Homelessness diversion, City Key, Banking, Digitization of Clerk's Office
@CHIdocumenters Today we are talking to 4 departments, the Office of the City Clerk, Office of the City Treasurer, License Appeal Commission and DFSS.
@CHIdocumenters We are getting started a little late today, @AldermanSmith43 is talking about city parking permit structures, and E-Commerce programs as I hop in.
@CHIdocumenters @AldermanSmith43 She is talking currently about some of the inefficacy around the Office of the City Clerk.
@CHIdocumenters @AldermanSmith43 City Clerk Anna Valencia is talking, Ald Smith, asked about the proposal for funding to digitize the legislative process asking about a timeline.
@CHIdocumenters @AldermanSmith43 Valencia says that the current system is paper based, which made the pandemic very difficult. She says that there will be 3 phases of the process.
Phase 1 will be to implement digital and remote city council voting, along with digital cosponsoring and legislative submission.
Phase 1 is November-January.
Phase 2 is February -June. This will be to digitize inter-departmental data sharing, have several committees go paperless,
Phase 3- July-January will focus on access for ADA folks
Ald. Burnett is up, he thanks the office for their work and passes saying all of his questions are currently being answered.
There is a question about the parking permit process. There is a city clerk program, where aldermans offices can sell parking permits in their offices. Alderman Hairiston asks if other wards can join as well. Valencia says they can.
Alderman Harris is up, she askes what income the 2 year program brings in.
The 1 year sticker costs $98 the 2 year costs $196,
Valencia does not have it broken down between 1-2 year stickers
Alderman Waguespack is up, he asks about issues with the alderman permit sale process.
Valencia says that they are currently looking for new transaction vendors, that the clerks office is implementing a phone support system, and that they are brining new printers online
Creighton from the city clerk talks about how the issues are largely server related, and are not actually tied to the system the clerk runs
Ald. Waguespack asks about the training on the new voting technology. “There should only be two buttons, yay or nay, like how hard can it be”
Alderman Austin asks about the decline in income from the city stickers.
Valencia responds that due to a moratorium on late fees and reduced driving, they took in around 5 million less than normal.
Ald. Austin asks about the city key program a city ID that can be used in the city https://www.chicityclerk.com/chicagocitykey
Valenica says that the program was made in partnership with DFSS, they worked with landlords, housing providers and pharmacies to have most city folks that use the ID
Valencia says that they are working with Secretary of State White on having the ID be recognized by the state government as well.
Alderman Garza is up, she asks what the budget for city key is going to be, Valencia responds that it is around $1,2000,000.
Garza also suggests managing a city wide copying program, which is currently run by each alderman who pays a different price each.
A question about the number of ID’s is asked, which is around 57,000 as of now.
Ald. Osterman is next who asks when electronic voting will take place,
Valencia responds that it will be around November
Alderman Villegas is up asking about the veteran discount program,
Valencia says that only around 5000 folks have signed up, largely this is due to most veterans being seniors and already getting discounts.
Alderman Tunney is up, he talks about surveying city sticker folks, pointing out that most folks that move to the city do not know about the stickers
Alderman Tunney asks about the City Key revenue program, Valencia says that there is no revenue as of now as the first 100,000 were going to be free and we have yet to hit that number
Alderman O’Shae is up, he asks if the permit sales are cashless.
Valencia responds that at aldermanic offices, they are cashless, but at the clerks office they are both cash and card.
This is just for parking passes, not regular stickers
Ald. King is up, she highlights the equity dashboard https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/office-of-equity-and-racial-justice/home/dashboard.html
She asks about the increase in budget, where it is going,
Valencia says that it will be mostly technology
King asks about race/ethnicity/and gender breakdown.
The clerks office is 35% white, 39% black, 23% Hispanic, 4% Asian. It is also 70% female.
Next up is Ald. @JamesCappleman , who comments very strongly in support of the city ID program.
He seconds the parking pass program, he wants the parking pass program to be like “fandango” where residents can print this at home.
