have a long-term discussion on ways to help the Board of Education with its deferred
maintenance or some of the other issues that need to be addressed at our schools?
The request from CPS typically comes from CPS. It's typically not us kind of provoking, you know.
But there's no kind of consistent or long-term meeting. Like for example, the department meets
with aldermen in communities like Stitching It Together or what have you, do we have any kind of
institutional conversations to actually have those requests reviewed, discussed, and prioritized in a
way that makes sense with CPS? Or is it just whenever they throw something at you? I think
it's fair to say that we have constant communication with CPS, just like the Park District or Chicago
public libraries. It's often as it relates to a request, but it's those ongoing conversations.
Hey, we've got this request coming in the next couple months. We're firming up our construction
estimates. Those are ongoing in terms of like a formal, you know, standing meeting, not necessarily,
but Jamel and his team are in constant communication with Jeff and our team, just in terms of their
requests. It's not often high level in terms of like, hey, CPS is going to bring a request that
totals $200 million to DPD to start the TRR process across 10 schools. It's typically not
typically not that high level, it's typically project specific. I would like to see this
department work in a more coordinated fashion with CPS, because I think that what we've learned
as of late are projects just randomly appear to the benefit of some, while the needs of schools
that are in TIF districts are completely left off the radar. And I think I could give a prime
example where back of the arts high school is in the 47th ashland tiff as you may know they are
getting some sort of marquee signage to upgrade their digital sign and yet in the 47th halstead
tiff which is the neighboring tiff and both of which are next to the stockyards tiff which just
got surplus three million dollars the tilden high school has three million dollars in deferred
maintenance, which is not on the radar of anyone. And I think that that's a travesty for the students
that go there. So I'd like to see what we can do to try to have more proactive planning conversations
where it makes sense for us to be able to use those dollars the way that they were meant to be
used. One thing I can offer, Noah from our team has meetings with CPS. We can certainly have our
team join those meetings. So to your point, we have a better kind of holistic view of asks that
are coming down the line in the future. And then we have a better understanding of what's coming
and when it's coming to be able to kind of track it better. And I probably would press for CPS to
do the same with their, with their teams, their principals know what's owed or what's needed and
outstanding and deferred. And there's 17 layers of bureaucracy over in that side of the universe.
and by the time, quite literally, as we're seeing with Tilden, by the time we get to
what finally matriculates its way up, the TIF is on the verge of being expired.
Lastly, I just want to also commend the department working with us to
the department working with us to address the issues of tax incentives and being able to
claw back tax incentives for developers and the like who may not meet the moment or what was
promised. So I want to thank your team for working with us to get that accomplished.
But I also would like to ask, as we see more and more projects, as you talked about repopulating
the loop in other locations, the issue of waivers continuously comes up. The issue of building
code waivers or labor waivers or things of that nature. So what can we do to structurally ensure
that if we are putting taxpayer dollars to work, that that's also standing in line with what we
anticipate to be the standards that this body tries to encapsulate? Patrick, you want to start
and i can jump in sure thank you so so all there are uh there are avenues for entities to seek
waivers of various fees that come through to our department it does require an ordinance that would
have to be approved by city council uh there are some instances that's usually reserved in many
cases to either projects that are led by another sister agency or which are getting an influx of
a significant amount of city participation usually that relates into landscaping fees or other things
related to some of the process there are land there are landmarking fee waivers that also exist
so there are there are some avenues to do that we have not overly explored any type of mass waiver
to to various projects or fees that come in associated with our department though yeah
and then i will end with this the housing and redevelopment bond the 1.25 billion dollars that
we started this administration off with. What was your percentage of that?
Half. 50% is DPD, 50% DOH.
And was that half fully induced and materialized?
We have not allocated 100% of our portion.
To date, we've allocated about $190 million,
but our half are tied to different programs.
So for example, $75 million of that
is designated for missing middle,
which we've nearly exhausted those dollars
for that particular program.
A portion is designated to Workforce Solutions,
which was just approved in June of last year.
We're starting to exhaust those dollars. The largest portion of our portion of our dollars are tied to our grants. So both our community development medium, large and small.
So 625 million roughly was your allocation. Roughly. Can you provide through the chair how that breakdown looks, what has been spent and what is still available through your portion of that bond?
sure we'll provide the most recent we provide the quarterly updates but we'll give you the
most recent through i would say the end of september yeah i'll if you could provide through
the chair through inception we'll do thank you thank you alderman lopez alderman vasquez followed
by alderman scott thank you very much chairman i'm really glad to be here i think i'll start
with just thanking everybody for this incredible work that's been my experience told yeah we're
Okay. So thank you. And in the beginning, three of these could be through the chair, but
out of our current city's debt load, how much of that could be attributed to DPD projects?
And if there are any that are part of the debt load, could you share the list status and cost
changes to baseline? I'm sorry, can you repeat the question? Yeah. So, you know, for some time,
we're borrowing for everything. We're bonding out all these funds. So I want to know what
portion of those proceeds go towards the department, towards what projects, what lists,
like a breakdown of what that looks like. Because when we ask OBM, for example, they're not going
not going to give us the breakdown about each department so that's something we'll be asking
the departments going forward i don't know that we have that number jeff is that something that
you have handy otherwise we can respond through the chair uh jeff cohen no we don't have that
hand we could get you that through the chair for sure perfect thank you um uh similarly we have
the eny report that talks about efficiencies it's kind of general so wanted to see if you could
outline i'm sorry are there any work streams from the eny work group work group that impact dpd
And if so, can you outline them and associate a timeline in progress?
So recommendations, have you all taken those and what's that looking like?
Sure. Most of the EY recommendations were tied to the city-owned vacant land.
Some of the recommendations was around land assemblages, which we're already doing.
We're doing that through RFPs.
So where we take contiguous city-owned vacant lots, put them together and list it as an RFP.
Or if it's not an RFP, take contiguous city-owned lots and do larger lot sales.
And so that's underway.
another recommendation was a higher value lots and ensuring that we're listing those we're doing
that as well as you know we list lots twice a year and so many of those higher value lots we've
listed april 1st we are listing october 1st and the same with the larger land assemblages so we've
actually implemented much of the recommendations and we're starting to see increase in revenue from
a land sale standpoint, I mentioned at the top of my address that we've exceeded $4.6 million
in revenue. As that compares to last year, we were at $3.3 million, and we still have additional
closings. And so we're starting to see an increase in our land sales. The last thing that I mentioned
that I think complements the EY recommendation is providing more and more information to the buyer.
I referenced that working with DOE, we now provide environmental disclosures. And so that helps us
to sell the lots faster awesome would you be able to check kind of share kind of like the detail on
that like here's what we've done here's us moving uh even as if possible cross-reference of what e
as, if possible, cross-reference with what E and Y said, right?
Because I think in some of the, I think the hearing we had with them and understanding
was they kind of looked at it as like a phase one, outside looking in, here's what we think
would work, and then I think as they get more information, you see adjustments to those
estimates, so just trying to see the comparisons would be helpful for us. So if we could send that through the chair, that'd be great.
And then the third through the chair
is, can you outline all of DPD's intersection with the ERP
and send detailed outlines right so the recommendations on modernizing this and
where you guys are on that yes all right um i i similar and then i got a family so i'll be
through the chair as well um anything related to cut the tape to see what actually got done
compared to what we said we were going to do you want it through the chair or do you want us to
answer it oh that'd be great i mean i like through the chair just because you couldn't okay we'll
Get it through the chair.
Okay.
But I guess generally, since you mentioned it, how's that looking?
We are, I'm proud of our cut the tape efforts.
We've reduced our plan commission approval timelines by 40%.
We have reduced our design reviews from three design reviews to one that allows us to approve
projects and to get shovels in the ground much faster.
Tiara can chime in to talk about of the total number of items, how many we've completed.
Sure.
Is this working?
Yes.
Hi, Tiara Hughes.
Deputy Commissioner of Process Improvement for DPD. As our commissioner said, yes, we've cut a
lot of tape. Of our 37 items that our department was responsible for, we are completely green on
34 or 92 percent. And we're focused now in 2027 on digitization of our zoning applications,
which is those remaining three items. So we're super excited to continue to cut the tape.
that's that's literally i was going to ask next right the the folks have to come here
here and bring physical paper rather than uploading things like that so to hear that that's the focus
is i think if this is a fuller room you might get a standing ovation because i think we hear it often
so thank you for that much appreciated um i think similarly last question i've got is if you all
could provide any recommendations legislatively or in municipal code that we could take on
to kind of help similarly streamline processes,
standardize certain things.
I think a lot of it clearly is like our zoning processes
at each ward level are different.
And so I'm of the belief that the more standardization,
the more predictability you then get
without removing people's voice of their communities,
but still trying to sort that out.
And so if there's anything related to zoning,
the code itself that we could help,
it'd be great to know, to understand
and kind of partner up that way.
We'll do.
And that's all I got.
Thank you, Chairman.
Thank you, Alderman Vasquez.
Now you could have cut about four minutes off of that
with just an email, man.
That's all good.
Alderman Scott followed by,
is Timmy back there?
Okay.
Thank you, Chairman.
So first I want to thaw it off with thank yous.
Thank you, Commissioner Boatwright.
um thank you
best Patrick Murphy yes yes I'm lost Paul Nolan um Mary Jeff everybody who has tried
who has helped with projects in the 24th ward thank you um we've had a lot of momentum
this last three years in my ward, and I just want to say thank you.
The missing middle is simply breathtaking in the ward, and I mean it.
taking uh in the ward and i mean it it employs you know minority developers women developers
and it's just a breath of fresh air and bringing new new housing to the 24th ward i mean you know
my focus is always going to be land sales um and i i don't know if you mentioned this in your um
oh and i got to give a special shout out to my crew brian hacker who takes my calls and work
through everything for me. My team is amazing and I appreciate them very much. When it comes to land
sales, did you state how much we made from land sales? Because, you know, our number used to be
10,000 and then through your presentation, it went to seven. So can you talk through that a little
bit? Yeah. So three years ago, I think we were at 10,000 lots. We're at just over 7,000. What
we've done is cleaned up those land sales. Many of those lots are tied to projects. Many of them
were in the process of being closed. Many of them are tied to RFPs. Many of them are tied to grants
that needed the land to close. And so we've since cleaned up a lot of those land sales. And we have
a real number of seven, a little over 7,000 lots that anyone can look on Chi Block Builder and see.
Big on transparency, no secrets. You don't have to know someone to find out about our land sales.
One shift, and probably the biggest shift that we've made, is three years ago, about
70% of our lots were sold for open space and side yards.
And open space and side yards are great, but in neighborhoods where you've lost population,
you've got to focus on building, you've got to focus on density, you've got to focus on
vertical development.
And so we since switched.
Last year, we were at 70% vertical development, 30% open space and side yards.
Now we're at about 85% of these lots that we have right now for October 1st being prioritized for vertical development.
prioritized for vertical development. And so it just kind of speaks to the trends that we're
seeing. It speaks to the needs that we're hearing both from you all, our aldermen, but just residents
saying, hey, we need to increase density. And so those were some of the measures that we've taken.
And I think that the increased revenue that we're seeing is a direct result of the changes that
we've made, both the proactive rezonings, but also making sure that we're working with partners like
CBRE so that we have real land
valuations. This is not based off my opinion
of what this land is worth. This is based
off of CBRE's land
valuation. So we're providing as much
information to a prospective buyer
so that they can then move
forward with a faster sale. So
reducing the number of vacant lots, getting
them back on the property tax roll, because
that's where they belong, and spurring
more vertical development while
removing some of the guesswork for a buyer.
Do you have a number of
what...
So, land sales, that is, it is equated to money.
Do you have what we've made thus far with our land sales?
Yeah, well, just this year, just this year alone, this year alone, I'm at $4.6 million
in land sale.
That's supporting $180 million in new development.
137 new homes are from those land sales.
And what's the goal for 2027?
So each round, we list between 400 and 600 lots.
We list them twice a year.
So I'd love to sell, not just list, I'd love to list approximately 1,000 lots next year.
I'd love to sell all those lots.
The reality is not every lot gets an offer.
Not every lot gets an offer that we can actually close on.
But I'd love to be able to hit 1,000 lot sales.
Just based off where we're trending, we have some larger valued lots.
We have some larger land assemblages that will yield higher sales.
larger land assemblages that will yield higher sales and so I'm confident confident that I'll
exceed this year's revenue next year um just a a thought I know you had um a zoom
this week on the land sales um I think it was this week was it this week it was last week last
week okay yeah can we do a little more of those so that um and i and i love it but i think we need
more because we get a lot of um potential buyers that really don't know how to fill out the
appropriate paperwork and while we're trying to grow developers smaller developers i think that
they need to at least you know being able to actually build and do your paperwork is something
Yes. And if I could pass it to Whitney, because in addition to those webinars, she's actually getting out in communities. And so, Whitney, do you want to chime in on kind of things that you're proactively doing?
Sure. Yes. So one thing that and we had our first one last week. So thank you for knowing and mentioning that we will be doing these every other month. And we're also going to be having some on Saturday because we understand everybody is not available Monday through Friday, nine to five.
So we're going to vary the times, we're going to do them every other month, and we will increase them as needed. And then also, if there are questions, we have a hotline, which is 744-LAND, L-A-N-D, 312 area code, and we have a land sales mailbox as well. So my team is always available to answer questions, even outside of the webinars.
Thank you. One more question. So, you know, on the west and south side, we suffer with from food disparity, grocery stores. Are there any resources that DPD is doing to try to push some of those, that development to the west and south side so that we.
that development to the west and south side so that we can attract more stores yeah i think a
couple things the retail is following our rooftops and so i think our focus and our focus on increasing
density and increasing the population helps to ensure that those retail spaces and places
actually thrive but in addition to that for those grocers that have decided hey this is the corridor
that i really would like to you know invest in our grant programs are another complementary effort
Oftentimes, our grocers are looking for build-out costs.
They're looking for capital to make those improvements in those spaces if it's not new construction.
And even if it is new construction, there's often a gap in their capital stack through our housing and economic development bond, through NOF.
If you're in an NOF-eligible area, through TIF, through different funding sources, we can certainly help address the need for, you know, more grocery stores in food deserts and food insecure areas.
well I just want to say thank you
your work doesn't go unnoticed
you're all in it
you know as a commissioner you're in everything
and so that's much appreciated
because we know that you care
and you know you don't just care about
one area you care about
making your mark through the entire
50 wards and so I just want to say
thank you to the entire team
I'm much
appreciated thank you
thank you Alderman Scott
Autumn Knutson, you have anything?
Okay.
That's a no one.
Okay.
All right, you're up.
Dollar bill.
There you go.
Oh, there we go.
All right.
First of all, Commissioner,
I appreciate you bringing up the LaSalle revitalization work
and the fact that the six city projects that we funded
have obviously catalyzed a bunch more.
catalyzed a bit of a bunch more. And something I especially appreciate about that is we always hear
about the number of cranes in the sky. And, you know, we're all understandably disappointed about
that. But obviously, if we're reusing an existing structure, it doesn't require a crane. So I feel
like you and the city don't get credit for that for that development. So for whatever my
appreciation is worth, I recognize that that flaw in that in that measurement, noting the 29 projects
that you you brought up a question i did have you mentioned in your opening statements um
that you anticipated um i think you mentioned the 1901 project 78 and foundry park all broke
ground this year representing more than 18 billion construction more than 23 000 mixed income units
etc etc now i um recall that rounding up the 1901 project was about 10 000 units
foundry park rounding up is about 4 000 units um you know for for the 78 we spent 175 million
dollars on roads and whatnot which i thought was great we spent 250 million dollars on
a parking lot and stadium plaza which obviously i was uh opposed to but there was none of that
none of that uh was allocated to housing um so it doesn't look like there's any housing with that so
the question I have is, is there an existing plan, request, proposal to give more TIF allocation to
the developer to build housing on that site, in addition to what's already been allocated?
On all sites or one? Just on the 78. On the 78, I have not received a proposal or request from
the developer for additional tiff for any phases future phases beyond what's already been approved
approved okay now um following up on there's a few questions about the trr um you know uh i always
really read the the tiff waterfall um and interesting things you find or not find uh and
the front of it from obm says state law requires that all unallocated tiff funds to be returned to
cook county clerk for redistribution blah blah blah and they talk about how that is they outline
a very bright line rule that says this is done based upon the minimum cash available across all
future years and then go on to say that 100 of funds over 2.5 million dollars will be will be
allocated great bright line rule which i appreciate noting that lasalle's slayed to give 139 million
Central West, $50 million. But I noticed there's a number of TIFs that this doesn't seem to be
being applied to. Chicago Central Park has a minimum cash balance going forward of a little
over $19 million. Galewood Armitage Industrial, a little over $9 million. Lake Calumet Area
Industrial, about $8.7 million. Washington Park, $6.7 million. And those don't have any sweeps or
projects assigned to them noting that obm seems to think this is part of state law
what's going on there and are we in violation of the law
in not doing in in having these uh sweeps not done in a way that is consistent
because surplus is not a function of obm i would have to work with obm
on how they rationalize which TIFs are surplus this year
and in prior years to be able to answer that accurately.
I can't answer it on my own in isolation of their methodology
that they've used for surplus because, again, it's not a function of DPD.
function of of dpd uh i'll pass this to jeff in the event jeff wants to add any nuances um that
maybe when i did ask obm they dumped it on you so again surplus is not a function of the department
of planning and development you know our projects help to inform you know what's available from a
surplusing standpoint but it's not it's not a function of obm it's exclusively a function of
the department of the office of budget management nope i don't think jeff has anything to add more
than well it it does bear question that there is this bright line rule that seems to be allocated
across the across the city yet some tiff districts are seem to be being favorited for reasons that
are not clear and um when things are done in a transparent manner i think that we can all
all respect that but when they're not being done in a transparent manner i think that people would
would understandably have questions on top of the questions that alderman lopez asked about
the trr which which uh often seems a little bit mysterious uh to all of us uh that said i do
speaking of tiff i do want to thank you for working with me to keep uh keep mary bartlemay park
in the i have so many tiffs the canal congress tiff uh no actually i mean central west tiff
uh is that as as that little park that little two acre park uh i i think gets more use than
any other park in the city per square foot and uh appreciated uh that myself and alderman burnett
were able to have a fantastic halloween parade there this weekend so i really want to appreciate
how you kept that in the tiff thank you very much yeah that's all i have thank you uh alderman
conway uh alderman burnett thank you chair and my colleague beat me to the punch on including
mary battemore park in the central west tiff expansion i want to say thank you to your team
for not only that in terms of ushering through that process and taking the time and the extended
and taking the time and the extended amount of time
in order to get that done,
because as he noted, it's important for Mary Batamore Park,
but for the near west side
with what we're trying to do with TIF dollars
to bring additional transit.
So as many folks have stated,
it's been excellent working with you all
in my limited time, in my one year.
I feel like we've accomplished so much
between TIF expansions, new projects,
development happening in Fulton Market,
the 1901 missing middle happening in my ward
on the west side uh you all continue to be a bright spot for the city and i don't think we
grow without the department of planning so i appreciate everything that you all do from
patrick murphy answering my emails at obscene times to noah and jeff and the entire uh team
over there dpd i really do appreciate everything that you all do so um my questions are more so
trying to grasp and understand the scope of our grant funding and different programs that we have
here. And so when NOF is a big component of how the west side and south side gets their projects
funded, can you talk about in the last couple of years, how much money has gone into the NOF fund
and what are some of the limitations with development with that funding structure?
You said, what are some of the issues?
Limitations.
Oh, yeah, I would say, yes, you're absolutely right. It's the downtown development that helped to fund NOF and our NOF dollars are going to the south and the west sides of Chicago. In terms of investments over the last couple years, I'll pass it to Alex if Alex wants to quickly chime in on kind of what we have for 2026 alone, and then how those investments are reflected in our neighborhood.
Alex Budnick
alex budnik deputy manager deputy commissioner um year to date in 2026 we've collected 9.2 million
dollars in noff and next year we are anticipating a total of 72.8 million dollars much of that is
comprised of carryover that we've been carrying over from prior year multiple prior year for
projects that are ongoing but have not been dispersed yet. Got it. Projects that have been
that have made it through the zoning process but haven't started their permit or building process
yet. Yes, that's correct. Amazing. And with the NOF fund, can you talk about what kind of projects
qualify for NOF dollars? Alderman, I can handle that. Patrick Murphy. So there are three different
buckets that the bonus revenue can be used towards. The largest is the 80% amount, and that
goes to designated community areas, generally on the south and west sides, that meet various
demographic and economic investment criteria. Those can then be used for commercial advancements,
some mixed-use developments, institutional uses within those communities. Then there are two
separate 10% buckets. One is available for landmark usage, and that just continues a landmark bonus
that existed under the previous bonus system.
In this case, it's eligible to be used
on landmark projects throughout the city.
And then the third is a local fund
that is able to be used within a mile
of the revenue generating plan development.
Those can also be pooled together
with various colleagues that have downtown zoning districts.
We've worked on a variety of different types of projects
from infrastructure and security
and even facilities for the public libraries.
And to quantify this year alone, just year to date for NOF, just small, those are grants, $250,000 and smaller, almost $9.9 million in grants have been awarded.
nine point nine million dollars in grants have been awarded amazing but it seems like that fund
is limited in terms of how much housing projects can be utilized you can utilize those dollars i
know there's specific qualifications like a mixed use project that is in a certain area that qualifies
for that 10 but that's a small number in relation to the broader fund and that's why it's just one
of the tools right that's why we're not relying solely on nof dollars to help fund growth and
investment on the south and west sides we're leveraging housing and economic development
bond we're leveraging tiff we're leveraging other tools to ensure that we're thinking equitably in
terms of growth and access and i appreciate that i understand that there are tools that you all have
in place right now that have been created over the last four years specifically for housing um and
i look forward to more tools that be that are going to be created over the next couple years
in order to get that housing gap filled uh and then i i know it feels like my time was short um
But. OK, cool. It's just a wrap up buzzer.
OK, my warning. All right. In regards to SSA funding this year, what I've heard from a few of my SSAs is that the timing of the distributions has been a little off.
And then also that we're considering a potential decrease in their funding for the following year. Can we talk a little bit about that decision?
I'll pass it to Mary from our team who manages the SSAs.
Mary O'Connor, Deputy Commissioner with Small Business Development Bureau.
The SSA funding is not decreasing.
That budget is determined by each SSA and their board of commission.
So we are, the DBD does not play a role in the funding, but the funding is not decreasing.
We did have an issue with some of the, from the collections of the taxes and the SSAs receiving those funds.
We did run into an issue because the Cook County put in new software and there was some glitch.
put in new software and there were some glitches but that has been addressed and we've been working
with the controller's office of the county as well as the um to address it and we've been getting
all funding is being distributed to the ssas now but it was an inconvenience for many ssas
who had smaller budgets yeah i i recognize that county with their new technologies um been an
issue for a lot of different players depending on those dollars are we expecting that issue to
continue for the following year or is it now that it's solved and they have their system in place
everything should run on on track i can't speak on behalf of the county but i believe they are
in the process of not repeating this okay great um and then i know ssa again is another tool that
we have for our local communities an additional tool that we're working on is the bid district
to which I know LaSalle Street as well as Nifson Mile and Fulton Market are looking into those
processes. Are we as a city doing anything to help those different chambers along with the process
to figure out how to get those constructed? Because I know it's new in the city of Chicago
and we're looking for the first organizations to kind of lead the charge. Is there any way that we
can assist them in making sure that we move quickly on these endeavors um so we have been
working closely with all three of the um bid applicants that you referenced mag mile will be
launching their bid in 2027 and fulton market and loop alliance will be launching in 2028
however the fulton market organization struggled because they do not have an existing ssa
So they were struggling with the upfront funding to engage a consultant.
They reached out to me.
I have engaged World Business Chicago, and we are in discussion of them assisting this organization as well as others.
and it will be like a grant or a loan up front.
And if for some reason the bid does not move forward,
it'll be a forgivable loan.
But if the bid moves forward,
they will reimburse World Business Chicago with those funds.
Amazing.
And as stated, you all answered my problems
long before I asked the question.
So thank you all for the continued work that you do.
I look forward to continue working with you
and keep up the good work.
Thank you.
Thank you, Alderman Burnett, Alderman Martin, followed by Alderman Quinn.
Thank you, Chairman, and good morning, Commissioner and team.
Just want to echo briefly the thanks that all of my colleagues thus far have shared.
I'm sure most of you are around long enough to know when you have a lot of people start off with a lot of thanks before we launch into questions,
that means that big picture things are moving in the right direction.
So just want to, again, share my thanks and my neighbor's thanks when we have issues come up.
you all are always very helpful and responsive especially some of the regional planners i know
commissioner i've i've uplifted the work of katherine hurd and her team um they've been
incredibly incredibly helpful with some of our trickiest development proposals especially
one that recently broke ground um at the six corners intersection of lincoln and damon and
irving park um getting into my questions first i know you mentioned in your comments geothermal
and a new larger residential development that is making good use of that i believe maybe in
Alderman Burnett's ward. Can you share a little bit more? And if it's through the chair, that's
fine as well. What are some of the criteria that made that development where geothermal made sense
and are some of those criteria things that we could be sensitive to for future projects that
would use geothermal? Yeah, we'll get the details through the chair, but perhaps Noah and Brad from
our team can kind of just share high level why geothermal while the developer chose geothermal
for this particular site.
I'll start with a couple of projects.
Noah Safranek, Alderman, we also have one on Halstead,
not far from your ward, right just north of Belmont
that also has geothermal.
And we're seeing developers choose this method
to hit their sustainable development matrix.
And then I'll pass to Brad to talk specifics
about best management practices there.
Thank you, is this working?
Okay, Brad Roback, Director of Planning, Research,
and development with the cityway planning bureau yeah we uh had conversations with the developer
there in fulton market to uh to uh talk about that particular thing and i think it just penciled out
for their project it made sense for them to be able to put those geothermal wells under their
foundation so they're directly under the towers and they're actually going to be doing that on
the second phase as well and we are seeing more interest as noah just mentioned uh in this um i
think it can help them meet their sustainable development policy requirements but it also
makes sense for residents and their their bottom line great well i look forward to getting a little
bit more information through the chair but that all is very encouraging i know shifting gears
to city on vacant lots we've had a number of questions about it i might just ask for a few
through the chair because i don't want to belabor the the points because a lot of it's already come
out um i'd like to know um at the moment approximately how many vacant lots the city
currently owns, if it would be possible to provide an approximate range of property taxes
that would be paid by an average city-owned lot that used to be vacant, but now has been
transitioned to, say, single-family home or two-flat use. And then lastly, if you could
provide, starting in 2019, the average number of city-owned vacant lots, both in existence as well
as ones that are sold. It would just be interesting to see how that is tracked both before and after
the pandemic. Two last sets of questions. One with regard to CHA. I had heard from somebody
With regard to CHA, I had heard from somebody some time ago that the CHA plan for transformation
requires that each of the vacant sites have a developer and a development plan associated with
them. Is that something that rings a bell by chance? As it relates to CHA's requirements?
I don't know if it's something that was a requirement they imposed on themselves or
something that the federal government put on them i can't speak to chas requirements okay so it
doesn't sound familiar okay hold on are you speaking of the um transformation sites yes yes
the transformation sites do have a development plan the master plan and the master developer um
to the best of my knowledge okay and um commissioner do you know if there's
Oh, Patrick, go ahead. Oh, okay. Sorry. Is there a regular cadence of meetings with CHA where whether it's the plan for transformation sites or other sites where they are sharing information with the department and soliciting input on what they would like to move forward with and how DPD might be able to advise them on doing so in a thoughtful way?
No, they proactively reach out for project-specific conversations to know what complementary development or investment is underway, if there are any PDs that contemplate additional affordable housing, just kind of checking in to understand holistically what we have.
Okay.
So it sounds like maybe it would be possible and something we could talk with CHA leaders moving forward, maybe getting them to, whether it's with DPD and or others.
Yeah.
I mean, they've been great, great partners.
We call them on a, you know, I think we call each other on an as-neat basis to say, hey, you know, we're working with the developer.
They're considering project-based vouchers.
Can you all join this meeting so that you can understand the scope scale beyond just the project-based vouchers going in the proposed development?
proposed development. And I think they do the same when they have larger scale developments.
In terms of more standard ongoing meetings, there's always room to have more frequent
kind of check-ins. But I think that we keep an open door, if you will, from a communication
standpoint. Understood. Chairman, may I ask one last question and then I'd be done? I was curious,
zooming out big picture, do you know if whether it's DPD or some other part of city bureaucracy,
do we have a goal for how many new homes we want to build every year? And if so,
if you could point me to that document, and if not, do you think that would be helpful,
especially as we're constantly figuring out how to cut red tape and manage regulation so that we can
build more homes more quickly? Yeah, I think we have what we know is the shortage in terms of
homes. And then the goal is to build as many homes as possible to address that shortage that
we have um in the city of chicago i'm sorry you can feel free uh so i mean i'll just to add to
that the uh while we don't have a goal per se on a year-by-year basis through some of the efforts
we've made to cut the tape and review permits faster we're at about 12 increase in permits
reviewed year to date this year compared to the year before uh we've seen review review queues
have grown but also the quantity of permits that we're able to get out annually has been increasing
Okay, I would just respectfully put on the department's radar for next year, if that's something that we may want to consider in this new term, because I wonder if we can work bidirectionally, both say, look, we're going to build more quickly.
but if we have goals that we're working backwards from, maybe that causes folks both in the
departments and then on city council to think a little bit more ambitiously about how we could
responsibly move more quickly to hit a goal, whether it's 5,000 new homes annually, 10,000
new homes annually. Yeah, I can chime in in terms of certain programs. So for Missing Middle,
our goal is 500 homes. And so I think it's fair to say.
500 homes and so i think it's fair to say that the goal varies depending on the type of project
i'm certain that doh probably has a goal for affordable housing for our market rate housing
obviously the goal is 20 percent for aro within those units but those are market those are private
market driven developments and so i think what we can control we absolutely set those goals on
and so mixing middle is an example and just to be a little bit more specific than those
This will be my last point. If we know we have a shortage of about 120 affordable homes for people to rent or own, and I think last year, maybe 3,900 or 4,000 new homes built, that's not, I think, meeting what we need to do, even though we are making progress.
And so as we've done working with DPD in the 47th Ward, proactive upsoding on parts of Western and Broadway, that's great.
But if it's something where maybe we need to think about doing that more aggressively or bringing in other things to complement that in the 47th Ward, I want to think a little bit more proactively about that, which is, again, why I think it can be helpful to have an overall goal and not just say we're working from the other end to do just a little bit more.
yeah no agreed and we spent a lot of time talking about the proactive planning nature at the top of
um the hearing and what we're doing from a zoning standpoint 2,000 proactive rezoning just this
year but 7,000 in the last couple years to address more density to create more opportunities
the fact that missing middle is not single family homes two to six that's one way that we're going
to ultimately hit that goal of 500 much faster just from the missing middle typology that's not
taking into consideration any of those conversions that don't require new construction um that are
us converting the office to residential so bringing those units on much faster but i hear you loud and
clear in terms of more aggressive proactive kind of planning and opportunities so that we can
ultimately address this housing crisis that we're seeing nationally thank you thank you chair thank
Thank you, Alderman Martin. You can focus a little antsy talking about the next term, man. You know, everybody's not as blessed and fortunate as you are. I'm going to let you have that one. Alderman Quinn, followed by Alderman Cito Lopez.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, Commissioner. First, thank you very much for all your help and your team's help. Patrick's been fantastic. The team's been great. So thank you. Just a real quick question about Save-A-Lot and any new progress on our Save-A-Lot closings. One in the 13th Ward at 63rd and Kilbourne is something that neighbors really care about and want to see it open. So anything you could share would be greatly appreciated.
Yeah. So Save-A-Lot, for those less familiar, I know the Alders Impacted are very familiar just from our call. Save-A-Lot has, you know, unfortunately experienced a closure of multiple stores due to the snap reduction, federal snap reduction, and the death of one of the owners.
My team and I are working with the other finance partners to find new grocers, and we're in
communication with new grocers that are interested in occupying these stores, these grocers that
are going to bring quality produce needs to the community, because we deserve it, right?
And we deserve the quality.
And so there's more to come.
I can't name who we're talking to just yet, because we're still making progress.
We don't have any signed agreements just yet,
but I feel confident that those stores are going to be reoccupied soon.
Any time frame?
So one of the stores in particular,
I think are moving a little bit faster than some of the other stores.
And so that's promising.
I'll say that who we are talking to are active grocers.
They operate and own grocery stores.
These are not folks that are interested in becoming grocers.
They actually operate in stores.
And so that's promising in terms of the speed
in which we can get those stores reopened.
get those stores reopened great great thank you commissioner and i look forward to hearing from
you uh as progress continues to roll out thank you mr chairman thank you thank you alderman um
if you all cannot keep your comments to yourselves in the gallery i'm gonna ask
to remove you okay okay thank you thank you we appreciate you thank you thank you thank you
thank you, and we appreciate you. You guys have a great day.
Have a great day. Alderman Cinco-Lopez,
you may proceed. I guess they may have
from yesterday's results. Thank you, Chairman.
Good morning, Commissioner. I appreciate the opportunity
to have a conversation with you. Some questions are already having
answered. I want to talk about a little
bit about the TIF program. I know that we have an important effort on the 25th, 11th, and 12th Ward
changing the purpose. I heard some aldermen talk about the importance of housing and being able
to invest in housing, and we look forward to working with you. In this, I want to ask in
generally overall the functioning of the TIF, though. I'm not sure if you're able to read the
report of the Great Cities Institute around the analysis of the TIF and the disparities
within that program.
So just want to say in terms of like your, in general, I think questioning about how
the $16.6 billion that this program has been receiving since the inception, how it has
been operating, most of it, 51% downtown, and then cash balances that are...
and then cash balances that are still accrued.
My main question around efforts that we can do
for full transparency to have oversight on this program,
participatory budgeting,
and also some of the recommendations
about funding schools for in-part districts,
redirect the revenue as we've done in the 25th Ward.
So that's just a overall question in terms of that study
and just your reaction based on that study.
Yeah, so I did read the study. I think the study pointed out some really good points. I think that the study lacked detail in terms of the rationale behind why we're seeing one of the biggest critiques was the amount of investment downtown versus neighborhoods.
I thought that that portion of the study could have provided a lot more context.
I think part of the reasoning that you're seeing more investment historically downtown than what you're seeing in the neighborhoods has everything to do with the scale and the scope per project.
And so if you think about downtown developments, the infrastructure needs are greater.
Some of the project sizes are larger.
And if you compare that to a neighborhood scale project that's just as catalytic, but smaller in scale and scope, you're going to have some disparities, if you will, or differences just in terms of the amount of investment overall.
And so that's one flag that I would just say is relevant and kind of raising from that study.
I don't think that everything was wrong with the study, but I think that that's worth kind of calling out.
I think it's also important to know, and I'll have Jeff chime in on a couple other pieces from the UIC study on the TIF and how the TIF has been used historically.
But interesting facts, because I always like to focus on facts.
95% of our closed TIF RDAs and IGAs since 2017 are actually in neighborhoods, not downtown.
of the approximately
the approximately 260 total projects, just 15 of them are downtown. And the remainder are
distributed throughout the city. And that's a very relevant fact that we should all kind of raise.
