A $54 million allocation for a “vacant buildings rehabilitation program” envisioned under the Chicago Recovery Plan is one of multiple topics set for dissection by aldermen on Wednesday. [Eric Allix Rogers on Flickr]

Chicago aldermen will get a chance on Wednesday to grill city officials about how they plan to spend $316 million in federally sourced money to get ahead of a dreaded surge in summer crime and revive thousands of vacant or abandoned properties.