The domestic violence hearing that missed a quorum is Thursday. What the budget hearings already put on the record

The City Council's Committee on Police and Fire meets at 1 p.m. Thursday in Room 201A at City Hall for the hearing that collapsed on Oct. 1, when only eight of its 18 members showed up in person (meeting page). The only item is Ald. Nicole Lee's resolution on the Police Department's Office of Victim Services and whether the City should instead put more money into emergency housing and legal aid for survivors (R2026-0026326).

Why it matters: the hearing comes while the 2027 budget is being negotiated. No vote will be taken, the notice says, but it is the one scheduled public session on domestic violence funding before the Council votes on the budget.

This follows our Oct. 23 story on the first attempt.

Who needs to show up

Committee rules require nine members physically present; remote attendance doesn't count toward a quorum, Block Club Chicago reported. The members, from our committee page: Chair Chris Taliaferro (29th), Vice Chair Lamont Robinson (4th), Hall (6th), Mitchell (7th), Lee (11th), Curtis (18th), Taylor (20th), Mosley (21st), Tabares (23rd), Ervin (28th), Cardona (31st), Sposato (38th), Nugent (39th), Napolitano (41st), Knudsen (43rd), Gardiner (45th), Clay (46th) and Silverstein (50th).

On Oct. 1, Lee, Robinson, Mosley, Cardona, Sposato, Nugent, Knudsen and Silverstein were in the room, Block Club reported. Lee told Block Club she would call members ahead of time this time.

Written public comment goes to Committeeonpoliceandfire@cityofchicago.org until 3 p.m. Wednesday, per the notice. Public comment in person comes before the item, up to three minutes per speaker.

What the budget hearings already put on the record

At the Nov. 6 budget hearing on the Department of Family and Support Services (meeting notes):

• Lee asked the department to confirm that a $400,000 drop in money from the Home Share surcharge, which helps pay for gender-based violence services, will be covered. The department said yes and that providers had already been sent letters of intent showing their funding (watch). Lee said the issue matters to her and to the Council's Women's Caucus.
• Asked by Lee what survivors need most, the department named timely, sensitive response; enough emergency housing, including shelters geared to survivors; and rental help and job support (watch).
• Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) got the department to confirm that community gender-based violence providers will be funded at least at 2026 levels in 2027 (watch).
• La Spata then asked what happens if the Protecting Care Fund, which the City is defending in court, can't be spent (watch). A deputy commissioner said that money goes "overwhelmingly" to gender-based violence programs, including legal services and housing support for survivors, plus $1 million for the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center and $5.2 million for youth violence reduction programs. Whether the main operating fund would cover it is a budget office question, he said.

What our records add

Lee's resolution was introduced June 17 with 13 co-sponsors, two of whom, Taylor and Clay, sit on the committee and missed Oct. 1. The committee has 18 items waiting, with a median wait of 828 days, our committee page shows.

At the same Nov. 6 hearing, Lee asked how closely the department works with the Police Department, noting that the police Office of Victim Services refers survivors to the City's delegate agencies (watch). That office is what Thursday's resolution questions.

What's next

We'll report who attended and what was said. The video will be on the meeting page.