And so does it counter some of the UIC's kind of points made? Yes. But I think it's important for
us to be fact-based in terms of the critiques of TIF. TIF has always had its challenges. But I
think it's important to know that TIF has done a lot of what we hope TIF would do in terms of
neighborhood equitable growth and opportunities. There's always kinks to be ironed out, but just
in terms of the impact and what we're seeing in neighborhoods, I just wanted to kind of raise
those points. Jeff, did you want to chime in on any points from the UIC study? Jeff Cohen,
Managing Deputy. Just to reiterate some of the points that the commissioner made here,
I think that the research that the Urban Cities Institute did was really good. However,
it is backwards looking and i do think that there have been many strides made in terms of
transparency and accountability specifically with the tiff sunshine ordinance where we now post all
tiff rdas whether they're igas or dbd funded projects or doh funded projects on the tiff
portal so we do make strides in terms of the transparency and of what we're disclosing to
the constituency i think the the other piece here that was largely unlooked was not necessarily about
property values increasing, but the purpose of TIF districts is to expand the property tax base,
is to bring blighted and vacant lots back online and improve the overall tax rate,
not just focus on property tax increases. Again, to your point as well, and within your wards,
I think that we're going to be working closely with you now that the Pilsen-TIF district has now
had their increased budget, and we're going to see a lot more coming to those neighborhood
districts as well. Thank you. I would love to, again, continue to redirect those funds to
libraries, schools, things that are needed, infrastructure, polyinfrastructure,
structure with limitations of the TIF bond. My last question, last question in terms of the study,
there's some questioning around the number of positions that the department funds through the
TIF. Do you know, like, I know that here at least the Tax Increment Financing Administrator Fund
has about 67 positions, is about $11 million. How do they relate and how do they collaborate
and talk to the aldermanic offices,
how this staff is connected directly.
I know that in our TIF in particular,
there's assignments for studies,
there's assignments for staff.
And that was part of the Great Cities Institute
concern about how those positions are accounted for
and that a breakdown, in fact, of almost per ward.
Amy, do you want to chime in on,
and Alex can chime in on kind of the breakout,
which positions are TIF funded?
I'll start off by saying it's a mix of positions that are TIF-funded, not just the financial
team that actually reviews projects.
We've got many teams.
Go ahead, Amy, please.
Amy Henry, Director of Human Resources.
We have TIF-funded positions within our Economic Development Bureau, our Small Business Development
Bureau, also in our Planning and Design Bureau, and back office support.
And so those are all partners, with the exception of the back office support, that would engage with your department or your constituents, whether it's us coming out for ward nights and sharing with the small business what we have, whether it's Mary's team doing door knocking to just share that there's opportunities from a funding standpoint or even our planners that's working on long range planners and obviously some of Jeff's team members that are actually working directly on those RDAs.
So I just wanted to kind of highlight the mix of team members that are on that TIF line item
and the work that they're doing within those TIFs.
Thank you.
Yeah, and that's what I wanted to zero in on that.
I think my office sent a recommendation, you know, for doing more engagement in the community.
there was at least one area or one program
where there was zero applicants.
And I did request that we work together, right?
I think I know it's incumbent of us.
So I want to see how we can get that kind of resource.
I know that we have some delegate partners.
Definitely will, and I had mentioned that to the department
in terms of having more quarterly reports,
and we are starting to receive those.
but in terms of like how do those
positions actually help
to your point making sure
that we are encouraging
I know that there was an application Mary can speak more
about it there was zero applicants
and I do think it's important that we do
reach out to constituents make sure that they do
know the opportunities especially
around I know that there's funding for
neighborhood opportunity funds and
I mean we even have like the
landmark I know that there's another 7.4
million dollars as you know we do have
at least one in a ward that is being you know waiting for years so i want to see kind of how
we tap into that extra support right to make sure that the people know about these opportunities
i'm gonna have mary chime in on what's already underway and what kind of additional things that
because it's really not a one-size-fits-all as it relates to outreach every single ward has
different ways that they like outreach to happen in their wards and for their small businesses
but maybe can mary can chime in specifically for what we're doing in the 25th ward and maybe
be some of the things that we're doing in other wards that are working really well that you may
want to adopt in yours. Alderman, over the past year, I think you know that we have worked very
closely with your office. We, as well as BACB, we've done several corridor walks, but I think
it's important. This is how we are engaging with you. So we let your office as well as the delegate
agencies and other partners know when we are rolling out these programs, we provide toolkits
for them to promote on social media.
And then at midpoint, we reach out to all of our stakeholders,
your office and our delegate agencies to let them know where we are on.
agencies to let them know where we are on applications received so we have seen um just so
like last year at this time and i'm not specific to your ward we received a total of 500 applications
throughout the city this year in 26 it's gone over a thousand so the so the outreach is working
but there are certain communities that will require more attention and we will continue to
work with your office walk those corridors and doorknock but that was just one specific spiff
at a period of time but you are getting a lot of responses through nof the community development
grant workforce solution so this was a one-off i'm not saying that we're happy with the results
but we will but it's flagged for us and we will continue to improve thank you commissioner yeah
definitely like to have a follow-up on in terms of what we can do uh together make sure that more
people know about the programs, and also we'd like to discuss, you know, maybe some of the
recommendations of the Great Cities Institute in terms of just greater transparency and
accountability, so we'd like, you know, we'd welcome a follow-up with the Commissioner
on your team. Thank you so much, Chairman. Thank you for the, thank you for your question.
Next up, we have Alderman Nukes is out. Alderman Mitts. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning,
Commissioner, the DPD team have been very helpful to me. I got to tell you, and I noticed in the
statement, your own misstatement, there were three churches that was designated a landmark,
or four, three of them is in my ward, and we were very excited about the status that was granted.
But let me ask you, do you know who oversees PBC, the Public Building Commissioner?
uh the public building commissioner is that under your um just his name just escaped uh ray um
commissioner yeah yes there we are sorry who who was it ray get her off are they coming before us
or dpd answer questions for them no because i'm interested in knowing about
um a restaurant that was supposed to be coming to 37 ward is it a restaurant that pbc is working
with or is it well we passed it some time ago in city council a part of um the joint public
building commissioner uh project uh it was uh the joint public safety academy along with two
restaurants there and i've been had one one of those vacant for the last four years and it's
completed and taxpayers done paid their money for to have a restaurant there and we don't have
nothing yet and i don't understand why we can't get one there that's why i'm asking the question
i would i would defer to pbc to are they coming before us that's my question chairman no ma'am
the pbc does not uh come before this committee who is responsible if you that's what you like
the resolution to ask them to come before the committee on that specific issue either between
this committee or public safety or one of the committees to to have that conversation that's
fair game i just want to know why are we wasting taxpayer dollars sitting there and that money
been allocated it's been there and i don't know why we haven't gotten the business to come in
there's been built a new constructed building let me move on to um pop courts
how many pop courts are we scheduled for 2026 2027
for 2026, 2027. Yeah, I'll have Mary talk about the disaster recovery dollars that we have that
are tied to pop courts. Mary? We have $5 million allocated towards the pop courts within four
wards that were hit hardest by rain in the years 23-24 in the 37th ward. So it's 1.25 million
per award for per pop how many uh pop courts per award one one pop course per award and
so so for like i know we've engaged your office we've confirmed the location of 843 north central
when we're partnering with the rising sun church and we've had conversations absolutely absolutely
But I'm more interested in the brought up picture of how many pop courts that have been, that are in the pipeline.
Are you referring to our previous program?
Yes.
Our previous program, which no longer exists yet, those funds were supported by the Chicago Recovery Grant funds.
So their program no longer exists.
I believe.
I want, give me the ones for the disaster release.
We have four locations for them.
Can I get those through the chair?
Yes.
Okay.
Thank you.
Housing.
Now let's go to the vacant lots for a minute.
And how many vacant lots, city-owned vacant lots?
Just over 7,000 vacant lots.
Citywide?
Citywide, yes.
can you give me the number for 37th award yep I can have my team pull it now okay
Okay, while they're getting that together, what are we doing in terms of Missing Middle Lots pipeline with community area distribution?
I'm sorry, you said Missing Middle?
Yes.
We are on our fifth round of Missing Middle.
We started in North Lawndale.
We just announced on October 4th the fifth round in Humboldt Park, leveraging city-owned lots.
And so our focus is where we can do clusters, multiple lots on a block, really taking a block-by-block, node-by-node approach.
We've got $75 million set aside.
I haven't exhausted every dollar, but we're getting pretty close.
But there are still opportunities for additional missing middle rounds.
Okay.
Right. I'm interested in looking at working with your department on areas that I think that we need to be looking at.
That's fine.
In the 37th Ward.
Happy to.
But your team have been fantastic.
and Mary was working with us along very well
and neighborhood opportunity funds
and TIFFNIPs and industrial growth zone.
So I think that we could do a little bit more
in the industrial growth zone just so that you know.
I don't know who the point person would be,
but we need to look in that area
and try to help to revitalize some of the business
that are still there and offer assistance in them.
We can certainly set up a meeting specifically with Brad
and team to talk strategy around the industrial areas.
I think our team has a number for the number of city-owned lots
in your ward.
Can you share, Whitney?
Yes, Whitney Mungin, Director of Land Acquisition and Disposition.
There are 150 available lots in the 37th Ward.
and all of the information is available on Shiba.
Can I get a list of those through the chair?
Sure.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Alderman.
Alderman Beals out.
Alderman Hall, go ahead.
Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and Commissioner, to you and your team.
First, I want to enter with a spirit of gratitude.
84th and King Drive hadn't been developed in over 30 years, done.
and then 95th Street, the Red Line Project, both of which are projects that have decades
been talked about but never done.
So your leadership has been seen in some very, very, very, very big vacant lots in our ward.
So thank you.
Along with Missing in the Middle, which is given the west part of our ward near Simeon,
which was very in need of new homes for just the kids that go to the school.
And grateful for that addition to our award as well.
First question I want to ask is it's been a critique and a criticism, but I do think that the factors that are out of your control do play a part, which is the cost to build.
How much has the cost to build due to, you know, the stuff that we see out of D.C. and just other things.
How much of that has been problematic in some of the awards that you've given and even some future plans, the cost of materials and stuff?
um i mean construction costs are a challenge this isn't a chicago challenge this is a national
challenge that we're seeing you add that to higher interest rates and just rising construction costs
and it's a perfect storm um i think that we're working hard to combat those things that are
beyond our control by leveraging tools within our control so like missing middle is an example
us providing that necessary capital to developers so that it doesn't discourage them from building
right it encourages them to build on city land um us selling the lots for a dollar so that that's
one less cost for that developer to bear um so they can focus on the vertical development is
focus on the vertical development is within our control and another tool that we're leveraging to
help to kind of offset the increased construction costs. It, you know, is a challenge. It, you know,
remains a challenge. You know, we were talking about a 25% construction cost increase over the
last couple of years. It's not insignificant. And so that's why we want to make sure that we're
really thinking outside the box and we're removing as many of the barriers as possible.
The proactive rezoning is just one. That's a cost that the developer does not have to bear, right?
And also leveraging some of the tools to help to create that affordability that we need to see, specifically for our housing.
I just want to commend you for, in spite of the 25% increase, that a lot of projects have stayed on time and developers haven't walked away.
So again, three times the gratitude for our award.
I do want to, I don't know if it was mentioned, I did have to step out for a second.
A lot of the city lots come with a lot of environmental issues, of which people are still willing to purchase the lots in the as-is condition.
If you've already said it, my apologies.
Like I said, I have to step out.
But where is your department in dealing with situations where you have people, developers, proven developers and partners that are like, hey, we abide this.
We know how bad it is.
um are there is there expediting of waivers for situations of which property is known to be in
bad shape but somebody's willing to buy in an as is shape waiving the responsibility of us
if they were to you know proceed yeah i'll start and i'm gonna pass it to khali from our team to
talk about kind of legally how we're working with um law department and others to advance the sales
but one thing that we're adding and it's effective october 1st and i think you did step out during
this is environmental disclosures. First time we're able to provide environmental disclosures
so that when people apply, they know the condition of the lot. So they know what we know. There's no
guesswork from that standpoint, but I'll pass it to Kali to briefly talk about how we're able to
But I'll pass it to Kali to briefly talk about how we're able to sell land.
I think it is important to note that developers are used to remediating land, right?
There's not a lot of clean land in urban areas.
And so that's kind of part of the course.
They're understanding that they're taking on remediation as part of the development.
But Kali?
Yeah.
Hi.
Kali Plowman, Deputy Commissioner of DPD.
Thank you for the question, Alderman.
Yeah, we continue to work with DOE.
One of the big things this round the commissioner mentioned is we're proactively sharing what we know about land.
In the past, buyers would kind of go down the path and find out about the condition and then, you know, realize that wasn't the lot for them.
So the proactive disclosure is helping a lot.
Applicants will know, yeah, I'm willing to do this and I'm going to put this remediation or investigation into my pro forma.
I'm going to provide for it. I'm good to go. So we just continue to work with DOE on what else we
can do to continue to make the projects move faster. Gotcha. So in concluding, if they get
essentially the sheet that says what exactly is on the land, what's the timeline if they say,
all right, this is fine, I'll still proceed. What's the timeline usually to acquire that land
after that environmental piece has been given to them.
It ranges.
Whitney and Cully,
maybe you guys can just kind of give an example
of a timeline.
So if the property doesn't have
any environmental requirements,
once we get that disclosure,
we can close pretty quickly.
So given that we have all of the permits and everything,
we can close within a couple of weeks.
If there is more of a requirement from DOE, it's going to take a little bit longer.
And we just work with DOE to ensure that the applicant is aware of what's required.
And then once that is clear, then we can close.
Gotcha.
So, again, thank you in concluding, again, four times the gratitude.
We've made four times the progress in such a short amount of time.
And I'll just do some more follow-up to quite understand it a little bit deeper without taking up much time.
But congratulations. This great dream team is doing a great job under your leadership and support.
So thank you, Mr. Chair. You had one more close.
I'll say that for Sunday.
Alderman Walkersbeck. Thank you, Chairman. Good afternoon, Commissioner.
And thank you to all your staff for being here. Very helpful over the last few years.
I won't go individually, but everybody that we work with is a pleasure to work with
and really gets things done for us.
Just a couple of questions.
One, do we have a comparison chart or a set of guidelines, public guidelines,
in terms of NOF versus BUILD?
Versus missing middle?
The guidelines for BUILD.
Oh, for BUILD.
Yeah.
I can check, and if so, I'll get it through the chair. Nothing that is off the top of my mind.
Okay. Through the chair would be fine. I think I'd just like to make sure that we're following
the same guidelines in terms of how we manage, build with NOF, and then if there's penalties for
misuse of those funds or anything like that. I want to make sure I understand the question.
are you referring to the Catalyst Fund versus how we're managing build,
the $20 million set aside from the Catalyst Fund, or build versus NOF?
Build versus NOF, if it's going to flow into that same type of management of the money.
type of management of the money. Okay. We can get you kind of clarity on how the bill will be
structured versus NLR. That's fine. I can talk to you offline about it too. The other question I had
was on the change in, I think, the revenue ordinance regarding the real estate transfer tax
and the enterprise zones and the removal of the exemption for all of the enterprise zones.
um i know that it's supposed to bring in 12 million dollars in savings but do you have the
specific outcome details and the analysis of how the exemption is going to um fall on terms of uh
either total exemption funds or that 12 million dollars i do not i would have to get that through
OBM. That's not a savings. It's actually new revenue. Yeah. All I saw was the press release
or some kind of statement from a spokesperson. The way that that works in the enterprise zone,
you are exempt from a portion of the real estate transfer tax. We are essentially not exempting
under our home rule authority, not exempting that portion of the real estate transfer tax that
would have been due under the enterprise zone is going to come to us instead of not being
exempted. Okay. But the state would still have their exemption. Is that correct? That I don't
know, but if there's any money that's due to the state and they're exempting it, I would assume so,
but we're just saying we're not going to keep our exemption. Okay. Well, the reason I was asking
here was just because it seems like it would affect some of those projects that potentially
it would come in through some of the development teams that uh utilize the exemption to that is
fair purchase or um redevelop some of these sites so i'll ask uh obm as well um chairman
Chairman, that's all I had.
I think all the other questions I had have been answered.
So again, thank you, Commissioner.
We've moved on a couple of major projects
that I took over over the last couple of years,
one with Lathrop Homes.
They're breaking ground on those other 300 units plus next week.
And Foundry Park, where we shared time together
at that location to really see that northern portion of what was Lincoln Yards move forward
with the 3,700 units and commercial and a lot of other park amenities there.
It's a fantastic tribute, I think, to the work that your staff did.
And despite the fact that the Cortland Bridge is still closed, I think it'll move forward.
So again, kudos to everyone on your staff who helped us move that forward in a quick fashion.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman.
Thank you, Alderman.
Go ahead, Chairman.
Do you know how much money, I might have missed this,
how much money that
exemption would generate?
Is there
approximately $12 million.
$12 million. Okay. Thank you.
Alderman, Bill, you going to go from there or do you
Okay. All right.
Or you can stay out because I'm going to go and then
come to you. All right.
No problem. Good afternoon.
i just got a couple of quick questions uh and i do apologize i was running a little behind and i
don't want to i've been asking around about questions that were asked so i don't want to
duplicate my my question so um but before i start i just want to say um you know there are
and i've said this um in other hearings uh that there are a couple of bright stars in this city
um you know marlene and cole being one and and i want to add you to that list as well um you know
to that list as well um you know there there's a few people in this city uh who uh get it and are
serious about moving the city forward and and allocating and using taxpayer dollars like they're
supposed to be spent and i want to thank you for that as well as the entire department um i think
you guys do a phenomenal job um but i do believe that there are some roadblocks in your way and
And I want to get to a little bit of questions on that as well.
One of my colleagues did say they asked a question about the TRR process.
You know, what's the average time it takes your department to review and forward your approvals or disapprovals to OBM?
On average, about seven business days.
Seven business days.
Okay.
So seven business days by the time a request comes in from any alderman or whatever to your department,
You review it seven days, it moves on.
Okay.
And after that, it goes to OBM for approval to see if the money is there or not.
And then it goes to the mayor's office, correct?
Yeah.
I think one important caveat is once it goes to OBM, that's when the funds are held.
Okay.
And once the funds are held, whether approved or disapproved, it goes to the mayor's office
where it sits for a slow death if you're not on the mayor's team.
It goes to the mayor's office for operational sequencing.
Okay.
Okay. And if you're not on the mayor's team, it doesn't go anywhere.
Oh, okay. Well, do you know how many TRR approvals that you sent over that have not been forwarded to city council? Do you have that list?
I don't have that number off the top of my head. I can get it through the chair for you.
Do you have an approximate? Because the data that I'm showing, it's approximately 47 projects that are sitting in the mayor's office.
to be I would have to confirm I don't have the most recent report in front of me I can confirm
and I can follow up through the chair alderman now um I don't know if you
alderman. Now, I don't know if you can confirm or not. A TIF request does not necessarily have
to go before your department or OBM or the mayor's office. Can an alderman submit a TIF request?
My understanding is that the TIF request goes through our department so we can confirm
eligibility. You guys start the process. It's kind of what you already do with us where you say,
hey, I've got you. But we don't need to go through TRR. We don't need to go to OBM. We don't need to
go to the mayor's office. If I see a project and I confirm that the money is there in my TIF,
I should have the right to submit a TIF request, correct? I think you are submitting the TIF
request. You're submitting it through the TRR process. So it's your submittal that actually
starts the process. I'm trying to circumvent the process. Oftentimes you guys are working
with our department though, because you want to know any other holds that are pending, right?
I guess my question, Commissioner, is do we or do we not have the legal right, if I have a project, to submit a direct TIF request to city council, to the clerk's office, to go to the department of budget or finance for approval, and then it gets approved?
So I would have to confirm, when you talk about legal right, I would have to confirm legal right.
So in theory, in theory, what you're asking for is could could someone submit an ordinance that's passed by the body for requesting a TIF allocation for a specific project?
That's your question. I already know the answer to my.
That's I know. I'm just trying to sue. OK.
Okay, I'm trying to get the people of the city of Chicago to understand that the aldermen have the authority to submit a TIF request for a particular project if they so choose.
And that we don't have to be subject to being held hostage by the administration, whether you're on the team or not.
That's all.
I'm just trying to get to the bottom of that.
All right.
All right.
Another one of my colleagues said that they already asked you about the TIF suite.
Not a function of the Department of Planning and Development.
Okay.
Okay, so, but you're charged with creating projects that need TIF money.
Yes.
Okay, so this last TIF suite, because I remember I asked you the question last year, point blank, were you consulted with the billion-dollar TIF suite?
Were you consulted with this TIF suite?
The projects that we have, to your earlier point, can help inform what is surplus.
And so typically OBM will check in to say, hey, are these projects still active projects?
And we confirm, yes, they're active projects.
It's taking the developer a little longer because they're trying to close their gap.
But it is still an active project that should be protected from a surplus.
And so I think our feedback helps inform, you know, the surplus.
But it's not the department that grows or manages the surplus or the amount that's surplused.
Earlier this year, we obtained information that there was approximately between $225 million to maybe $250 million in eligible TIF.
How did we get to $500 million if earlier this year we only had $225 million to $250 million?
I'll defer you to OBM.
I can't answer that question.
I don't know what your $250 million figure, that figure pertains to.
I don't know where it came from, but I would defer to OBM.
Again, TIF is not a function of DPD, and so I can't say where those numbers came from or the change in the numbers.
But if we sweep TIFs and your department is relying on TIF to move projects forward, would that not hinder your ability to move projects forward?
i advocate for my projects i advocate for my department and all economic development
projects in the city at the point that we have a project that's ready to move forward
I aggressively move those projects forward to protect those dollars from a surplus in the future.
I think it's important to say, and I mentioned this last year, there are projects and then there are concepts.
There are concepts that aren't quite ready for funds to be held.
And we want to work and move those projects so that we can actually lock that TIF in or housing and economic development bond or NOF,
whatever the proper funding source is, but not every project that comes to us is ready for us to reserve dollars.
I get that. And, and, you know, and I believe that you and your department advocate strongly for development and construction, but when you pass it on, you're at, you know, your advocacy could fall on deaf ears because you're relying on OBM and the mayor's office to send this stuff to us. So, I mean, you can, you can be the biggest advocate. However, when you pass it on, you're, you know, it's out of your hands at that particular time.
I would say as a professional and as the commissioner for the department, I work really hard to protect the dollars that are needed to move the projects and to ultimately lead to groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings.
And I do that in partnership with many of you guys.
I think that we're all aligned and we all want groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings and we all want to move and grow our city in a responsible way.
And I think we're all aligned from that standpoint.
But it's not, I mean, I just want to say from my perspective as the commissioner, I'm working really hard to protect all dollars and to spur development.
And I think I'm doing okay in partnership with my team and with you all.
Okay.
The ordinance I submitted last week, a week before, regarding the window sign, a window covering.
Can you give me, because I know a lot of my colleagues complain about that.
how important is that to get done in communities like mine when they have all their windows
covered um with you know signage where you can't see into this i mean are you getting a lot of
complaints from my colleagues on that i actually do get a lot of complaints from um
I actually do get a lot of complaints from your colleagues
around the amount of coverage for the windows.
A, it's not allowed, and so that's part of the problem.
There's been complaints around some of the images
that are being used to cover images,
to cover the windows that are not respectful.
There's been issues around public safety as well,
and so it's not just because your colleagues are saying
it's not aesthetically pleasing some of the concerns have been around um public safety but
i want to pause just a minute because i talked about what's not allowed and so patrick can kind
of chime in on what's allowed from a window coverage is the lighting also included in this
because i mean lighting that led lighting all of a sudden it's around all in our community that you
know the perimeter lighting so hi thank you all uh patrick burphy with the department planning
the so right now there are zoning regulations in place that dictate the amount of signage that's
allowed on the zoning lot depending on your zoning district and your frontage the window
coverings that you're talking about some are some are or are not activated with you know different
messaging or images some are just blank papers or folks put uh different equipment that's in
businesses to screen the window so like the commissioner said the uh the public safety
issue about not being able to see into the business is certainly something that we've heard
often from you and from many of your colleagues as well uh the lighting is something we will
address with licensing as far as you know the the streaming of lighting that goes around the
window edges uh you know per se it's not signage but that's what would fall under or could fall
under a version of the ordinance that that you introduced and that we would be happy to work
with you all with okay no and i and i appreciate uh working with you and and the commissioner on
on that ordinance um you know i think it's important because i believe that uh people are
taking advantage of our community and you know you can go to other communities and they don't
have that kind of signage and it's gaudy it's ugly um and again somebody could be in there
Um, and again, somebody could be in there getting harmed and you can drive past and wouldn't have, wouldn't know any difference about what's going on inside there. So I appreciate you all's help with that ordinance as well. So, um, again, you know, I don't have many complaints with you in the department. I think you guys do a phenomenal job. And again, I just want to reiterate that there are a few shining stars in this administration and you are one of them along with Marlene and Cole and a few others.
So thank you for all your help and your advocacy.
Thank you, Alderman.
Thank you.
Thank you, Alderman Hatton, followed by Alderman Hoppenworth.
Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.
Hi, Commissioner.
Hey.
I want to start off quickly just saying thank you.
I really appreciate you, your team, Patrick Murphy, Paul Moody sitting there next to you,
everybody in the box um i think especially over this term as i think i've had more things happening
in my community i have greatly appreciated the access and the advice of you and your team
it's really i think made uh i don't have a lot of development but i feel like every single thing i
have is something a little unique um as is customary for rogers park um so appreciate that
um a couple things i want to lift up that i hope to continue working with your department on
especially into the new year um uh bird friendly design standards um uh i want to thank your team
for helping with information i know you've been going through the last year or so of kind of
pilot stuff we've got more work to do on it you know we had another kind of mass casualty event
earlier in october with a thousand birds hitting glass
This is more to say, we're gonna get through this year,
but I know there's some data we're hoping to still
kind of get from you guys about bird strikes
and the projects.
We have also been collecting more information
on developer costs.
So I appreciate very much,
and I think you actually do a really good job at this.
I appreciate the many things that we ask of you in your role as commissioner and what we expect the department to do on the broad level goals and all of the intricate, sometimes specific things like helping us to update these standards while also balancing the big level goals that we're asking you to.
so i know this one isn't super easy um and i appreciate i just want to name that like i know
there's a little tension sometimes especially in like as my colleagues have mentioned in a time
where everything costs more and there are so many stresses on development um but i want you to know
that like we're here and i think we're aligned um on kind of working with you and supporting you
and not not asking you to do anything that you can't do um but hope that we can continue to
work with your department to really thread the needle on this and find a good path for us so
uh just thank you um i look forward to continuing to working with you on that thank you um uh
my big question for you guys um i'm so excited about the courtyards i'm so excited about the
courtyard buildings and so maybe my question is i know um uh i missed your opening comments i did
read the statement so thank you but if there's anything that you and your team would like to
share about this project and others um that you're kind of working on but i this creative solutions
i was again so excited because there are um i think this is the way forward so if you just
want to share any more about that i would love to hear it yeah just we're excited to bring
about that i would love to hear it yeah just we're excited to bring courtyards back courtyards aren't
new but um they've gone away that typology and it's an important one especially as we think
about the production of housing and the density that's really needed and so we're excited to have
rolled out this new rfp on october 1st and really excited to see the responses that come so more to
come in the beginning of the year in terms of announcing the first pilot and the responses and
interest that we we have from the courtyards but i'm hopeful that we'll see a lot more courtyards
throughout the city of chicago because they're a beautiful housing typology that we we we can
absolutely support you've got land there's opportunity and there's a housing need and so
the courtyard housing type addresses many of those challenges or opportunities and if i could ask um
and this is more in that broad category of other, other unique solutions. What can we look forward
to there? And, and I will kind of add a piece of construction materials types. I'll say we haven't
talked about it probably in a couple of years, but I know that there had been some work around
tiny homes so the missing the missing middle and the courtyard piece i feel like are so smart and
the progress that you've made on missing middle like these are the things that like in 20 years
we're going to be like looking at as where we had turning points in the city um but wondering if you
could speak to tiny homes or other other innovations that the department is looking at learning about
that we might want to tap into in the next year yeah 29 conversions were missed i'm just highlighting
that for those that just made it 29 office to resi conversions over 4 000 units so doing more
conversions um in addition to new construction through missing middle new construction through
courtyards tiny homes and then i'll pass it to patrick to maybe chime in a little bit more on
tiny homes, on ADUs, on other kind of material changes or implementations that we're exploring
to address both affordability and scale in which we can do more housing production?
Sure. So Alderwoman, we've met with a number of groups that have talked about a variety of tiny
home pilots. We've encouraged them to let us know what you would need as far as a zoning code
structure. We've offered to establish something akin to what we have for townhomes, which give
you a specific set of rules that are separate and apart from other setback and building placement
requirements that you have on a zoning lot and so for something as unique as a tiny home we would
want to craft something that fits what uh what someone would want to build in the private market
so we don't want to dictate what those parameters might be without making sure that it's something
that they can actually uh that they can actually utilize like the commissioner said we've had
uh expansions in the adu ordinance uh we have you know we have seen interest in expanding especially
what we've allowed as far as the uh size of the physical building the coach house from the coach
house standpoint uh some limitations that we had on square footage have been dropped so it allows
for some more creativity in the size and the placement of those buildings there's also not
a requirement that folks have to re-establish parking that was once provided in a garage
accessory structure so that's allowed for a lot more freedom in in placing those buildings on
various zoning lots uh we you know we've talked to some of your colleagues about ideas they've
had related to minimum lot area and density uh we've talked about a variety of zoning district
changes that uh we'd be happy to explore and discuss further so there are some things that
we we would love to uh you know explore further with you all um and then chairman if you'll
permit me just a last comment here um thank you um so i'd love to follow up um i know that
I want to say it's been more than a year, maybe even two years since the mayor's office
had been working on some tiny home RFP. So I'd love to follow up maybe post budget.
up maybe um post budget um to check in um and last thing i'll just say is um just the plus one of
support for the continued structure of working with our neighborhood planners um so katherine
hurd and her team again it's i feel like it's a smart solution that helps to match the just
different demands in different parts of the city you've enjoyed working with them and we'll
hopefully we're getting an update we're hearing from the saint scholastica site in the next week
so yeah so i hope to have some updates for you guys in that so thank you commissioner your whole
team really appreciate you all thank you thank you uh alderman alderman manor hopper were followed
by alderman chico and after that we will be breaking for lunch thank you chairman hi commissioner
dpd has been such a terrific team you've been a great collaborator collaborator you have helped
us work with developers to help stabilize our communities increase our tax base help our small
businesses we want more homes and you're helping us get there i wanted to also say thank you to
first deputy patrick murphy and the entire pd team including noah safranic our regional planners
including Catherine Hurd. We are balancing development with historic preservation,
and so I want to thank your team, Deanna Cavallo and Eilish Tuffy on the Bryn Mawr Historic District,
which is a very important commercial core of Edgewater. My first question is the chai block
builder and the missing infill housing program you said it improved on the shortcomings of other
land sale programs i believe um or maybe you can speak on that but it seems to be that um
And you highlighted some of the improvements, including proactively publishing environmental
reviews of the city-owned lots for sale that we believe will speed up the land sale process.
I was curious if more staff would help you to accelerate that program, and if so, could
could that help us double the number of lots disposed um yeah i'm sure that my team would
always say yes give us more i'm confident that whitney would love 10 more team members to be
able to advance the land sales i think that um just two flags the missing middle is just one
type of use that goes through um shy block builder industrial sales go through shy block builder
Many of our RFPs go through Shy Block Builder. Shy Block Builder is just a platform for all of the
city-owned land to be sold. In terms of speeding up the process, we list roughly each round,
twice a year, we list lots, between 400 and 600 lots. I can certainly sell more lots or even list
more lots. Not every lot that's listed equals a sale or even an application. And so there is
this kind of balance of how many lots we list and how many applicants actually respond to those
listings. So just because I list 1,200 lots doesn't mean I'll have 1,200 offers and then 1,200
closings within that year. Some lots are in higher demand than others, but I think we work closely
with you all to make sure that we're listing those lots that individuals have expressed interest on.
And so I think just to kind of manage expectations in terms of how many lots we list and how many
lots that were sold they don't always correlate to the exact same number right we are seeing more
in revenue and i think partnerships with doe with listing those environmental um
disclosures help us to speed up the process because we're helping to
up the process because we're helping to remove a lot of the unknowns earlier on and so those are
a couple of the measures that were taken and certainly more staff could allow us to maybe
close even faster but I think the team has done a phenomenal job with the leadership that we have
in the box to really focus on selling those lots much quicker but yes to more staff thank you thank
you commissioner um my second question is uh cta they've been making huge investments in edgewater
particularly in uptown with four new red line stations and we're excited for the broadway
up zoning just steps away from this um major transit oriented development opportunity um sites
we have several of them in the ward. Can you speak on the partnership that's required for us to
move forward with that development? And what is it that we can do to help?
Yeah. Ongoing partnership, keyword partnership. CTA has been a great partner across many of our
RFPs. Not just the couple in your ward. I mean, throughout the city, they have been a really
solid partner. I'm going to pass it to Nolan to kind of chime in on how continued partnerships
can allow us to RFP those sites much faster and ultimately get the development that you want to
see. Yeah, that's right. Thank you, Nolan Zaroff, Assistant Commissioner for Bureau of Planning
and Design. That's exactly right. I think our continued partnership with CTA, they've been a
great partner. We have monthly meetings with them, not just on Broadway, but also at 95th and State,
63rd and Ashland. So we're RFPing a number of properties in partnership with them,
and we're in constant contact I think to your point just continued support from from our
aldermanic partners and our community partners and continued engagement and again the proactive
rezoning I think is also an important component of that as well so all of those things come together
to to move us forward thank you I appreciate
to to move us forward thank you i appreciate that um the last thing i just want to reiterate is um
our desire to see goals on the number of housing units that we need moving forward it was mentioned
by alderman matt martin earlier and um that would that would help to guide our work and and we want
that in the city of chicago so thank you so much thank you everybody in the box and thank you
Commissioner, for your work. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Autumn. Autumn Chico.
Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Commissioner, for your work
and the team's work. Obviously, in the 10th Ward, we've had a lot
going on, both ends. Bookends in my ward, we
were just in the Riverdale neighborhood a few weeks ago, unveiling
a fresh market for our residents to
shop in. And then last week, you were at the north
end of my ward for the missing middle um and around everything with with iqmp new hospital
to to the north of us um the ends of my ward are doing quite well um and this is something we've
talked about i kind of just want to get your perspective or a team member's perspective on
how we kind of deal with the middle of my ward that seems to be the most challenging at times
in terms of bordering another state, bordering an attractive state in Indiana.
How do we leverage both ends of my board into the middle
and figure out a plan to drive development right in the middle right there?
Yeah, I think a couple of things.
You said it at the start.
You have the momentum.
There's so much new investment and different type of investment, right,
from the large projects that's happening at the old U.S. Steel site, IQMP,
as you mentioned the new hospital first hospital in over 100 years on the south side those are
game changers i think the missing middle will help to address the need for newer housing
i think proactively rezoning some of the corridor to attract the right
some of the corridor to attract the right type of mixed uses, increasing density where possible.
Those are all kind of measures that are easy for us to take and that can lead to more investment
in your ward to kind of detract folks from going across the border. There's lots of small businesses
that deserve support. We've got resources through Mary's team, through Jeff's team,
large-scale grants smaller scale grants that can help both existing businesses
but also resources that can attract new businesses and so I would say just
leveraging all the tools that we have but real emphasis on housing and density
that can certainly help thank you and that's pretty much all I had I just I
want folks in the war to understand that even though developments happening in
the south and north then we could we could leverage that into the middle
So, we're just very challenging and really drive that development that we all want to see.
So, thank you for that, Commissioner.
Thank you, Alderman Chico.
My apologies.
Alderman Lespada, are you still on?
Going on once?
Yes, sir.
Very much so.
All right.
You got five minutes, man.
All right.
Let me use it very effectively.
Hey, that means I'll have to send my happy messages at another time.
Alderman, Alderman.
need to adjust your microphone.
It's very difficult to hear, sir.
Give me a moment.
There's some other comments being made.
We won't have those right now, but
your mic is just not working
where we need it. Can you hear me
now? Yes. Okay. Thank you.
There we go. Okay.
Commissioner, I will dispense
with the pleasantries and send
them at another time. Pleasantries
extended. I noticed
in the budget
a couple different places where
positions had been taken, um, away.
been taken away from bureaus or budget categories around local industrial retention and seemed to be
moved to housing and economic development bond positions. Am I reading that interpretation of
the budget right? And if so, what is the cause for the shift in those positions?