@JamesCappleman He warns alderman who want to print parking permits in their office that it takes a lot of time, a lot of hours, and it is not easy.
@JamesCappleman Alderman Lopez is up next. He asks about cats/dogs.
He says that the city has sold around 12,000 dogs registrations and licenses
He then further encourages an expansion of publicity around the pet-tag program. Perhaps working more with the Chicago Parks and Animal Control
@JamesCappleman Lopez suggests that there should be a single tag for all pets in the city, instead of the patchwork system we have right now.
@JamesCappleman Alderman Lopez, asks about the possibility of just scrapping RPP as a whole. So no more permit parking, instead having a graduated vehicle sticker process depending on the number of vehicles.
He talks about folks who have garages, but are using those garages for other things
@JamesCappleman Valencia says that they will look into it, but that she is concerned about equity options for folks who struggle to afford the 90$ tag.
Lopez talks about folks who sign up for permit parking, but still cant find any,
@JamesCappleman He talks about the enforcement issue, currently there are only 4 enforcement officers for the whole city, and says that if we are not able to enforce this, maybe it isn’t worth it.
@JamesCappleman @DanielLaSpata Is up next, he talks about how useful the Aldermanic parking permit system is. He talks about a nearly $150,000 in the budget for services and professional partnerships.
Valencia says that it is mostly from city council streaming, and citykey partnerships.
@JamesCappleman @DanielLaSpata He asks about city council modernization for public comment. He asks if there is a possibility for more remote public comment capabilities.
Valencia says that they are working with an external working group specifically looking into this system and overall transparency
@JamesCappleman @DanielLaSpata Ald. Hadden is up next. She congratulates the mobile city hall program. https://www.chicityclerk.com/mobilecityhall
He primary question is related to kamaltech, where the increase comes from. Valencia says that it is from 2021.
@JamesCappleman @DanielLaSpata @ChiAlderwoman says that she is disappointed that the city hall is not using the remote access that they are paying for. This meeting is not being held remotely, nor is the access remote, despite having this in the budget.
@JamesCappleman @DanielLaSpata @ChiAlderwoman @Andrefor40th is up next, he asks what other changes the city hall can make, to be more transparent and accessible. He echoes Haddens comments about the lack of use for remote programs in this meeting.
Valencia responds talking about access in multiple languages and ADA access
@JamesCappleman @DanielLaSpata @ChiAlderwoman @Andrefor40th @SigchoFor25 is up next, he asks about refugee’s and how to coordinate with the city clerks office.
Valencia says that she is working on Afghan refugees coming in the get them city-keys, and to conduct know your rights trainings for folks
@JamesCappleman @DanielLaSpata @ChiAlderwoman @Andrefor40th @SigchoFor25 And with that the city clerk portion of the budget committee ends.
@JamesCappleman @DanielLaSpata @ChiAlderwoman @Andrefor40th @SigchoFor25 Next up is the Office of the City Treasurer, https://twitter.com/ChiTreasurer
@JamesCappleman @DanielLaSpata @ChiAlderwoman @Andrefor40th @SigchoFor25 “We can make money, but the real issue, is helping change lives”. Treasurer Melissa Conyears Ervin talks about all her programs,
-Career Fairs
-Money Talks
-Workshops
-Community Bank Programs
@JamesCappleman @DanielLaSpata @ChiAlderwoman @Andrefor40th @SigchoFor25 The first question is from the chair, she asks about the Chicago Community Catalyst Fund https://www.chicagocatalystfund.com/?lang=es
She says that this provided 700 loans to small businesses throughout the city of Chicago.
@JamesCappleman @DanielLaSpata @ChiAlderwoman @Andrefor40th @SigchoFor25 50% of the loans went to South and West side businesses, and nearly 40% were black owned, and 30% were women owned.
The loans were up to $50,000
Alderman Reyboyas is first, he mentions that Chicago has nearly 9 Billion in assets, he asks what that looks like compared to recent years. @ChiTreasurer says that just a few years ago this was 6 Billion.
