Tree trimming, Small businesses
Good Morning! I’ll be tweeting today’s City Council’s 2022 Budget meetings for @CHIdocumenters #CHIdocumenters. The meetings are scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. Due to COVID-19, the hearings will be held remotely.
08:57 AM Oct 5, 2021 CDT
Today’s lineup :
• Dept. of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection
• Dept. of Streets & Sanitation
• Dept of Buildings
Listening to Wildflower by New Birth waiting for the hearings/meetings to begin. Real dustie
Ald. Dowell starts roll call to establish a quorum. Quorum reached. 17 members are present.
Public comments begin with Laura S. advocating for Ash Trees and climate mitigation. Wants the city/mayor to follow through on planting samplings.
The next Speaker’s name is Rob. He’s also advocating for Ash Trees as well. For more info on the issue, check this out https://news.wttw.com/2020/03/04/ash-tree-last-stand-chicago-and-why-it-matters
Next public speaker Susan wants the budget to address at-risk Ash Trees in the city.
John Friedmann wants the city through our budget to help save 45k mature Ash trees.
Matthew Beaudet, Commissioner of Chicago Dept. of Buildings begins his opening statements detailing the department’s attempts to modernize codes, commitment to access, and growth throughout the city.
Ald. Waguespack (32) and Ald. Austin (34) ask for stiffer fines for illegal businesses and more cooperation from the courts to stop issuing continuances.
Commissioner Beaudet says that the department plans to increase the number of building inspectors from 178 to 183. The commissioner also wants to address vacant buildings used by owners for tax breaks.
Commissioner Beaudet says DOB revenue during COVID has been down 19% during 2020 and 18% in 2021.
Commissioner Beaudet says that the average time for permit issuance is 72 days. https://t.co/1Ti3G9JII9
City Council members Ervin (28) asked for increased hiring of black/brown tradespeople for building inspectors. Ald. King asks for a crackdown on bad contractors.
Dilapidated buildings and rodent inspection are concerns of the council members. DOB has little recourse in this matter compared to the courts.
And we’re back! Maintenance of high-rise buildings were brought up in the aftermath of the Surfride tragedy that happened in FL. Commissioner Beaudet said that the building in FL was built on sand and the concrete was mixed with saltwater.
The commissioner says Chicago highrises are built on clay and bedrock and receive regular inspections.
City Council’s 2022 Budget hearings/meetings ends for me at 3:45 p.m. Right now Dept. of Streets and Sanitation & Dept. of Business Affairs are up. This ends my coverage for @CHIdocumenters more information through Ayanna Watkins/Izzy Stroobandt notes at http://documenters.org