I'll have Amy talk about the shift in positions. Amy?
yes good okay okay amy henry director of human resources there's a couple different reasons for
those changes that you see one is we did change a few titles this year to address prior departmental
priorities without raising our hand count excuse me um so you'll see in 2026 the positions there
it's no longer there in 2027, and then vice versa. The other reason is we had some reorganizations
throughout the year. So we then shift across subsections to align our budget with our current
organizational structure. So I should read that as a deep prioritization of that sector? Is that
accurate? No, no, that area remains a priority. Do you want to kind of reiterate? That's still
a priority, but the shift is kind of where the, the, those employees are being paid from. Maybe
Amy, just kind of reiterate that. Right. The shift is because we've maybe moved staff around
from one bureau to another or one division to another, um, to, uh, to match our organizational
structure, our budget with our organizational structure. Meaning the work is still being
performed and so from from a ward standpoint the shift is seamless to um our work
the shift is seamless to, um, our work, our efforts, our planning that won't change at all
on your end. Okay. All right. I'll, I'll, I'll find the best ways to follow up on that. I also
noticed that there was, um, two seemingly new positions added around communications and
information services. I'm, were those shifted from somewhere else or are those new positions
within DPD? Amy Henry, Director of Human Resources. Those positions are not new. They
were shifted from CDBG. Those two positions were once a shared service to both DPD and DOH,
but they now currently support only DPD, so they are funded under TIF now.
Are there new communications positions that are going to be specific to
the Department of Housing, or is that a Commissioner Castaneda question?
That's a Commissioner Castaneda question.
Okay. All right. I'll ask two more quick questions. And both are like more policy related. So earlier this year, we passed an ordinance related to how plan developments were meeting their executive order commitments, i.e. around MBE, WBE, Chicago resident hiring.
I'm wondering how we've been doing on the implementation of that ordinance, the public
dashboard that was going to be created.
Yeah, I'll pass it to Noah for specifics in terms of performance.
We can get you that through the chair, but I'll pass it to Noah in terms of the dashboard
and what the dashboard displays.
Sure.
Hello, Alderman.
Noah Safranek.
So the dashboard is now set up to record the percentages as they're reported.
as you know we have a very good amount of reporting that happens at the time of plan
commission we then take those numbers again at the time of permit and then the last one is at
the time of completion so we've yet to have any new additions come in for time of completion but
but it's set up to receive the information you requested.
Okay, I will be looking for that,
and I'll follow up with you on that.
My last question is related to the housing
and economic development bonds,
because I heard the comment made earlier
that DPD on the economic development side
has, it sounds like, appropriated $190 million of the overall bonding authorization that
we had passed earlier.
I'm curious, and we've had emails on this, is this related to, I know part of it is there's
categorical allocations, but in terms of the broader, small, medium, large-sized grants,
Is it related to a lack of applicants, the quality of applications? Can you elaborate on that?
That's what's been awarded through grants. So the $190 million reflects missing middle dollars that have been awarded, CDG small, CDG medium, CDG large, the commercial storefront activation program, our workforce solutions, those buckets.
And so those are actual grants that have been committed to developers and grantees year to date, actually through September 30th to date.
No, I understood that part, Commissioner. I guess Mike, so I'll make this last point and then I'll be done. I would like to request through the chair the metrics or rubrics that we use in determining how grants applications are awarded.
And I've asked this through a few different email means, but I want to request formally through the chair the applications submitted for community development grants.
submitted for community development grants um by ward and by community area since the
establishment of that program um is that a clear request are you asking for what's been awarded by
i know i'm asking for community i'm asking for applications those are pre-decisional
auderman so applications that we haven't made decisions on yet that's considered pre-decisional
i feel are you referring to denied applications commissioner both both denied in progress i guess
i'm trying to get okay why don't we do this we can provide the statistics of that i don't think
you can we can go into the actual applicants but but the statistics of numbers those can be
provided uh provided to you that's fine i i am trying to understand the appetite for the program
And I'll follow up, Chairman, with you and the commissioner by email on that.
Thank you very much.
All right. Thank you much. At this point, we're going to take a break. We will reconvene at 2 p.m.
Oh, I'm sorry. And let me, number one, you guys are doing great work. We know that I actually
probably, in my opinion, the second most important department that we have outside of public safety
is bringing great development to the table.
But again, we know that the work that you do
is not in a vacuum and you're not doing it alone.
We definitely appreciate the work you and your team are doing
to bring good, solid development across our city
and the attention that you all have paid
to the south and west sides of Chicago,
which have been starved for so long.
So we, again, appreciate the work
that you and the department are doing
to bring that back to fruition.
Again with that being said
We will be in recess
We will be in recess until 2 p.m.
welcome back everybody uh it is a little after 205 here um we are back and we are going to be
reconvening here with the next department up which is the department of housing first we're
going to have a report by our council office on financial analysis katie over to you all right
thank you vice chair lee and good afternoon members of the city council my name is katie
tool with COFA. I'm here to provide a brief summary of the Department of Housing's budget
request. For 2027, the proposed budget for the Department of Housing is $171.06 million,
a $2 million or 1.27% decrease compared to 2026. The corporate fund supports approximately 13%
of CDPH's appropriations. Personnel accounts for roughly $17 million, up 8% from 2026.
Non-personnel makes up the largest part of the budget at 154.35 million, which is an approximate
2% decline. The department requests 122 full-time equivalent positions in 2027. There is no change
in proposed headcount from this year. As of October 21st, the department had a vacancy rate of
13.56. Next two slides compare proposed appropriations by category and fund against
fund against 2026's budget ordinance. Looking at categories, the financial purposes as specified
categories reflect the largest dollar changes. So digging into that a little bit, category 0900 is
dedicated to the low-income housing program and reflects an 18 million new funding for 2027 from
the corporate fund. There is a approximate 15 million decline in the reserve balance for various
grants in category 9000 the approximate 8 million decline in 9100 is primarily related to
rehabilitation loans program income and the additional 8 million in category 9200 reflects
additional affordable housing opportunity fund spending looking at funding sources local funds
increase by nearly 25 million which is 177 percent increase from 2026 local funding
and housing receives most of its funding from grants which declined by approximately 27 million
or 17 percent the decline is largely driven by the program income fund though federal state
and local grants all declined in 2027 as well here you can see the historical overview of the
department's appropriation by funding source so the department used to be merged with the
department of planning but was once again an individual department beginning in 2019 so you
can see that on the chart the department saw a post-pandemic jump in resources but since 2022
housing appropriations have been declining overall local funds have varied with an increase in 2023
from 2022 but then declined again in 24 25 and 26 2027 shows an increase in corporate funding and
other local funding and lastly looking at the department's historically budgeted positions
um that's on this slide staffing levels have generally increased since the department was
the department was re-established in 2019 initially staying consistent around 80 to 90 staff and
growing above 100 beginning in 2023 and while grant funding accounts for most of the appropriations
at housing local and grant funding are more equal when it comes to funding staff local funds support
60 of the 122 requested positions with 62 supported through grants concludes kofa's
overview of the proposed 2027 budget for the department of housing thanks katie uh we have
with us commissioner castaneda from the department of housing i think she's got an opening statement
and then you can introduce your team that's here with you okay wonderful thank you so much
good afternoon uh vice chair lee and honorable members of city council thank you for the
opportunity to discuss the department of housing's proposed fy 2027 budget and share how we are
building on progress made in 2026 to deliver on our mission for the year ahead. Joining me at
the dais are Tamara Collins, Managing Deputy Commissioner for the Department, and Matt Stern,
Deputy Commissioner for Policy Planning and Implementation. In the box with us today are
Alessandra Budnick, Deputy Commissioner of Finance, Amy Henry, Director of Human Resources,
Edwin Ortiz Reyes, Director of Policy, Meredith Muir, Assistant Commissioner of Implementation
and evaluation joseph lewis deputy commissioner of housing development asia bonner assistant
commissioner of asset management karina passos project manager for the affordable requirements
ordinance christopher smith deputy commissioner of construction and compliance lisa lewis
assistant commissioner for construction monitoring margarita vega assistant commissioner for long-term
monitoring daniel rico assistant commissioner for construction services steph o'connor deputy
commissioner of home ownership and preservation jenny fronzak assistant commissioner of home
ownership and mike weber assistant commissioner of intergovernmental affairs and budget
in 2026 the department of housing under the continued leadership of mayor brandon johnson
continued leadership of Mayor Brandon Johnson, advanced a housing agenda rooted in equity,
inclusion, and long-term stability for all 77 community areas. These priorities reflect our
belief that housing is more than shelter. It is a foundation for public health, education,
safety, and economic opportunity. Since May 2023, the Department of Housing has built,
rehabbed or preserved 4,767 units with 1,946 under construction and 5,667 more in the pipeline
for a total of 12,038 units advanced by this administration. We also prioritized the fight
against vacancy and disinvestment and supported reinvestment and neighborhood stability by
continuing to acquire vacant single-family properties that are transferred to developers
for rehab and sale to new homeowner occupants funding and funding capital improvements for
662 affordable condominium and co-op units to date under this administration we have acquired
96 properties through our rebuild program our shared equity investment program has
has expanded significantly in 2026 with an investment of five million dollars in additional
funds doh has already created 14 new units of permanently affordable and supported five
homeowners so far in this year in securing long-term affordability. Looking ahead to
2027, we will continue implementation of transformative housing solutions. In our work
to address and prevent homelessness, we have seen the completion or groundbreaking of all of our
non-congregate shelter projects in partnership with five shelter operators and the Department
of Family and Support Services. This initiative will bring over 300 non-congregate shelter beds
online through 30 million dollars in local bond funding and leveraged 25 million dollars of other
resources we will continue our monitoring and enforcement of the single room occupancy
preservation ordinance and deploy the sro preservation fund to preserve the most affordable
housing options in the city as you may know the expanded additional dwelling unit program went
expanded additional dwelling unit program went into effect April 1st of this year. This allowed
for a 280 percent increase in eligible ADUs. Since then there has been an explosion of
pre-certifications totaling over 500 units which translates to over 500 units of newly available
housing. The department is moving expeditiously and providing pre-certifications averaging a
turnaround time of just two to three business days. In June of this year DOH launched Homegrown
a home buyer purchase assistance program that provides up to 70 000 in grants to income
eligible chicagoans looking to purchase a new home to date 261 chicago families and individuals are
new homeowners because of the program which was funded with 21 million dollars of the housing and
economic development bond chairman chairwoman members of city council and department of the
department of housing enters 2027 with clear priorities strong leadership and demonstrated
ability to deliver our proposed budget reflects the urgent need to expand and protect affordable
housing and the belief that every chicago and deserves stable dignified a stable dignified
home in the community of their choice thank you for your continued partnership and for
your commitment to housing justice in chicago i welcome your questions you want to introduce
you already did that i did i'm sorry i was looking down trying to catch up with what the chairman
had here so i'm good i apologize that i missed all of the introductions no worries i have an
excellent team okay um we'll start with questions um anybody sure alderman chair martin great why
don't you go ahead uh thank you vice chair and commissioner team good afternoon thank you so much
for your ongoing work and as commissioner you and i were talking earlier um we had the privilege of
attending a groundbreaking recently um for the first permanent supportive housing development
in chicago that's going to support families recovering from domestic violence so i know that
that you and Tamara and so many other people at DOH
were instrumental in helping get this across the finish line.
across the finish line same with a whole host of other organizations including ida but just
wanted to start off with some compliments and gratitude because that was hard um hopefully
subsequent ones will be easier but um at the end of the day this is a sorely needed thing in our
city um i had two sets of questions i wanted to run by you first is the chicago low-income housing
trust fund we know that with some of the recent changes to aro policy both how it works at the
award level as well as the change to the enabling legislation, we're having more on-site affordable
housing built, which is great. An unintended consequence is a reduction in the trust fund
getting resources that they need. I know that there's a proposal in the budget to allocate,
I believe, $13 million to help sustain that fund that would support something like nearly 1,400
residents who are currently benefiting from the program. So I was hoping you could delve into that
a little bit more confirming my understanding that if this funding weren't ultimately to move forward
that upwards of 1400 households may be facing the prospect of homelessness sometime next year
can you just get a little bit more into that and who are the people at a high level who qualify
for trust fund support yeah thank you so much for that question um the chicago low-income housing
Trust Fund was established nearly 40 years ago by the city of Chicago. It is the primary recipient
of the city's allocation of rental support housing program money from the state. This
has been the primary vehicle by which we have been housing in a low barrier, in a more low
barrier way, folks who are living at 15 and 30 percent of the area median income. So very low
income, people that get to have stable housing because of this. It essentially operates as a
rental subsidy program. It is a rental subsidy program. It allows households to be able to pay
just 30% of their income towards the rent. And again, when you're...
percent of their income towards the rent. And again, when you're living at 30 percent AMI
for a single person, that's about $25,000 a year. That's not a ton of money. Yes, absolutely love
that we are building affordable housing on site and all the many ARO developments that are being
brought forth. But absolutely, there was an unintended consequence of a drop in revenue
into the Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund or AHOF. Because those revenues have dropped,
then the amount of money, Clift is entitled to 50% of AHOF, has dropped. And so that does put
them in a situation that they're currently navigating. As of right now, they have had an
attrition policy. So any unit that has come offline, they are keeping offline, trying to
keep those families who are still housed stable. And the money will help them be able to continue
to do that and will actually hopefully help reverse some of what's been happening so that
don't necessarily have to continue the attrition policy we know that um we are chicagoans where
they're at clift is a really valuable resource so we certainly ask for the favorable support for
this fund yeah um i was wondering if you could shed some additional light and if you don't know
right now through the chairs fine in terms of what the trust fund has done to make make its existing
dollars stretch a little bit more even beyond what you were just mentioning in terms of whether
they're looking for additional sources of funding, including beyond the city, other belt tightening
practices, again, with the goal being to minimize the negative impacts of any funding reductions?
Yeah, we've been very pleased with the work that the board and the executive leadership has been
doing at Clift to try to get exactly at that. So on the one side, they are looking to work,
they are working at the state level, there was legislation that was introduced to close a loophole
on recordation fees and they are continuing to actively work on that that they estimate
could bring about 10 million additional dollars to clift um
10 million additional dollars to clift um on the internal side again there's been the attrition
policy they've looked at their staffing um and to really look at savings what things were being
outsourced that they could do internally for less um for less money so that they can get to that
point again where they're stable where their money is stretching as far as possible and that the
priority can remain to keep the folks who are housed through them housed great um another set
of questions i wanted to ask is around um ongoing conversations with city council members around
the fair and pro proposals um i know some of this may have been touched with some hearings recently
but i don't i don't serve on either of those committees so i uh will maybe just share a few
through the chair requests in the interest of time um one if you could uh reiterate how um
current doh staff would be used to admin how many of them are used to enforce the rlto currently
how many um of them would be used to work on the rental registry piece in particular
i would be interested in knowing um uh well i'll table that for now um last thing not a question
but just a comment I shared with DPD earlier this morning that I think the the city would do well
to think about a big picture goal in terms of the number of new homes both affordable and market
that we want to build on an annual basis over say the next term to be able to work backwards from
that because I think both DPD and DOH have done a good job of adding new market rate and affordable
units certainly seeing an increase of that in a lot of situations year over year but with a gap
of well over 120 000 units a lot of that just like affordable units i don't know that we're
being big and bold enough and so i think if we can have those two departments working with
city council and others to set some ambitious but achievable goals i i would hope that as a result
I would hope that as a result, we're thinking about what steps each of us can take in our communities, such that maybe, say, in the 47th Ward, we're looking to proactively upzone more corridors than we have to date.
Or maybe there are other ways where we can partner with DOH and Ida to see even more investments coming in for affordable units.
So I would just respectfully suggest you and your colleagues consider that in the coming years, you continue to collaborate with DPD in particular.
uh thank you so much um you can provide the pro answers through the chair of course um and yes
we are on the same wavelength we like big and bold and ambitious goals and that is something
that we've started uh kind of circulating internally and look forward to working with
dpd and the other departments and city council to talk about what does that look like for future
planning great thank you thank you vice chair um you still had like almost three minutes we're
doing oh i thought i heard no we're doing five and five so this is this is the chairman's way of just
giving everybody sort of a halfway marker so you can continue if you want um i have a few
technical questions maybe one or two so one is and i know this is pretty weedsy how much does
doh expect to spend on the administration of a rental registry software annually if some sort
ordinance ultimately does pass before the end of the term how many ftes would be um associated
with the work involving that software um and then a second question i'll just ask altogether
does doh intend to design and code or build um its rental registry in-house or use a third-party
vendor? And if it's a third-party vendor, would you be looking to potentially do an RFP, hoping
that people who built similar registries in other parts of the country would do that here? Or are
we looking to do something a little bit more novel? So I'll start with the last question first.
first. So yes, the idea would be that there would be an RFP of some sort that would be done
to procure a vendor to develop the software for us. Based on very initial conversations that were
had, we think that we estimate that it would be between 400 and 700,000 a year, probably year one
a little higher because, you know, startup costs always take a little bit more than like sort of
ongoing maintenance. In terms of staffing, we would want a staffer at DTI as well as two staff
at the Department of Housing okay mm-hmm all right I think that's it for now okay
thank you great point of informational chair doll yes Commissioner those two
positions you just talked about in the rental registry dollars or the consulting
for the third party those baked into your current budget they are not baked
into the current budget those were numbers that are baked into the pro
proposal okay so nowhere in the budget is there dollars put aside for pro or fair or whatever
comes out right we'd have to come back and amend the budget to allocate those positions and
resources correct all right thank you thank you um other questions uh alderman viegas and then
Alderman Cardona. Thank you, Madam Chair, and good afternoon, Commissioner. Good afternoon.
Question around the Department of Housing construction and compliance review process,
and it applies only to affordable housing and operates what some would say in a linear and
flexible manner, limiting the ability to run approvals concurrently and significantly
extending timelines. Why do we do this process? And is it per ordinance or is it just a promulgation
of rules that allows you to do this, allows your department to do this? So some of it is,
going to do this? So some of it is, I mean, some of the work of that team has actually recently
been legislated, the work that we did with Alderman Martin. But ultimately, the work of
compliance is the work of giving out taxpayer money. And so the work of the construction and
compliance team is the work of ensuring that standards are met, that all of the things that
we're looking for when we are giving a taxpayer subsidy to a project are met there.
the work that we've been doing internally has been very cut the tape focused to ensure that
nothing that we're doing in our processes slows anything else down and that instead is
complementary to any other processes that folks still have to go through the doh process is only
one part of the process when you are looking to build something there are you know there might
be zoning requirements there might be there are building permit requirements and things like that
um through the cut the tape process we have landed on being able to close um in no more than uh 18
months and we're really uh this last round of projects that we announced in april are really
going to be the first ones to sort of go through that process and we've already seen that there
are some projects that can go through the process pretty expeditiously gotcha and then um
yeah these are some people's uh comments and just trying to get some responses here
So affordable housing developments are subject, some would say, to duplicative and extended review process requiring approvals not only from the Department of Building for Permits, but also from the DOH CAC team, often with additional design review by DPD.
In addition to complying with permitting requirements, the DOH 2025 Architectural Technical Standards Manual requires developers to complete three interim CAC milestone reviews prior to issuing a notice to proceed to begin construction.
is this per ordinance as well or is this rules so moving forward actually the notice to proceed
will not remain um that is something that
will not remain um that is something that again um per most recent ordinance that we worked with
alderman martin um is not going to be um it's not going to be a requirement moving forward gotcha
um the cac notice to proceed is construction start is frequently delayed post-financial
closing due to department of housing's requirement that uh i think you answered this i'm sorry you
answered this already oh this one here okay cac conducts its own punch list walk walk through
prior to occupancy even after the project architect has completed a punch list inspection
is is this per ordinance as well as this um i'd have to is the punch list in the ordinance um no
the punch list um is been an internal requirement of the work that we've been doing that is really
um trying to address the fact that we are looking for different things than an architect for the
project is right like we as a funder particularly one who is putting often significant amounts of
money into a project want to make sure that the project is up to the appropriate standards that
we are looking for one second go ahead you're good one second madam chair um city supported
affordable housing per unit nearly doubled between 2020 and 2023 and outpaced the national increase
and construction costs from 2020 to 2023 by 36 percent. Has DOH evaluated how its additional
development requirements and preferences affect the cost per affordable housing unit and the total
number of units produced? And with the department's support revising its qualified allocation plan to
revising its qualified allocation plan to put greater emphasis on cost efficiency and the
number of affordable units delivered, including rewarding developers who can produce quality
housing at a substantially lower cost? That's actually a really great question. So I think
that we know that, yes, nationally everything has risen. We've definitely looked internally to
ensure that there is nothing that we are adding that is adding significant costs. And we feel
very confident that the work that we've done internally is addressing that issue. We are
very open and in fact have already, as we revise our QAP every single round that it goes, we have
already looked at cost-saving measures. Our last QAP put a cap on how much a unit could cost and
an escalation, because often the highest cost comes not when they come in at the application
point, but when they escalate afterwards as they're trying to get to closing. We also know
that time is money. So again, going back to our cut to tape measures, we've looked at how to make
sure that we are not doing anything that delays the project that can further increase costs. So
that is all work that has been continuous. We do all of this with feedback from any number of
partners and are happy to continue to do that. Gotcha. And then I've heard this before, and
maybe you can say it's true or not, but when Department of Housing project versus a market
rate project. And I've heard cabinets, kitchen cabinets as an example, where in some cases it's
like tens of thousands of dollars more that's required for affordable housing versus market
rate. And I've always wanted to ask you or ask your department, like, is that accurate that in
some cases there's a requirement of material that's greater than what market rate is?
That's a great question. So we don't believe that anything that we're asking for is something that
would be above what would be provided in a quality market rate deal. There are certain
There are certain minimum standards that we do ask folks to meet, again, both in terms of quality and long-term investment.
When we put money into a project, it's not just to get the project off the ground.
It's for the project to get off the ground and to house families for the next 30 years.
The very best thing that we can do is to ensure that at the outset, materials and things are-
I know that, but we have to be real that we know that cabinets and those types of care that costs up front versus allowing the owner at some point to take a look at refreshing a unit based on whether or not that materials, you know, it's lived its course, it's lived its life.
i think i think is um we should be looking at because you can you can factor that cost in over
the course of the ownership versus having to come with it up front yeah absolutely and i think we
fundamentally agree with that right um part of what we did do in our last revisions for our
standards was to add more flexibility into that so that the owners can take um a broader look at
what they're trying to do and figure out what pieces uh or of what we're requiring make most
sense in that problem. So you're allowing for value engineering to be taken into consideration
on some of these units being built, as long as they meet the code? There are some basic
criteria that we have set forth that they can operate from within, yes. And are those criteria
above and beyond what the code is? They are things that are not included in the code, right? So like
the Chicago construction codes, right, the building permits that like Commissioner Hopkinson's team
is issuing are often not looking necessarily at these things, right? They're looking at plumbing,
They're looking at electricity. They're not necessarily assessing this level of detail, whereas we do, because, again, going back to being like good fiduciary stewards of the resources we have.
And I appreciate them being good stewards. I'm just I'm just trying to think about the fact that.
just trying to, you know, think about the fact that if you're looking to try to get supplies
to last the course of the term, it's very tough to do that. So just if you can take a look at
and trying to figure out how to be more flexible, I think that would allow for the prices to come
down. I appreciate that. Thank you. I appreciate the commissioner. Thank you. Thank you, Madam
Chair. Thank you, Chair. Alderman Cardona followed by Alderman Lopez. Thank you, Madam
Chair. How are you doing, Commissioner? Well, how are you? Good. Two questions.
This is regarding right of first refusal. What's the approximate spending implementation of putting this forth, the right to first refusal program?
the cost of implementation of the program um we have um one staffer who works on this
along with other programs um and so we would have to break down you know whether or not like what
the salary is associated to that i could provide that through the chair you provide that through
the chair okay the the next question is how many properties uh been purchased by tenants
through this first right refusal um right now we are at three and i think um for those of you who
are here at public comment this morning you heard from um one of the tenant associations that's
getting ready to be able to buy their um to be able to buy their uh their property so three
starting when this was implemented when when was this implemented was like two years ago
uh no it was implemented um or last year mid mid 2025 mid 2020 okay so three so far then as of
today okay thank you commissioner and i'll be waiting for that uh through the chair thank you
alderman cardona we're gonna go over next to alderman lopez thank you chairman and good
afternoon members of the committee good afternoon commissioner to you and your team a couple
questions, if I may. Your opening remarks last year.
Your opening remarks last year said that we have constructed, rehabilitated, or preserved more than 4,000 units.
Your opening statement this year says that we are at 4,767.
How many of those 700-plus units are newly constructed properties versus preserved units?
give me one second here and while you're looking also for your team how many of them are actually
finished and occupied or awaiting inhabitants so that that answer is easier right so the ones um
the anything that is not occupied that is currently under construction is the separate
number at that second number so everything under the four thousand seven hundred and sixty seven
is already a completed project okay um and i think we will get you the breakdown of um new
versus rehab through the chair you don't have that um i have it all broken out um in terms of
a single number i don't think i have that in front of me okay if you could provide that through the
chair i'd appreciate it um you also referenced um working with conservation to try to identify
properties that you can rehab that are in foreclosure or that are vacant um i believe
the department has 100 it has acquired 163 vacant and a property built and abandoned property
buildings is that correct um that is correct okay of which roughly half 88 have been transferred
to developers what's happening with the other remaining 75 buildings um those that is all
ongoing work um so we do all of this work through our two administrators the chicago community loan
fund and uh greenwood archer jc cap
And so they are continuing that work.
There was, of course, like a startup period.
Part of what we're spending right now
is a grant from Ida.
That was a $20 million grant.
And so just navigating the restrictions
and making sure that they're able
to put that money out in a way
that met the state's requirements,
took a little bit of time.
But now that they're doing it,
they're rolling along.
If you could provide through the chair
what Ida's requirements are
for that $20 million grant
and what properties by ward have been impacted
and the size of the unit building that we're discussing.
I would appreciate that.
As you undoubtedly are aware,
on the southwest side of Chicago in 2025,
we saw two extreme weather events
that caused massive flooding.
12,000 homeowners were impacted.
all areas in the Archer Corridor all the way to Scottsdale.
And we saw the department used housing and economic development bonds
for roughly, I think it was $40 million, if I'm not mistaken,
and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong,
to help the West Side residents who were devastated by flooding
in July of 2023, but the department chose not to do anything similar for the 12,000 people
who were impacted on the southwest side. When the Committee on Environment and Energy
Protection met, representatives from the department said that you'd have to take that up with
the department. Well, here you are. So if you could explain what the rationale was for
ignoring the 12,000 people on the southwest side and what we could do to remediate that
because the west side had 8,000 people and they got millions assigned. Whether or not
Whether or not they received it or not, I'm going to leave that for Emma Mitz.
But I know that $12,000 got no options, and the options that went to the northwest side
priced out almost every one in the three wards that it was applicable to.
So I'd love to hear your comments on that.
Absolutely.
So the $40 million was actually identified from the Chicago Recovery Plan money, not from...
There were two sets, two sets of grant opportunities.
One, I think, was $40 million, which may have been ARPA-related.
But then there was another set, and I think then this might have been $15 million or something along those lines.
That actually came from housing and economic development bond money.
So if we had the opportunity to use those bonds, which we were told, why did we not do that twice?
There is home repair money in the bond, but there is not money specifically for the flood.
So this was bond money that went specifically towards helping people who were waiting and needed funding to address some of the issues in their homes with regards to the furnaces, appliances, and things of that nature because of the flooding while we were waiting to see what happened with FEMA.
That's what this body, this council, was told by members of this administration.
So I'm trying to understand what stopped this administration from using the same sources to help others who were impacted similarly less than two years later.
So I can provide through the chair the sources of funding for the flood program.
More broadly speaking, for the 2023 and 2024 floods that happened on the west side, those were declared emergencies by the federal government.
And so the city was allotted the CDBG grant.
Let me just stop you.
I understand that.
And I also know that's the last time the city got any major grant because it was a change of admission.
the last time the city got any major grant because it was a change of administration we have over 400
and something million dollars that was designated for the west side's recovery i understand that
but we also were told that city money was used to assist while we were waiting there was the 40
million dollars which was arpa money and there was 15 or something million that came from this bond
My question remains, if we were able to allocate money from the city to help city residents for 8,000 flood victims who ultimately eventually got $400 million allocated to them,
why did we do nothing for the southwest side of chicago wards 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 23
where we had 12 000 people impacted so that's the part i'm trying to get clarification on right so
the reason i mentioned cdbgdr is because so in answer to your question the 40 million dollars
of CRP money was the local match to the CDBGDR grant. And so it is tied to the CDBGDR
requirements, which are to be used on the west side, because that is where FEMA declared the
disaster. We are deeply aware that folks across the city have also experienced horrific flooding
and would be very happy to work on a program that could also serve those folks. Again, this money
was designated because it was tied to the cdb gdr that was designated as part of the disaster
declaration truth be told commissioner there's a program that the city put together that actually
served the 31st 33rd and 38th wards if i'm not mistaken with regards to flooding issues on the
on the northwest side those residents were priced out because of whatever the ami was to access
those. However, on the southwest side, where the
However, on the southwest side, where the funding was not made available, even though departments were being encouraged to send everyone to this delegate partner, nobody was allowed to access it because if it wasn't for the AMI, it was for the geographic restrictions on who could apply.
I hear you say housing is a human right.
I hear you say that this administration has a priority for trying to help people stay in their homes.
i feel as though that doesn't apply to the southwest side and i'd say probably the entire
row here would agree with me so i think that if you're going to make that overture that we're
going to figure out something then i would say probably seven aldermen are going to look forward
to following up with that conversation thank you thank you alderman lopez uh we're going to go with
the chair sicho lopez thank you um thank you madam chair and i wanted to start by thanking
commissioner castaneda by really focusing on addressing some of the structural issues that
we have for a long time especially the issue of unhoused residents so i want to ask a little bit
about the cliff program i know that um that is very important for several coalitions that have
reached out the Housing and Real Estate Committee, and I want to ask a little bit about the importance
of this program, how many people does it serve, a little bit of the changes that have happened
already, and the vision. I know that the mayor's budget has an allocation for $13 million, and just
want to thank you for making changes that are needed, and also tell us a little bit about the
critical nature of this program and what you envision under with this new
funding yeah absolutely thank you chairman so as I mentioned earlier
CLIFT is essentially a rental subsidy program that is serving residents at the
that is serving residents at the lowest AMIs, up to 30 percent AMI. Residents are either usually at
15 or 30 percent. They're able to spend just 30 percent of their income towards rent. So this is
a program that is really serving the most vulnerable. You mentioned homelessness. We very
much see this as a program that can help people both exit out of homelessness or prevent them
from ending up homeless because they don't can't afford their housing in the current year we are
supporting 2768 households through this program and part of what has happened has been a structural
issue where the state passed a property tax incentive that has encouraged developers that
are subject to the aro to build on site we're glad that they're building on site the cost of
construction is very high so it's actually a very good thing when they do that but there was a
trade-off and that meant that unfortunately clift is just not bringing in or the affordable housing
opportunity fund is not bringing in the money that clift was used to seeing the 13 million dollars
will help keep these folks housed and will in fact help them reverse some of the policies that
they've had in place like attrition so that they can continue to house more people thank you
Commissioner. My other question is around the green social housing. I know that there was a
$125 million allocation. It's a national motto. I think Chicago should be very proud of innovative
initiatives like that. Just in general, an update. How is that? And the new board. And again, I've
been hearing a lot about other cities trying to learn about this. Yeah, absolutely. Earlier this
year the board hired its inaugural ceo uh tim jeffries who many of you know um from his prior
work with the department of planning and development um tim has since hired a team
him and three other staff are diligently working to identify the right opportunities to deploy the
the right opportunities um to deploy the model across the city um and it is our hope to have a
a broader update for you all sooner rather than later thank you commissioner um i know for 20 27
initiatives you mentioned the beginning of phase two for the flood assistance repair program
about 40 million dollars yes for mitigation and prevention repairs i know that trim weather has
being largely something that we got to prepare and plan accordingly also we
have had also issues with all piping and flooding that happens you know outside
extreme weather just because all the infrastructure so a little bit more how
this phone will work how we prioritizing areas that deeply affected to make sure
the residents can make whole especially those affected constituents in the city
Yeah, absolutely. So again, in January of last year, I think that's the right date, the CDBGDR grant was awarded to the city of Chicago for about $426 million. A lot of that is going to be actually infrastructure work that is going to happen on the west side, where the majority of the very terrible flooding that we had in 2023 and 2024 happened.
That means that DWM, CDOT will be able to make some infrastructure updates that will help broadly around solving the problem of the flooding that happens.
As part of that, we have $40 million of CRP funds that we are going to be deploying in January, January 1, essentially, for five contractors that responded to the RFP that we released earlier this year.
and we are looking forward to be able to announce names and specifics as soon as the contracts are
finalized but the idea is that they're going to hit the ground running and that they're going
to be able to address as many households that can be addressed with the 40 million dollars
last question chairwoman in terms of innovative new ways of doing housing
I know you have the missing middle.
You have other programs as well to address some of the most vulnerable populations, especially
housing co-ops.
So in terms of like my concern with vulnerable populations, domestic violence victims, Chicago
public schools, families, children, right, how do you see an increase in housing supply
that can really get to these very vulnerable families in Chicago public schools, domestic
violence victims, oftentimes below the poverty line or low-income residents that are in dire need
of more supply of housing. I don't see the market creating such options. What do you see maybe as a
way in this budget to help with that? Yeah, thank you for that question. We very much look at housing
along the spectrum, right? Like how do we help anyone all the way from, you know, perhaps experiencing
homelessness, although that is primarily DFS's work, all the way through someone who might be
looking to do homeownership. Part of that is looking at alternatives, right? So doing shared
equity investment program and making sure that folks who want to be parts of land trust and co-ops
have the ability to have access to resources that allow them to do that in a way that is more
affordable to them. We also worked with Department of Family Support Services on our non-congregate
shelter program. And so over 300 beds will become non-congregate shelter beds all across the city.
We have five projects that we were able to do all the way from the far north side through the
far south side and so we continue to look at different models different ways to innovate
some of it is also in just prioritizing them through the traditional means
alderman martin referenced the groundbreaking that we were at it was a property that is going
to be dedicated to survivors of gender-based violence through the work of their local services
partner ap nagar and so that is work that we were able to do through our traditional multi-family
pipeline but that address this particular population and so we're always looking for
the ability to create more permanent supportive housing such as that
through our pipeline, and that is work that is prioritized in our
through our pipeline, and that is work that is prioritized in our criteria for the QAP.
Thank you. Now, you mentioned permanent supportive housing. I know pretty soon in the 25th
world there will be an interesting model that I think will be good to kind of maybe explore more
because it's a congregate and non-congregate setting that I think is very new. Ways to expand
that especially in areas like this for instance was an industrial building a commercial building
turning to this and i think in terms of housing costs in terms of other ways that we can increase
such supply these almost 120 beds um 84 i think our single room occupancy the other one at the
congregate setting can you tell a little bit more about that and how we can increase such
possibilities throughout the city yeah um so that program took about 30 million dollars in crp funds
and we leveraged another 25 million in other funds as well um ultimately like we are kind of at the
end of that we've broken ground on our very last project alderman mosley's not in the room but it
was in his ward um you know it is a model that we enjoyed deploying it was great work that we did
with the department of family and support services um and certainly um any support for being able to
continue that program would be welcome. And finally, the Homegrown, the Homeowners Purchasing
Assistance Program. I know that there was a significant allocation. Can you tell us a little
bit more about how the program is going? I really appreciate also the property tax relief or people
who are behind in taxes, especially seniors, that I really don't see any other way unless we provide
some kind of property tax relief so in terms of home ownership how we can do more to help those
families with high property taxes and also these um homegrown program i don't know if there's an
update how things you know how the program is going and how we can do more of that um yeah
absolutely so the number that i gave um in my opening statement is hot off the presses we uh
opening statement is hot off the presses. We actually updated it last night. So it's 261
families have been able to purchase homes. We've deployed 13.79 million of the 21 million dollars
allocated. That is just since we opened the applications on June 8th. And so that has been
a quick process. Families are very interested in being able to access this and have lined up at
figuratively at the resurrection project and neighborhood housing services to be able to
apply for the program we're really excited for that as for the property tax relief program
again it was part of the work that we did for the jackson park pilot to identify you know the
community areas and to identify that this was going to be a priority and so we're really pleased
that that's something that the administration is able to do thank you very much commissioner
looking forward to also complete the uh project of 18th and peoria that it's been a long time
coming but i really appreciate your leadership and thank you again madam chair thank you thank
you next we're going to go with uh alderman sposato followed by uh chair mitts thank you madam chair
good afternoon commissioner and uh staff appreciate all you guys do um i know you have a tough job
here it's certainly in a very tough situation for latin appreciate helping people whenever we can
First, a friendly reminder.