@ChiTreasurer Ald Scott is up, he talks about the catalyst fund, he mentions that much of the money hasn’t been used.
Conyears says that there are ordinance based limits on what types of institutions can take funding,
@ChiTreasurer Ald Scott asks about how we can make larger institutions better partners.
Conyears Ervin says that prior to 2019, there we no funds distributed from the catalyst fund.
She talks about the fair lending work the council has done.
@ChiTreasurer Ald Ervin is up next, he is asking about pensions. Specifically he is asking about the impact of our contributions, and if retiring police will impact the city pension fund.
@ChiTreasurer Conyears says that $462 million will go to pensions this year, this is because while just police and fire were required contributions, now labor and municipal was.
@ChiTreasurer Conyears talks to the police issue, she says that more folks are retiring, and because of this less folks are contributing.
She does say that the pension funds are doing very well despite the pandemic, but that pension fund contributions are essential for this to function
@ChiTreasurer Ald. Garza is up, she asks about the “scoop and toss loan” asking if it is a good thing to do. https://news.wttw.com/2020/10/22/chicago-return-scoop-and-toss-borrowing-chief-financial-officer-acknowledges
Conyears says that they do not have any say on this, and do not provide an independent analysis, despite her request that they do.
@ChiTreasurer Ald.Waguespack asks about the types of banks and company’s that the city invests in. “Who the big players are and how you’d like that to change”
Conyears says that only 400 million of the 9 billion is in banks, the majority of that money is being invested in brokers.
@ChiTreasurer She says that 125 million for example, is invested in affordable housing.
As to changes that she is looking for, she mentioned a previous list of recommendations that were submitted a few months ago.
@ChiTreasurer Conyears says that the city has a very conservative investment policy, for obvious reasons, that most of their investments are in larger funds, stable sources instead of corporate paper,
@ChiTreasurer A question is asked if there is any way we can prioritize banks that are being socially responsible, or are we stuck with just using Chase.
Conyears says that there are lots of institutions that Chicago is working with, and Chase is around $50 Million
@ChiTreasurer She says that the issue is that she is legally bound to make money, and that relationships with banks, like Chase, runs deep. They handle the check cashing, they handle the lockbox system etc.
@ChiTreasurer Conyears says that when it comes to investing, they are not investing in specific businesses, they are instead of investing in classes of businesses.
Alderman Moore says the wants a breakdown “are we investing in Chicago, other cities”
@ChiTreasurer Ald. Matt Martin is up next, he asks for more information on the timing and expectations of the Taskforce around equitable lending.
@ChiTreasurer Conyears says that the city will be submitting an RFD for municipal deposits before the taskforce, so any changes to city policy the taskforce reccomends, will not be in effect till 2023.
@ChiTreasurer Matt Martin, says that 70% of small business loan requests get denied, and that this especially effects businesses of color. He asks if there are any policies that would help out small business owners.
@ChiTreasurer Conyears refers back to the taskforce, she says that “we acknowledge there is a problem” she talks about the banking process, and how little control she has, The comptroller puts out an RFP, takes the list of responses, sends it to the council who then sends it to the treasurer
@ChiTreasurer Matt Martin asks about public banking options, and mentions that the pandemic has shown us the failures of our major banking industries.
@ChiTreasurer Conyears talks about how Ald. Sigcho Lopez, brings this up every year. She estimates that municipalities that have done feasibility studies have found that the study itself costs around $200,000. She says that looking at the North Dakota option, which is the only scaled version
@ChiTreasurer the North Dakota option does not have ATMs, Credit Cards, and relies heavily on working with commercial banks.
Any public option in Chicago would also be competing with commercial banks, and would not be FDIC secured, and would have to be secured with city money.
@ChiTreasurer Matt Martin, says that there are lots of ways to structure these banks, and perhaps this is a better issue for the state to take up, Conyears mentions, that she herself thinks that this is an issue better suited for the state.
And we are back at it again
@DanielLaSpata is up! He poses a few questions. First, he asks about the divestment from fossil fuels.
