A street that cost $48,000 to repave now costs $78,000. Alderpersons press CDOT on ward "menu" money

Every Chicago ward gets the same yearly pot of money for local repairs: repaving side streets, fixing curbs and sidewalks, adding speed humps and streetlights. It's called the aldermanic "menu," because members choose from a list of projects with set prices. At Thursday's budget hearing for the Chicago Department of Transportation, members from across the city said the money doesn't stretch as far as it used to.

Why it matters: if your block is waiting for new pavement or a fixed sidewalk, it's probably competing for menu money. As prices rise and the amount stays flat, fewer of those projects get done each year.

What members said

The price of a street. Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st) said that 11 years ago he paid about $48,000 on average to repave a street, curb to curb and corner to corner. Today, he said, it's about $78,000 (watch at 7:39:35). He said menu prices had gone up 3% to 5% a year in the past and about 8% last year, and asked for a stronger justification. A CDOT official said the department did not yet know next year's increase.

A flat budget. Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) said the $1.5 million each ward gets "continues to stay stagnant" even as supply and labor costs rise. He said he had been told a $250,000 repair in his ward had to come out of his menu, and that to get it done any other way he would have to call the Mayor's Office. He urged colleagues to vote line by line on the capital budget, so they know where bond-funded projects are going (watch from 6:28:02 in the video; he follows Ald. Burnett).

What the menu should pay for. Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) objected to a quarter-million-dollar bill against his menu to resurface the eastbound lanes of Upper Wacker Drive east of Michigan Avenue (watch at 6:22:02). He said multilevel streets like Wacker and Randolph are technically bridges and cost four to five times as much to fix, even though they serve the whole city. A CDOT official said the area was residential, which was why it came from his menu, and offered to look into it. Reilly also said utility companies used to restore streets curb to curb after digging them up, and now leave patches that members later pay to fix with menu money.

Equity between wards. Budget Committee Chair Jason Ervin (28th) said a menu overhaul is probably "long overdue," because 10 feet of curb costs the same everywhere but wards differ greatly in size (watch at 6:26:26). He said the Council should probably take it up next term.

Outside surveys. Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) asked why menu projects are charged for surveys and engineering that he said bond money already covers, and asked CDOT for an accounting (watch at 6:40:35).

The 2027 price list. Ald. Marty Quinn (13th) asked when members would get the 2027 menu packet. CDOT said the goal is December (watch around 6:51:21).

What our records add

Where the money comes from. Villegas noted that the menu is paid for with the City's general obligation bonds, which the Council votes on and property taxes pay back. His figure of $1.5 million a ward works out to $75 million a year across 50 wards. Lopez put the total at about $77 million.

How big the department is. CDOT's proposed 2027 budget is about $1.997 billion, according to the Council Office of Financial Analysis presentation at the hearing (watch at 5:55:41).

What else came up. Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) alleged that CDOT is holding back street projects in his ward because he disagrees with the administration (watch at 6:09:35). Beale didn't ask CDOT to respond, and no one from the department answered the allegation on the record.

What's next

• December: CDOT's 2027 menu packet, with new project prices, according to the department.
• Nov. 4 to 10: budget hearings resume. CDOT promised written answers to several of these questions through the committee chair.
• By Dec. 31: the Council must pass the 2027 budget.

Sources: Chicago Politics: Oct. 29 budget hearing transcript (automatic captions); Chicago Politics: Committee on Budget and Government Operations; Block Club Chicago: Chicago Avenue Bridge reopening delayed to next spring as alderman fumes.