Don't forget we had a flood.
There was not only a flood on the west side in 2023.
The northwest side, Portage Park, was also flooded pretty bad also.
So that's just a friendly reminder.
Commissioner, kind of a two-part question, asking for a friend-type question.
About a year, over a year ago, maybe almost two years ago, we had the, I think it was before your time, too,
So the city's green social housing program, which was like $135 million revolving loan fund, was passed.
The goal was to begin construction of the units this year.
So my question is you, can you provide a status update on Chicago's green housing?
status update on the Chicago's green housing program, including where things stand with
funding, implementation, and a selection of development partners for the project?
Yeah, absolutely. So as mentioned earlier, the green social housing entity is a Chicago
residential investment fund. So that is the nonprofit essentially that the city set up.
The board of directors has appointed its first CEO, Tim Jeffries. Tim has put together his team
and they are diligently working on development part of what has been a gift of the board that
was appointed is that they have been very insistent on being able to do things in a way
that ensures the longevity and the success of the program and that means that there were instances
in which we've we've really taken the time to make sure that the policies are right that the
criteria is right and things like that we are looking forward to being able to provide a more
broad update on where we are on projects um sooner rather than later um but don't have anything on
that quite yet okay uh so i guess my second question is uh anticipated so then what's the
another reason we don't have rule 59 another reason for my opposition to rule 59 thank you
uh so what's what's our anticipated timeline then first of all i just kudos to tim jeffries is a
a great guy i'm sure if he's working on it things things will work out well but what's the
anticipated timeline for the construction and delivery for the first housing for residents.
We feel very confident that next year at this time, next year at this time, you would have a
far more robust update than what you're getting today. Or you think we'll actually have people
in the houses. That's right. I think that, you know, all of that work takes a little bit of
time, right? And so we are treating this and the goal is for CRIF to work the way that market rate
deals do. And so the idea is that we will get
And so the idea is that we will get through a project and be able to get the units up
and running in the way that a market rate deal would, so, you know, within a couple of years.
Okay.
All right.
Thanks, Commissioner.
I don't interact with your office much or you or anybody other than my one friend, a
big redheaded guy over there, but that's just through our new friendship.
But keep up the good work.
I know you guys have a tough job over there, but appreciate everything.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you.
Thank you, Alderman Sposato.
alderman mitt followed by alderman burnett thank you madam chairman and good afternoon
commissioner good afternoon commission i'm gonna start right in on the flood
i'm sure you know that i am um when did you start was it before the flood in 2023 or after
um i personally got here to this role in january of 2024 so 2024 so did do you have numbers are
you aware of the amount of constituents that was flooded on the west side of chicago
yes that is work that we did extensively with both your office and the other offices from the
west side who had constituents that were calling we also initially pulled numbers from 311 to see
the extent of the dam what are those numbers from 311 can you provide that through the chair
yes ma'am the number of constituents that was flooded during that time yes we can pull those
numbers um there were 40 million in flood mitigation and prevention repair and that was
impacted residents what did phase one delivery deliver homes repair average cost per home
or application pending do we have anything from there yes um so uh as of right now um there have
Now, there have been the current administrator.
We expect them to complete the 61 jobs
that we handed them over at the beginning of the year
by the end of the year.
And the current administrator is?
The current administrator is the Westside Health Authority.
Okay.
And so...
That's a total that was given to them to complete.
So the first contract, the existing contract,
is for $3.6 million.
dollars 3.6 um there uh there was an original five million dollar allocation and they got what
remained of the five million dollars after the work that doh had already done between wha and
w and doh we have completed 70 homes um with the 70 homes and you have the remaining um left on
the books what about phase two um what is the timeline you say in december for that budget
uh january 1st the current contract ends december 31st and the goal is to have another to have the
next contract ready immediately afterwards so and how much that contract is for so those are
there are five contractors that we are currently negotiating with which is why we're not naming
them but they responded to the rfp that we opened up in may um and from there it is our expectation
that between the five of them that they will be able to work through the 40 million dollars that
is available was rfp put out for those kind on their proposal yes yes ma'am it was put out it
was put out in the spring and so um we got respondents and are currently negotiating with
five of the respondents for and i get a list of those contractors that responded that you're
looking at? We can talk offline. Again, we're still negotiating the contract.
offline um again we're still negotiating the contract so we we can figure out a conversation
okay um what are the eligibilities for the constituents that apply for flood
some of the ones that uh wha are working on um what are the amount that each family member were
to get and then i'm sure you're aware about the challenges based on that amount that they
was running into um so we have um the number is roughly 25 000 25 000 um up to household the
household um cannot exceed 100 of the area median income the it must be an owner occupied residence
and it must be a single family or one to two unit residence the homeowner must be like listed on the
property deed to have to prove it's their house and property taxes mortgage insurance and utilities
that's the application process that um that the rfp they just put out by um as of right now the
criteria will remain the same. Who is the administrator for that process? For the RFP
process? Yeah, who is the administrator for? Department of Housing did the RFP. And what
organization? The RFP was put out by us. So there was no administrator for the RFP process.
The RFP process was to find. Have it been awarded yet? So those are the contracts that we are
currently working on executing. And those are the contracts that are currently being negotiated.
so it haven't been awarded yet they there are um there are five entities that were chosen to move
forward in contracting um and those are the ones that well maybe i need to know what when
you say contracting in what area are you contracting
say contracting in what area are you contracting in uh the contracts are for the flood program
overall okay can you break it down then for what you're speaking of so i'm not getting a clear
picture yes so the rfp that was put out was for administrators for more administrators so that we
could have multiple uh entities out doing this work it was for multiple administrators to be
able to go out and do the work of doing the intake, recruiting folks, making sure that people
are eligible and aware of the program, and then overseeing the contractors that are doing the
work, or if they're doing the work themselves, also being able to certify for that. And so we
had responses that came in to that RFP, and of those five entities were chosen based on the
scoring methodology, and those are the people that we are, those are the entities that we are
currently negotiating with um to settle the contract it's not a particularly difficult
process we're just still um uh settling the contracts that is work that is being undertaken
by the entities um with us and the department of law okay um madam chairman i'll hold my question
because i heard the buzzer go off and i want to be respectful oh okay okay the first beep just
for everybody is just your five minute warning you got another five minutes out okay is that
that buzzer for good all right very good the list of contractors that worked on the homes
during the grant that you gave to west side health authority that was administered with
department of housing with judy pernell smart coming out working with us are those contractors
is still working now um so there were the contractors that we were contracting with
directly when um doh was responsible for the work and then there was the contractors that
GOH was responsible for the work and then there's the contractors that WHA as an administrator
has um has contracted with themselves I'd be happy to get you a list of the contractors we
were working with um along with the list that WHA has provided us of who's working with them
through the chair is there any way I can get a list of the houses that's been completed
at this time are just addresses not only for 37 I want it for the the area because we're looking
at federal dollars that was spent and I'm advocating for my community and I have a concern
to make sure that the residents of the 37 ward get their fair share and I hear it from them
when they come in uh work may have been done but some parts are not done
and and these are union skilled contractors correct i'm sorry they're union contractors
correct working um they have to be paying paying prevailing wage not necessarily be union they're
paying prevailing wages uh yes any contract with the city requires prevailing wage
who was overseeing the the contractors then so the city wha is the administrator of the program
so wha is overseeing the contractors okay just quick point of information following on this i
think part of what i'm hearing chairman says uh who who's who's overseeing or who's responsible
for managing wha at the end of the day um because it seems to me there's a there's a lot of questions
um about the quality of the work that's being done and who it's being done for um and that
the alderman and then the amount of money that is being spent out
money that is being spent out for these homes leaves family members with work that's incomplete
that a fair statement uh yeah so doh oversees the contract with wha um and part of that work
that we do um is to ensure some level of um uh a great level actually of quality control i'm more
than happy if you um want to offline get me a list of the folks that you think are still um having
concerns over the work that we're done that was done in there i want your list yeah i want your
list uh the list of what i'm sorry the list of completed or in process so i think it's a holistic
list right because i know i have the list of the folks who came in when the flood happened and
sign up and we gave that information through the city checking 311 and we are nowhere near close
not in that ward and and if you want people to lose their home
or be getting sick and dying a mole you really that's what i hear i think that maybe timeline
line moving too slow you know for a long time it took a while to get the money out the door
for all these processes and application fees and the criterias from the federal government
and now it's taking even longer to get to work we are in 2026 understood i hear your frustration
um we share i want you to feel my frustration not only here commissioner
know yeah i am one of the ones and i know because i got hit just as hard and i don't
And I don't get assistance from this city, and I'm struggling.
So imagine them.
I can do some things, but they can't do anything.
I try to make you understand it.
So we want to figure out how we can get more assistance to help these residents.
How are we going to move the needle faster, or don't you care?
Don't folks care?
i'll thank you madam chairman i'll hold on uh thank you uh chairman uh point of information
alderman lopez thank you chairman yes with a quick point of information um 8 000 people
were what we were told was households that were impacted by the flooding on the west side does
that sound correct i don't have the number okay it's a it's 8 000 um and did i just and i just
wanted to make sure I heard correctly. Of that 8,000, we've only helped 70 people?
The original list that the Department of Housing started with was a little under 200 people,
and this was after triaging the folks that could be served, and this was work that, again,
was done with the aldermanic offices on the west side. Of those, yes, we have currently finished
70 jobs between the work that the department did in 2024 and 2025 and the work that WHA has done
to date. So then if I may ask, because I know my colleague just asked about it, and I'm adding
12,000 more to the 8,000 that are still waiting, is it possible to have what the department's
game plan is to address the other 99% of the people on the west side who are still waiting
so that I know how far along my southwest side is on this pecking order? So this goes back to
the $40 million that is available and that we will be deploying as of January 1st.
is available and that we will be deploying as of january 1st the current contract ends december 31st
and the 40 million dollars will be able to be distributed through the five entities with whom
we are currently negotiating this will make sure that everything is happening faster and at a rate
that the residents of the west side deserve and if i could just ask one last follow-up to the
400 million how much interest has the department generated on the 400 plus million dollars that
hasn't moved 438 million that we received and haven't spent um we are not responsible for the
entire 426 million dollars of cdbgdr that is something that um obm is overseeing as it is a
grant to the city we are only responsible for the 40 million dollars of the flood money that again
we are putting out as of january 1st thank you so just quick point of clarification before we move
um to the next person on the the 40 million and i think what would be helpful commissioner and i
know you know some of this happened before you got there there seems to be a fundamental disconnect
between the number of people that my colleagues residents sort of the count towards who was
impacted versus who has been signed up or qualified be great if you were able to provide
through the chair just a list of the number of the residents who applied for the program
and then how many were approved and then like start to finish I think there's a concern about
the time that it takes to get from you know application to actual work being done and
completed because that also sounds like contractors are not going back and finishing jobs you know
that costs the city more money at the end of the day and you know the more time that takes that
means fewer people can be served so you can do that that would be great next we're going to go
to alderman burnett followed by alderman moore thank you uh madame vest chair and thank you
all from the housing department i appreciate all the work you're doing as noted for my colleagues
noted for my colleagues concern it's extremely important work uh and it takes a lot of time and
I know sometimes we as a council have put some handcuffs on your ability to move quickly and
as stated before there are things that I would hope that you all come to us with to say hey
this is what we need to do in order to move quickly and right now we're being prohibited
because of policy um but kind of going on a similar thread because it's just all I know
there's my colleagues I my ward fortunately wasn't impacted as much by the flooding
but i do know that we have a ton of residents who've applied for the harp program the uh home
owner the uh repair roof repair home repair program yes did we talk about i guess two things
just the funding that has been allocated um 25 26 and what is projected for 27 and then what is the
the wait list look like for for that program um so we can start i'll start with the last question
first um the wait list is significant we opened the wait list for folks to sign up in 2024 and
2025 and did not open it in 2026 because by that point we already had um about 8 000 people on the
wait list um our wait list currently stands at approximately 7 000 people um but this year we
are on track to end the year by having done nearly twice as many jobs as we did last year
The reason we're able to do that is through housing and economic development bond proceeds, of which we have $21.5 million allocated for this program.
And then moving forward, we will actually also be working with you and your colleagues through the TIFNIP structure to be able to also put money towards these homes.
And so this is, it is an incredible need across the city of Chicago.
we have done our very best to also look at this through a lens of equity and so ultimately
we are we are serving folks who've been in their homes the longest to try to
longest to try to preserve that generational wealth. We started by serving people who had
been in their home at least 50 years and are down to 37 years or more. The average age of our client
is 76 and the average AMI is 36 percent. So we are serving the most vulnerable people through
the program and are looking to continue to keep up that pace next year. I appreciate that you all
or double what you did the prior year um may i ask how much is double versus prior yeah so so
this year um the goal is to hit 500 homes um currently i think we're like 460 something it'll
depend how many more of days like today we have versus how colder how much colder it gets warmer
weather helps out with construction i get that um what what what is the what was the disconnect from
start when this program was initially issued was it the number of residents that applied was it
funding i'm trying to figure out how do we that's a that's a large backlog right 8 000 and you're
talking about we complete 500 a year it's going to take us 16 years to to get these down um that
that doesn't seem fair to the folks who've been sitting in a home for 34 years now they have to
wait until they are 50-year owners to get that completed. Where is the disconnect here? And how
do we go about trying to expedite this process? Yeah, that's a great question. So the program
is an old program, right? Like it used to be known as the roof and porch program, right? That's the
thing that I think many, many residents were familiar with. It was put on pause towards the
end of COVID, right? Because it was COVID and, you know, having folks in people's houses was an issue.
and so when we opened the waitlist again in 2024 was the first time we'd open the waitlist
in several years and that is part of the reason i think why we got such an inflow of applications
in 24 and 25 because people had been kind of waiting for this program the city has an older
housing stock and i
housing stock and I think that we can put as many resources as we can find to put towards that
that's what we are doing with the housing and economic development bond and I think that there
is a little bit of catch-up that we're always kind of going to be doing and this is I think
just kind of the nature of like working in this kind of space but ultimately I think that you
know we're continuing to sort of figure out how to increase capacity and maintain that capacity
so that moving forward it's not just oh we only did you know 250 this year but that it's
consistently at numbers that really feel like we're making a dent into that wait list okay so
even more targeted then what is why is it 500 this year what is the pieces holding it back is
it funding or is it execution capability um we uh we moved as much money as we could um as we
figured that could be reasonably spent by us um on the program with our um with our contractors
and so we front funded that essentially on the bond um so instead of spreading it out over several
years we said why make someone wait another three years it's going to be the same person on the list
let's just do it now and so we front funded all of that money um there and so again being able to
replenish the coffers with money to spend from things like the tifnip will be able to help us
continue at that pace and so quick point of information from chairman oh oh got it sorry
um i want those 10 seconds back uh with the tif nif program with funding is this just a one-to-one
direct funding source then if we do the tif nif program is there any limitations that we can
utilize from tif dollars to fund this program uh so the biggest limitation is to be within the tif
right and so of the um of the people that we have on the wait list um in total i believe something
like 1600 of them are in tiffs right so that will be the biggest limitation which is that not
everyone will be in that pro not everyone is within a tiff well for for those of us who do
is within a TIF. Well, for those of us who do have TIF, and I imagine a lot of this is on the west
side of Chicago, imagine 1,600 of those are either between myself, Irving, or Alderwoman,
Mitts. I'm a thousand percent positive this is something my community would support us expediting
the funding for. And if we have to port dollars from the east side of our ward in order to do
these type of programs, I think that's something we should be discussing two months ago rather
in considering and waiting on it um so as we continue to have these conversations this is
extremely important we've spent a lot of money on infrastructure on the east side and downtown
and i'm appreciative of that but if we have the resources to expedite these problems these issues
to remove 1600 of the folks on the wait list of 8 000 i think we should try to figure out how to
do that quickly yeah so i look forward to working with you all in figuring out how we do that to
help out everyone and utilize please utilize my tips to help that because this is when you have
i think it's compounding issues of old residences who are now getting flooding that should have
been repaired years ago and now they're waiting on two times the money um this just ends up be
becoming more costly for everyone involved so um if we can figure out how to bring urgency to that
i highly welcome it um fully agree um and you know we have um the email out to you and some
your colleagues who have expressed this interest before the tifnip you know we're happy um to work
on that because of construction season you know we're looking at being able to do the certifications
of who's eligible over the winter months so that we can get uh hit the ground running as soon as
we're able to um in the and the construction season opens up in the spring so um agreed on
the urgency agreed on all of it happy to work with you on that amazing and with regards to this green
social housing fun i know it's a lot of buzz around it uh i know it's new with tim jeffries
and his fund and his team and i i believe i came in after this program was initially started i know
it's been years to kind of get it off the ground and stand it up but what is
years to kind of get it off the ground and stand it up but what is the new protocol with this fund
how do they do they operate under their own board entity structure and there's no real input from
alders or is there any type of will there be any type of conversation about projects and programming
within our wards uh it does operate under its own board structure all the projects have to come
before city council so this will always be a conversation with the local alder person when
they're looking at a project so they do have to come in front of us they have to yes all projects
have to come before city council more tim jeffries i love it more tim jeffries all right well i'm
super excited i know it's still taking some time to figure out the structure and how they want to
start allocating deals yeah um is there are they going through like mock examples at the moment of
how they like to underwrite and what deals they're looking for what's the ideal structure yeah uh the
all of the things uh as you know at the very beginning when we talked about this we talked
about the three main ways in which we thought projects would come in which was entitled projects
that were stalled rfps or rfqs our acquisition projects they're working on modeling they've set
up an investment committee of professional real estate advisors both from the market rate and
non-profit side to talk about like what makes sense in a deal we have the board has established
its sustainability advisory committee that's also on the green side of green social housing
So all of that work is ongoing.
Again, the three folks that Tim hired and him have all hit the ground running since he started in May.
Amazing.
And I know you said there would be an update around a year from this time, but even just the bone structure of the progress that they've made.
I don't know when the last time they've talked to counsel about what they've been doing, but it would be awesome to get Tim in here now that he's leading the charge to just explain to folks, because this is complicated.
and it is very important it's a new mechanism that the city's never done before um what's
happening and how it could be useful as he builds along the way it'll be great if we can we get some
more of that information absolutely thank you
absolutely thank you okay we're gonna go to Alderman Moore and then chair urban
thank you and it's gonna be hopefully short because it's just on the same
lines with Alderman Renette was talking about so the roof and porch amount what
would you say 500,000 500 homes will be serviced this year oh 500 homes and how
much money is set aside for that so right now we're working our way through 21.5 million dollars
of the housing and economic development bond okay and so we're not dealing with any new stuff this
is all old stuff that we're doing dealing with these are all we're servicing folks who signed
up into the wait list in 2024 and 2025 okay um have those 500 homes been identified already
uh yes like most of that work has been completed we have completed um or have underway over 400
of those homes you said what so the work the 500 homes it was a year end a 2026 year end target
and we're nearing the end of construction season.
So at this point, we have either completed
or have under construction the vast majority of the homes.
But this is 2027 money we're talking about, so I'm lost.
So no, I'm talking about our 2026 numbers.
For 2027, our goal would be to serve at about the same rate
and to use both what remains of the housing
and economic development bond,
as well as to pair on the TIF-NIP allocation, essentially,
that we're working on with you and some of your colleagues.
So for 2027, we're saying we're going to use $21.5 million?
um help me out i'm just dealing with 2027 how much are we allocating for 2027 and for how many
homes so a lot of that is going to be dependent on how much money each of the alders that we've
been talking to about tifnip wants to put towards the program right um and so again we have about
1600 people that are on the wait list within a tiff and so if all of you say we want to use
like all of that money um to like serve all 1600 households um that's a different number than if
you say well i only want to do a million dollars out of this tiff for this program so some of that
is still dependent however take the tiff out of it because that just we just that just came up
in conversation a few weeks ago i'm saying without the tiff discussion because to me that's
i'm looking at that as gravy on top so with the tiff out of it how much money was allocated for
2027 take the tiff out of it out of the economic housing economic development bond yeah so for
2020 so overall our bond spend um overall right because we're carrying money over as is available
so our overall allocation was 21.5 million dollars and how much has already been spent and so of that
um 13.1 million has been spent to date and which leaves 8.3 million dollars remaining and of that
6.7 million is currently earmarked for job for jobs under construction so we are really only
have less than two million dollars left from the 21 did I do that math right yeah let me confirm
that for you because I'm looking at my numbers here I know looking at me you think I should be
better at math I know oh come on guys wake up I just cracked a joke about Chinese math
21.5 minus 13.1 minus whatever the 6.7 that should leave us because that's what Alderman
leave us because that's what alderman was asking okay perfect um see my here my i knew my staff
could break it down um so for 2027 um we actually with the other pieces that will be remaining from
the home repair program line on the hd bond we will have 12.5 million so there's like the 2 million
that's like left over from what with the 21 and a half that we've been working on this year and
then there's an additional 12 and a half million for 2027 currently allocated so when we say that
12 and a half million allocated for 2027 does that 12 and a half million account for anything
that's under construction or would that be all new stuff that's no that would be all those would
all be new anything that's currently under construction is from the 21 and a half that i
referenced so of that 12 of that 12 and half me do we know how many new um home projects we can
do with the 12 and a half million? I can do some quick math with you right here. We know that the
average cost of a job is about 37,000. So 12 and a half million is about 337 jobs. And so again,
our hope is to get closer to this year's number by being able to work with you and your colleagues
on the test. So my question becomes, so we're talking about 337. Do we still have that many
on backlog or is there going to be something new? So are we still dealing with just backlogs?
We're still dealing with the folks who are already on there. It is based on what we've seen
in all of our programs and our experience in running this, it's very often the same folks
that look to sign up again. So we feel very confident that if we were to open up the list
again, a lot of what we would get would be folks who are already on the list who are saying like,
hey, like, I want to sign up again. Does this get me there faster, even though it doesn't?
And so we would be working through that backlog of the 7,000 that I mentioned earlier.
Are you able to give me a list through the chair of how many of those homes are in the 17th Ward?
17th Ward, please.
I can absolutely get it through you to the chair, but...
I mean, I shouldn't say that many because I want to see who they are,
so I don't even need to really know the number
because I need to see who they are,
if you can just provide that through the chair.
Okay.
All right, thank you so much, Commissioner.
I appreciate the work that you do.
I appreciate you all having an open-door policy to always talk.
Tamara's always calling me, bugging me, asking me,
do I need any help?
So thank you so much,
and I appreciate everything that your and your team does.
All right.
Thank you, Chairman.
Thank you, Alderman.
I'm exhausted.
We're going to go to Chair Irvin
and then to Alderman LaSpada online
and then to Alderman Vasquez.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Commissioner, thank you all for the work
that you all are doing on the west side of Chicago.
We have had a, I'll call it, gangbuster last few years
with the number of units of housing
that we've been able to put up with you all as assistance
and continue down that path.
So, again, just want to give kudos to your department
and the work that they're doing.
Could use some more, but, you know, there's an old saying that say,
pigs get fat, but hogs get slaughtered, and I don't want to be a hog.
But, again, you guys, I know we sometimes, as far as these per-unit costs,
um what what can we do to help bring some of the per unit costs down because again we are
heavily subsidizing uh some of these units also uh what other innovations you think that we should
be doing to generate more affordable housing units yeah um thank you so much for that question
chairman um so the big things around cost control that we've been trying to tackle have been again
And is there anything in our processes that DOH controls within itself
on the administrative side that is adding time, right?
And so that's a lot of the work that we have spent the last couple of years
doing through the Cut to Tape initiative.
doing through the cut to tape initiative um we have revised the other qap also to ensure that
some basic things like you can't bring us a nine hundred thousand dollar a unit project right like
it has to be um 750 000 or less you can't escalate your cost 25 after you're already in the pipeline
like where's the cap of 10 so like there are certain measures that we are already taking to
ensure that you can't bring in projects and really kind of demanding of developers to do
to do the diligent work of making sure that they're working with their teams ahead of time
to bring projects that are feasible and financially within a range that I think we can all
find acceptable as part of that when we revised our structure internally we allowed for example
development teams to come in fully formed into our process instead of saying you're a developer you
have to go do all of these bids you have to do all of these pieces we're saying from the beginning
bring on board your gc bring on board your architect so that your numbers make more sense
because part of what we were hearing is like well we're guessing at all of these things and then you
know you bring in the architect and the gc and they're like oh no yeah that's 25 more expensive
than you thought it was going to be and so we're continuously looking at all of those processes
you know um as uh chairman um or as alderman uh burnett uh alluded to earlier right you know
we've also talked about what are like other things that we can look at to ensure that the
legislative process is also a smooth process um that is something certainly we would be interested
in continuing to explore um to make sure that uh there aren't delays and that you know we're all
on the same page and things can really just kind of keep moving um and i think for the long term
right like i i think that uh criff through greens or green social housing through criff
is really going to um bring a new dimension to building housing building affordable housing
into the market um and i'm really excited to see kind of like the fruits of that labor come
fruits of that labor come up, because I think that that is one of the most innovative things
we could have done in the last few years. This is a model that is being looked at across the
country. It is a model that is very old and very established in Europe, places like Vienna.
And it's a model that more and more folks are looking at. And so we are we're really interested
in kind of like continuing to deep dive on that piece as well. The other thing I would just add
is that it's also, you know, the little things also add up, right? When we worked with this
chamber to be able to further legalize ADUs, right? That's building more housing. When we
are looking, when we work with DPD on the upzoning that they're doing, right, like that is bringing
more housing. So there's all of these things, because I don't think that there is going to be
ever a single silver bullet that is going to solve all of the housing issues. But we need to
be able to do all of these different things that are still bringing housing.
OK. Any thought to how do I how do I phrase this? One of the biggest things that I hear about is time of payment, which is I know through your compliance departments and going through the back and forth with stuff can be time consuming.
and a lot of the and this is what I hear this from a lot of the MBEs like hey I can't afford
to wait six months or you know whatever that time period is even though it's not anything on their
end um that's happening I know we've talked about direct pay I know we've talked about some other
things but has anyone ever thought about we know we owe GCX a million dollars or we know he has an
invoice for a million dollars. Now, is it a million, you know, 111.5? Is it 98? But we know
we owe him at least $80,000, $90,000, $80,000, $900,000, right? What would prevent us from paying
What would prevent us from paying upon receipt of an invoice 65, 75, 85 percent of that money
so that from a cash flow perspective, it does not put contractors in peril, right?
I know we have retention.
I know we have some other things, but that's one of the biggest issues that I hear that,
number one, prevents people from bidding our projects.
And when we have less of a pool of bidders, that means we're going to pay more money, right?
So if we could figure out how we can, even though it may not be to the penny, but that's why we have accountants to reconcile those types of things to say, hey, we'll pay you 75% of this so that at least you've got some working capital, cash flow, you're not drawing a crazy interest expense at the bank because you're fronting all this cash.
And that hopefully should give us because these these folks, they build this into their pricing. We're paying it regardless.
And so have you guys ever put any thought to something? I don't know what the exact mix or what the right number is, but something along those lines so that we can help our contractors work.
um yes chairman thank you for that question we have absolutely put some thought into that and
um have kind of had some stops and starts internally um with not just doh but with
some of the other departments involved in something like that on trying to figure out
the right mechanism to do that um that is something that you know we're happy to continue
conversations on because it would take restructuring our grant agreements it would take
restructuring how like the escrow is distributed and all of those pieces and so that is something
that we are continuing to explore and would certainly be happy to discuss with you further
I will say also just generally right now for example like we don't have any draws that are
like on the back end or that we're having any issues with part of the work that we have been
doing for the last couple of years has been on the system ProLink where you both us
link where you both us and the developer can see you know where everything is and where the
milestones are because I think what also not always you know we're at fault sometimes like
that it happens but also sometimes what happens is that there's a disconnect within the internal
development team about where the draw is in their process and so they're calling us we're trying to
answer questions but there's something else happening and so all that to say that at some
point in the near future, I hope to be able to also kind of say like, well, in the entire
draw process, here's how much time it was with us, here's how much time it was with
other folks, because I think that will also help shed some light on some of the issues.
I hear you.
I understand what you're saying.
And in some respects, it's like, it's really not our fault, right?
You know, and it may not be. And but the the little guy, you know, could find himself out of business because we're over here trying to double cross T's and triple dot I's.
And granted, we've got to do that. But in a sense of us being able to get something out the door that can keep the lights on in places where unfortunately the lights are going out.
And at the end of the day, I think the risk of of losing money in this type of a proposition is fairly low because we know that these folks have done some work that we know something has occurred, you know, and that we do owe something.
Now, what that exact amount is, we can reconcile, but I think we have to figure out how we can get dollars out the door quicker because we're paying, we're paying for, we don't understand that we are, but we ultimately are paying for it. Now, is that something in your ability to do today or would you need legislation for something like that to move forward?
We can have that conversation with the Department of Law. Again, there were some pieces that we were trying to do administratively at one point that, again, I can circle back.
um that um again i can circle back with you on this but um it is certainly possible and in fact
likely that there would be some level of legislation that would be needed and if that was the case
i will uh i'll certainly okay now are there any other jurisdictions and i don't know the answer
this but any other jurisdictions doing something similar or have cut steps out of the process or
gotten to a quicker pay model? And do you know what the average days payment once something
is submitted to you guys is actually approved? I don't have the average days. Again, going back
to the ProLink, that is something that we will be able to do moving forward, hopefully,
as we're working all of our new projects through that system. My dream is to be able to do what
Commissioner Hopkins does and tell you exactly how many days. And so that is something that we
are working on. I think many other jurisdictions simply have very different processes. You know,
there are some jurisdictions, you know, major cities that don't have to have a legislative
process at all, for example, in the work that they do. And so, again, there's just different
levels of that. But again, totally heard. That is something that we hear all the time. We often get
outreach from the small contractor saying, hey, I'm really having this difficulty. We like we need
to figure this out. And that's something that that is always we're trying to solve for.
And my final question is around the architectural, is it the ATC, is it?
ATSM.
ATSM, that I consistently get cornered about. And how do we improve that particular process while, number one, being expedient and trying to meet the goal,
So keeping the quality because I am extremely concerned about reducing quality because the units that are being built are of an excellent quality for our residents regardless of their income.
for our residents, regardless of their income or their socioeconomic status. These are good
things. What we can do to alleviate that while maintaining the quality of the product that is
being put on the street. Yeah, absolutely. This is 100% continuously the work that we are doing.
We did an extensive revision of this manual to get it precisely at that. How do we keep quality
while making sure that the systems are not slowing anything down costing us more or just generally
having a detrimental effect on the development process um we have set up a system now too where
we can make small revisions in between making like these major revisions so that we don't have
to wait until there's like a new version of it for us to be able to say this little thing could
be fixed that could save money or this little thing could be fixed and can save time and so
that is a huge part of the work that we are continuing to do. Like this is, this is kind
of perpetual, right? Every time that we do a new QAP, we look at it, we revise it, we think about
what we need to update. And in conjunction with that, we look at the ATSM. And so as we look
forward into the future and think about like, where are we, where are we with the QAP? What
are we going to do? What are we going to change? What are we going to improve on? We'll do the
same with the ATSM. The other thing I'll just say is that the most recent revision, this major
overhaul that we did of the ATSM really goes into effect as we, for the projects that were
just announced in April. And so with a little bit of time, I think it really will bear out that the
improvements that we made to the manual and to the processes within it will bear that fruit that
folks are looking for. Okay. Well, thank you. Appreciate everything. And the last thing, the
change order process uh hear a lot about the change order process don't know heads or tails
of it i'm not a construction guy but there's something in there that we've got to fix uh
because we consistently hear about that other than that you guys doing great keep bringing
those affordable units uh if you got a place you need to drop some off uh please call me
them off uh please call me i got some land you can use to make that happen so good work guys good
work team uh thank you all for for everything you're doing thank you madam chair thank you
uh okay we're gonna go to alderman la spada who is joining us virtually then to alderman vasquez
and then on to non-members hi can you hear me yes we can go ahead okay fantastic hello commissioner
uh on the tail end won't ask anything that's already been asked i'll try to ask three things
I hadn't. I know folks asked earlier about the SEIP program designed to benefit and support
community land trusts across Chicago. I will say, personally and professionally, I found
our community land trusts very effective in their per unit costs for providing affordable housing.
And I know that's for a variety of reasons. But I wanted to ask, they were asking about a $5
million commitment to that SEIP program. Do we know if that's currently in the budget?
It is in the HED bond budget. So you will not find it in your budget book,
but we're happy to provide sort of what our various allocations are for the HED bond and
you will find the SEI program there. Kind of where I figured I'd find it. So helpful number one.
Question number two, I know that I ask you about this every year, but it's only because I have found, not that I received any such grant, but I have found real benefit from retrofitting programs personally.
The Green Homes Chicago grant program, what is the current status of that program?
The program is underway.
Again, this is a partnership with the Department of the Environment.
We currently have, I'm going to tell you exactly how many we, you know, we, that's also not a wait list that we've opened. Part of it is that the program is still.
list that we've opened. Part of it is that the program is still very much in some ways a pilot
program as we figure out all the details and how to work through all of that. But for the program
right now, we have approved 118 homeowners this year. And those are all projects that
Zero Homes and Elevate Energy, our partners in it, are underway on.
do you mind providing the number of homes by community area um no not at all we can provide
that through the chair unless you want me to read them out right now no you don't have to do that um
if you could also provide the total number of applications i would find that curious again
just understand the overall appetite for the program um and then finally because i i feel
like I've heard colleagues speaking around this point, these questions around both market rate
supply, housing supply, housing production goals. It leads me to something that I know you and I
have talked about it. And so we shall talk about it now. Commissioner, the status of the city's
next five-year housing plan, which I feel like we've been talking about for three years.
What is the update on that?
Yeah, absolutely.
So in the last few years, we've concentrated heavily on both sort of the production goals
that we put forth as part of our HED bond allocation, as well as our contributions towards
the blueprint to end homelessness that came out of the mayor's office on homelessness,
which also provides some of our numbers.
As I mentioned to some of your colleagues earlier, in terms of like forward facing,
looking at all these numbers um those are all things that we are um looking at uh internally
and particularly with um you know what's happened with federal legislation and what we're looking at
now um we expect that to be a broad undertaking that we will have that we will go through
that we will go through sooner rather than later.
And that will certainly involve you and your colleagues,
as well as, you know, CHA, DPD, and anyone else.
Commissioner, I know you know that I say this from a place of respect
and collegiality, but sooner has passed.
And the five-year plan for those listening
not only provides accountability for alders,
accountability for the public and the department, it is mandated by municipal code. So I would
love to get like a more comprehensive sense of the timeline through the chair that gets us to
that next five-year plan, if that feels fair. That is. And I will say, I will add that our
um our annual reports um which are also the way in which you know we publicly talk about and are
accountable for the work that we've doing um our uh up on our website the 2025 one is getting um
some last touches right now but we'll be coming up shortly um and we expect to be able to also
still produce that for our 2026 um outcomes um very early next year um so of course a very fair
point around accountability um and even without necessarily the written plan we're making sure
that those uh that information is out there okay those are all my questions thank you all
thank you alderman uh alderman vasquez thank you madam chair uh thank you all i will dive right
into questions uh so the first couple are through the chair and i've been asking these of multiple
departments um the first one is uh obviously the city's done bonding and borrowing and we're trying
get a better sense of like where the debt load and proceeds are going as far as each department
so uh how much of the debt load for the city can be attributed to doh projects
and if any can you share that list and status of any cost changes to the baseline
And so that could be through the chair
because it's some level of detail.