@ChiTreasurer said that in 2019 there were $70m in fossil fuels, and now they are at $20m by next year it will be $0
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer Ald. La Spata, asks what the rebalancing looks like, where are those investments going now.
Conyears responds talking about affordable housing investments, including $25 million in affordable housing in Chicago.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer Ald. La Spata asks if there are investments in military contractors that information be made available to the chair.
Conyears says that she will provide that information
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer Ald La Spata asks about Chicago Community Land Trust, only 4 banks are working with the CCLT, and only 2 are municipal depositories.
Conyears does not have info on this, La Spata mentions that he would love pressure be made so that municipal depositories would work with CCLT
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer The Chair points that this might be a better question for Commissioner Navarro of the Department of Housing.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer La Spata asks about collateralization rates and if using our deposits to help banks have resources to loan more.
Conyears says that currently many small banks struggle to be municipal depositories due to the requirement of a 100% collateralization rate.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer La Spata talks about the public banking act, which would allow public banks to be FDIC secured. He says that if @ChiTreasurer would need the $200k for a feasibility study, he is sure that she would find support for giving her that.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer Ald. Sposato is up next. He asks if its true that there are only 12 people in the office.
Conyears responds that they have 30, but they remain one of the smallest offices.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 is up next. He talks more about the public banking option and thanks the treasurer for her work to push money to smaller banking institutions.
He mentions that in black and brown neighborhoods, only 12c/$ is invested in black communities, and 13c/$ in brown comm
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 He says that “gap is huge” between white and black and brown communities. He has found the lack of reception from lending institutions has been very telling.
He asks how they are going to get a hearing. That Chase/Bank of America is 25-30x more likely to lend in white comm
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 He says that while the city does not have the authority to regulate banks, they do have the authority for where they put money.
Conyears says that part of the new ordinance says that if banks want to be municipal depositories they have to appear in a subject matter hearing
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 Sigcho Lopez, asks if we can expand the programs we have been using to provide capital for divested communities.
Conyears says that the best way is to change the ordinance for the catalyst fund to allow direct investment
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 Ald. Sigcho Lopez, asks about expanding the financial literacy , specifically if there is anyway to add financial institutions
Conyears says that a good way is to bring other banks into the system to create competition.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 As to the literacy component with institutions, she talks about how banks use “credit scores” as a way to reject black and brown applicants.
She talks about the credit score program in the city that the treasury is using, it has increased credit scores 62% for folks,
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 She says that this program is very underfunded, and they do not have the resources to even advertise it.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 Next up, is the License Appeal Commission. Laura Perry is the head of this. This is a requirement for any municipality in the state of more than 500,000 folks. Which is just Chicago.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 Alderman Mitts is up first, she asks how many cases they have heard this year.
Perry says that they have heard two cases, though she points out that most liquor establishments have been closed and thus can’t do things that might get their license revoked.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 The Chair asks what the typical number of cases is, Perry says that in 2019 there were 17 cases filed. Cases have to be appealed from the original liquor control board discipline hearing to get to the License Appeal Commission
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 Alderman Harriston asks what goals they have hit from their list of DEI goals.
Perry responded that they are not a large department, and their mandate is very specific. She says that she is working to get their resources translated, and to be choosy with their court services.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 Ald. Waguspack talks about the overall BACP processes, mostly related to how rarely liquor licenses are taken away.
He is asking what sort of processes does the commission use to handle these cases
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 Perry says that the default is to maintain the judgement, and that the only reason they are going to review their judgement is if they find that the BACP does a poor job on their findings or does not follow their law.
Ald asks how many of these judgements typically are vacated.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 of the 17, 6 of the appeals were withdrawn, 1 case was reversed, and the other cases were affirmed.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 Ald Sigcho Lopez, asks about the process of the License Appeal Commission in regards to community support.
He asks about situations when the BACP and Aldermans office shows one determinization, but that determination is reversed by the License Appeal Commission.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 Perry responds that in the event that a license is denied, an appeal goes to the commission, she says that she weighs community support/aldermanic support very highly.
