Next year’s budget for the Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) is proposed to grow from $311.5 million to $344.7 million — a 10.6 percent increase. 

DSS, the Chicago Department of Aviation and the Department of Procurement Services will defend their proposed 2024 budgets on Friday.

Sandra Blakemore and Nick Lucius answer questions during a budget hearing Wednesday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Alderpeople got a first look Wednesday at what the Department of Assets, Information and Services’ (AIS) disbandment will look like in 2024 when it’s separated into two departments — the Department of Fleet and Facility Management and the Department of Technology and Innovation. 

The budget hearing for the two new departments began after 6 p.m. Wednesday with about 10 alderpeople in council chambers.

Jim Horan and Patrick Murphey answer questions during a budget hearing Wednesday. [City of Chicago livestream]

Alderpeople used a joint budget hearing of the Department of Housing and the Department of Planning and Development to check in on recent initiatives to bring more accessory dwelling units (ADUs), equitable transit-oriented development and tiny homes to the city. 

Cook County Comm. Kevin Morrison (D-15), who sponsored a measure to protect ballot access for non-English proficient speakers, is pictured at a county board meeting in September 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The Cook County Board of Commissioners will consider final approval of a measure that would strengthen access to translated election materials for limited-English proficient populations and a contract increase for a firm providing consulting to the county on federal pandemic relief funds.

The board is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Thursday in the county board room.

Two days after alderpeople peppered city budget officials about whether the $150 million for migrants in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget proposal is enough, they will examine the budget for the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS), which has provided much of the city’s response to the migrant crisis. 

Related: Alderpeople open first day of budget hearings questioning whether $150M in migrant funding is enough 

The Chicago Department of Public Health’s budget for 2024 is proposed to drop from $983.7 million to $888 million in 2024, largely due to a more than $102.8 million decline in grant funding compared to 2023.  

Chicago’s Department of Public Health (CDPH), Chicago Public Library and the City Clerk’s office will defend their proposed 2024 budgets on Thursday. 

Cook County commissioners on Tuesday repealed an official Forest Preserve District policy that guides how locations are named and renamed but delayed a County Business and Economic Development Committee vote on a measure to mitigate tax increases when commercial property owners install solar energy systems.

COPA Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten and Police Board President Ghian Foreman address alderpeople on Tuesday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

While little is proposed to change under the Chicago Police Board’s proposed 2024 budget, President Ghian Foreman used the board’s Tuesday budget hearing to argue against a push from the police union that represents rank and file officers to allow the most serious police disciplinary cases to be decided by independent arbitrators instead of the police board.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle delivers a 2024 county budget address Oct. 5, 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Board President Toni Preckwinkle proposed a $188.7 million budget for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County during a special board of commissioners meeting Tuesday morning. The proposed 2024 budget is $6.6 million higher than the previous fiscal year, an increase of 3.6 percent.

The budget includes a proposed corporate budget of $87.3 million, a $12.1 million increase from 2023, and $30.5 million dollars for the Brookfield Zoo and the Chicago Botanic Garden. The preserves plan to add more than 40 new positions, including a restoration hydrologist, ecology field supervisor, heavy equipment technician and employee recruitment manager.

The board president also celebrated the proposed budget for its pension contributions, which she said “finally” put the district’s pension fund on a path to full solvency.

BACP Comm. Ken Meyer answers questions during a hearing Tuesday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

The expanded Office of Labor Standards under the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection plans to field additional complaints expected to come in now that the City Council has approved a measure to eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped workers, Comm. Ken Meyer told alderpeople during a budget hearing Tuesday. 

Alderpeople also pushed the department to more quickly revoke licenses for problematic businesses.  

The city’s Department of Assets, Information and Services would be disbanded into the Department of Technology and Innovation and the Department of Fleet and Facilities Management and alderpeople will get the chance to prod the proposed two separate budgets Wednesday.

Members of DCASE during last year’s budget hearing. [City of Chicago livestream]

During another packed day of departmental budget hearings, alderpeople on Wednesday will unpack the proposed budget increase for the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and the proposed decrease in funding for the Department of Planning and Development.  

Budget hearings are set to begin at 10 a.m. 

Cook County commissioners attend a Sept. 2023 board meeting. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

During committee meetings Wednesday, Cook County commissioners will vote on measures to protect ballot access for non-English speakers and will hold hearings on veterans’ services and a pilot program aimed at attracting and retaining new employees.

The budget committee met Monday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line] 

Several alderpeople were skeptical that the $150 million proposed to fund the migrant crisis in 2024 will be enough to cover the cost of shelter and other services for the entire year as they repeatedly asked budget officials why they’re relying on the state and federal governments to chip in additional migrant funding when neither seems likely. 

Mutiple alderpeople also renewed their yearslong push to add an additional staffer to their ward offices as constituents are expecting more of those offices.

The Forest Preserves of Cook County seal is pictured at a July 2023 district board of commissioners meeting. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line]

Board President Toni Preckwinkle will present her proposed 2024 budget for the Forest Preserves of Cook County during a special Forest Preserve Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday.

Preckwinkle’s address will follow regularly scheduled Forest Preserve district committee meetings and a regular Forest Preserve Board meeting.