Yeah, we don't keep that number.
That would be something that we would work on
with the CFO's office and with OBM.
Okay, perfect.
Next, kind of similar question,
again, for all departments is,
are there any work streams from the E&Y work group
that impact DOH?
And can you outline them
in associated timelines and progress?
So, right, the E&Y has recommendations.
We want to know what each department is doing
in relation to those recommendations how much has been accomplished and what the delta is between
what they're proposing and what's being done at the department um yeah we are not specifically
named in any of the work streams uh like the big work streams of ey um we are generally part of it
in terms of you know we have had conversations with ey about space for example right because we
have um staff that are both here at city hall and at to north la salle so we are um we're working um
with obm on all those recommendations um as we as it comes up essentially yeah even sharing that
part would be helpful i think it's we're just trying to get more detail because i think the
you know why report gives like a overview as opposed to like what's specifically happening
so that'd be great uh and then um again third question similar can you outline all of doh
intersections with erp and send detailed progress reports so based on the modernization how that's
looking compared to erp uh i can work with uh dti on that i think perfect um okay uh what's the
average lease up time for an aro unit because we're hearing about like six month processes to
add to get folks even into the units and how can we bring that timeline down if so if so
um currently or so for this year we have um reviewed 480 applications um our established
review time is two to five business days for preliminary application screening and
10 business days for the formal compliance review. Our average review time.
compliance review our average review time is currently 8.3 business days okay and so i'm
i'm confident that there are some that are the outliers of the six month long process or something
else is happening um but that is not the vast majority of them and so is that just for clarity
so i understand that's average time for the review process um but let's say i guess uh beginning to
end from there being a unit that's going to be arrow it's built to somebody finally moving in
that's not an eight to ten day do you guys measure like the average of what that looks like
we only measure our prog our processes because part of what you're describing would be processes
that are outside of us right because they establish the unit they decide when they're
ready to lease up their property management does whatever work needs to be done there
um and so all i have are the numbers for what we internally can track yeah i mean i think thinking
about it it would be something i'd recommend to look at because you might be able to identify
what commonalities are impeding to your point, the process outside of what you guys have going
on to see if there's ways to facilitate that. I know that's like some of our colleagues,
I think past like trying to figure out a list or a registry for people to find it to see if
that's what a hurdle is. I think identifying what those might be, might be helpful and informative.
Okay. We have a new appropriation line this year for DOH called low income housing. It's got 18
million from the corporate fund and additionally an increase in the existing affordable housing
density program appropriation which is up from half a million to nine million can you lay out
for us the difference between those two appropriation lines and how they either complement each other
or what the two different missions are i guess yeah so that second line is um is the affordable
housing opportunity fund it was originally called boldest density and that's what it's still in the
budget broke that is we appropriate it with you all during the budget process but that is based
on projections of what in lieu of fees will be collected the other thing that we collect into
that fund is the demolition surcharge money from the areas that are part of the northwest side house
the areas that are part of the northwest side housing preservation ordinance would you be able
to kind of um send through the chair kind of where those funds are all coming from so to your point
like which wars and where the in lieu is are going from and as far as the demolition um the
conservation fund because i think there is a number of us who had just had questions about it
because uh there's different methods to try to make sure we're not just having the single family
only like housing everywhere when you could do more density and i'm just curious that said like
the results yeah and so to be clear in this case right like um the it's not actually measuring
density in any way this is like a legacy name for this um it's where the line just kind of is but
the two things that are coming into it are the aro in lieu of fees and the demo surcharge money
yeah and so i'm happy to provide you through the chair with our projections of like why we think
that that is how much money will come in that money is very much money that we don't spend it
unless we get it and so the amount that we put in there um for next year is based on what we saw
both on demo surcharge in terms of like how much money came in and what does that mean we projecting
and um the work that the team that works on aro has done to project which projects are telling us
that they'll be ready to pay that fee next year so thank you for that for clarity rather than
looking at what the projection is see what it was in the last year so what what already has come in
from lieu of in the last year just kind of a breakdown would be helpful and the same thing
with the demolition surcharge so when i was bringing up the density part of why we were
looking at it for a time is it disincentivizes somebody building a single family home rather
than like keeping a two flat right so i'm just kind of curious as to what the proceeds were and
where it was coming from just more like over the last year yeah oh absolutely for just the general
demo surcharge yes yeah thank you um can you elaborate on what rights powers duties obligations
or responsibilities DOH uses for administering the RLTO?
Like, how is that determined?
Are there personnel dedicated?
Like, what does it currently look like as far as RLTO?
like as far as rlto yeah the city does not have enforcement powers on the rlto right and so the
work that the department of housing does first by statute is a pamphlet that updates you know
sort of this is what the rlto laws are this is what you're entitled to but we have no enforcement
authority so a lot of our work has been in education work and working with partners to
ensure that folks know what they can access in absence of enforcement from the city, which is
usually a court process. And I know I think one of our colleagues before asked kind of like what
that would look like as far as FTEs and everything else, the rental registry costs, because I think
in the conversations related to pro and fair, figuring out where to delineate what you go to
DOB, what you go to DOH, I think the more details better. So I add a plus one because I know when
our colleagues asked prior um yes i think that's the same one here i think that's actually oh no
no um i'd like also a breakdown of like the green social housing funds where things have gone where
they're being appropriated what's kind of being discussed in the pipeline um as well as if you
all have any informational like one pagers on how to engage in uh tapping into the gsh funds because
I think in absence of it, there are colleagues who are more, uh, inclined to find out opportunities
in the award and some that aren't. And I think it may lead in the long run to certain colleagues
feeling a level of resentment, if I'm being nice, as to not being able to avail themselves in the
way others are. So it might be as simple as like, Hey, if you think there's an opportunity reward,
here's what that should look like. And then showing us where it's all been going so far,
I think would be helpful as we kind of think of, of things. Absolutely. Happy to provide the one
pager there is nothing that's happened so far so you know that's the easiest answer um but i'm
happy to provide the information um there's an uh request for information that the criff has live
which is how folks are able to let criff know that they're interested in a project and i can make
who let CRIF know that they're interested in a project and I can make sure that that's
attached to that. So even, even though nothing's been kind of like locked in,
would you be able to share how many things have been proposed or from different orders to kind
of get a sense of like, okay, how many of us have come to you to have that conversation? I think
I'm just curious. Cause it's not something I've been inclined to do, but I think there are
opportunities. And I remember when we voted on the funds, the question that I had was the ability
to use those funds for acquisition which i think was a possibility when we voted for it so i've got
um there's 1940 west foster where we own the property there and we're looking rfp it out
and there might be opportunities for doing 100 affordable but the funds need to be there to also
make that happen where i think would be a candidate to have that conversation or like we had done in
um at the diplomat motel on lincoln where we converted that to non-congregate shelter
lincoln being what it is there are multiple opportunities with the same kind of motels to
then reimagine those there were some that are on brenmar and lincoln that i think um
obviously we do a million different things so we haven't engaged formally in that process
i think that's the other reason i'm curious that's like steps to take to engage in those
conversations because i imagine our colleagues might similarly have opportunities and just
doesn't don't know first steps to take yeah okay yeah um that's all i got i know y'all
no no department has an easy job when we think about the populations we're looking to serve and
how challenging it is for folks to feel like they can stay in the places that they live um
it becomes an added responsibility uh and duty for this department so i i am supportive of
you all having the capacity and revenue funds necessary to do so um so i look forward to more
conversations with our colleagues to figure out what right can look like so thank you very much
thank you thank you okay um we are going to non-members now vice chair lawson
Hi. Hi. Good afternoon, Commissioner and team. Thank you, Vice Chair. I just have a couple quick questions. I'll just say thank you for the work on ADUs that we did. We stood up this year. And, you know, to see the number 500, I have not been watching daily like I did in April. So that's a huge number. And I know we still have a little work to do. So appreciate everything there.
I want to follow up on the list, which I would just call it the trust fund.
So I love a new name.
But so the funding sources are in lieu of fees, demo fees, and that's it, right?
Downtown density bonus, which is.
Yeah.
So the density bonus thing is the in lieu of fees, not demo surcharge.
Demo surcharge is different.
And then the other major source is from the state.
It is the rental housing support program.
So we are seeing a decrease in those funds because we have, what, all the reasons why, what's missing the mark or what are projected to miss the mark?
Yeah. So the big thing is that in 2021, the state passed legislation offering what is a very incentivizing tax break to developers who are subject to the ARO. So more of them are building on site and less of them are paying in lieu of fee.
Right. And this has come up in my ward. And I've been talking to my colleagues because we all want all the units. Right. And I remember Alderman Kaplman mentioning we still have to pay for some of them. Right. We need the unit and we need the subsidy. And we're missing the mark if we're just always getting the units.
but it it i don't know makes the point that we don't have a sustainable funding source here and
i think it's hard for a lot of us to look at more funding from corporate when we haven't figured out
sort of that stream and i know um if we're going to use other funds or fees to do that we probably
need to figure that out so i i was listening earlier i've been in and out i know alvin martin
asked you some some like what are we actually looking at beyond efficiencies and streamlining
within the fund but what are better sources to have this be sustainable long term yeah um
And so I know you're going to get back on some of that
or there weren't many answers yet,
but the 13 million supports 1,378 units
is the briefing materials I had, if that's correct.
Yeah, so there are overall the units is about 2,700,
but yeah, like 13 million.
So that was my question.
So we wrote a 2,700 units.
This is about half then, right?
And so the total fund is about 26 million?
I would have to get back to you on the total budget.
okay if you would that'd be great um so and there's never been any other sources here historically
no this is this is one of the so it would be great to also see maybe over the last 10 years
how those those funding sources have changed um because they are going down i know you know there's
a 15 if you do 15 on site there's still a tax break um and then we get the payment i've had
more projects do that because they can make it pencil um and it may be something worth talking
to our colleagues about too which would help with the fund um is this when we're subsidizing the
household rent is this something long long term or more short term typically the idea is that this
is permanent supportive housing okay okay is there an ability to transfer the residents into a more
a different program that someone else pays for maybe like the state or the feds that might be
more stable or or easier for us and then we can take more people that are harder to fit into
the federal or state programs? There is overall a shortage of this kind of housing, right? So this
has happened at the federal level, right, where they've been trying to cut permanent supportive
housing programs. This is something that the Chicago Continuum of Care has been dealing with.
So there really aren't a ton of other options. Clift has been, again, for a few decades now,
been providing this kind of housing, and it's part of the reason we'd really like to see it
remain where it is so but i guess my question is are the residents not able to transition into
another program if that program is available i understand that the the pots are shrinking
pots are shrinking um but it's not like they don't qualify they would in theory qualify for
other programs but the availability is always going to be the main driving factor got it you
know there's nowhere for folks to go okay um but the doc i had said it operates in 41 wards i'm
curious the nine that it doesn't operate in i have a guess but um if you could send that through the
chair if you want to give us an idea of where that is um yes uh the wards that is not in are
um the nope i'm looking at the wrong program give me one second here sorry the wards it is not in
is ward 11 ward 19 ward 38 41 42 and 43 well that's okay that's more than nine but it's less
to nine sorry let me get back to you okay just that's fine through the chair i want to know how
many are in 44 as well i can um let me double check that i can do that yes there are two in
the 44th ward got it um the only other question i have is um we talk about the sro preservation fund
how many sros are left uh in the city and do we have a sort of a tracker on that over the last
10 years all of the ones in 44 have either been converted into more permanent supportive housing
or when? Mark it. Yeah, that's not a number that we necessarily have readily available. SROs are
licensed by the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, so I think that we would
be happy to work with them to get you an answer through the chair of how many they are licensing.
That'd be great. You know, I know it's something that was an issue that hasn't become
one in my ward anymore, but it will come up with others on the preservation side and the kind of
money we're spending on, you know, just how many are there, you know. There's also some difference
between having an SRO license
and having it actually be affordable housing
or low-threshold housing in some cases, too.
threshold housing in some cases too yeah and i i think the i i think we would still feel
comfortable saying that most of them are still some level of absolutely i had one that was a
weird market rate house share kind of situation that was licensed as an sro and that's another
story anyway um thank you all for everything that's the questions i have and i appreciate
the follow-up to the chair thank you vice chair thank you vice chair next we're going to go to
Alderwoman Monal Hoppenworth.
Thank you, Vice Chair.
Hi, Commissioner.
Hi, team in the box.
I want to express my gratitude for your partnership,
not just for us in the 48th Ward,
but with other departments,
including Department of Housing, DFSS, and others,
and your willingness to listen to those
that are experiencing housing insecurity on the ground.
and those groups that might be associated with them, such as our advocates on the North Side,
One North Side, the Coalition to End Homelessness, and to Keep Chicago House Coalition.
We've had a lot of conversation today about CLIF and SROs. 48th Ward has many SROs still,
not as many as before. Actually, we had to vacate two of them, as you know, and that was not an
easy thing to do we never we never want to have to do that again and um so when we're talking about
the the plan moving forward i would like that to be prioritized what are we doing for those that are
in that very wide gap actually struggling to stay housed and it is unacceptable to continue to tell
us that there is just a lack of shelter and a lack of housing opportunities for people
who are that we are trying to house you know we we have
that we are trying to house you know we we have we have helped over 200 folks who have been living
along the lakefront in the last three and a half years to get into shelter but more importantly
permanent housing with supportive services wrapped around and we know i remember when um we were
scheduled for an accelerated moving event and i got a phone call that the the federal administration
cut those funds and half the people that we were going to help were left behind um we were able to
help them but it is is very difficult the work that we do every day in our offices and so i
would like that prioritized what are we doing for deeply affordable housing for
those that deserve to live in dignified ways can i get that commitment from you
Absolutely.
And I would say that the biggest thing that we can do right now is the thing that has
been discussed over and over again, which is to make sure that the Chicago Low Income
Housing Trust Fund is funded.
They are, again, they are housing people at deeply affordable levels, 50% AMI, 30% AMI.
This is permanent housing where folks can really be stable and be able to find housing.
because of the decrease in funding they've had to establish a nutrition policy which means that as
vacant as units have become vacant they have not brought them back online and so if clift is able
to get this allocation from us that is currently proposed in the budget they will be able to
revisit that policy and be able to start to bring units back online ultimately that's exactly what
you're describing right being able to have folks be able to be housed this is one of the biggest
ways that we can have an immediate impact on that is the funding of CLIFT. And you were
you were talking about the units that were in each.
You were talking about the units that were in each of our wards.
Do you know how many units that are available through the CLIF program in the 48th Ward, Edgewater and Uptown?
Because what I'm hearing is that people have been offered, but the offer is too far from where they have built a community in Edgewater and Uptown.
and that it makes them end up back where they were on the lakefront we don't want that we want
folks to move on I can tell you exactly how many units are there right now again with more stable
funding those are numbers and those are units that cliffs can revisit the way that the subsidy works
is that a landlord can apply to be part of the program the program is actually primarily serving
landlords in six units or less but it can serve landlords in any size building that want to be
part of the program and again if there is an ability for cliff to have more folks apply
because they are have stable funding then that is an opportunity that can be opened up is it
the issue that there aren't enough applicants or the issue there isn't enough there is not
enough money for them to be able to have more applicants because right now because they're
having the shortfall, they cannot bring more units online. And so again, they've even had to start
not filling in units that have become vacant. So currently in the 48th Ward, there are 111 units
that are subsidized by Clift. And I think across the city, Clift would like to be able to increase
that number, but cannot because they are not, they are facing this gap in their budget right now,
which is why the current budget proposes the additional $13 million for them,
in addition to the $5 million that DOH has been providing them for some time now.
Yeah, and this has been a problem not just in the last four years.
four years. It's been a problem for a long time, right? This is a long, long building housing
crisis. And certainly I think right now, you know, the term we were talking about upstairs is, you
know, this is the water we swim in, right? Like housing is part of the broader affordability
problems that are happening, right? It's not just housing. It's, you know, when you go to the pump
and, you know, gas, it's paying for utilities, it's paying for your groceries. It's all of these
things that are really making a crisis particularly for those at the most deeply affordable need
thank you and to uh alderman lawson's point we have to figure out different ways of sustaining
this program right right now it is it is not working what we're doing is not working
we're not building enough right um well are you talking specifically around clift yes yes correct
and again um they're not they're subsidizing units not necessarily building units um but yes
they need long-term stability that is part of what they're working towards at the state level
they worked with the lobbyists and members of the state legislature to introduce legislation
last January to address a loophole in the recordation fees that are collected that
could increase their their allocation from the state about 10 million dollars is the current
estimate okay thank you commissioner I would I would like this to be a priority for the city
chicago and then um just more conversations about how we're going to preserve sros um we we don't
want to lose any more of those thank you thank you very much thank you chair can we get that
information through the chair that you shared with both uh alderman lawson and alderman manah
hoppenworth i think that'd be helpful for everybody to understand great um i think most of my questions
got answered i've just got a couple that we'll wrap up with here you know we do appreciate the
work that you and your department do. With all the federal funding cuts, can you just give us
an overview of what funding, what grant funding looks like from the various sources?
grant funding looks like uh from the various sources um for this upcoming budget and if there
i know we're at the end of any covid dollars um and if there are still covid dollars within the
housing department how are those being utilized or what's happening with those um there are not
um we'd never had any like direct arp allocation we have crp money um but the big the big allocation
that we are a part of is cdbg and home funds those are um entitlement grants that the city gets
from the feds and we are um and you know we get like home comes just to doh cdbg we are one of
several departments that gets that um and that's that's a lot of our funding um the other thing
that you'll see in our budget at the federal level is that actually doh has been very successful at
getting earmarks for our projects um so today we've um been able to get over over 12 million
dollars in federal earmarks for projects um and obviously that it helps there right that we're
working with local elected officials um to be able to get that money and so those are really
our big federal things right now great um i i have raised this in previous years i don't know
if i did last year you know i as i talked to developers who are interested in doing things
in and around um the 11th ward i i had at least one uh one big development not come to fruition
because of challenges with the arrow requirement for for sale you know i'm really interested in
your thoughts on um how how it's working maybe how it's not what what could be done differently to
maybe make that more attractive for developers it was a 110 unit development that they couldn't get
to pencil out ultimately yeah um i think that uh for sale is actually not something that's
that's happening a ton of right now. Generally, the market has really turned the tide towards
rental. We're seeing kind of an explosion of more rental units being brought on board rather than
for sale. For anything that is for sale, you know, there is the in lieu of option. There is building
off-site. There is, you know, building on-site. I think we always encourage developers to work
with us, right? This is the work that Tamara and Joe and their team do to, like, figure out what
are the ways in which we can make this work right we've done it um with big projects and with little
projects because ultimately we want to see uh the developments be successful um while also having
some affordability for folks and so um we're always happy to work with people i don't and i
don't know that i can think of particularly the project you're referencing but always happy to
like it's right when you started um um and i think that as as developments that are planned for the
11th ward get a little further down the road i think there is a lot of opportunity to help the
the 100 affordable developments be supported by some some additional um for sale you know we've
done a lot of um apartment um construction in the 11th ward i you know i'm looking for some
some balance and all of that you know i know lots of people want to buy in the 11th ward and it's
very challenging too um but at the same time everything is just so expensive right now um
from the cost of material perspective uh one last question let me just get to it here oh yes go ahead
no no no go ahead i'm looking for mine you can kill some time while i'm looking
chair viegas thank you thank you um just had two quick questions during the testimony this morning
um strike that not testimony rather but from the public comment there were folks talking about a
$5 million for TOPA?
They were talking about the shared equity impact program.
One of the ways in which folks want to be able to use it
is to exercise the right of first refusal,
exercise the right of first refusal. And that is work that we are looking at internally. Part of
what we know with TOPA, right, is that any of the TOPA regulations just offer you the right of first
refusal, right? It's not coming with financing. It's not coming with down payment assistance.
And we're trying to figure out ways to make that work. And so the SEIP program is an option that
they're exploring. Part of that means that they have to come. Who's exploring it? You're exploring
it? So there are folks that want to be able to use it this way. Who are the folks though? So like
land trust and co-ops are looking to use it this way because that is what SCIP is meant for. It's
a shared equity investment program, so it's meant for land trust and co-ops. And so, for example,
in the Northwest side, the anchor organization is Palenque LSNA. That's work that they've been
doing with the Here to Stay land trust to figure out how to help the tenant associations be co-ops
so that they can access the shared equity investment program. I got you. Okay. And then
lastly your department does compliance yes what is it that what is what are you looking for in
compliance what are the responsibilities is it is it part of the like mwbe is it stuff like that
like what are you prevailing wage well yeah so we do so compliant we do compliance across many
different on the construction on the construction side so on the construction side yes we um we
track wbe mbe outcomes um to ensure that they're meeting the uh those city requirements and and
but do you work closely with DPS on that as well or is that separate? So we always work with DPS
as is necessary but we are able to track that separately because we get the projects authorized
by city council so that is work that we're able to do individually. Got you and then when do you
know if when the Department of Procurement is reporting on MWBE numbers are they inclusive
of your departments and other departments that have compliance like DPD as well? I don't think
I know the answer to that question. Okay I'll ask procurement I was just curious if you knew that.
okay thank you I think you just asked the question so
all right i think you just asked the question so um i thank you for your time today thanks for all
that you're doing uh we'll continue to look for information to help us address more of this
affordability issue that we're dealing with as a city um i think that we share a lot of the
a lot of the same sentiments i think as we see increasing numbers of unhoused um popping up in
in all of our wards um you know the availability of either shelter temporary shelters of varying
formats you know i know there's a lot of different reasons why um an unhoused person may not want to
you know go into something that it's offered to them um because it doesn't suit them for one
reason or another um i think we we've got to get a little bit more creative about that because it's
not good for anybody to be on the street um it's not good for neighborhoods at the same time and
then we we get into a lot more of the safety and sanitation issues. And the bottom line is there's
not enough right now for everybody. So I appreciate all that you do. And the committee is going to
stand at ease until while we transition to our next department, which will be the case.
Good afternoon, everybody. We are now at the second half of our budget hearings for today.
We are on to D-CASE, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
We are going to start with an overview by...
uh with a an overview by kofa uh we'll have it over to you please kofa thank you vice chair
good afternoon vice chair lee chairman urban and the members of city council this is chloe
utimane with kofa i'll provide a brief overview of department of cultural affairs and special
events proposed fy 2027 budget for fy 2027 dks has a proposed budget of 62.48 million
representing an increase of less than 1% compared to FY2026 budget ordinance.
Approximately 0.2% of the proposed budget is funded through the Corporate Fund.
Of the total proposed budget, $8.7 million is allocated to personnel services,
while $53.79 million is allocated to non-personnel.
In terms of staffing, the department has 82 budgeted full-time equivalent positions,
an increase of two FTEs compared to 2026.
As of October 21st,
the department's vacancy rate was 18%.
Moving on to the appropriations by category,
both the dollar and percentage changes shown on this table
are calculated using the FY2020 fixed ordinance
as the baseline.
The largest dollar increase
is in category 9,800 special event projects,
which increases by $3.5 million or a 21%.
Turning to appropriations by fund, DK's proposed budget consists of approximately $47 million in local funding and approximately $50 million in grant funding.
Local funding increases by $3.86 million, primarily driven by the Special Events and Municipal Hotel Operators Occupation Tax Fund.
The department also receives approximately $130,000 in corporate fund appropriations in 2027 compared to no corporate fund appropriations.
compared to no corporate fund appropriations in FY2026.
Grant funding, on the other hand, decreases by $3.38 million.
Now, this slide provides a historical overview of DK's appropriation by funding source from 2018 through 2027.
Department's budget increased significantly beginning in 2022,
largely reflecting the additional of federal APRA funding.
For 2027, the proposed budget returns to approximately $62.48 million, with local funding accounting for the majority of departments' appropriation.
Finally, this slide shows DK's budget at full-time equivalent positions.
Staffing has remained relatively stable in recent years, ranging from 80 to 82 FTEs.
For FY2027, the department proposes 82 FTEs, an increase of two positions compared to 2026.
Notably, these two additional FTEs are funded through the Corporate Fund, while the remaining 80 positions are supported by other local funding sources.
This concludes COFA's overview. Thank you.
Thank you, Chloe. Next, we're going to introduce Commissioner Kinyumerit.
If you'd like to read your statement and introduce your staff, please go ahead.
Thank you so much. Thank you, Vice Chair Lee, to Chairman Irvin and City Council members for the opportunity to discuss the Department of Cultural Affairs and special events.
And thank you to Mayor Johnson for his continued support during this year's budget process, as well as the case's work to strengthen and support the arts and creative economy.
Joining me on the day is Tahira Begg, our Deputy Commissioner of Finance, First Deputy Commissioner Abel Ochoa.
Also in the box with us today are Melanie Wang, Director, Natasha Alguin, Deputy Commissioner Michael Cristiano, Deputy Commissioner Frayne Lewis, Deputy Commissioner Rhea Perdeman, Deputy
Deputy Commissioner Rhea Perdeman, Deputy Commissioner Yesenia Mota, Director, Monica
Cazares, Director, James Castillo, Director, Neal Heights, Director, Alton Peterson, Policy
Analyst, Lisa Lorig, Assistant Commissioner, and Maria Lopez, Policy Analyst.
So over the past year, DK's has continued to steward Chicago's cultural landscape,
supporting and advocating for our artists and creative workers, while producing world-class
events and expanding access to the arts across our entire city. Our commitment to Chicago's
creative community remains unwavering. Arts and culture are essential to our city's identity,
economic vitality, as well as our quality of life. Through our work, we are advancing a simple
but important vision, Culture Builds Chicago. Our free signature festivals and year-round
programming are central to this work. This year, DK's welcomed more than 2.1 million attendees,
generating $180 million in economic impact, demonstrating a continued recovery towards
pre-pandemic levels. Taste of Chicago's return to its prime summer position in July marked an
important milestone for the department, while Chicago's selection to host UNESCO's International
Jazz Day this year further affirmed our city's global cultural influence. At the heart of DK's
commitment to access and cultural engagement is one of our prized jewels, the iconic Chicago
cultural center it remains an important part of our commitment to providing access
exploration as well as equity thus far this year the building has welcomed more
and 670,000 visitors and hosted 152 programs.
visitors and hosted 152 programs and events with the introduction of new programming including our
family matinee series as well as juice box our performing arts initiatives focused on getting
babies in the building we are intentionally expanding opportunities for young audiences
and families to experience the arts we recognize that access to arts must be accompanied by
meaningful investment and the people who make them possible today d case has awarded 529 grants
reaching all 50 awards 60 of our individual artist program grantees are from the south and the west
sides and first-time applicants to d cases annual grants program stand at 49 of total applications
this year we also introduced new opportunities to meet the evolving needs of our creative community
including our Next Stage grant, which focused on emerging storefront theaters as well as one-year
project funding made available through City Arts. Building on these investments, D-CASE continues to
advance initiatives that strengthen and support Chicago's creative workforce. In partnership with
the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, D-CASE is launching the second phase
of creative workers rights. It's our artist labor campaign. We're continuing to raise awareness of
the rights to resources and protections available to our creative workers. DK's also continues to
support Healing Arts Chicago in collaboration with the Department of Public Health and City
Colleges. This initiative recognizes the role that arts can play in supporting health and the
well-being and bring city partners together to connect creative practice with community care.
D-Case brings art into everyday public life while creating meaningful opportunities for
our artists to share their work. Our public art and exhibitions program
share their work. Our public art and exhibitions programs invest in creative talent while activating
public spaces across Chicago. This year, DK's exhibitions featured 117 artists and artist
collectives and welcomed nearly 369,000 visitors. We are currently advancing public art projects
across 44 wards, as well as continuing our partnership with the Department of Aviation.
D-Case is also working to grow Chicago's creative economy by strengthening our city's position as a premier destination for film and television production.
The Chicago Film Office has supported 11 major productions and 25 independent films.
We recently welcomed leaders from major film, television, and entertainment companies for the city's first familiarization tour,
showcasing Chicago's production infrastructure, skilled workforce, and diverse filming location.
We are also strengthening our capacity to deliver on these priorities.
D-Case filled 16 positions this year, bringing our workforce to 67 full-time positions.
We have made real progress in advancing recruitment, while multiple internal promotions to senior management positions reflect our investment in talent as well as leadership.
Our impact is reflected not only in our cultural programming, but also in our financial progress.
D-Case has achieved significant revenue growth, representing an increase of roughly 60% over 2025.
And while we're proud of this progress, we recognize that challenges still remain.
Artists and cultural organizations continue to face financial pressures, and demand for resources remain significant.
Arts and culture are central to Chicago's identity.
They are essential to our economic vitality as well as our global competitiveness.
For a consecutive year, Chicago has been recognized by Condé Nast Traveler as the best big city.
recognized by Condé Nast Traveler as the best big city in the United States. These investments
into culture attract visitors, generate economic activity, support our hospitality and tourism
industries, create opportunities for artists as well as our creative workers, and they bring
customers to businesses across our city and create saves in our hotel. Year-to-date hotel revenue has
increased by 11.5%, supported by a 7.6% average daily room rate. But to build on this momentum
and ensure that economic benefits of Chicago's cultural vibrancy reach artists and creative
workers, businesses, and neighborhoods, D-Case's work in 2027 will continue to be guided by our
four strategic priorities to invest to activate to amplify and advocate and to connect when we're
investing we're sustaining our investment into artists into cultural organizations and grants
our creative workers when we're activating we're building on our signature festivals our free
programming our public art when we're amplifying we're elevating chicago's creative talent our
cultural offerings as well as our creative industries and we're connecting we're strengthening
our partnerships with city departments with our alders as well as with community organizations
and industry leaders chicago's creative community is one of the city's greatest assets and a driving
force behind our cultural and economic vitality as chicago continues to shape the global cultural
landscape, we must continue to build on this momentum. We must continue to champion the
creativity that defines our city and ensures that arts and culture remain accessible to residents
in every single one of our neighborhoods. Thank you so much, Chair, for allowing me to read the
me to read the statement. I'm happy to answer questions now. Thank you, Commissioner. We'll
take questions from members that are in the room. Any questions? Yes, Chair Irvin. Thank you. Thank
you, Madam Chair. Just a couple of points. I know Special Events has been a point of contention
around cost. What are you guys doing as it relates to trying to get, from a cost recovery perspective,
thoughts on that
and
this is kind of one of those
double-edged swords like you know
I like
the Bud Billiken
parade right and I
want to see that happen and the question comes down
like hey well what is this costing us and
can we afford to do it and
I'm of the opinion that hey we
this is a part this is what makes us who we are
that's what makes us Chicago right
the events the summer I mean people
come here like how do we
How are you all thinking about that, and how do we balance that cost versus, you know, the returns?
And sometimes you can't quantify the return, but how are you guys looking at that,
and what advice from a professional aspect would you give to us as we consider how to manage that type of situation?
Yeah, thank you for that question, Chair Irvin.
And I think you're absolutely right, and I covered it a little bit in my statement,
that Chicago is known for its culture.
People travel from across the world to experience our culture.
And our festivals and our special events,
they play a key role in our economic and cultural landscape.
And so these events are not only a part of our identity,
but they also support local businesses.
They create jobs.
They activate our commercial corridors as well as our neighborhoods.
And so as we think about this work around cost recovery, I think it's a both-and approach, right?
I think it's a both and approach. Right. And our goal is to be able to strike the balance between being fiscally responsible, but also ensuring that our festivals and community events remain viable as well as accessible.
Well, thank you for that. The only other thing is the film folks are doing good work. I don't get as many complaints about a certain block being used as the backdrop in somebody's scene. Still a few challenges around the firehouse over on Blue Island, but I think they're working it out with the neighbors and all of that good stuff.
But again, you guys really make us kind of who we are.
The stuff that people talk about for Chicago comes really out of your department.
So keep doing the good work you guys are doing.
Appreciate everything.
We just need to figure out what the right balance on that cost recovery piece is and
what special events and what we can do to maintain our character as a city while, you
know, of course, being fiscally responsible.
So, but thank you all for your work.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chair.
Anybody else?
I have questions.
I can jump in.
oh okay alderman burnett but he's gonna close nick's gonna close okay burnett then uh sikhio
lopez hello hi as all as chairman urban stated you all make our city what it is so i'm always
advocating to give you more money um so i appreciate all the work that you do and but one of my concerns
is the street fairs for some of our cultural neighborhood groups i hear that we've reduced
the funding on that um is there can you tell me what's happening with that so in terms of special
event permitting special event permitting particularly for some of these street festivals
they don't have the ability to ticket um for some of these neighborhood groups um and i heard that
the the funding capacity has been reduced in terms of what d case is providing here
oh in terms of our grant making yes um yeah i would love to have a conversation with you around
specific groups that are applying.
that are applying for our research.
And so we have a pretty robust grants program.
It's about $9.5 million across three different programs.
And the goal is to be able to support organizations
that are doing activations in neighborhoods.
And so while our funding has remained level for grants,
we'd love to have a conversation with you around where there are potential gaps
in your community.
And then is it impacted you?
I know we are increasing the burden by requestees on the CPD in terms of how much they cost recovery.
Does that apply to all of these, the folks who receive grants and the neighborhood groups that are applying for these street festivals and things too?
Yeah, so thank you for that question.
So as I alluded to with Chair Irvin, the cost recovery work is going to be an iterative process, right?
We recognize that it's going to evolve.
We started that work with EY this year, one with working with the law department around an ordinance that gives us the ability to be able to capture city costs.
But while at the same time, I think that we have to be cognizant of the value that these events bring to our community.
Not only do they activate our neighborhoods and make them lively for the residents and the visitors that are attending them, but they have a real economic impact.
And so as we're thinking about how we roll out the cost recovery initiative or the recommendations from EY, you know, my approach will be measured.
I think we have to make sure that we're setting the table to be able to bring some of our smaller organizers to the table because we don't want to lose sight of what makes Chicago, Chicago.
I appreciate that. I know it's a process and discretion and all the different communities, the 77, I guess now 78 different community areas all have the desires to make sure that the cultural programming is.
programming is authentic and continues to grow. And I guess a fun question for you. Is there a
particular, I guess, artistic partnership or some type of community mural or program that you all
have funded this year that has been your favorite? Oh my God, you're asking me like to pick the
favorite baby, which is hard. There's so much. I will say one of the things that I am most proud
about in terms of um activations is how we're activating the chicago cultural center um we're
really leaning into how do we create it to be a third space no matter your age whether you're a
baby or you're one of our season season residents that you have an opportunity to experience art
maybe for the first time um by visiting the cultural center so this year um we worked in
partnership with several different organizations including other city departments to open up the
space to young ones. And so we have programs for performing arts for littles underneath the dome
in the cultural center. We also integrated our film shows as an opportunity for families to be
able to watch movies for free in the cultural center. And so really thinking about how we use
that space as an access point for folks that are looking to engage with the art. So that's one of
the things that I'm most proud about. Yeah, that's a really, I love what you all are doing with that
space and everything you do for the kids i children's theater is in my ward and they
sing your praises about how much dk's has been helpful um for their growth and partnership
so i appreciate all that you do i want to figure out ways that we can continue to expand
more artist-led programming within my ward and across the city whether that's murals or
maybe working on some type of ordinance where developers of new buildings have to have some
type of public art but looking forward to working with you all even more i appreciate everything
that you do as alderman irvin said the backbone of our city and make us look good so keep it up
thank you alderman burnett alderman sexual lopez
Thank you, Madam Chair, and good to see you, Commissioner.
Thank you for your leadership and to your team as well.
My question around festivals and special events,
and the Orrward in particular has one of the largest number of festivals.
In terms of the process, because it seems it's very hard, you know,
once the permits are given, you know,
It's very difficult to have oversight,
and I think sometimes the saturation.
In fact, voters just last night had an opportunity to see
if we will designate a specific area for that.