@SigchoFor25 says that in secret court community testimony and aldermanic testimony was dismissed in a case
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 Perry says that she can’t speak to past cases, though she claims she would handle it differently.
Ald. Sigcho Lopez, asks if the city can “settle” cases without notifying the aldermanic office.
Perry says that sometimes folks withdraw, but she is not privy to settlement info.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 There have been a few cases, when aldermanic input into liquor licenses and community input has been overruled by mayoral offices. There is clear that there is some disgruntlement from several alderman on this issue, this is largely not the jurisdiction of the appeals commission.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 Alderman Harris suggests that the city may need to look into and create a new process for liquor licensing and cannabis licensing.
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 That is all for the commission, lastly up today is the Department of Family Support Services
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 Next up is the Department of Family Support Services Brandie Knazze is up
She talks about the programs they have set up, she has reduced their housing placement rate from 200 days to 45, she talks about a drastic increase in home insecure vaccination and healthcare rates
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 She speaks about the online platform from the workforce program, and the increase in wages from the youth employment programs
@DanielLaSpata @ChiTreasurer @SigchoFor25 First up is Ald. Rodriquez. He asks about the UBI trial program. He asks what the plan to co-design the model with community organizations would be.
Knazze talks about working with other models that have been run across the country.
Rodriquez, asks about other cash transfer programs and how they will work together.
Knazze says that these programs are independent. One of for folks who have not had stimulus payments, one for domestic workers, and the UBI trial. These would be run through administrators.
Rodriquez, asks what extra expenses the city has occurred to keep homeless folks safe during the pandemic.
Knazze says that the city has provided alternate shelter through hotels, and some extra expenses have been created through this program.
Rodriquez, also asks how much money those expenses are, and how much money was spent on the 311 transport.
Knazze says that transport is around $2 million is is run by the Salvation Army, the hotel program expenses cost around $7.5 million
Ald Rodriquez says that it is clear that we need to be spending money on things that lead to permanent solutions.
He calls for making the Real Estate Transfer Tax, progressive, so that high income folks contribute to a fund specifically to house homeless individuals.
He also asks about a legal protection fund that is in the budget. Largely this is funded due to covid relief fund and he is worried that this is only a temporary measure.
Ald. Waguespack is up, he commends the human trafficking prevention program. He asks about what role the department plays in handling cultural issues around domestic and sexual violence.
He refers to the case around the Chicago Parks District https://www.wbez.org/stories/top-watchdog-over-chicago-lifeguard-investigation-resigns/458c6810-1a7b-4402-9b02-3508f719a5a0
Ald Harriston asks about if the program addresses teen violence.
DFSS says that there are teen sections in the SCAN program. This program addresses violence and gender based violence prevention and resolution. https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/sites/public-safety-and-violenc-reduction/pdfs/SCaN%20FAQ%202021.pdf
Ald. Harriston asks how much money this is,
Knazze says that this is $20 million over 3 years.
Ald. Harriston asks about the legal protection fund,
Knazze says that this was a program created in 2017 to protect immigrants from President Trump’s ICE program, working with the resurrection program.
Ald Harriston says that the legal fund should be for all immigrants. She says that she will work with Ald.Dowell, to look into this to make sure Haitian and African immigrants are supported by this program as well.
Ald. Osterman, asked for the total number of staff, Knazze DFSS has 374 positions, and 91 vacancies.
Ald.Osterman says that this is very concerning to say the least and asks why the rate is so high, that that is not acceptable given the state of the pandemic.
Knazze says that since june when she started, she has already filled 22 positions, and are in the process of filling another 20. He asks for a list of vacancies by program and an expected fill date.
Osterman, talks about the new grant program money. He asks who is going to run those programs, what the status of those programs , and if that money will be spent year.
Knazze says that the money for shelters will go to existing shelters to make the more accessible, fix up existing sites and allow for expansion
Knazze says that rapid rehousing programs are being run through various contracted organizations.
