2023 City Budget Hearings [Administrative Hearings; Elections; License Appeal Commission; Department of Family and Support Services] AFTERNOON

Chicago City Council

Elections

Finance

Politics

Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022
1:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m. CDT

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121 N LaSalle St Chicago, IL 60602 (Directions)

Most days of budget hearings are expected to run all day, with an hour-long lunch break somewhere in the middle.

We are splitting each day up into morning and afternoon assignments (9am-1pm and 1pm to end). If you are available for the whole day, feel free to apply to both morning and afternoon assignments.

You have the option of documenting this meeting in person or remotely. If you choose to attend in person, an additional hour will be added to your total assignment hours.

If you choose to document remotely, the meeting will be live-streamed at https://www.chicityclerk.com/.

At this link, scroll down to “Meeting Notices.” Look for “Watch now” and click on the link with the meeting title to go to a livestream page.

If you don’t see a link for the meeting, you may be early or the meeting may be starting late. Wait a few moments and try refreshing your Internet tab.

This is the first of 12 days of departmental budget hearings. It will feature overview presentations from the following city departments:

Check the source website for additional information

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Live reporting by Leon Tai

Guaranteed income; Social services; Housing assistance

Leon @Leon_Documenter

Good afternoon Chicago! Taking over after Ahmad's coverage of the morning budget meetings, we're now onto the License Appeal Commission, with Chairwoman Perry answering questions.

01:44 PM Oct 13, 2022 CDT

Leon @Leon_Documenter 2/45

Alderman Waguespack asked whether there's any back and forth with departments to improve the process when there are errors or issues. Perry answered that the "commission takes a step back in pursuing those cases."

Leon @Leon_Documenter 3/45

Ald. Burnett inquired about the process for license appeals.
Perry explained that there are two state commissioners and herself that discuss the case, then vote on whether to uphold or reverse the decision.

Leon @Leon_Documenter 4/45

Ald. Mitts asked how many licenses were revoked this year and the amount in fines. Answer: there were 2 revocations, and fine amounts are still pending.

Leon @Leon_Documenter 5/45

Ald. Sigcho Lopez: "In terms of the nature of appeals [..] maybe you could tell us a little bit more procedurally about the public hearings."
Perry: "8 total have been filed, 6 have been conducted. We have 2 still on our docket to be heard."

Leon @Leon_Documenter 6/45

Ald. Sigcho Lopez noted that there seems to be a need for more staffing, so that appeals could spend more time in review.
Perry: "We currently don't have a need for additional personnel. If we were to have an incredible influx of appeals then we would need more staffing."

Leon @Leon_Documenter 7/45

That concludes the License Appeal Commission's part of the hearing. Currently in recess for 5mins while Department of Family and Support Services sets up.

Leon @Leon_Documenter 8/45

DFSS just introduced themselves, headed by Commissioner Brandie Knazze.
Comm. Knazze presented on their initiatives, which include youth employment programs, services for homeless Chicagoans, and family services.

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Ald. Waguespack: "How do you coordinate with other city agencies to make sure these youth have next step opportunities to get into city government jobs?"

Leon @Leon_Documenter 10/45

Knazze said that they have an app (My Chi) that connects youth to development programs and career opportunities, and this app also hosts opportunities provided by other non-profit agencies in addition to the ones sponsored by DFSS.

Leon @Leon_Documenter 11/45

DFSS will have $20m in ARP funds, $3.5m in Home-share funding for survivors of gender based violence, and $5m for rapid rehousing and DV-coordinated responses. This will serve about 800-900 people.

Leon @Leon_Documenter 12/45

Ald. Cappleman asked whether outcome measures are required, and the response when they aren't met. Knazze: "All of our programs are required to have outcome measures. [..] Sometimes it's a matter of changing their business model, or take corrective action and put them on a plan."

Leon @Leon_Documenter 13/45

Ald. Rodriguez: "[Regarding the Cash Pilot Initiative] Could you elaborate on some of the successes you've seen so far?"
Knazze: "All 5,000 people have received payment so far, and we set it up in 6 months. [..] It's a helping hand to give people relief," and people have been..

Leon @Leon_Documenter 14/45

using this cash assistance primarily to cover basic necessities.

