CFD Comm. Annette Nance-Holt answers questions on Monday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

The Chicago Fire Department held its first exam for prospective employees since 2014 last year. While 15,000 people signed up to take the exam, 4,210 people took the exam and 2,100 passed. The city expects to hire the first round of employees from last year’s exam by the end of this year, department Comm. Annette Nance-Holt told alderpeople on Monday. 

Nance-Holt answered questions from alderpeople about her department’s diversity and hiring during a budget hearing Monday. 

Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling when his appointment was approved in September. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Just four days after Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration and the union that represents rank-and-file police officers announced they had agreed to a contract extension that doubles officers’ pay raises to 5 percent for the next two years, leaders of the department will defend the $91.3 million, or 4.8 percent, hike in their budget proposed for 2024.  

Cole Stallard speaks during a budget hearing Friday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

The Department of Streets and Sanitation’s 2024 budget is proposed to grow by 10.6 percent, up to $344.7 million, and alderpeople on Friday largely heaped praise on Comm. Cole Stallard and the department’s work to haul trash, eradicate rats, build up the city’s tree canopy while keeping up with tree maintenance and starting a new composting program. 

Ald. Matt O'Shea (19) asks Chicago Aviation Comm. Jamie Rhee questions during a budget hearing Friday. [Livestream]

Chicago Department of Aviation Comm. Jamie Rhee answered alderpersons’ questions about O’Hare airport’s massive modernization effort and migrant arrivals during a budget hearing Friday evening. 

The aviation department, which manages O’Hare and Midway international airports’ operations, maintenance and capital improvement projects, is set to see its budget balloon to $1.42 billion under Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2024 spending plan. That represents a more than 23.5 percent increase from 2023’s budget of $1.14 billion.

Aileen Velazquez answers questions during a budget hearing Friday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Echoing comments similar to those offered up during budget hearings past, alderpeople pushed the city’s chief procurement officer Friday to do better in awarding contracts to minority-owned and women-owned firms. 

Alderpeople on Monday are set to hold a hearing on the Office of Public Safety Administration’s budget, which is proposed to drop compared to 2023. On the other hand, both the Office of Emergency Management and Communication and the Chicago Fire Department’s budget are set to grow by 4 percent and about 1 percent respectively in 2024. 

CDPH’s acting Comm. Fikirte Wagaw answered questions Thursday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Chicago’s Department of Public Health is currently seeing a vacancy rate of 42 percent across the department, acting Comm. Fikirte Wagaw told alderpeople during a budget hearing Thursday. 

Several alderpeople raised concern about what they deemed a high vacancy rate in the Department of Public Health (CDPH).

DFSS Comm. Brandie Knazze answers questions from alderpeople on Thursday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Alderpeople during a budget hearing on Thursday prodded leaders of the Department of Family and Support Services on their proposed new Office of New Arrivals and multiple other initiatives, including a program that offers rapid rehousing for Chicagoans living in encampments. 

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle presides over a special county board meeting Oct. 5, 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The Cook County Board of Commissioners gave final approval Thursday to a measure that strengthens access to translated election materials for limited-English proficient populations, a measure to mitigate tax increases for some property owners that have installed solar energy infrastructure and a contract increase for a firm providing consulting to the county on federal pandemic relief funds.

Commissioners also introduced measures calling on the federal government to strengthen border security to stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.; a measure calling for the county to create a program to promote healthy eating and prioritize equity in food security; and a measure that calls for a hearing on violence and systemic barriers affecting the county’s transgender residents. 

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.