So my question around maybe things that you and your department
have been looking at in terms of the permitting process
for special events and can be more community-minded,
especially with reimbursements with public safety
and other ways to mitigate just the erosional quality of life
when there's just way too many events at the same time.
Yeah, thank you for that question, Chair.
So some of the things that our team has done over the past year
related to special events includes being a little bit more accessible
and helping to navigate organizers through the process.
So I'll have Yesenia to talk a little bit about some of the work that she's done with training, virtual webinars, that really demystifies the permitting process so that folks understand how to navigate it.
Hello, everyone. Yesenia Motta, Director of Special Events and Permits.
Over the last two years, we've created webinars, and we've done a lot of outreach with Alderman's office.
i think in january we met with your department your office alderman where we spoke to event
organizers and so we do that throughout the entire you know we try to do it whoever
requests it and whoever needs it um and we're looking to do and update our web
needs it and we're looking to do and update our webinars in January as well as some you know one
cheaters that explain how to do a festival and we do encourage the applicants to always always
talk to the older person first before they submit an application that's it yeah in terms of like
the is there like an assessment I know I do appreciate your team every year and I know we
meet earlier on, and we always try to discuss the best we can. Sometimes it's an expectation that
the permits will continuously be renewed, even though there may be issues, damage of property,
for instance. It was like an occasion where a festival damaged the fields in one of our public
schools because of parking. Or there's other issues that are creating public safety issues,
not enough security, and so on. Is there a way that we assess the success, the cost-benefit
to the public after the meeting, you know, after the fact that there's an evaluation, a way that
we can be fair and objective when it comes to the evaluation about these festivals and special
events. Yeah. So Chair, I just want to make sure that I understand the question. So I think what
you're saying is, is there an opportunity to assess or to debrief after a neighborhood event
has happened so that we're capturing just like maybe the feedback um from the community around
like their opinion um we you know i would be open to having that conversation with you around
you know what what you would envision um and ways that we can ensure that like there's an
opportunity for people to weigh in on i think whether the event is additive to the community
yeah i think um to me it's like making sure that there's not an expectation that the permit will
be always given right there in regards of in despite of whatever issue there may have been
have been so that's what i think there is a an expectation sometimes that the renewal
will be just given because the permit doesn't really as as i see right now uh give a lot of
i mean we can make a recommendation make a suggestion but that doesn't mean that that
that will change the the outcome of the approval of yeah i mean i think that like permits aren't
necessarily renewed like every year um an applicant has to apply like it's a new permit that's issued
every year but what i hear you saying is that like is there an opportunity for for for us to
have conversations if it's a multi-year event around what happened in the prior year yeah
correct yeah yeah we do have events that happen every year yeah and i think i we do as we do the
evaluation together i do think there has to be um oftentimes we got um really difficult decisions
to make especially if other departments already approved it so it makes a lot of uh very difficult
for the automatic office to make a different decision if the department has already been
moving forward sure i would love to have a conversation about that afterwards thank you
thank you so much thank you um in terms of the budget right in there you know i know that um
we have had some some projects i think the latina monument project i think has been a really
successful I think was before your tenure how would you give continuity to some of these projects
we love for instance with DPD we're talking about they have a proposal about public spaces
public plazas right some allocation how do we continue I know that there's a gap sometimes
between projects but how do we do we work together to make sure that we connect and give the
continuity sometimes it's a multi-year long time projects so how do we connect to ensure that maybe
through dpd your team you know these projects can continue to see some support yeah so what
you know the beauty about and i think what you're referring to is
you know the beauty about and i think what you're referring to is public art is that if it takes
you know a significant amount of time multiple years for us to you know go from you know the
idea to engagement to design to actually implementation that like our support stays
with that project um we we never um you know pull back dollars we're committed to it um
And so I'm hoping that I'm answering the question, right?
Or are you referring to something else?
No, that is right.
I think I would love to see another day.
Did not get any grants this year.
They had getting in the previous years, right?
So perhaps there may be possibilities to connect,
maybe even with other departments.
And I know that the limitation of budgets,
but I like to see these projects come to fruition, right?
Once we fund them to make sure
that they come to completion as well.
Okay.
So I'd love to work with you on that.
Thank you.
Also, how independent local artists
can have direct communication with the department.
I think oftentimes, and I know there are organizations
that time after time, we have great organizations.
I've gotten that from a lot of local artists.
We have a very diverse and very numerous local artists
in our community.
So how can we go, for instance, mural restoration, right?
we have murals sometimes organizations take charge sometimes they've got there's a historic
murals that are in the register but there's really um what is the path to connect them when
there's like individual local artists and other initiatives that that we can really help individual
artists and also continue again the restoration of murals in our world yeah you know chair we love
our individual artists and we certainly want to be supportive of them so much so we have a grant
program that is called Individual Artist Program. And so we set aside funding to be able to support
those artists. This past year, we granted 250 artists.
250 artists um with funding to support their work um you know our individual artists are
the backbone of our city um they're what make us so vibrant um and create and add to the diversity
of our city so we we enjoy supporting them not only through grant making um but we're also looking
to support our individual artists through capacity building um and so we have a cultural resources
arm of the department or individual artists are looking to grow their craft or their business
and venture into entrepreneurship we want them to be able to feel supported and also connected
to tools and resources as well we'll be happy to share that information to you with you through
the chair yeah absolutely we can get through the chair like you know the 250 artists yeah you know
what was the total budget how the allocation of budget happened that would be great through the
chair. And also in terms of learning about DK's events and DK's efforts, you know, sometimes I
find out through the local organization before I even find out from the department how we can be
in better communication so that when there are initiatives from our community or in our community
that we also are being notified or invited, you know, that would be, I'm not sure what is the
best process to do that. Yeah, we'll make sure that we're sending out information regarding our events
we can do that for sure
who will be the person in charge of that
I am
definitely I love to hear more
about this great events
a lot of great opportunities
I do like to
be able to disseminate that information
events with low riders
in Pilsen to numerous
events and I would like to be able to
I mean I get constituents to say look
I wish you invited us and say well I wish I knew
myself first you know so I can distribute
that information yeah we will be happy to do that um and you know i want to just shout out our
marketing team who ensures that like all of our materials are also accessible in various languages
accessible in various languages and so you know for our different communities
that may need you know to know that information and another language other
than English we are able to provide that as well yeah I would love to follow up
and see maybe the calendar or things that are coming we love to give that to
you we love for you to push it out you know we've had great attendance growth
great attendance this year at many of our festivals so you know to the extent
that our alders can help push out the word about the work that we're doing we would love that
partnership and we welcome it thank you commissioner thank you think about it thank you um next we are
going to go to uh alderman beal are you ready with your question yeah and then uh alderman vasquez
good afternoon good afternoon good evening
in the evening i just have one question and i'm done why did we cancel the taste of pullman
Great question. So we have pop-ups across various communities. And the reason why we did that was we were coming out of the pandemic and we were working with many of our alders to do these mini tastes across the city. But once we, you know, have moved past the pandemic, we decided to move back to having taste in July, back to the pre-pandemic model.
We know that folks love the community models, but here's the thing with the Taste footprint in July and Grant Park, we do engage with a lot of our businesses that are in our neighborhoods.
We're super proud that many of the restaurants that represent the 80 that were present, many of which are, you know, diverse communities throughout the city.
But I know that folks really miss having them in the neighborhoods.
And I will tell you, even your staff said that the Taste of Pullman was one of their favorite.
Out of all the other communities.
Out of all the other communities.
And I'm not going to say who said it, but it was a great event, well attended.
People were excited about it.
And I think we need to explore it as an addition to the regular taste, because when you have that kind of excitement and enthusiasm in the community, I think we need to continue to drive that.
And I will tell you, you know, nobody informed me until it was too late that you guys had canceled those community events.
And so it took me by surprise because if I had known during the process that you all were even considering that I would have fought and advocated to keep it.
And so hopefully we can have a discussion to see how we can put that back in place.
and we can, if it's a funding issue, maybe we can find some community partners that are willing to
offset some of the costs in order to keep that going. So Pullman is a great place. The Knife
Ward is a greater place. So we want to make sure that we continue to have those kinds of events in
the community. I will welcome that conversation. Thank you. Thank you, Alderman Beal, Alderman Vasquez.
Thank you very much, Chairwoman. The first three questions will be through the chair. I've been
asking all the departments this so just want to like level set that okay um so uh i think i might
know the answer to you but i'm just gonna ask him anyway yeah so the city's borrowing money that
then we'd get the proceeds and go they go to different departments we don't always get a
breakdown of like where those funds are going in each department so uh to the through the chair
uh how much of the debt load if any for the city can be attributed to d case and if you can share
the list of where those proceeds are going and what the status is that'd be appreciated you mean
bond money yeah okay yep uh the next one kind of similar question and that's related to the work
stream from the eny working group so how many of those recommendations impact d case are we doing
on them if you could outline the associated timeline progress and compare to what was
being recommended what that looks like and then third
what that looks like uh and then third um all the uh can you outline all of the d case intersections
with the erp like all the modernization efforts and then send detailed progress reports of that
okay um all right next i've got it looks like uh delegate agency spending was eliminated entirely
from the department's budget but contracting through the professional and technical services
appropriation is up by a similar amount which is about 4.5 million are those two connected
Is that just a change in how we handle our spending on outside vendors?
And are there specific delegate agency relationships that are ending in 2027?
So you're saying the 0135 looks like it's going.
Let me make sure that I'm looking at what you're looking at, Alderman.
Oh, yeah. And I'm sure on my end, I just got the question.
So I don't have the page and everything.
OK, but apparently it was a four point five million spend that it was like delegate agent spending.
but now it seems to be under a different name of professional,
well, professional and technical services.
So it just seems to be the same amount,
just move from one to another line item.
Is this from the overview book or the recommendations book?
I think it's the recommendations.
And if that one, while you're doing that,
if that one needs to be through the chair, that's also totally fine.
Yeah, so here's what I will say while Manzapity is looking for that.
typically our grants are um allocated through what would be the delegate agency line and so
that's essentially the same the amount of money that we're allocating for grants to our artists
our cultural and um organizations that remains unchanged and remains level so it's just uh it
could just be a pivot to another county yep okay that's kind of yeah i was trying to figure that
out okay um there's a half a million dollar increase in an appropriation for uh it's called
for redemption expenses.
And can you tell us briefly what that is?
Yeah, so redemption is associated with Taste of Chicago.
So as you know, we are the administrator of that program.
And so as we start to go back to our pre-pandemic model,
we're having more sales, which is a great thing.
And so that means that we have to be able to pay
the vendors the amount that we owe them for being on site.
Okay.
And then that last one I got,
which you and I have had conversations before
about we're actually talking to seed out a little bit about is uh designating some spaces as like
formal event spaces where they're not hindered by all the amount of permitting and licensing
that might need to operate i mean i think uh food preparation separate cdph health is different but
as far as like mini markets and stuff that people are setting up and so just wanted to know kind of
how y'all have been looking at it if there's been any progress because like i said we've been talking
of CEDA and kind of figuring it out, but it's been, it's provided its own challenges. So I'm
just curious as your take on it. Well, I'm super excited about it, right? Like one of our four
priorities is activate and it's how we activate public spaces, how to create these opportunities
for people to experience art and their backyards and their own neighborhoods. So I'm looking forward
to having that conversation with you and CEDA around how we progress it. I think I've shared
with you before that like i was super excited it was aligned with the direction that we were
heading um and so looking forward to what we can do in 2027 yeah like on my end i said i'm looking
forward to it as well i think sometimes some departments create their own speed bumps to try
to get to where you're trying to get to so we're going to be working on addressing those with a
certain department so we can get it done but i'm very grateful that you're a willing partner in
trying to accomplish it because i think it just brings the kind of community we all want to see
It allows artists to have a space.
It allows our craftspeople to be able to get out there if they can't afford a brick and mortar.
So, yeah, I'm glad that we've got a champion.
um yeah i'm glad that we've got a champion uh in d case for that so thank you and that's all
the questions i got thank you thank you great um any other questions before
i go and then alderman's chair sposato closes alderman mitts please and then alderman lawson
thank you emina hop north thanks thank you and um keep me busy good afternoon commissioner
let me ask you what is the um 2027 plan for neighborhood festivals uh outside of downtown
so um as you know um one of the core responsibilities of d case is to be able to
permit and support the navigation of ensuring that folks that want to organize and have events
and neighborhoods that that path is clear. So a lot of that work happens under our neighborhood
permitting team. But in addition to that, DK's works in partnership with the Chicago Park District
for their night out in the parks. We're a significant supporter in that work. So many of
the programs that happen over the summer, whether it's film or it's performing arts that are
happening in our park district locations we're partnering with the park district on that work
in addition are you partnering with the department of planning at all so we do um and so thank you
for bringing that up um chairwoman like the popcorn so i'm thinking that that should be
entwined some yeah so we're super excited about the work that has happened um with commissioner
the boat right and the pop courts. And so we actually activated one in your war that we were
super excited about. About a month ago, we had a public art installation by the renowned artist
artist, Hebrew Brantley. And so we were able to partner with a community-based organization
and DPD with activating that park with the ribbon cutting and having programming for young people.
And so we're super excited to think about how we expand that. It's very similar to
what Alderman Vasquez mentioned. It's just like, how do we activate our neighborhoods
so that people can experience art in different forms in their backyard? And so the pop courts
It's offering an amazing opportunity for us to do it.
The infrastructure is-
What was that pop quick, Kenya?
The Hebrew Brantley one,
it's the one that's right on Chicago off of Laramie.
Oh, okay.
Yeah, with the Little Mama.
That's been a couple.
Yeah, it's, yeah.
About two years, a year and a half ago.
Yeah, yeah.
When you said a couple of weeks ago,
I was getting a little nervous now.
Oh, no, we just, we have the artists out.
Oh, okay.
Yeah, yeah.
Do some work there?
Yeah, but we can do more.
that little mama out there yeah we can do more though and i want to do more okay uh housing
department festivals and events made accessible to seniors like seating shade transportation
yeah so you know the cultural center actually i think is a really good model of um how we're
making accessibility to people of all ages so within the cultural center we also have a senior
center we have the senior center called renaissance court um and quite often we'll have programming
within the cultural center where people will come up um you know a couple of months ago we had a um
we showed a purple rain um and all of the seniors came from the first floor and we had a dj playing
like all of the prince music um and so as much as possible we try and make all of our programs
accessible no matter your age or your ability that people have the ability to
experience all of the programs and the offerings that that we have and that's
just one example of many that we do where we want to make sure
that our seasoned citizens
have access?
Well, I certainly want to
appreciate you
for bringing art
into the community.
We do have some art location
where grant funding
was just implemented
on North Avenue
where they got a grant
and doing fantastic work.
So I just think that we need
to see more of that since we have been neglected for so many years we like behind and we need to
play catch up a little bit so i would like to certainly see more artwork being done on all
major uh through fairfares in the in the ward i think it brings a sense of hope
to the neighborhood.
We need to have
that light, something that
help us to realize
tomorrow will bring a better day.
So if you can
continue to help work with us.
But you certainly have been
a jewel. I would
rank your department right
next to Commissioner
Boatwright, if I had to say so.
She has nothing on the work
that you've been doing and your team out
in the community so i would say keep up the great work thank you so much here you're welcome okay
uh we're gonna go to uh alderman washington then to manaha first thank you chair uh good
evening good evening commissioner and team um i know we're gonna meet about uh this but i just
wanted to put a few things because i have a lot of organizations you know the 44th ward is home
to a professional baseball team concert venues and a lot of special events and they all have
different concerns about cost recovery I think the um for all of our events you know obviously
For all of our events, you know, obviously, they are not able to charge.
So their costs are exploding.
They're paying the PPLT, the talent, everything has gone up.
Those of us who throw events know that everything has gone up.
But on the piece, how are we going to estimate attendance if we don't actually have a charging mechanism that people have to follow?
yeah so ultimate lawson thank you so much for that so the cost recovery methodology is evolving
right so i think we're we're now in a place where we have the framework but for me the next step is
to be able to set the table to have conversations with our organizers to ensure before we roll it
out that we're not rolling out something that's a one-size-fits-all um we have to take into account
not only our large-scale event organizers but to your point in your ward there's so many diverse
offerings of events that all of those voices I think need to be heard and we have to make space
and time for us to be able to hear it as we're thinking about like the logistics of how we
operationalize the recommendations and implement them so we will be we will be looking for the
dialogue from organizers as well as from you all on how we roll this out so i'll just say then
because i know we're going to keep talking there's concerns about the fee structure that's based on
attendance and how people are attending some people are just walking down the street walking
to their home do they get counted um the uh fee structure which is different for a 501 c3 versus
c6 um a lot of our c6s just start a c3 in order to do that to do festivals so i i'm not sure if
that i mean there's an easy way around that but um the um the timing has got questions for people
there's often things that will change last minute based on other factors um whether that's
minute based on other factors whether that's emergency road work or talent or whatever it is
so there's questions about that specifically for some of our large venues though and these may be
more for OBM but have we looked at if we're going to this is all going to get passed on to the
consumer everybody knows that it's going into the ticket price of wherever you're going and we have
a new venue at North and Evanston that won't be charging this are we anticipating a loss in
amusement tax revenue um based on slower ticket sales because our prices will be higher so here's
the thing for me you know and we talked about this earlier i think that we have to strike a balance
um we don't want to be in a position where we're losing events again they're so critical to our
our economy as well as to our neighborhoods people enjoy them they look forward to them
i mean it's summertime shy it's like known around the world like everybody knows that like it's one
of the things that set sets our city apart and makes us so unique um and so as we're thinking
about rolling this out alderman i think i think we have to be thoughtful and intentional around
like how we're doing it because we don't want to lose any festivals or events well and like i said
the squeeze is real everyone's costs are going up their income is going down um and they've all had
to make choices even the big ones you know sure um that everyone thinks makes tons and tons of
money and they they often don't uh don't they break even um one of the other questions were
and just for this specifically what costs are we looking at is there a menu right now obviously
we're talking about police um traffic control aids is something we're doing now any others uh that
specifically we'd be looking at here yeah so there are a list of recommended costs that ey has
proposed and we can share that with you through the day on top of those two though i mean streets
and sanitation cleanup um i believe it's streets and sanitation tmas um police um
anything related to public safety oemc fire
safety, OEMC, fire. Okay. A lot of the large festivals also have private security. They have
private ambulances. Is there a cost reduction if they're adding those? Has that been contemplated?
Yeah. So I think that's all the things that we have to consider as we're rolling this out.
And again, would love, I know that we have a time scheduled for next week. Would love to hear all
of the flags that some of your organizers um have raised i've all also reached out to some of the
organizers small and large um to get their feedback so as we're rolling it out like we're
taking into those considerations that that people people are raising right and what is the total
amount budgeted just for my own for next year 13.9 million and what was it for this year
seven million so do we have a report from this year as well that we can look at as far as what
we actually did recover and where we can get that to you through the years did we hit the seven
million um i believe we're at 5.9 that's been billed so far okay okay um that's really it we'll
talk further appreciate it and again i appreciate your leadership the department thank you just
noticed um we're big fans of public art in my neighborhood i know we're working on our sculpture
show and you'd be able to use menu for more public art options citywide um i feel like i get a mural
once a month there's there's such excitement um there's hardly a blank wall anymore even some
walls that aren't blank are getting it yeah no there's there's a real movement um and i see it
in other neighborhoods and the department needs to continue to foster that wherever we can so
thank you very much to you and your team thank you vice chair thank you thank you uh older woman
manah hoppenworth thank you vice chair hi commissioner hi everyone in the box uh we too
are very excited to get more murals and so we're excited to go through that process with dks for
the first time, so I appreciate that partnership. I had, of course, concerns that were brought to me
by, I have three chambers of commerce, and we have already.
and we have already chatted a little bit about this, but is there anything that you can speak
to today about those concerns? We, I know that when you, when you first came on, you talked to
me about how you want every neighborhood to thrive, not just downtown. So can you speak a
little bit about what, what is it that I could be telling our chambers that we're doing together?
Yeah, so we're, we're, and I know that some of your chambers have reached out and they're old
friends and we're scheduling a time to talk with them next week specifically around cost recovery
and so I'm looking forward to that conversation but I'm also looking forward to partnering with
you. You have amazing theaters that are also in your ward so one of the initiatives that
we launched this year recognizing that many of our storefront theaters were still feeling the
impact from COVID was a grant program to be able to offer support around capacity building.
And that program was called Next Stage. And so the grant allowed for some of our storefronts to be
able to receive funding to assess, like, what does this next phase or this next chapter
of operations look like given the current landscape? And so we'll be rolling that out
in the next week or so and announcing the theaters that will be a part of it.
But I think for us, you know, coming out of the pandemic and where we are now, you know,
not only is it important that the work that D-Case does, but more importantly, it's the
work that's happening across the entire ecosystem and how are we ensuring that we're supporting
our cultural organizations around sustainability, which is why our grants program is so incredibly
important.
And so this year, one of the new things that we did with our city arts program, which provides operating costs to cultural organizations, typically the way that it's set up is that organization.
Typically, the way that it's set up is that organizations will receive committed funding for two years, and then we require them to take a year off because we want to be able to get new organizations into the pool.
But this year, we were thinking about, like, those organizations that have to take a year off.
If they're doing new and innovative programs or projects, how can we support them?
And so we came up with a new model as a part of our grants program to be able to support
those type of initiatives.
And so you have a lot of cultural institutions within your ward.
You're blessed that way.
And so we want to make sure that they stay there and that, you know, there continue to
be pillars and hubs in our neighborhoods.
And we want to see that across the entire city.
Absolutely.
Thank you.
Yeah, I think that I heard we have 10% of the Chicago League of Theaters.
memberships yeah including our itinerant theater companies and we want them to continue to work
and to stay i appreciate that um i had two more questions uh one question from my team is a free
event is not necessarily an accessible event for older adults and residents with disabilities in
neighborhoods like ours how does d case account for things like transportation seating accessible
restrooms daytime scheduling sensory needs and do you have budget towards that end we actually do
and i appreciate you um bringing up that question so um a couple of things just around transportation
i think there's an opportunity for us to explore it with our seasoned citizens um but this year we
partnered with um a philanthropic organization um to provide transportation for cps schools
to be able, or students to be able to participate in various forms of arts. And so we have,
we launched this year, a new fund called the Cultural Connections Fund, which again gives us
Connections Fund, which again gives us the ability to partner with different CPS schools
across the city to be able to provide transportation. What we were finding was many of our cultural
organizations, whether it's theaters or other institutions or museums, they were willing to
provide free, no-cost access to young people, but they didn't necessarily have the budget to be able
to transport the students to, to their venue. Um, and because of the generosity of, uh, found a
local foundation, we now have the funding to be able to do that. But I think to your point,
there's an opportunity for us to think about how we expand it to other populations. Um, and then
the other question regarding, um, what D case does, we have an amazing, um, director of visitor
experience who also acts as our accessibility officer and they are absolutely amazing um and
and and very committed to making sure that all of our events are accessible and so we can share just
some of the efforts that we've done and are doing that are part of the programs and the offerings
that um dk's does for example at the cultural center we change all of our signage now right
Right. Like at our events, we make sure that it's accessible no matter what people's abilities are.
But we can share in a little bit more detail separately around some of the work that that our team is doing.
And I'm happy that your staff asked that question, because as much as we can push out, the better, because maybe people feel like they can't attend our events.
But like if we let them know that like these opportunities are available, they'll they'll have the opportunity to enjoy our events.
thank you commissioner i have uh one comment uh two more comments my friend george blakemore
reminds me that the daily center he is
daily center he is asleep sleeping
he's just resting his eyes he's resting his eyes he he reminds me that our public parks
and public spaces should be free and accessible to all and so it is he is reminded of that as
we are setting up chris kringle market right now and so that was just a comment that that wasn't
the intent in his opinion about how that public plaza was supposed to be used to charge folks
to come in to use that space so he's just pleased with that i'm putting that forward to you
and something to consider in the future and then the other comment i want to make is i am a
a lifelong artist and i wanted to shout out to my friends in the box deputy commissioner
programming frame lewis and we went to the chicago academy for the arts high school together
and uh played in a band at one time too the arts is very important to me and i know it's
important to chicago so please you have a very big job ahead of you and we would like to be
partners towards that end so thank you commissioner for your work and thank you to your team thank
Thank you. No? Okay. Yes. Oh, Chair Villegas. Thank you. Commissioner, good to see you.
Your department, what role does it play as it relates to the Taste of Chicago? Is it just
like to organize it or also like kind of monitor what's actually transpiring there on a daily
basis? So we are the organizer of Taste of Chicago. Okay. And the reason why I ask is because
was the report from WBZ around some of that.
I was curious as to whether or not,
do you see a potential revenue opportunity there
opportunity there where we could provide some refrigerate refrigeration opportunities and
rent it out to the vendors that are there to create some revenue perhaps yeah so i mean tates
is a revenue generating um event um but we're willing to have conversations with you alder um
or those that are interested in figuring out like how do we leverage that as an asset for
additional revenue opportunities okay cool thank you thank you okay i think i get to ask mine um
next before we let uh chairman close it out um i don't think he's leaving nick you good you want
to go next or you want to go last i i have some questions but i'm happy for you okay okay great
thank you um and we'll just pull all of our microphones a little bit closer so some of
these are probably going to be through the chair um i look first and foremost i want to thank you
for you and your team um summertime shy is uh festival season is what chicago is all about
um in my opinion for the summertime and i think so many people come to chicago looking for that
experience um and i know everything's getting more expensive and we're we're all looking for ways to
to cover costs um i'm just ever mindful of you know if it if it really does ultimately cost too
much for um an organization an event production company to you know the juice has got to be worth
the squeeze um and for them you know it really is like how profitable is this event um and like if
only if i'm only going to be making a small amount of money why am i going to go jump through all
these hoops then the other side of that is how how much economic activity is it generating for
the city of chicago so i would hate to see us you know um be penny wise and pound foolish um about
our pursuit for cost recovery much as i know that we need it i think we have to make sure
we're looking at this holistically so through the chair if your department can provide a list of
what have we spent um versus what have we recovered so if we kind of look at you know
how much you know police over time was paid and cdot and whoever else um
um and then the the other side of that equation is um what have those events generated an economic
activity and I don't know that we have a general or standard rubric around this because I was
listening to Alderman Sigcho Lopez earlier and I really um you know agree with his thinking on
it would be really helpful if we had some sort of standard to evaluate um events so motoblot came
to the 11th ward last year for the first time we're really happy to have motoblot um you know
it rained on the last day so i know it wasn't like a profitable event for them but they want to come
back um and we love that because we want more people coming into the neighborhood um we don't
have a really good way to sort of you know gather that feedback you know we've done a we've done a
community survey mostly just to understand what the impact on the community was if there was you
know ways to improve communication transportation the speakers were really really loud and bringing
that down but um beyond that how do we like it'd be great if what came out of the city and your
department uh were questions that we can send out to local businesses to say hey in preparation of
you know this street festival we'd like to understand you know are you seeing more foot
traffic as a result because that i think begins to really show the roi for for having events like
this and then there are things that are like less tangible in terms of just you know the ability to
have neighbors come outside of their homes and gather in a place because I think still we're
still we're still coming out of COVID right um people are still you know we know what it is to
knock on doors and people aren't answering those so we need to give people a reason to come out
aren't answering those so we need to give people a reason to come out and gather together um as
we're thinking about all of the cost recovery stuff i i have socks park in the ward so um i
know that the amusement tax generates funds as well um and oftentimes you know when we we had a
great season this year so you know knock on wood we're going to have an even better one next year
but we're always short TMAs right and the White Sox on their own and I'm sure that the Cubs do
this as well they're hiring their own people and they're still paying on top of that and they're
paying the amusement tax already so you know the that I think as in the landscape of all of the
conversations that the city is having around stadiums too I think that that can't be lost in
the conversation like what what's the tipping point for people because it's never just like
the one thing that, you know, as soon as you do that, I'm out of here. It's really the culmination
of death by a thousand cuts that I think we put upon businesses in the city of Chicago when what
we need is more growth. And I think that you want more, but we really need to take a look at what
we're doing there. I know that the city runs 370 events a year that are north of 1,500 people. And
I think someone asked this earlier, how do we count how many people are? And I think mostly
we're trusting people like when they fill out the application and i know as someone who's
filled filled out applications not while i was in office um you know if you're if you're a
non-profit and you're not really not sure how many people you're gonna have you're probably
gonna lowball the number um so you know i i think we also have to begin to think about how we really
gather the data on this um do you know what we charge can you tell us what we charge for
the larger events like what what city services are we charging for today so
currently I believe we're charging and Yesenia correct me if I'm wrong
charging and yesenia correct me if i'm wrong um tmas and that's it right that's it tmas that's it
and how many tmas per whatever are we how are we doing that like what's the how how are how is it
being assessed by an event we can get that to you through the i'm sorry around really hard
completing my sentences yeah what the method what the methodology is and how we're determining how
many is needed we can get that to you through the chair no that'd be great um yeah i you know i just
i want to be mindful of all of that i know we're we're in really tough position um but i'm also
reminded of all the jobs that all of these events provide uh for for the city um through
many different unions um as well as uh you know all of the all the work that's just getting done
um across the city whether that's restaurant owners restaurant workers um so just more food
for thought on that um and i just want to i want to correct just um i don't want to be incorrect
on the record but currently we're able to charge not only for tmas but also for police and fire
costs as well and so what we'll do is we'll work with those respective departments to come up with
what their methodology is around how they're determining the staffing and share that with
you through the chair yeah and i would love to work with you in your department whoever if there's
like a working group around this just creating some um evaluation type i love that because i
think we get the lead up to an event is really intense you have the event and then you come down
off of it and then you move down to the next thing and you haven't had a chance to do like
a real debrief about what worked and what didn't and how you fix what didn't work very well um okay
a couple of things just locally for my own ward um i don't know if d case does any
grant making around just spaces for seniors so my seniors
spaces for seniors so my seniors especially my my chinese seniors in the community they're
constantly asking me for space together to either dance or sing together and i don't have enough
spaces um in the ward to do that um park space is really hard to come by because park space is all
programmed out for the most part um but you know i i've got so many seniors in my community who
love to sing and dance and I wish like we could like do like some citywide like senior prom or
something um so that's uh that's an ask for my community um something that we did in the 11th
ward and that was really constituent led was a ward-wide yard sale um it was really great and
it was really intense and I think we probably could do that a little bit differently and better
but um you know if there's ever a conversation to be had about you know the sort of progressive
of yard sale vintage sort of thing where you know a different community area is featured you know on
one weekend and then we go to another one that might be something that brings people together
as well um i'd also say that you know chinatown square is a really popular place for young people
together um it is a safe place um there's space there for other cultural activities uh and you
know there's plenty to eat and do uh in the area and i think that we have other places like that
like hyde park and others where uh we can do more to create those third spaces i'm gonna love the
idea of the cultural center i mean when i was a teenager way back when um and the library was at
the cultural center you know i spent a lot of time there um but it's it's great because it got us
downtown you know if you weren't from you know if you didn't go to high school nearby um and you
didn't really have a reason to be downtown you just didn't do it um i know these days are very
different but um keep up the good work with with doing that um we really appreciate it
it. I want to give a shout out to Yesenia, who I've never met in person before. I've only talked
to you on the phone. It's great to put a face with the name. And of course, Neil, Neil, who we love
so much in the 11th ward. He literally volunteers for everything. He really does. When does he find
the time? I don't know, because he's always doing work. He's always working. But thank you. And
then I'll hand it over to the chair of the happy committee to close us out. Yes, I'm positive. I'm
right thank you madam chair thank you commissioner and staff thanks for being here today
i really didn't have many questions i just want to i like piggybacking off what some people say and i
know one of my colleagues started early on about sometimes is there is there really value and with
some of these events cost us and i think there's an unknown true value so i mean you try to cancel
a bud billican or a saint patrick's day parade i i would think the people in those neighborhoods
to be furious about it and rightfully so so um sometimes it takes money to make money so just
like you said you're you're worried about saving a few dollars here but you're really losing so
sometimes we got to give the people something for their taxes and so on and so forth and
like i say if you were to interview businesses up and down these streets with somebody's a
fester we're probably going to say that's like a super big day for them so i'm i'm opposed to uh
uh canceling any of those type of events those events that we're known for so but yeah that
was about it i just didn't have much to say so i just great job with everybody thanks for uh
studying the ship this past year and and bringing us back to normality and everybody's happy over
here the happy committee is happy again so um we don't we'll never know how much money really d
case makes for us because there's no way of telling i mean it's not money that we're getting
in our pockets but by that by helping our businesses sometimes once again we have to
help our businesses make money and fests and and parades and and carnivals or whatever heck we do
it certainly makes money for people so just want to thank you for all you do you're on your staff
and uh we'll see you next year well i mean i talk to you more often than that but yeah
well i mean i talk to you more often than that but yes thank you madam chair thank you chair
thank you chair and since there are no other questions going once going twice sold we are
done with this one thank you very much commissioner uh the committee's going to stand at ease uh for
until uh we'll call it 555 while the next and final hearing for the evening comes in that will be bacp
Thanks.
That was good, Julie.
Thank you for the love.
All right. We're going to start four minutes earlier than I said, because this is the last
one of the night. Thank you, everybody, for going the distance with us. We are with Business
Affairs and Consumer Protections. We're going to start with the COFA overview. Adrian, over to you.
adrian over to you thank you good evening vice chair lee and members of the city council
my name is adrian russell they them and i am a data analyst with the council office of financial
analysis and i'm here to give a brief overview of the department of business affairs and consumer
protection for 2027. the proposed budget is 37.13 million dollars which is a small increase from
2026 of about 0.35 million dollars or about one percent increase the department of business
affairs and consumer protection is 62 percent corporate funded most of this goes to personnel
cost at 21 million dollars the rest being non-personnel costs at 16 million dollars
personnel costs increased by about 3.6 percent over the prior year and non-personnel costs
decreased about 2.38 percent over the prior year there are 197 full-time equivalents budgeted for
2027 which is 11 less than last year as of october 21st of this year the vacancy rate was 11.11
this slide shows the appropriations by category and fund the largest dollar change for appropriation
category was in purposes as specified with an increase of 2.7 million dollars for funding the
largest funding source is the corporate fund which had an increase of about a quarter three quarters
of a million dollars and another notable change in this fund is that the wheelchair accessible
vehicle fund increased by about three million dollars this slide shows the appropriations by
fund over time starting in 2018 we can see the arpa funds and other grant funding increased in
the middle about 2022 through 2025 and has been decreasing since we can see in 2027 there's no
longer any arpa funding and other grant funding has also decreased leaving the rest of the funding
to be towards local and other corporate bonds.
other corporate bonds and lastly here is the full-time equivalence over time starting in 2018
it stays around about the same amount varying just slightly between years and we're down like
i said earlier 11 from the prior year this concludes kofa's brief overview of the department
of business affairs and consumer protection thanks adrian um we're gonna go now to acting
commissioner tiffany brooks for her opening statement and introducing the staff that's with
her in the box. Thank you. Good evening, Vice Chair Lee and the esteemed members of the Chicago
City Council. My name is Tiffany Brooks. I'm the Acting Commissioner for the Chicago Department
of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, also known as BACP. I'd like to thank our Mayor,
Brandon Johnson, for his leadership and continued support throughout the budget process.
And to each of you, members of the City Council, we thank you. Thank you for your continued
partnership, collaboration, and work and commitment towards a stronger Chicago.
To highlight the department's achievements over the past year and to outline our vision for a fair
and thriving economic environment, I will now introduce members of the BACP team. I am joined
at the dais by Shannon Trotter, the local liquor control commissioner, and Chris Jessup, assistant
commissioner for intergovernmental affairs. In the box we have Miguel Campos, our director for the
Office of Labor Standards. Lotika Pai, Managing Deputy Commissioner and Chief Small Business
Officer. Dennis Guillermo, Deputy Commissioner for Business Compliance Enforcement. Rupal Boppett,
Deputy Commissioner for Public Vehicle Licensing. A.J. Lee, Deputy Commissioner for Small Business
Center and Licensing. Gerald Dawson, Deputy Commissioner for Prosecutions and Adjudications.