Leon @Leon_Documenter 15/45

Ald. Hairston: "The My Chi My Future app - what is the age group you target for that?"
Knazze answered that it's for young people aged 14-24 years old, and there's a security check to verify that the person is that age.

Leon @Leon_Documenter 16/45

Ald. Burnett inquired about how DFSS is dealing with the Haitian migrant crisis. Knazze: "We have been taking things day by day. [...] There is no coordination that the state has been doing with us, they just send people."

Leon @Leon_Documenter 17/45

Of the 3,000 people so far, 10-11% have been diverted to other locations. For those without other resources, they'll receive available homeless services in Chicago.

Leon @Leon_Documenter 18/45

Burnett then asked how Knazze responds to republicans that call for cities to send refugees back. She answered that she comes from Central American origins, whose own family has crossed the border. She emphasized that Chicago is a sanctuary city, and they can't just be sent back.

Leon @Leon_Documenter 19/45

Ald. Sposata: "I know you said it's not illegal to live on the street. But is it illegal to live in parks, on the train?"
Knazze: "We are making sure that there are outreach teams at night, and in keeping people out of the elements. Our outreach teams also make sure...

Leon @Leon_Documenter 20/45

... that there are places for them to go if they don't want to go to a shelter." She also mentioned that DFSS' basic work involves working with hotels and safe homes to accommodate people, especially during Chicago winters. #chicago #homeless #dfss

Leon @Leon_Documenter 21/45

Ald. Mitts asked for clarification on the definition of who counts as homeless, and Knazze said there are three working definitions. By the first one, DFSS estimates 4-6,000 people living on the streets. #homeless #housing #HousingCrisis #HousingForAll #housinginsecurity #chicago

Leon @Leon_Documenter 22/45

The broader definition includes people who are housing insecure, "doubled up," or have been homeless before but are now secure. This constitutes about 60,000 people. The last definition counts anyone who accesses homeless services. #chicago #housing #homeless #chicago

Leon @Leon_Documenter 23/45

Ald. Hadden asked how much of the $5m allocated for asylum seekers will be going to DFSS specifically. Knazze answered that they hope that to be reimbursed by FEMA, and that funds will go into their contingency budget.

Leon @Leon_Documenter 24/45

Ald. Taylor asked how DFSS was making sure young people were connected to opportunities that are available on the My Chi My Future app.
Knazze said that they really got into schools and signed people up that way, in addition to using social media and billboards to get people..

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.. signed up. #education #youthemployment #youth #chicago #youthempowerment #YouthEngagement

Leon @Leon_Documenter 26/45

And now, a 5 minute recess.

Leon @Leon_Documenter 27/45

Ald. Sigcho Lopez asked about which services for gender-based violence are being prioritized, and what coordination there is with the Department of Housing.
Knazze: "The million dollars that we have for gender based violence services is for the emergency financial assistance..

Leon @Leon_Documenter 28/45

.. so in ARP dollars we have $5m that will support 4,600 individuals receiving $1,000, one-time cash assistance payments. With the $1m in corporate, we will be able to add an additional 920 people for a total of 5,520 individuals that will be served. So that's the $1m..

Leon @Leon_Documenter 29/45

.. in corporate for gender based violence. Then with our partnership for DOH, they released an RFP to help us acquire shelters for our providers. We're looking at a number of hotels and motels that are decommissioned, that we hope that agencies will bid on if they're interested..

Leon @Leon_Documenter 30/45

.. in getting involved in the shelter space, or they want to move because their current location doesn't meet their needs. We're just excited cause we've never been able to do that." #chicago #housing #homeless #housinginsecurity #housingsecurity #housingforall

Leon @Leon_Documenter 31/45

Ald. Vasquez raised the point that homelessness is acknowledged as an issue, but actionable movement and understanding of it by the general public seems to be lacking. He asked whether the department is working towards educating the public on this issue.

Leon @Leon_Documenter 32/45

Vasquez: "What is the funding stream for that communication, and how effective do you believe it to be?"
Knazze: "We do a lot when it comes to marketing services. We leverage social media, and our team tries to get out to the community. If an alder wants us to attend a..