Osterman asks about current homelessness numbers.
Knazze says that the last point in time count in January was at 4,477 which includes 3023 people in shelters, and around 700 not
Osterman asks if there is a reason why it is done in January instead of March, Knazze replys that this is a HUD requirement.
Ald. O’Shae is up, he is talking about food pantries, he talks about how food pantries across the south side closed due to a lack of volunteers. He asks if pantries are reopening.
Knazze says that they are starting to reopen
O’Shae bring up children that are in crisis. He talks about youth who witness violence in the home and the trauma this leaves them with.
Knazze talks about the budget line-item for youth services for this specific kind of program.
Ald Cappleman is up, he is talking about chronic homelessness. He says the majority of these folks have been kicked out of shelters, nursery homes or were released from the jail without support structures. This leaves them without much trust in support structures.
Ald. Cappleman, says that the man has been arrested 46 times. He has no support, no therapy, no mental health programs. He says the perfect time to address individuals who cycle through the correction system. He wants a team to meet folks who leave the jail who get them set up
He asks what sort of coordination currently takes place between DFSS.
Knazze says that there are 4 reentry centers throughout the city. She says that they will continue to use the navigator model to help them find housing,work,food, etc.
Ald Cappleman, says that his guess given that 200 folks are released a day, that those reentry programs are underfunded. He asks for an assessment of those needs and funding.
He also asks about Emergency Rooms and homeless folks using ER’s as a way to stay warm
He talks about ER’s using the handoff model, similar to his suggestion around the reentry program. Maura McCauley the homeless service coordinator, says that her program is increasing the flexible housing pool to match chronic ER users to housing.
She says that 95% of the folks in the flexible housing program have stayed in housing, so they “know it is working”
Ald.Cappleman says that hospitals tell him they are frustrated with how often they have to release folks back onto the streets.
Knazze says that they do not have shelter space on the day of usually, and instead are creating a program to give DFSS notice to be prepared to make sure there is space.
Ald. Thompson is up next, he talks about the grant process and transparency for grant recipients.
Knazze says that the program monitoring team is able to monitor about 95% of programs.
@CDRosa is up, he asks if DFSS keeps count of the number of folks that DFSS interacts with.
Maura says that the team has engaged 1705 folks, and says that she will send information on delegate agencies and if it is an increase to the chair.
@CDRosa Rosa, asks about homelessness outreach vs housing in terms of spending.
Knazze responds that in 2021, $2.1 million is budgeted for outreach.
@CDRosa He also asks about encampment enhancements, like hand washing and porta-potties, and if the program will continue
Knazze responds that this costs around $84,000, and its continuance is based around federal funding and directives.
@CDRosa Rosa stated that the program’s benefits were felt throughout the community and that at a cost of $84,000 it would be worthwhile even if the city had to fund it.
@CDRosa Ald. Ervin talks about year-around youth employment. While he commends the one summer chicago program, he asks about year around programing for them.
Knazze says that they are expanding year around programming to include career pathways and connections to employers.
@CDRosa Ald. Ervin talks about after school programs, and how we attack the narrative that “there is nothing for the kids to do”
Knazze says that they are expanding the myChimyFuture program and adding mobile applications to the app.
@CDRosa Ald Moore is up, he asks about legal support programs, Knazze says that there are legal support services for immigrants and legal support services for seniors.
Ald Moore asks for a breakdown of organizations and communities served.
@CDRosa Ald. Moore asks about the SCaN program, he specifically wants to know about what is being done for folks that are 12 and under.
Knazze talks about the enrichment program, which includes afterschool program, which is budgeted at 17 million
@CDRosa Ald. Moore is now talking about teen homelessness and its relationship to gang violence. He is asking what programs are being managed for them
Knazze talks about shelter based placement through 311 that handles youth beds, as well as drop in centers during the day.
@CDRosa Maura McCouley continues the answer. She talks about street outreach teams that connect folks to services.
@CDRosa Ald. Barnett is up, he is talking about money that is going towards returning citizens. Which the mayor has placed 2 million dollars for.