Larissa Kaye, our Assistant Commissioner for BAC Finance and Administration, Elisa
Sudzinska, Deputy Commissioner for Communications and Outreach, and Maurice Phillips, Recovery
Team Program Director. BACP remains committed to delivering high-quality programs and services
across all 77 communities. Our core responsibilities are essential to the health of Chicago's economy,
from licensing and supporting businesses, regulating the public passenger vehicle industry,
ensuring business compliance, and protecting the rights of workers and consumers.
Together, these functions provide the foundation for a prosperous city.
Through our strategic planning and responsible fiscal management, we have identified meaningful efficiencies while continuing to advance our core priorities.
The Department's proposed budget allows BACP to maintain the essential programs and services that Chicago's businesses, workers, and consumers rely on every day.
Small businesses are vital to the city.
They create jobs, serve residents and visitors, and contribute to vibrant neighborhoods.
Recognizing this, BACP remains focused on ensuring that small businesses have access to resources and support needed to succeed.
City initiatives like Cut the Tape for Small Business, which is designed to serve as both a strategic framework and a long-term resource for the small business ecosystem, have led BACP to issuing nearly 5,600 new licenses this year.
BACP continues to expand programs and services that directly benefit the public.
This year, BACP released the first ever Chicago Small Business Ecosystem Report.
This report, which was delivered to each of your City Hall mailboxes, brings together insights and challenges from over 6,600 business consultations, eight regional roundtables, and 65 neighborhood development center partners.
The MBDC program exists to help reduce those barriers.
The MBDCs have provided more than 11,500 business consultation hours.
11,500 business consultation hours and over 1.9 million outreach touchpoints of no-cost
one-on-one coaching, technical assistance, business education, and connections to city
resources. By embedding support at the local level, the program helps businesses and advances
inclusive economic growth across Chicago. Additionally, through our business education
webinars and expos, we continue to educate and empower current and future business owners.
Since January of this year, BACP has hosted over 90 webinars, including those in Spanish,
while reaching over 13,500 attendees. BACP hosted three Chicago Business Resource Expos
that reached over 1,800 attendees. And notably, we hosted our third Chicago Youth Biz Expo,
engaging over 250 students in partnership with Chicago Public Schools.
Our commitment to supporting business owners is equally reflected in our dedication to protecting workers' rights.
Through engagement and enforcement of labor laws, the Office of Labor Standards, also known as OLS,
enables Chicagoans to secure stable employment, build wealth, and tackle economic disparities.
To ensure all Chicagoans are informed about labor laws, OLS outreach materials are available in 12 languages.
This year, OLS updated its mandated public notice to include more information on gender-based violence and introduced three new specific guides, three new group-specific guides.
From January to August 2026, OLS saw a 25% increase in complaints from 2025 and has secured
over $160,000 in restitution and over 1,400 hours of paid time off for nearly 700 workers.
Community safety, such as protecting residents from fraudulent business practices, is also
residents from fraudulent business practices is also a BACP priority. While most businesses
strive to comply, we are diligent in taking enforcement actions when necessary. Since January
2026, BACP has issued over 9,000 citations to more than 3,000 businesses and public vehicle
operators, including over 1,000 for unlicensed operations. Additionally, BACP conducted over
3,900 proactive investigations, providing non-disciplinary consultations to help businesses
maintain compliance. BACP continues to strengthen its outreach efforts by launching campaigns,
programs, and partnerships with city departments, business service organizations, and stakeholders.
We launched the second phase of the Art is Labor initiative, which provides educational and
resource sharing programs developed with and for Chicago creative workers the neighborhood market
grant program designed to support small business owners and farmers market operators by providing
one-time grants and the neighborhood retail activation program to assist businesses
impacted by the 2023 and 2024 summer storms by bringing new vitality to vacant storefronts
With your support, we will continue to protect investments and maintain programs and services for Chicago's businesses, workers, and consumers.
I want to thank you again to the City Council of Chicago for your time and ongoing partnership.
My team and I are happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you very much, Acting Commissioner Brooks.
We're going to have the chair of the License Committee open.
So, Chair Silverstein, please go ahead.
Thank you, Vice Chair. I know you are brand new to this position, aren't you?
Yes, I am.
So looking forward to a good working relationship with you going forward.
Absolutely.
I do have a couple of questions that I know you're new, but I'm going to have to ask anyway.
And I'm going to start with some video gaming questions.
As we all know, that the council legalized video gaming terminals in last year's budget.
and that was supposed to collect 6.8 million dollars the administration then waited months
to notify the state until the council passed a resolution compelling the city clerk to do it
and then the state approved a few of them in june and then you guys came back to the wrong committee
i'm going to say and ask to ban video gaming so now it seems like some vgt applications
have been approved i'm just wondering how many vgt applications have been received so far
and how many have actually been approved and thank you for that question chair silverstein
i'm going to allow our local liquor control commissioner for over hospitality to answer
the question thank you shannon trotter local liquor control commissioner thank you for the
questions alderman um to date we have received um 60 location applications and 15 terminal
operator locations or terminal operator applications um we have issued 15 location
application location licenses and five terminal operator licenses okay um
do you know how long the approval process will take for the rest of them um we have taken
We have taken payments on an additional 31, or a total of 31 locations, so those are all ready, going to be ripe for issuance within approximately 35 days, sometime between now and 35 days.
You said how many of those?
There's been a total of 31 that we have taken payments on, so payment is what triggers the notice to both the alderman and the police department.
okay um are you able to provide a ward by ward breakdown of the applications and approvals um
yes we can get that to you okay um are the alderman contacted about the locations yeah in each ward
yes and you are notified via your ward email address similar to liquor and ppa okay um can
you tell me how many unlicensed sweepstakes machines you estimate in the city of chicago
i don't have that number alderman i know we've asked that question many many many many times
i'm sure you all probably expected that to be asked you have no clue no estimate no nothing
i i don't i know that when we we find them um and we suspect that they are being utilized for
illegal gambling then we do refer them to the chicago police department i don't know that we
have an accurate account accounting of the number of machines in the city of chicago
do we know how many bacp inspections have been conducted
on the sweepstakes machines we can get that to you through the chair okay um also how many
violations have been identified and what enforcement actions have been taken if you
could get that to me related to vgt or related to sweepstakes yes we can get that through the chair
um and can you commit to providing the city council a comprehensive written report
the city council a comprehensive written report detailing all vgt applications approvals pending
cases geographic distribution and enforcement activity yeah yes i mean you the aldermen are
notified when the applications come to their ward and then they are available on the public data
portal but we can certainly provide the applications and the licenses that are issued
um and then moving forward again there's only 15 locations that have been licensed so there hasn't
been any enforcement to date but going forward on the enforcement as it relates to vgts yes okay
um i wanted to ask you about um your enforcement team and the number of investigators that you have
Thank you for that Chair Silverstein. Dennis Guillermo is our Deputy for Enforcement and he can explain to you a breakdown of the enforcement team and how it's divided.
Thank you. Dennis Guillermo, Deputy Commissioner for Enforcement. I have a total of 41 investigators, 19 on the night and weekend and 22 on the day team.
okay um could you tell me how many how um how much did the department collect and
finds from businesses in 2026. I'm sorry can you repeat the question yes how much did the
department collect and finds from businesses in 2026. yes we can definitely get that through to
you through the chair uh chair silverstein okay if you can include that breakdown by ward that
would be helpful as well sure thank you um do you know how many active business licenses they
How many active business licenses does the Chicago have at the end?
Could you tell us of 2023, 24, and 25, how many there are?
How many active licenses there are?
You just want the total active licenses, or you want it broken down by type?
I just want to know how many you have.
Do you think you're going to have more businesses opening than closing?
Yes.
and okay um and if you want that answer aj how many active licenses aj lee deputy commissioner
for business licensing uh 2023 50,938 2024 50,486 2025 51,285 and i can give you end of the third
quarter of 2026 uh 52 388 but we can still get get it to you through the chair and the breakdown
for each yeah please thank you okay um that's really all i have for now um i did just want to
say that um you know we work really closely with bacp so um i appreciate all of you getting back
to us when we have questions i'm not going to shout out anyone in particular with the exception
of chris jessup who i have on speed dial um and um it's always a pleasure working with you chris
so that's all i have for right now and look forward to working with you a little bit more
closely thank you thank you thank you thank you uh chair silverstein we're going to go to alderman
beal followed by alderman mitts if she's got any questions good evening evening acting commissioner
first i got a couple uh quick questions um that's always been a big concern of mine
gas stations um i rewrote the ordinance um i can't remember how many years ago
I can't remember how many years ago, but you inspect gas stations, correct?
That is correct.
Okay.
Part of the ordinance that I changed was that most of these gas stations don't keep paper
in their machines, and they also cut their machines off at a certain time to force you
to go into the facility.
i think it's like a thousand dollar fine per machine for not having receipt paper
in the machines there's no reason why these gas stations should not have receipt paper
in the machines they want to force you to go into the store and that's why they have all
the little penny candy and nickel candy around the register to try to get you to buy extra stuff
well you know what most people don't want to buy extra stuff they want their receipt so they can go
about their way. So can you tell me how many inspections we've done and how many fines we've
inquired regarding receipt paper in the city of Chicago? I cannot provide it to you right this
moment, but we can get it to you through the chair, specifically receipt paper. Yeah. Yes.
And I forgot what else was in the ordinance, but it was receipt paper and something else.
But that should be done, you know, on a regular basis because that's a big revenue generator that
you guys could use um because they it's being done on purpose as well as turning the machines
off the credit card reader they you know because they have the ability to turn that off and on
at the inside the facility and so those are the two things that they do on a regular basis
especially in our community okay okay you can go outside our community and they always have paper
and the machine's always working okay so if you can get that information to me i'd appreciate it
as well. Absolutely. I know that our compliance enforcement team did, after last year's budget,
did a sweep of canvassing for gas stations. So we've been making it a priority to go out
and visit these gas stations to bring them into compliance. So we will continue.
gas stations to bring them into compliance so we will continue those efforts okay all right i'm i'm
and also i'm really really trying to work close with your department um but we all know um you
know there's been some hurdles with your department and um you know that your predecessor ivan the
horrible um would not uh issue vgt licenses so can you tell me and it's probably under your
preview when did you issue the first license uh shannon trotter local liquor control commissioner
we issued the first licenses the the group of 15 location and five terminal operators on october
23rd october 23rd just before your hearing okay so um i understand that uh you guys were
you know didn't want to issue licenses um but at the same time it's still disheartening to
hear that with all
the testimony we've had,
with all the information that has been
put before us, that you all don't know how
many illegal sweepstakes machines we have
in the city of Chicago. I'm sorry,
what's your question, Alderman? Why is it that
we don't know how many illegal sweepstakes
machines we have in the city of Chicago?
Well, Alderman, and thank you for the question,
we will
make it a priority to find out how many
sweepstakes machines? It's 7,000.
Okay. And that's why it's
disheartening that
is your department. You all know that. And to sit here and say that I got to get that information
through the chair. The industry has told us in the paper, they've told us in committee that they
have 7,000 illegal sweepstakes machines here in the city of Chicago. And we're not shutting them
down. We're not going after them. That's a revenue generator. So why are we not going after sweepstakes
machines well alderman i know and thank you for the question i know that um
know that as far as sweepstakes are concerned and VGTs, that there is a difference. But when it
comes to defining and differing between sweepstakes and VGTs, the state first has to regulate and make
sure that they send that message clear across to differentiate, to define what's illegal. And then
our Department of Law has to tell us what is illegal before we can go out and do it as mandated
in the code. How many sweepstakes machines do you have licensed in the city of Chicago?
Shannon, do you?
So sweepstakes machines are not licensed.
I know you know the answer.
Every question that I ask, I know the answer.
Yeah, I think, listen, when we go to a business for whatever reason and we note that they're machines, the machines are not illegal unless they're used for illegal gambling.
And so if there is a suspicion of illegal gambling or we receive any complaints about illegal gambling using any type of machine, we do refer it to the CBD Bureau of Ice Control who can go in and do undercover.
But if there's 7,000 machines that are not licensed, but yet we are waiting 10, 12 months to license VGTs, why are we not aggressively going after sweepstakes machines?
Because if the VGTs are licensed, that means the other ones are not licensed.
That means they're illegal.
Well, they're illegal if they're used for illegal gambling.
And we know that most of them are.
We refer those cases to vice control to establish that there is illegal gambling.
And in those cases, we do move forward with license discipline.
Okay.
I, you know, I'm really just tired of beating my head up against the wall about VGTs.
And I know you guys are getting your marching orders.
And I know that you're being told what to do.
I get that.
I get that.
I get that. I know that.
So, you know, hopefully that you guys are trying to do the right thing
by the law that we pass in this body versus the political agenda
that is being driven by the administration.
Okay?
That's a very fine line that we need to walk.
And, you know, hopefully with the revenue that we need here in the city of Chicago
that you guys aggressively get these VGT machines out the door
because we need the revenue we're not getting no revenue from sweepstakes none okay yes and so
so let me ask another question why is it taking 35 days to issue a license so um alderman when
once the applicant pays then we have to do the review period it's not that it it's just the
time and what's the review what are we reviewing so a couple things i think we should clarify
is that the only people that are eligible to apply for city licenses are those that have
already passed through the igb and that is a total of 78 licensees my question was what what is the
review process once you get the information from the illinois gaming board understood so but i think
you you had it had a question about the the timing the overall timing about why it takes so long so
those 78 eligible people have come in in waves um so when we developed the application in accordance
with the ordinance that was passed by this body uh it was it required building out the application
the application requirements are um those set forth in the in the ordinance it's it's basically
for the locations. It requires the floor plan designating where the machines will go. It requires
designating where the machines will go it requires the use agreement it requires your
doesn't the state provide all that i don't think they require the floor plan i'm not 100 sure but
we follow the we follow the requirements as the state provides all the information that is needed
to have everything approved and the state comes out and does an inspection before they issue
the license from the state so why are we reviewing the reviewer because the ordinance that this body
passed requires it well the ordinance that we passed in january february i mean i'm sorry
december going into january and it took you all 10 months to figure out that we needed a
to review the reviewer to start getting licenses out the door we have to do our due diligence
despite what the igb is doing and again we use the blueprint that this council passed
to build out the license application including the mandatory documents so it takes 10 months
It takes 10 months to do that.
It doesn't take 10 months.
Well, the first license has got approved in, you say, in October.
But, again, I think that's why it's important to talk about the timeline.
So the timeline is that no one passed out of the IGB until mid-June.
So no one was even eligible to come to the city.
But that's because it took you all months to even notify the state.
We had to notify the state because you all wouldn't do your job.
there there were a total of six locations that passed out in june that were eligible to apply
and those six locations have now been licensed did you did your department notify the state
yes when uh the the 23rd or was it was it the ordinance that we passed or was it the budget
that passed which which uh ordinance triggered you all notifying the state because i thought
the clerk and myself walked over to it on a gaming board a different question i thought you were
asking did we notify the state that we had issued city licenses no i was saying my question was when
did you when did this body with did your department
When did this body, did your department notify the state that we passed the ordinance to issue gaming licenses or that we were accepting them?
I'm not aware that we notified that.
I can tell you, you all didn't because we had to pass the ordinance here to force the clerk because you and your department would refuse to do what this body charged you all to do.
And so, you know, my whole concern is this. When this body issues a budget and passes a management ordinance, that's binding by law for you all to carry it out.
And when somebody tells you all not to do something because of political reasons, you guys are walking a real fine line.
when we pass something
it's your wall's obligation
to carry it out
and I know it was
you were probably in some of the meetings
but I know Ivan the Horrible was
there in the beginning
so all I'm saying is moving forward
I think you all better use better
judgment than
the pass and I know you were in those meetings
too but you guys need to understand
when this body pass something
you need to carry it out
that's all i have madam chairman thank you thank you um alderman beal sure point of information
yeah alderman silverseen um of the applications for vgts that you um have received have you
denied any of them no okay thank you okay we're gonna go over to chair mitts next followed by
uh alderman sposato if you have any questions thank you um chairman good afternoon i know it's
a little late but um i'm certainly glad ottoman bill asked about those uh receipts out of the
uh receipts out of the the pump the gas pump and it's been some some years ago that that issue was
brought up have anyone ever met is that have that issue been brought to you before about
um not being able to get the receipts from the gas pumps gas station when people get gas
Thank you for the question, Chair. Since I've been back, I haven't been aware of it.
No, I think you need to pass it on to some of the others that have been there for a minute.
Let me ask Dennis. Dennis, can you please?
Dennis Guillermo, Deputy Commissioner of Enforcement.
Yes, we have received those complaints and we do respond when received.
So did you ever meet with the industry to bring that issue up with them?
I have not met.
Well, there's a petroleum industry here that regulates all of the stations, so I would think that somebody would address that.
But while we're at it, I want to bring you another issue.
Why in the world that people can't go to a bathroom?
Tell me that at a gas station.
Tell me why.
if anybody thought about that you do need to use the bathroom so I don't know
where in the city of Chicago not on the west side where we go to bathroom it oh
oh y'all can go to bathroom in your area Dennis do you get complaints about the
restrooms being in an operable or not existing at the gas station yeah offhand
I can't recall specifically for for restroom requirements yeah chair I'm
sorry thank you for that question I do believe that if we were to get those specific complaints
we were to get those uh specific complaints we would refer it to public health as the business
department okay yeah we we could i'm giving it now i'm giving it now check every gas station
yes ma'am so we will and see if you can get in to go to the bathroom now i get i understand
reason why some of them because people misuse them but they have keys you can go to suburb
get a key and go to the bathroom never seen folks being denied the access to
the bathroom so we just got to do a better job and human needs okay as we
move forward I want to ask about an issue that I think that's important to
business and that is on state streets in the city of Chicago
you can't do a curve cut on which part of state street are you talking about the loop the states
the state funded state roads then oh on the state funded roads okay yes yes you can't
why if i can go if i can go right to old park and they got curve cuts right away what's the
different between the city on state street well chair I thank you for that and I will refer the
question and ask CDOT about these curb cuts and I will make sure to get back with you offline or
get you the information through the chair okay I'll find out okay I want another question I need
to ask and that is about property line. Property line to business. How do you
measure a property line when it comes to whether a business is denied or
engaged in getting a license? Where do you measure from?
where do you measure from? Say, for instance, you got a school somewhere on the end of a block
away from a school because the school fence, but there's a convenience store. How do you measure
that? So are you speaking about tobacco licenses? Because every license doesn't require the
measurement. Every single one doesn't. It's just a couple that require that. So if you're talking
about property line to property line. Dennis, can you, because our enforcement team, when
it, when the inspections are triggered, the enforcement team goes out and they make the
measurements. So can you expound on that? What do you measure from? Yeah. Dennis Guillermo,
deputy commissioner, enforcement. So we measure property line to popular line and it's a hundred
feet for tobacco and 500 for, if they want to sell flavored tobacco. 100 feet for tobacco.
and 500
500 feet for a flavored
tobacco
is that accurate across the board
that's what you do
for all business
or
yes from property line to property line
I want to be
able to talk with you about
that because I think that
we're losing revenue somewhere
here and it's not being measured
in a manner that it should be
if they were cheating
out business to keep them out
or whatever it looked like
it's not fair
we'd be happy to meet with you
we'd be happy to meet with you
we'd be happy to come to your ward
and show you how we measure
I'm sure, I'm sure, thank you so much
I'm looking forward to it
but for the most part I have no problem
with the ACP
because I do know how to reach out to
Shannon
and Chris and all of the team that are there to get answers that I need, but some things that
get answers that I need but some things that you need to know that we need to do
a better job particularly as I've spoke with you about investigators being out
at times where office the clothes and business weekend people doing things
because they know they don't want out no one's out there checking and that's a
violations occurring so I do appreciate putting six more employees on as
investigators hoping that it helped but this is a big city so maybe we need to
look at how we can get revenue from wrongdoing because if you don't stop it
it continues thank you very much madam chair thank you point of information
I'll bring good tears. Thank you, Chairwoman. I have two questions in regarding that. Those
measurements are for new businesses, correct? Are you speaking of tobacco licenses? Tobacco and
alcohol? Yes, when they apply an application, it triggers it. So that means, and for our people
who are watching us, it's late. So if there's a business that it's already close to a school,
to a church, but it's been there for years, there's no regulation that we can pursue or
enforcement with that measurement. Shannon, is that for alcohol or liquor? That is true. And
there's a distinction with public place of amusement and alcohol where there is the ability
to get the distance reduction, even if you are within that 100 feet threshold. But then if you
ask for the reduction, could that license could be rejected or expired or what's the process for
that the the distance reduction runs with the term of the license okay got it because yeah
there's we all have issues around schools and churches that we need to continue to address
and i think it's important that we continue these conversations and also um
Um, do you want to just save it for your, your questions, unless it's a point?
want to just save it for your your questions unless it's a point of clarification okay go
ahead yeah thank you you're good okay um next we're going to go to alderman viegas followed
by alderman lopez thank you uh madam chair commissioner how you doing good good evening
did someone testify that cpd has to um look at the location for vgt prior to
the license being issued someone testified to that thank you chair for
that that question I believe what the liquor commissioner testified was that
when we do the review of the applications notice is sent both to the
automatic office as well as to the local district commander's office and so CPD
does a review why does why does CPD review thank you for the question
alderman shannon trotter local liquor control commissioner um when we were looking at this
licenses and you know i'm sure you're familiar with a lot of the headlines there was a recent
sun times article in june when we were developing the license application um about the number of
robberies that are associated with vgts and so we did find it important to one notify the commanders
that they are going into their districts um so that they if they want to reach out to those
businesses to review any security plans that are required um by both by the igb uh that they can do
that but also to just do our due diligence um to look to try to reduce some of those uh robberies
that are widely reported it was reported in june that there were over 500 robberies associated
with vgt machines so are you doing the same thing with atm machines i mean isn't there a large
group of, isn't there a lot of robberies around ATM machines? Are you requiring CPD to do any type
of review prior to installation of an ATM machine? I don't.
an ATM machine? I don't believe we licensed the installation of ATM machines. I'm just bringing
that up because under the ordinance there isn't doesn't mention anything about CPD and you stated
earlier that you're just following the ordinance. I was just curious as to was that done through
promulgation of rules or how did that come to be? No the policy reason is as stated but the
the ordinance certainly does give us the ability to seek any additional information to make a
determination on the application that is contained in the ordinance so I would categorize the notice
to CPD and you know certainly the they are aware of where the liquor licenses are and this is just
an added layer. No I know but when you're notifying them is there another step that takes
place could CPD say something like what is it you're looking for from CPD is it just a notification
or are you expecting them to respond back to you with something?
It is a notification.
It does welcome their input.
We have received input on a number of applications from CPD.
But doesn't Illinois Gaming Board have that jurisdiction?
Jurisdiction over what?
You mentioned earlier, you said earlier that Illinois Gaming Board,
that they have some type of review, but you included CPD in this review.
so my question is... The Illinois Gaming Board does an extensive review process prior to the
issuance of their license, but as it applies to the city of Chicago in our licensure,
we have included CPD and aldermanic review. No, we included aldermanic review in the ordinance.
You went ahead and included CPD from a promulgation of rules, I take it, right?
It's not promulgation of rules. It's contained in the ordinance that we have the ability to
ask for additional information that is deemed necessary. And I'm asking you, when you're asking
for more information, what does CPD do? Like, they go there and do what? Just look at it? Do they do
go there and do what? Just look at it? Do they make recommendations to say, hey, we think you
should put up this type of security, you should put this type of window? I would defer to CPD on
that. The information that we have gotten back has varied to we don't have an objection to I met with
the owners of the establishments and reviewed the security plan, which we find sufficient.
okay yeah that's that's all i was trying to get to just to find out like what does cpd
do like do they is it is like what's their what's their responsibility i guess is what i was trying
to get to so i appreciate that yeah yeah thank you um how much did the department collect in
fines from businesses in in 2026 and does this budget assume more in 2027
are enforcement priorities set to meet revenue targets given the fact that the city is about
eight billion dollars behind in collections uh before the city asks businesses for more through
new taxes and fines shouldn't the administration go back to the drawing board to take a look at that
but i'll wait to hear your responses uh from those first questions i had well thank you for
the questions chair we can definitely um provide all the information about the fines that are
collected from our department to you through the chair. And if you'd like a ward breakdown,
that would be fine. We'd be more than happy to provide it to you. When you're, yeah, I think I
asked for how much is collected versus how much is appropriated. So that would give me a percentage
of some type. I'm just, I want to make sure, I want to see what the percentage is. Okay. I'm
sorry. I didn't hear all the questions. Oh, good. I thought I answered it, asked that question. No
problem. Gerald Dawson is our
Deputy over Prosecutions and Adjudication
and he'd be happy to provide you with the
answer. Okay, cool. Good evening
Chairman. I can, Gerald Dawson, Deputy
Commissioner of Prosecutions and Adjudications.
I can tell you that to date
as of August 31st, we'd
As of August 31st, we'd collected $2.8 million in fines against $8.4 million assessed year-to-date.
And how much did you appropriate in the budget?
That I don't know.
Okay.
So you've collected about 25% of the fines.
Roughly, it's hard to make that exact comparison because some of the fines collected could have been imposed in prior years.
but roughly okay could we get through the chair let's say for the last five years uh what was
assessed and what year it was collected if it was collected at all i think that would probably get
more to the answer you're looking for chair thank you keep going um and my final question is uh how
many cut cut the tape recommendations um have been fully implemented what's the average time today to
get a general business license and a liquor license and what's the target for 2027 so um we
have several cut the tape for small business initiatives and thank you for that question
chair viegas um one of the most recent ones that we've implemented is our business navigator tool
so we just went it just went live today and we've been working on that with um zoning as well as
Department of Technology, and that enables business or prospective applicants to go online,
use this tool, put in an address, and input the location, and then they can determine what is
available, what type of licenses can be provided in that area, if there's moratoriums, if there's,
you know, different things. What is zoned for is what it's used for. And so that is one thing
we've just recently launched as well as we have something that's come up with the Department
of Buildings where we do a consultation calendar that's shared so that when the businesses that
So that when the businesses that need building inspections, they can use, we use a calendar that's shared and they can go in and schedule that right away as opposed to running up and down City Hall. And they go back and forth and they have to come back and bring this and we're just trying to make everything more efficient for them. That's a couple of things that we've done.
um i believe aj what is the license time for because it's been cut down significantly
in your in your area in the small business center yeah hi uh deputy commissioner aj lee
um all licenses uh about 18 days to get the whole way through the process but there are
some licenses that are structurally required to take longer right so like that that total
gets a little bit uh inaccurate as a as a like uh aggregate number so uh numbers that might be
interesting are limited business license which is the most common type of license uh eight days
uh regulated business license a very general category uh for more regulated license obviously
by the title 11 days um so and obviously individual license types that take longer
I don't want to speak for Shannon's licenses, but hospitality licenses, tobacco licenses, they can take longer, and those numbers can be much bigger.
But overall, most basic licenses, 8 days, 11 days.
Gotcha.
My final question is, in the more than 6,600 consultations behind your small business ecosystem report, do you have a survey of the responses from business owners regarding the taxes and the cost of doing business in the city?
Do you have any results from that, consultations?
Thank you for that, Chair Villegas.
Lotha Kapai is our chief small business officer, and her and her team planned all of the roundtables that were going forward.
They also oversee the Delegate Agency Program.
Ulthika, would you like to provide a...
Ida. Thank you for the question, Alderman. Lothar Kapai, Managing Deputy Commissioner.
Could you speak into the mic a little bit? Sorry. Lothar Kapai, Managing Deputy Commissioner.
So we have done a total of 12 roundtables across the city. So eight in 2025 and four in 2026. So
this is over 800 businesses that we have talked to one-on-one. We have not actually socialized
the tax and tax policy question with the businesses at these roundtables.
They were more focused around a SWOT analysis, so to find out the strength of the ecosystem,
what the businesses need support around.
And then also, this year's roundtables were very future-looking in terms of assessing
what the ecosystem needs to be sustainable and compliant with the city.
And one of the things, and I think just for clarification, tax policy is a finance and OBM task.
So, you know, we did not socialize that during the roundtables.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Commissioner.
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you for encouraging the report as well.
We appreciate your feedback.
Yeah, I'd love to hear feedback.
I mean, that's how we get an opportunity to kind of find out where we're missing the boat on that.
So, thank you.
Thank you.
all right uh alderman lopez followed by alderwoman scott and alderman brunette
good evening chairman good evening commissioner members of the committee to you and your team
um i came racing back just so i could be a part of this and not just because chris jessup's up
there but i wanted to first off thank your team your new team here um for addressing
the illegal vendors
and illegal business operations
in the 15th Ward
and indeed on the southwest side of Chicago.
southwest side of Chicago. So I'm a little perplexed then, as we've done sting operations
together, we've worked with task force to try to address things that always seem to
orbit illegal peddling and cart vendors on the streets. And then I see in our management ordinance,
And I'm sure my colleague from the 44th Ward is going to talk about this too, but Article 2 here basically legalizes carte blanche, carts and peddling throughout the entire city of Chicago, propane tanks and all.
So how are you, as a department, going to be able to fully enforce what's going on when we're already struggling to enforce and keep a lid and tamper on all the illegal businesses and illegal business activity going on throughout every one of the city's 77 neighborhoods?
and thank you for that alderman lopez um you know we have been enforcing as you said
bacp is mandated any we're complaint driven so any type of complaints we receive we're going to go out
and we're going to make sure that we respond um as far as uh enforcement we will do as we've
always been we will always answer the call and show up as we've been doing we hired six new
investigators. So we did beef up our
enforcement team and they're being
trained as we speak. They're going to
nights and weekends and then they'll be
assigned as needed. And so I don't think
that BACP has ever been a large
department. So we've always been small
but mighty. So we're doing the best we
can and we'll continue to put in the
work every single day. Far be it for me
to dispute the small but mighty. But I
small but mighty but i think the problems are extreme and outrageous at this point
because we have seen where every single police district does not know how to address
illegal vending and peddlers in the city of chicago we've seen where people make excuses
even our mayor today making excuses as to why we need to basically legalize and override
all the ordinances out there that are restrictive of this at this point
while putting the public's health
and safety and welfare at risk.
We currently have situations
in the city of Chicago right now
where you have people doing exactly
what your department is prepared to accept
as the standard,
preparing food in alleys
and selling them on garbage carts.
No running water,
nothing to clean your hands,
out there for 10 hours a day,
pissing and crapping in alleys while also making the very food that people are lining up to go buy.
So how are we going to address that in a scenario where for $250 a year,
you too can go stand outside and do whatever you want with regards to food?
so alderman i i do believe that um the ability to restrict in the wards the different zones in
your wards is is available um if the ordinance passed if the ordinance passes i do believe that
that that option right now is available so um once you restrict peddling or any type of vending
and you make the complaint,
the ACP will come out and...
We already...
Well, hold on.
Because we already have
peddler restrictions
and things like that.
And it takes a full-on task force
for us to be able to address that.
Yeah.
So, and that's where
And that's where it's already visibly marked and restricted.
And now we're saying that you could go set up on a residential block
and start selling like this by this ordinance that you're pushing.
So I know I, for one, am going to be an absolute no to that
because I think that there's already enough things that fall through the cracks
that we're constantly trying to work with your department on,
and you guys are constantly trying to play whack-a-mole
throughout the entire city of Chicago.
i don't even know if we tripled your enforcement would that help us get a handle on things in the
city of chicago we have back alley mechanics you have these illegal vendors you have illegal
restaurants that are popping up you've got food food trucks that are dumping in our sewers
all of this is going on right now we have the police department which is supposed to help you
which says we don't know what to do because we don't know where the laws are so nothing happened
and this is not a complaint as a fault of your department because it's not it's a fault of this
administration and the one before it to actually stop bad behavior before it ballooned to the point
where it's unmanageable and now we're just trying to meet people at the lowest possible
level as opposed to holding them to the highest possible standard so i have some serious
reservations about that um i would like for us to clarify this notion that i heard moments ago
with regards to sweepstakes commissioner trotter you said it's illegal if they're using it illegally
how did you describe that i said the machines if they're used for illegal gambling
So where is that definition of an application?
is that definition of an application of enforcement in the code? I'm not sure I understand your
question. That's because I don't understand your answer. Because I'm having a hard time
wrapping my head around the notion that something's only illegal if it's used for
illegal purposes. And that sounds to be the answer that you're giving this body when it
comes to sweepstakes machines. Because I don't know many gas stations, restaurants that have
16 of these machines that aren't doing it for illegal gambling purposes well i'll thank you
i'll try to clarify as best i can um i guess what i'm saying is is that to be illegal there has to
be an illegal activity the illegal activity that everyone is concerned about is gambling so we
need to establish that a machine is used for illegal gambling to be able to have a violation of
anything so to that end and i'm not going to beat this issue but it doesn't make any sense because
if you are a business and you admit to having these you are not allowed to get bgt
are you aware of that it's on the questionnaire if you are a city business
and if you say yes that you have sweepstakes machines your application for video gaming
will be denied by the state because the state understands that these aren't just mounted on
the wall for sheer entertainment that people are paying out so i have it's incredible that the city
would choose to intentionally ignore the obvious
and hide behind such a vague answer
of what's legal and what's illegal.
Because by that same logic,
all of us can just start walking around with guns
us can just start walking around with guns because it's not illegal until we shoot someone, right?
I don't agree with that. Well, I'm following your logic to its natural conclusion,
and it doesn't make sense. And as crazy as what I just said, that's exactly what I'm hearing
when you explain it the way you explained it. With regards to some of the things that you referenced,
5600 new business license commissioner can you provide through the chair
where those business license where those businesses are located and can you tell me now
does that include peddler's license or is that strictly business license so that's um all
business licenses across all of our license types that's what the 5600 new licenses composed of but
absolutely we can provide you through the chair thank you for that alderman and then if you could
break it down as to what kind of business license that is because i do know that saying you have
500 businesses in the ward isn't exactly accurate when it's 300 peddlers license and 200 brick and
mortar or what have you yes um i do want to commend your department um with regards to its
attempts to deal with language access i think yours is one of the few departments that's actually
making progress in this area even though we know that it's something that is required by
municipal code that all departments do the same um when you refer to the if i may chairman
the 1.9 million outreach touch points
for your NBDCs
or your neighborhood development partners
how do you
how do you what are the metrics for that because i see in some programs that we have delegate
partners with and i'm not accusing i'm just speaking that oftentimes you'll have
an event where a zip code is entered as being present at a fair or something and then that's
viewed as having serviced an entire zip code are those the similar metrics that you guys use to
determine what these touch points are or are these actually 1.9 million human contact connections that
are made well thank you for that uh alderman the the the vast majority of them are human contact
a peer-to-peer um and i'll let lothika pi um get more into the metrics but we do have a system that
they're required to report through. Actually, I'll do this. If you could provide that through
the chair and also break it down as to what that looks like by ward so that we could see
how our various wards and as well our various communities are engaging. And if there are any
language specific markers in those touch points, I'd appreciate that. And then lastly, I would just
like to ask, DPD and SPF and things of that nature roll out routinely. Does BACP work with
DPD to address opportunities for SPF as well as are there conversations where we can use
SPF to address possible violations identified by BACP to help bring struggling neighborhood
businesses into complaints. Thank you, Alderman. Lothaka, you want to touch on that? Thank you
for the question, Alderman. Lothaka Pai, Managing Deputy Commissioner. We work very closely with
DPD's team, Samiri O'Connor, and the Small Business Development Team. The way we look at it,
the grants that DPD does are construction subsidies.
So whether it's the SPF, the NOF, or the CDG grants,
construction subsidies help small businesses,
but how do small businesses get to apply for them, get to know about them?
How do we walk them through the process of the application?
So we train our trainers, which is all of our chambers of commerce,
all of the business service organizations that provide hyper-local support
in communities to understand what the program requirements are
and help businesses prepare for them.
And DPD, before they issue grants,
they do check business compliance with the ACP.