Leon @Leon_Documenter 33/45

.. community event, we'll go in person or in Zoom, just to educate individuals around homelessness. It's difficult to look at someone who's living on the street. I think our goal is always to know that individuals want a home, and they deserve to be in a home." #housing #chicago

Leon @Leon_Documenter 34/45

Question on Meals on Wheels -
Knazze: "We serve 8,000 individuals annually, one of the signature programs of DFSS. With the additional funding we have we're gonna be able to increase the types of cuisine we offer, as well as expand our reach. Anyone can get it" #chicago

Leon @Leon_Documenter 35/45

Ald. Taylor pointed out the issues with shelters - parents having to sleep with their children so that predators don't assault the children, drug usage, staff negligence, etc. "How are you all coordinating with the county and the state to make sure that these shelters are..

Leon @Leon_Documenter 36/45

.. up to par, because I would hate to see us give a million dollars to a shelter and it got bed bugs, they got roaches, they aint feeding the people, the food is uncooked?"
Knazze: "For family shelters, individuals who work with children who are 18 and below have to be..

Leon @Leon_Documenter 37/45

.. background checked. They have to have the state and federal fingerprint check, as well as the sexual abuse check. When there are allegations of impropriety at our shelters, individuals have to report that to us cause they could lose their funding...

Leon @Leon_Documenter 38/45

.. [..] I get complaints directly and we investigate, or they'll go to the team, and we bring people in. We have serious conversations, and we have defunded organizations for doing the things that you talk about." The Deputy Commissioner for Homeless and Domestic Violence..

Leon @Leon_Documenter 39/45

.. added that "we do have a complaint process. Any type of complaint - bed bugs, roaches, something really serious like you mentioned. We ask people to contact us - it could be the person experiencing it, it could be a concerned person that they're working with. We take..

Leon @Leon_Documenter 40/45

.. complaints seriously. Some complaints warrant an immediate, unannounced site visit where we will do a number of facilities checks and investigate more serious allegations. We will bring people in, we will ask for the agencies response to the situation. Most importantly..

Leon @Leon_Documenter 41/45

.. if something does seriously happen, we want to connect the victim to services, and so we work with other partners for that. We also are starting up regular insepctions, getting our staff back out into the field, doing tours and site visits of our shelter system as well."

Leon @Leon_Documenter 42/45

Ald. Sigcho Lopez mentioned his disappointment with CPS' lack of after school curriculum and counseling services for youth.
Knazze: "We've got 10,000 enrichment opportunities for young people after school, either year-round or during the summer breaks. We also have 4,000..

Leon @Leon_Documenter 43/45

.. mentoring opportunities for young people, and that RFP for the new program year is going out shortly. Through One Summer Chicago we support 20,000 youth paid opportunities for young people, but I would say the biggest connector goes back to the My Chi My Future app. I think..

Leon @Leon_Documenter 44/45

.. that's the best way for people to learn and engage, and sign up their young people. All of our providers as a requirement of our contracts have to make sure their programs are on the platform, but also their young people are asking that they sign up as well." #chicago #youth

Leon @Leon_Documenter 45/45

And that's it for this hearing, adjourned around 6:10pm CST. Find the full meeting here: vimeo.com/showcase/89255…
And if you'd like to see the morning coverage by @ahmad_sayles: twitter.com/ahmad_sayles/s…
@CHIdocumenters #chicago #housing #youthemployment #youthenrichment #DFSS

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By Sky Patterson 10/13/2022

Agency Information

Chicago City Council

chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov

(312) 744-3166

@ChiCouncil

See Documenters reporting

The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago and consists of the Mayor and Aldermen elected from each of the City’s fifty wards. Source

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Meetings are also livestreamed at https://www.chicityclerk.com/.

At this link, scroll down to “Meeting Notices.” Look for “Watch now” and click on the link with the meeting title to go to a livestream page. If you don’t see a link for the meeting, you may be early or the meeting may be starting late. Wait a few moments and try refreshing your Internet tab.

Recordings of past City Council meetings may be found here: https://vimeo.com/user100351763/videos/sort:date.

See also: “What to Expect at a Meeting of Chicago’s City Council” via the Better Government Association.