Knazze says that this money is used for creating wrap around programs for returning citizens.
@CDRosa Ald Barnett is talking about programs to set up mobile showers near homeless encampments. He though is concerned that homeless encampments are blocking sidewalks. Says that he has to weigh his sympathy for homeless folks with the concerns of his residents.
@CDRosa Ald. Barnett asks about tiny homes, asking if the city is working with tiny homes.
Knazze says that they are not working with tiny homes, that instead they are working with hotels to create temporary housing and turn those into permanent housing.
@CDRosa Ald. Barnett says that we should revisit the tiny homes thing. He says that it is a way to change the narrative. He says that folks are just setting up tents “anywhere and everywhere”.
@CDRosa Chair Dowell, asks about 10 million for food insecurity,
DFSS responds that that is not going to their budget, that at most they have is $1 million for food security for the Greater Chicago Food Repository.
@CDRosa Ald. Cardona is up, he is asking about homelessness on the North-West Side, he asks if there is a plan to open up a shelter on the North West Side.
@CDRosa He encourages the creation of a low barrier shelter.
Knazze hoped that there would be a program for this in the RFP for the spring, but there were no takers, as the shelter program is really difficult due to COVID-19
@CDRosa Ald. Nugent is up, she asks about the Juvenile Support System, which is a $10 million budget. Currently this program services 10 police districts, the new model will now be city-wide, and will focus on diversion and deflection.
@CDRosa The new program will not start till mid 2022, Nugent asks what will happen in the meantime.
Nugent mentions that this current program is 10/22 districts, she asks what other folks will do.
Knazze responds that those youth still have access to other programs.
@CDRosa Ald Vasquez wants for specific plans around permenant housing solutions.
Knazze has sent some teams around to motels to do site visits, and that there is a line item in the new budget. They are looking for 1 to start with as a pilot program, and that DOH will handle others.
@CDRosa Vasquez asks for how much on-site case management and general staffing for any sort of permanent programs.
McCouley says that they have case workers, social workers, and on-site medical staff at the girls academy program that was run this year.
@CDRosa Vasquez asks about programs that are currently headstart funded school programs, and how we are going to fund them going forward.
Knazze, says that $5.6 corona-relief funding went to those schools, and that they are working with HHS to help fill the gap along with other donors
@CDRosa Ald. Sigcho Lopez is up, he asks about the strategy for homeless support services.
Knazza says that they are working with the Chicago Continuum of Care, https://allchicago.org/continuum-of-care/. The care handles the planning and strategy and each member organization has a specific role.
@CDRosa Sigcho Lopez asks about the permanent supporter housing. He says that it is difficult to own property or acquire property in the city. He asks if there is any efforts to find properties that were either schools or that are owned by the arch diocese
@CDRosa Sigcho Lopez asks about health conditions in current homeless encampments. He asks if there is adequate funding for those things.
Knazze, doesn’t directly answer, but says that many of the partner organizations do not have capacity, so DFSS is working to maximize dollar impact
Sigcho Lopez also askes about coordination of wellness checks/food services/and general senior services.
Knazze says that anyone can call 311 for wellbeing checks, that will go out 24/7 to do these checks. This includes triaging seniors in crisis.
Ald. Cappleman, is back. He asks about the communities that develop around encampments. He asks for the status of more low-barrier shelters.
Knazze talks about the failure of the RFP to generate bids and hopes that next time they will have better luck
Alderman Coleman asks about victims of gun violence and youth who have experienced the effects of gun violence
Knazze talks about programs related to older relatives raising children, and $5 million that has been set aside for folks dealing with trauma related to gun violence
Alderman Coleman asks about what happens if relatives take over the raising of a child after a parent death, and if the city can support the relatives in doing so.
Knazze says that right now funding restrictions do not allow that to happen.
Annnnd with that, we are through today, @CHIdocumenters will be back tomorrow, come check out what they are up to. Tomorrow is Department of Human Resources, Election Commissions among others.