So we do get a list from them.
Chairman, I have one more set.
Thank you.
One of the other issues, completely switching topics,
that I brought up to your predecessor,
as well as to many members of your senior team,
and I brought it up to the Commissioner of Aviation.
I brought it up to the city's comptroller, has to deal with parking and tax revenue as well as all of those great things associated with airport parking.
We have two major airports.
We have a universe of parking and parking apps and things of that nature.
And we seem to have an issue with some of these parking platforms, Spot Hero, Way.com, and some others, that are manipulating systems, parking vehicle, advertising their platforms, parking spaces, using both residential and vacant commercial, which they don't own, to park cars on.
putting their version of a receipt and parking thing in the window
and either having their own shuttle or actually using Uber or Lyft
to pick someone up in a neighborhood or a residential neighborhood
and dropping them off at the...
them off at the airport where they're near we have not been able to come up
with a solution on either a stopping that or finding out how we can hold
these platforms and providers accountable so that we are not seeing
the revenue that we should be seeing even though it's an enterprise fund
being collected correctly oftentimes you'll see like a dollar twelve cents or
something ridiculously, insanely low listed to give the appearance that taxes are being paid
when we know, in fact, that's not what airport parking tax looks like. One, what level of
importance can we expect from the department to address this as my colleagues are talking about
missed revenue and opportunities? Sometimes it's not just businesses, but in the neighborhood,
it's something like this. And two, why are we allowing, why are we not restricting access
to our airports, to platforms that are, and commercial garage operators that are legally
licensed by the city or state? So I just want to clarify your question. You're asking why isn't the
city restricting the commercial garages? Why are we not restricting the part, the, the platforms?
Blind platforms. From only operating with those that are commercial operators in the city of
Chicago that are licensed by the city or state. So I, I thank you for that question, Alderman. I
know that our enforcement compliance enforcement team receives complaints as such, and I know that
they follow up with each and every one of them um if i'm not mistaken dennis he's our deputy
over compliance um you have responded to oh we know i'm gonna put a desk in my office for him
because i come up with i do believe that we are actively working with chairman dow um and the
department of finance regarding uh the collection of taxes you know we don't levy the taxes but i do
believe we're working with with that department and with chairman dow um and if i'm not mistaken
spot hero does remit taxes but we can definitely get any information you'd like through the chair
regarding that so i think it's the the question of the online aggregator aggregators yes that we
need to address but i also think that we also need to start going after these locations especially
these non-residential street locations that are turning properties into makeshift parking lots
to evade our taxes.
Yes.
We're happy to work with you on that.
If any of the aldermen have specific locations that they know,
just send us the addresses.
Please give us a call.
We're happy to follow up.
Well, I appreciate that,
but I will also tell you that I think I've been working with this department
since the beginning of this year, January or February,
on many of these issues, if not from last year.
We are still dealing with the same issues.
so hopefully you with the urgency of needing more money we can actually go after the money
that we're leaving on the table thank you chairman thank you alderman lopez uh alderman scott
followed by alderman burnett thank you vice chair uh you i just have some questions i see that you
all have 197 employees do you have a breakdown of
democracy yes so you want to know race or you want to know
gender or what did you want oh I want to know the jobs
oh the jobs yeah because
jobs. Yeah. Because, and more of that is directed toward enforcement. So like how many enforcements?
So we have 41 investigators. Is that the, so I think it's 22 in nights and weekends and then 19
investigators otherwise, like during the daytime. And so the investigators and the, what did you
call them the enforcers so they're the same yeah okay so do how do you manage that with the vgt's
how are you managing so who are you using to do the enforcement for the vgt's well it depends on
the complaints that we receive thank you for that question um i mean alderman it it honestly depends
some things come at different times of the day the night operations differ based on the business
And so we assign the teams out based on need. So of course, a lot of activity happens overnight and at the nighttime and our nights and weekends team will handle it. If it's a daytime operation, like it's a business, then our daytime, but we spread it out and assigned as needed. So when, let's say if your office calls in or if another automatic office calls in, if it's 311, however, the complaints are received, that's how we assign them out based on need.
And how long does it take for the complaint?
to go from start to close where the enforcement is actually taking place so that varies as well
it really depends on the complaint and the location so we can access the location right
away we we tend to go out if we don't go out the same day within the next 24 to 48 hours we're out
and we're canvassing we're going in and we're enforcing we're investigating we're inspecting
whatever it calls for but how soon is it that you give the the ward office the information
it depends on whether or not we can get into the location right away
because if we can't we tend to go back to make sure we can access the location
go back to make sure we can access the location. And so Chris, your team takes how long to get it
back. It depends on BCE and how soon they get it back to the ward. And so also they're prioritized
because, you know, some things may have been a bit more egregious than others, like tobacco or
liquor violations. So it also depends on that as well. So Dennis, how long, what's your average
turnaround time for the the um Dennis Guillermo Deputy Commissioner Enforcement um as you stated
uh Acting Commissioner it takes us about uh one or three days depending uh on uh availability the
nature of the complaint um and then we do if we can't get in we'll try it on multiple shifts so
if the day if if it's for assigned for the day team they'll go out if they can't make any entry
then we'll try it on on the 19 so we do multiple uh attempts and and typically when you do something
like that what's the average fine cost like for tobacco and liquor so each oh tobacco and liquor
it depends on the type of violation so if it's an illegal sale like to a minor
okay gerald what's the the fine to the minor because it depends on whether they have just
one fine, or if this is their second violation or their third. So that also depends too.
Gerald Dawson, Deputy Commissioner for Prosecutions and Adjudications. The fine for sales to minor,
the range is $2,000 to $10,000. So for a first offense, it'll be $2,000. Subsequent offenses
go up from there. And those are priority, correct? Yes. And how well are you all,
like how is the enforcement with collecting those fines because I know that's not your department
but how do you all monitor what's the amount that's coming back to the department so like
if it is a ten thousand dollar fine okay how are we we do we do Gerald can you
are we we do we do jill can you give a breakdown of how that's because it's going it's going through
our prosecutions department so it depends also how far the case is along so if i may just we had
this question come up earlier so we we've asked for through the chair over the last five years
for um fines that have been assessed along with when they've been uh collected so if they if it
assessed last year but it was collected this year because that's i think where the the the figures
get a little bit muddy because if they collected seven million this year you don't know that those
were all from this year they could have been from previous years so i think what tell me if i'm
wrong um what you're looking for is you want to see when we assess a fine are we actually collecting
it and like what how successful we are at it so we've asked for that through the chair for the
last five years and i think by um it disaggregated a little bit for us gerald um so i i think by uh
by type would be helpful and i think that each of us as alderman would be interested also if you
gave us a a tab with um by ward what the businesses are thank you alderman yes yes chair will be thank
you that's all that i have that's all you've got um okay great next we are going to have uh alderman
Burnett. Thank you, Vice Chair, and thank you for everyone at BACP. I appreciate all the work that
you do. You've helped me with some tremendous problems from problematic restaurants to grant
programming, and I really appreciate it. I have two line of questioning here. The first being
in regards to VGT, what is the administrative burden for you all, and was there any additional
staff provided to do this work? Thank you for that question, Alderman. I'll pass this to Local
Liquor Control Commissioner. I'm sorry, Alderman. I didn't hear your question. My question was,
with this new VGT licensing process, what is the administrative burden that's been added to
been added to the team and was there any new staff provided to help with that process um there were
not staff specifically um allocated in the 26 budget for for vgt's um thus far we have uh been
able to develop the application and process the applications as they've come in with the staff
that we have um and there has been no enforcement yet to date on on any vgt issues specifically
okay thank you um i have a few shared kitchens in my ward um schools as well as the hatchery
in a coffee brewer that isn't a shared kitchen but like a shared distributor i recognize that
it's a newer space and that there's kind of some overlapping responsibilities between bacp
and department of public health um i know we also just issued this ordinance on like one portal
licensing process is shared kitchen create are we creating a lane for these businesses because
often what we hear with um folks who are trying to create these licenses or get their licenses
who are utilizing a shared kitchen space is that they are treated as if they're a normal
establishment and in the sense of being that we asked to have the space reviewed as if it's a
new restaurant although they're using the same space that many other businesses have used before
So I want to ask about what is that treatment like within BACP?
And is there any process to kind of correct that form to make it easier for these businesses to build and grow?
So thank you for that, Alderman.
We do tend to treat all of our applicants that come in and handle them with the utmost care.
for shared kitchen license users or license operators we do realize that some of them may
use a space that was previously functional what we in BACP have come to realize every day is that
the licensing process always starts with us but it there's the
process always starts with us, but there's the in-between that involves the other city agencies
that we partner with. And so sometimes we're not always availed to what happens when those
agencies go out to the, so when they start with us to do the application and it triggers an
inspection, we will walk them through, handhold, and do whatever we can to provide the resources,
even if it comes down to once they receive the license and they need additional resources,
That's why we have the SBA team.
And, you know, BACP, we invest about $4.3 million in small businesses every year, just
in resources alone.
So we are always going to make a path for any of our licensees, but particularly the
newer types of licenses.
And so we appreciate help from your office, as well as any of the automatic offices that
have feedback.
If you have specific licensees or applicants that need assistance, please let us know.
um unfortunately there are times with uh when our sister agencies may have a hand in it and we may
not be as aware of what happens during that time and and the and the applicants will come back and
they'll discuss it with us and we'll do our best to close and bridge those gaps i'm going to pass
it to aj lee he is our our deputy over licensing and he can just give you a little bit more of an
insight into that. Sure. Deputy Commissioner AJ Lee. Yeah, we're working closely with CDPH
specifically to make kind of a warm handoff between our department and their department for
applicants, specifically for mobile food and shared kitchen users and shared kitchen operators.
So I think we recognize that that is sometimes a challenge. And we're working together,
you know specifically with uh with the bend team and the the staff at cdph to try to make that an
easier process and uh make it feel more connected i think that's one of the i don't know what kind
feel more connected. I think that's one of the, I don't know what kind of feedback you're hearing,
but that's certainly one of the concerns that we have is we'd like to have the applicant feel like
they're in a process that is a little more cohesive. And we're also working with CDPH
on another cut the tape for small business initiative specifically for those type of
operators that have retail food. Okay. I appreciate you all are looking at this
newer business process here in terms of licensing format because we get feedback from the hatchery
which is a well-known shared kitchen and incubator space for restaurants that they are waiting for
20 of their new businesses to get licensing either because they're waiting for an inspection or each
business is looked at with different criteria for the space requirements there because they have to
submit their own drawings of how it looks like and present the different requirements and some of it
we you know these are unique spaces right like there's i want to say a handful of shared kitchens
within the city but many of them can operate dozens if not hundreds of businesses within there
um and so figuring out a way to kind of expedite some of these processes and streamline it
could be very beneficial to the growth in those communities particularly the hatchery being in
east garfield park you have local residents who are trying to build out their businesses and then
eventually spread out to be their own brick and mortar. But now they're waiting for either the
shared kitchen license or the food truck license. And we're sitting, I think the last email we got
was a month ago, about 20 businesses now waiting for that licenses process. So I understand that
there's coordination with anything dealing with food with CDPH and with the cut the tape initiatives
of past and
future. There are some
hiccups with how that process moves
but I do
appreciate deeply if we can continue to
figure out how to make this more of a streamlined and standard
process, knowing that this is a new
licensing concept within
the broad
viewpoint of all the businesses that you all license.
viewpoint of all the businesses that you all license so thank you for the attention thank
you alderman if you have some specific locations or businesses that you'd like us to look into
please feel free to reach out definitely will thank you madam chair
um okay we are going to go to non-members uh alderman lawson followed by alderman gutierrez
uh alderman coleman do you want me to add you to the list but okay thank you thank you vice chair
um hi friends hope all as well um how many licensed food trucks do we have in the city
right now aj how many roughly do we have food trucks deputy commissioner aj lee uh 116
thank you and do we have a cap on that number or is that there's not like 200 like it is for
petty cabs or some others no okay um how many staff hours would you say goes into licensing
each food truck from, I know the truck itself is inspected, the staff itself has to be trained
and approved, right? What is, you know, how much time does that take us per food truck?
So are you, and thank you for that question, Alderman, are you specifically speaking about
the BACP time? Because there's other agencies. So that's my next question. So it's both the BACP
time and then how many other departments and agencies are involved in that and their time.
So if you can speak to the BACP time and maybe we can get the others through the chair or ballpark.
Sure, we'd be more than happy to get the other time through the chair.
AJ, roughly about how much time do you think your staff spends?
Yeah, so I would – our time is pretty minimal on these because most of the BACP part of this is paperwork
and setting up a checklist of other departments' work to be done, if that makes sense.
So it's not a heavy lift on our side.
i can if i can get to the right page quickly enough uh mobile food licenses average about
59 days i gave some numbers earlier to uh alderman viegas and this is one of the ones that i would
flag as it's more time consuming so i don't want to speak to the other departments but our time
would be minimal in that process of if 59 days is the the average and again average of a lot of
different kinds but uh that's me i walk in with a food truck and i got a license 60 days later
That's not terrible.
But as far as, so what other departments are involved?
Obviously, we have public health, right?
And who's inspecting the vehicle itself, the apparatus, to make sure it's safe?
Yes.
So if fire is involved in that.
It's public health with fire.
Fire, yeah.
That's it?
Just the three departments?
Yes.
There's no structure, so buildings isn't involved in that.
The Department of Finance would also do a debt check.
Of course.
um so this is you know what i'm trying to understand what our costs are because we have
a you know as alderman lopez mentioned we have a new uh mobile food cart preparer uh because we
have a lot of different categories for mobile food carts but we found one that where it um
that apparently we need to fill um you know we've had a lot of issues with these operating
illegally in my neighborhood and others uh halstead and clark will get overrun on a friday saturday
night starting about nine o'clock they operate until two they leave their grease in their
garbage and then they leave and it's someone else's problem so to find a way to license them
it gives me a lot of concerns because i don't think it's going to even begin to address the
problems we have um you haven't been given any resources though um in addition to handle this
new license type either correct well alder and thank you for the question we we have um
hired six new investigators and i appreciate that and that they're on late night is important
because we need late night enforcement um it's probably more so than daytime right
than daytime right people are trying to get away with something aren't doing at a tuesday at one
o'clock in the afternoon they're doing it on a saturday one o'clock in the morning um so i do
appreciate that but this activity in my ward is all late night and so your inspections you know
you're going to need those six i could keep those six busy on the north side probably every night
if we're going to be chasing these around um it's very hard to tell the legal vendor from the
illegal vendor unless you have a call an average joe isn't going to ask right they're not asking now
right um so that's why i want to understand both the inspection time on legalizing these things
and i look at it like a food truck right because it's very similar except for a food truck has a
lot more safety things built in where these carts you know the propane sort of out in the open
hand washing is too there's flies there's other things you can't control for and there's no bottom
to catch anything running off um we also have an issue of groups that will come in will be one big
u-haul truck and they'll drop off six people the six grills 12 people uh coolers full of raw meat
and whatever else on halstead you know they'll just show up we're not like we're licensing the
scheme the proposal just licenses the individual and the cart itself right we're not licensing sort
of a uh uh an aggregator or an operator of a business separate from the the cooking activity
and the person so they as proposed the ordinance as proposed would license the operator and the
cart um they would also get a shared kitchen user license as well and if they have employees though
so how does that work because i think that's what you're getting at right your example is
are the employees right we'll talk labor stands about that because they would say right now it's
all cash right it's all under the table it's all cash nobody's washing their hands i don't know how
much a licensing scheme actually changes that for my community maybe for others um but given the
hour given the the clientele and the location
Given the clientele and the locations, I think this is not going to stem any illegal activity if we actually license and regulate it.
You'll have the people getting away with this who are still doing it, and they're just going to blend in with the folks that are licensed.
So, right, but if someone's got, you know, I'm operating 12 of these food carts, they would be licensed as just a regulated business license?
No, each cart has to be licensed.
Right. But let's say, so BL Incorporated owns 12 of these, right? And I probably have independent contractors that run them because I wouldn't call them an employee if I could help it. So how are we licensing that? And are we going to look at that as an employee?
Well, we'd be happy to more than, yes, discuss that you brought it to our attention now. We'd be more than happy to review that because each person that works the food cart, if it's more than one, right now we're saying one, would have to have the food sanitation certificate and everything that goes along.
That was my next question. So every single person there.
Yes.
Not just, it's usually just a manager.
No.
One person on site, every single person. And we administer that with the state, right?
In conjunction with it?
Right.
So yes, so you take the food sanitation course and then you'd have to provide proof to the city that you complied.
Right, right. The issue of propane comes up over and over again. And that's one of the toughest things we have when dealing with these.
And I'm asking every department, you guys are a little separate from the propane.
I know it's fire, I know it's streets and sand, but when this comes up, what do you guys do?
So I've got an illegal cart, it's got propane on it.
Who are you calling?
We're calling CPD.
Okay.
Yes, and of course fire will also be notified because if they have to stop if they're illegal
and CPD comes out to make them cease and desist and then fire has to have a third party come
and remove fire.
the propane. So that's my point. We're contracting with a third party to deal with propane
and we're going to expand its use in our city everywhere.
expand its use in our city everywhere without a plan other than this third-party contractor which
is probably going to make out pretty well now um we're not limiting the number of uh mobile food
carts either right not that i'm aware but um we probably don't have a sense of how many are
operating illegally either this comes up with sweepstakes i know sorry to bring that up again
but um we don't know we don't know and i get that but we're not there's no discussion of a limit
like we would like we have other things either like maybe maybe 100 is a good number in the city
or i know they're talking about some pilot areas but um there's resources that has to go into this
if it's a pilot or not that i don't think you have right now so the the ordinance is pending but
peddlers licenses are available they just can't prepare food on the street right so they can sell
food that's pre-packaged um those those licenses are available for them and you know i got it all
going on at Wrigley. I got every type of street license and unlicensed activity, frankly, and it
all blends in together and everybody kind of washes their hands of it, you know, unless there's
something really egregious. And even then I got people selling airplane bottles of liquor. I got
people selling illegal food. I got people, you know, that are parking like Lelman Lopez said
too. I mean, they're getting away with as much as they can. And our ability to regulate any of it
is, I just feel like not there right now. And so when we add more, when we add more to the street,
You don't have more investigators, and CDPH doesn't have any more food protection people, which is embarrassing.
One-third of our food protection team is vacant, right?
We're not keeping up with our brick and mortars.
We just probably don't have the bandwidth to add anything there.
But there are restrictions.
They do have to comply with the food card and what it looks like, what it has to have as far as hot, cold, tan washing, things of that nature.
So there are restrictions.
And I have asked, you know, we did talk about this Monday or last week, and I have actually asked to see one of these cards.
For those of you around long enough, when we regulated pedicabs.
For those of you around long enough, when we regulated pedicabs, I was doing that presentation
and the first slide was, this is a pedicab.
This is what it looks like.
This is what it is.
I have yet to have anybody show me what these look like or what the cost, frankly, and how
they have hot and cold water and how their propane is safe.
So again, I go to other cities.
I see these all the time.
You've heard my story.
I don't need any of them because I got really, really sick once and I never will again and
no one else should, but it's out there.
and i just want to make sure we're understanding what we're getting ourselves into um on this the
only other thing i have and again i'll talk about the vgt licensing um are we supposed to be posting
those on our on the website i know we've got liquor and tobacco um but is there a place where
the applications that issued should be as well the licenses that have issued are contained in
the data portal okay the pending applications are not listed publicly because there isn't
um a public notice okay but they are listed on the state's website right
the applications that are pending yeah right and so so right because they have a state application
before they come to us correct we've talked about that um and how many are pending right now with
with us um 70 location license or i'm sorry 60 location licenses and um 15 terminal operator
your licenses. And again, of those 60, we have approved 15. And of those 15, we have approved
five. Got it. Okay. I think that's it for me. We talk all the time. I appreciate all the work you
do. I have a wonderful small business community that we respect and is thriving. I want to make
sure we're doing the things that stand them up. I don't have SPF, like some of my colleagues,
right and so um when you've got somebody who's put their money into a you know a late night joint
and um they've got a food truck in front of them that's licensed or not or a mobile food cart
you know and we say like well you know we're not that great at it i know i've got some enforcement
you know we're not that great at it i know i've got some enforcement information from you chris
and i appreciate that i need maybe a translator to help me understand it better um but we just
need to do what we can to support our brick and mortars their costs have gone through the roof
their taxes are going up their energy costs are going up their labor costs are going up
and when we add more barriers um or more taxes if it's pplt on their rented pos or ice machine or
anything else to another you know to 20 which is a hard number to swallow um or some of the other
things obviously a head tax um are problematic and then you know we charge them for everything
so we just we have to think about this in the grand scheme um as we go forward so again thank
you all for the work you do we really appreciate it 44 thank you vice chair thank you all thank you
vice chair uh next we're going to have alderman gutierrez thank you so much vice chair and thank
you to all of the bacp team to holding up till this late today i have a couple questions and
clarifications that i may need to ask um the first of it it's um for the bgt's uh would love to
clarify because of course we have um different locations within our ward in some of our um
gas stations um the business owners need to get a permit right from the city
uh thank you for the question alderman shannon trotter uh so the locations where vgt's can go
in is dictated by the state statute, and it includes those that have on-premise consumption
of alcohol. And in the city of Chicago, liquor licenses are prohibited at gas stations, so they
would not be permitted at gas stations. And that is the sweepstakes, the ones that are in the gas
stations, and I think always is a confusion within our community members, what they call our offices,
between the bgt's and the new stuff that was passed within the budget but also the rules
and regulations for these other type of machines that are in our communities so the bgt's
are in our communities so the bgt's are not yet in place right because they're still working on
the permitting and all of that but the sweepstakes are the ones that right now are located in our
gas stations and they have a license or a permit within the city and how much are they paying um
to our city to for them to be able to work here sure so uh there are to clarify there are 15
locations which are licensed by the city um for vgt's they would not be at gas stations
so any machines that you're seeing at a gas station would not be a vgt
in regards and similar to the questions before the anything that would be called the sweepstakes
machine or anything else would is not specifically licensed if it is used for amusement then it would
be required to have a tax emblem just as a pac-man machine would so it goes back to the point
that we've been discussing about the use of the machine and if it's being used for illegal
gambling so then what is the sticker that those soup sticks machines from the city of chicago
they have is there like a permit there's a registration fee that they have with the city
just for clarification if you can please elaborate so if a machine and again it depends on on what
type of machine if it's if it's a an automatic amusement device within that definition then it
would be required to have a city tax emblem and that is um you know like what you would see on
any other amusement device and when they for them to have that emblem they need to come into the
city and then they need to do the application and how much they pay per machine um that is paid
through the clerk's office and honestly alderman i have to get you through the chair i don't know
the cost of the tax emblem yeah because i think and we all know about this between the terms and
this between the terms and and and the type of machines and all of that i think there's some
big confusion and it would be helpful um to clarify all of that and i would love to to see
that through the chair if there's any information that you have of course i'm interested in in the
14 ward but if you can also help us get that list of emblems or permits or whatever the city is
receiving or being able to to to submit per ward and also how much money if there's a payment that
i've word right now i don't remember exactly um how much um they pay for each emblem or or the
tax so it would be helpful for us all to receive that information um so we all could know how many
machines we have if they are paying that emblem and how much they're they're they're we're getting
out of that money i i hear you alderman but um just to clarify that's all done through the
clerk's office that's not done through bacp go ahead alderman deal thank you just to uh answer
my colleague's question because that was my question for round two thank you uh as of right
now there are five thousand seven i mean five thousand two hundred and fifty six sticker
medallions that have been issued through the clerk's office that has brought in seven hundred
thousand eighty eight thousand four hundred dollars and zero cents and so we know that
the location of those fifty two hundred machines that are illegal and we can go after them
immediately if we if we choose to okay so then how much each sticker costs a hundred and twenty
five dollars thank you all right so yes um thank you for all that clarification and thank you so
much for explaining i have another question regarding our workforce development as you know
i'm the vice chair of this great committee i would love to elaborate and have miguel campus
elaborate if he could explain the work that the city does because we know oftentimes we all receive
know oftentimes we all receive those calls where our employees, our workers, our neighbors are
being mistreated in the workplace. So I would love to hear from Miguel the work that BACP in his
office does because it's really, really important. It is. And I know there are seven inspectors
throughout the city and there are 77 communities throughout the city. And as we know, there's also
businesses and companies that operate 24 7. So I would love to hear from Miguel the type of work
that they're doing and I think we also need to expand the inspectors and I wanted to ask you
interim commissioner if we have anything in mind to expand this program or these inspectors and
workers within your department because I think it's vital right to continue to address all of
these issues well thank you for that alderman and we absolutely um value the work that our
office of labor standards is doing and has done um it has helped so many workers across the city
of chicago um as we stated and i think i stated in my statement over 160 000 in restitution that
would not have been just alone this year that would not have been recovered otherwise and so
you know we worked so hard and i you know i was one of the proud sponsors of that
because our people and wherever i go i remind people they should be getting those five days
paid for sick time they should continue to have those five days for pto and there's still to
this day people that are not getting those so please miguel if you can explore it and expand
director campos good evening i'm miguel campos i'm the director for the city's office of labor
standards, which is a division of BACP. There's 14 people in the division. 13 of those 14 budget
positions are filled. The other one we're hoping to fill imminently. We interviewed last week,
so we're hoping to make a job offer to fill the seven.
hoping to make a job offer to fill the seventh investigator. We're responsible for enforcing
the city's minimum wage ordinance, including the compromise that Alderman Burnett spearheaded for
one fair wage or the tipped wage credit to pause that. So we enforce minimum wage paid leave and
paid sick leave, a scheduling law, which is fair work week, their domestic worker contract
requirements um anti-retaliation provisions and we're working with your colleagues um including
chair haddon's adherence prevention ordinance um should that pass um and then alderwoman ramirez's
uh glass mile warehouse ordinance might be protections that might be coming online
uh in the next year thank you so much i really appreciate all of that work and i know as i said
We need to continue to do God's work on that area because, you know, even though they're doing great things, there's still so much to get done.
My last, well, almost last item, I'm sorry, is enforcement.
As we all know, and all my colleagues have been talking about this since you guys started.
So we have six new inspectors positions that you mentioned.
if you can elaborate about the shifts of the inspectors because yes also unfortunately in
our ward and of course we want our neighbors to to have ends meet for their families but
unfortunately many are operating overnight where everybody's sleeping and in the city
officials aren't working sometimes I'm out there patrolling for for streetlights and taking notes
about stuff and i would love to know if um what shifts do we have and plans to to expand um
these as you can see it's happening throughout the city and where the plans to get this resolved
thank you for that again alderman elder woman um so we have multiple shifts throughout the week um
So we have multiple shifts throughout the week, our investigators.
Evenings and weekends?
Yes.
Okay.
So our nights and weekends team only operates Wednesday through Sunday.
Our task force for the evening is 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., and that's Friday and Saturday.
But our shifts are around the clock.
So I think we have a 9 to 5.
And I'll let Dennis elaborate on this because he's the deputy over enforcement, Dennis Guillermo.
But we have a 9 to 5, a 2 to 10, and then our evening shift.
dennis do you want to go if sorry i know so um because i know um the holidays right um if he can
also explain about who's working on the holidays because you know sometimes stuff happens in the
holidays and who's taking care of those thank you dennis go right ahead yeah dennis guillermo
deputy commissioner enforcement uh as acting commissioner uh stated we have uh four uh shifts
currently uh we have a monday through friday that's nine to five uh and then we have wednesday
through sunday three shifts a nine to five a two to ten and a six to two in the morning
um and then currently on the night and weekend uh shifts we have 19 investigators that will be out
there thank you is there any openings vacancies or um are you asking for more positions to be filled
so there's only one other demand well there's one one current vacancy for an investigator and we are
currently um looking to fill it so okay um yes because it's i guess it's loud and clear the need
of inspection throughout the 77 communities and my last item item if i can yeah you're good okay
um more than a question is uh thank you to the department and all of you uh for all the work
that you also guys do for the grants for businesses it's been a great opportunity
for me as the elder woman of the 14th ward to be able to communicate all of these to
these to our business owners, and many of them have been getting advantage of them, and I've seen
them better in their businesses, but also, as we know, with ICE enforcement in our communities and
how our businesses are struggling, I think all of these grants and opportunities bring light to all
of the bad things that are happening in our city and our state and within the country. So I want
to thank you all for sharing all of that information and i look forward to continue
working and building with you thank you thank you alderman okay uh alderman coleman thank you
chairwoman um it's so good to see you uh interim commissioner as well as commissioner trotter uh i
can't express how grateful i am to both of you all and of course chris you're the best always
updating and sending out information. I echo my colleagues' concerns, especially with the
sidewalk vendors' introduction. In the 16th Ward, we're trying to clean up the sidewalk and not
welcome, you know, kind of these pop-up businesses. So that is a grave concern. But right now, I am
dealing with not only illegal food trucks, but also the illegal pop-up restaurants, if
you will, specifically at 60th and Racine, it is so unfair for restaurants and small
business owners that have made the investments in the brick and mortar only to have a food
truck to come next to a lounge and set up shop in the wee hours of the night.
I don't want to contact and reach out to you all at 1, 2 in the morning,
but this is what's happening, and there has been no resolve.
Thank you for that, Alderwoman.
Alderwoman, we will make sure to revisit that location. We will make sure we revisit it
continuously. So we will work with you. We're happy to talk with you offline about that
more. But if you want to send me information, you can always send me information
outside of business hours, and I will make sure that our team addresses it.
Great. Who are the night investigators, or is there a particular number or contact person
for the investigators dennis do you have a supervisor that supervises knights
uh uh yes i do uh there's a supervisor that's we can get that information to you uh offline
uh before you leave the or before we leave the chamber alderman and is this a city-wide
um operation or is it based on police district uh our our enforcement team yes we we go city-wide
City wide. How large is that team? 41 investigators. The signage for businesses, Commissioner Boatwright
and I are very intentional about, and I know Alderman Mosley and others here, but where do
you all stand on the signage in terms of the coverage of the windows and businesses? And thank
you for that, Alderman. There was an ordinance, I believe, that was put forth that I do not think
that passed. However, BACP, we don't have authority under the current ordinance because
there is an ordinance in place that regulates the window signage. We don't have authority under
that part of the municipal code to handle or investigate or issue any type of enforcement
that lies with the DPD zoning investigators. So at the moment, it's out of our jurisdiction,
so we'd have to defer to DPD.
The code doesn't give us the right to write tickets.
DPD can, as well as CPD, who has authority to write all the tickets.
So BACP has no authority to find a business that has vulgar
or if their business is totally covered.
You have no...
Not at the moment.
I look forward to a tour for some of our business corridors
with you and some problematic businesses aka the bad actors as well as um yeah updating you
on some things in the ward okay thank you so much Alderman we'd be happy to come out we more than
whenever you need us thank you thank you thank you Commissioner uh thank you Alderman Pullman
and now it's down to me and I promise I'm not going to keep you here forever I know it's very
late already um just a couple things and you know my colleagues asked a lot of the vgt questions
i'll stay away from that for now um i noticed that you you you're down 11 positions can you
talk about where those positions are what the impact is sure so um two of our positions
we did a regrade for our investigators and the supervisors and two of those positions
were needed for the regrade because what we found out was that our supervisors of the investigators
would soon be making less than the investigators and that in order to retain our personnel
we had to make sure that we did the regrade so hr dhr as well as obm did a conducted analysis and
we had to make sure that we took care of the investigators got it um so that's a that was
schedule adjustment that was a schedule adjustment yes um then there were um um other ones that were
um other ones that were used in our budget reduction yeah i just so i did the
the reductions specifically come in terms of investigators and inspectors because those are
revenue generating positions no no no no so they that we didn't offer up or or we weren't they
weren't absorbed there were only one as only one investigator and one supervisor great i just you
know, I get nervous when I see the personnel come down in a department like yours. Okay. I have a
couple questions about just fees and fines. Can someone tell me what a taxicab two-way dispatch
license is? Taxicab two-way dispatch license? Yeah. Okay. Thank you for that, Vice Chair.
Rupal Boppet is our public vehicle licensing deputy. She'll be happy to explain it.
Good evening. My name is Rupal Boppin. I'm a deputy commissioner with BACP. A taxicab two-way dispatch license is, there's actually two companies right now, Curb and Aero, that have that license.
And it's basically where the dispatch is connecting passengers with taxicabs and also facilitating communication with affiliations with the taxicab.
so it's a really small universe then it is a very small universe like a intimate table for two
yes okay currently it's it's small got it um okay i just i hadn't i didn't know what that was and
then a public passenger vehicle dispatch license um you want to take that one too yes so that's new
that's a new proposed license and it's similar to the taxi dispatch license it's for other types
of licensed vehicles under chapter 914, which includes liveries. So this world of dispatch
is growing to other types of license.
is growing to other types of licensed licensed vehicles commercially licensed vehicles like the
the livery industry so that is what it's a new license to also um capture the licensing and
also regulate uh the business activity of dispatching liveries so i i have a livery
company and there's 10 vehicles in the fleet i'm saying who goes where for what jobs i'm i'm paying
for a license for dispatch. Is that how that works? I, Haldeman, I have to read the ordinance
again. I believe we carved out for the actual, if it's not a third party, the target for this
license is a third party that's profiting from the dispatch activity. Gotcha. Okay. I have to
reread it. We can talk offline about that. I'm just, I'm curious to learn a little bit more. And
the you know with the changing um times if you will um so that we're not allowing people to sort
of skirt the system at the end of the day and take advantage of loopholes so um i was just more
curious as to what it was i saw it on the list and it uh just caught my attention um looking at
uh enforcement um i i want to just publicly thank dennis and his team um i i blow dennis up
occasionally well maybe a little bit more than occasionally uh you know we have a lot of
challenges with uh with peddlers in chinatown um you know it's part of the the central businesses
district no peddling zone um i think people feel like it's real quaint to see somebody
selling like knockoff lububus in the square but um just as uh my colleagues have talked about the
businesses who have invested in uh in their businesses and pay a lot of rent um and customers
are being cut off uh from from reaching them uh it's really important for us to sort of stay on
top of it so i really do appreciate um every time i've called
it so i really do appreciate um every time i've called uh i feel like i hope i'm not your highest
user you don't have to answer that publicly dennis please don't um but it's really important uh and
and i would say that um bacp is always very responsive i really appreciate the hard work of
the the entire team um i've participated in roundtables for small businesses thank you for
inviting me to come um you know we uh we appreciate all the work that you do i know that uh i know
Shannon doesn't like to see my number come up on her phone sometimes, but okay, well, good. I'm
glad. Sometimes I feel really bad just calling you, though, about the couple of the same issues.
Y'all don't have an easy job. There's a lot going on in the city that you've had to sort of be at
the epicenter of whether you like it or not. That's why you guys are great at your jobs.
um we we really need to continue to I think work together there's some some issues around
um VGTs and I and I just want to say for the record um I I get that the state not the state
defines what gambling is I mean that's the one thing that wasn't kind of made clear earlier with
a lot of the line of questioning um that until that is deemed illegal these sweepstakes machines
they you know that they are in a gray area um but i think that there's a there's still
work to be done and a lot of money being left on the table at the end of the day um
do we have and i promised i said i was going to ask the vgt question but the one thing that i
didn't hear um shanna can you talk about the any rules that you guys have promulgated sort of
separate from the the liquor license stuff i know it requires a liquor license to even
and qualifying the state does their own um does their own sort of not sort of but they do their
own approvals but have there been specific rules promulgated by BACP um there are rules that are
There are rules that are in draft form.
They haven't been promulgated yet.
They are mostly procedural and talk about the renewal processes,
about changing the registration tags on machines,
should the machines be swapped out midterm,
and those sort of very technical.
Okay.
Okay.
I think that's all I've got.
Anything else I need, I will just send through the chair
because I think we're all tired.
Thank you so much, everybody.
thanks for hanging out all the elders and everybody else that's here thank you staff
um with that the committee will stand at ease until tomorrow morning at 9 30. thank you everybody
thank you vice chair