The Bring Chicago Home proposal to ask voters whether they want to increase the real estate transfer tax for property sales over $1 million and use the money to help eradicate homelessness will face a key committee vote Tuesday. 

The City Council Committee on Committees and Rules is scheduled to vote on the resolution (R2023-0004166) and two other questions proposed for the spring 2024 ballot at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

A temporary chief executive officer for the county’s health and hospitals system could be appointed Tuesday ahead of a joint county committee hearing on the vacancies plaguing Cook County Health and the spending on staffing agencies to plug the vacant roles. 

Additionally, the county has opened up applications for agencies looking to help with an initiative to save and divert wasteful criminal justice and public safety spending.

Chicago Board of Elections Executive Director Charles Holiday, Jr. answers questions during a budget hearing Friday

The Chicago Board of Elections explained its declining budget for 2024 during the final day of city budget hearings Friday.

During the hearing, Executive Director Charles Holiday, Jr. explained to members of the Committee on Budget and Government Operations the board’s budget is set to drop from $56.6 million in 2023 to about $34.5 million in 2024. The drop is attributable to the municipal elections that occurred in 2023, which accounted for a higher 2023 budget. Even though the city will assist in administering the 2024 general election, the city shares those costs with the county.

City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin speaks during a budget hearing Friday. [Livestream]

On the final day of budget hearings, the City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations heard from the city treasurer, administrative hearings department and human resources department about their work for the upcoming year.

Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry speaks during a budget hearing Friday. [Livestream]

Officials from the Chicago Department of Law answered questions from alderpeople about legal payouts to victims of law enforcement misconduct on the final day of 2024 budget hearings.

The law department budget would grow by 1.7 percent up to $46.4 million in 2024, budget documents show, though staffing is set to remain flat at 427 budgeted positions.  

Alderpersons and advocates held a news conference in July to introduce an ordinance that would expand paid leave. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Alderpeople will get the chance to publicly discuss a proposal introduced this year to expand paid leave for Chicago workers during an 11:30 a.m. meeting of the City Council Committee on Workforce Development.

The final scheduled day of budget hearings is set to be a marathon day as the Department of Law, Chicago Board of Elections, Department of Human Resources, City Treasurer and the Department of Administrative Hearings will detail and defend their 2024 spending plans.

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas presented her budget to county commissioners Thursday and was largely lauded by commissioners, who had few questions and more praise. The treasurer spoke about her office’s technological advancements and said in the upcoming year it will pursue the integration of artificial intelligence into its systems.

The treasurer’s office, which collects countywide property taxes and distributes tax revenues to approximately 2,200 local government agencies, is set to receive a $15.5 million budget under President Toni Preckwinkle’s 2024 budget proposal. 

County Assessor Fritz Kaegi gives a presentation on his office's 2024 budget Wednesday. [Livestream]

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi said property tax appeals have declined thanks to the assessor’s office’s transparency efforts and previewed the upcoming reassessment of Chicago in the upcoming year during a budget hearing Wednesday.

Cook County commissioners were able to ask the assessor questions about his office’s budget, which is set to rise by over $1 million — or three percent — under Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s 2024 budget plan, according to a presentation shown to commissioners. The assessor’s office is also set to add 10 new positions next year, mostly within the office’s valuations department. 

Chicago’s Chief Sustainability Officer Angela Tovar speaks during a meeting Tuesday. [City of Chicago livestream]

The proposed new Department of Environment will detail its first budget — set at $1.8 million — to alderpeople on Thursday. Also during budget hearings Thursday, the Department of Water Management will explain the proposed 3.5 percent increase to its budget and the Department of Transportation will defend its $1.48 billion budget for 2024.

County Sheriff Tom Dart presents his office's 2024 budget during a hearing Wednesday. [Livestream]

Cook County commissioners heard from Sheriff Tom Dart about the vacancies within his office, the ongoing procurement process to obtain a helicopter to combat carjackings and various social and health programs carried out by the office during a Wednesday budget hearing.

CPD Supt. Larry Snelling addresses alderpeople on Tuesday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Alderpeople on Tuesday prodded at Mayor Brandon Johnson’s nearly $2 billion budget for the Chicago Police Department, quizzing Supt. Larry Snelling about the creation of 398 new civilian positions within the department, where he stands on a plan to send clinicians to mental health calls instead of police, and why a helicopter included in the 2023 budget still hasn’t landed in the city.  

Snelling took the hotseat for more than eight hours during a budget hearing less than one month after the City Council confirmed his appointment to lead the police department. 

Cook County Health CEO Israel Rocha is pictured at a COVID-19 vaccine event in 2021.

Cook County commissioners asked representatives from the county’s health and hospitals system about ongoing employment vacancies and Medicaid redetermination trends during a budget hearing Tuesday.

Leaders of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, Department of Buildings, Animal Care and Control and other smaller offices on Wednesday will all defend proposed increases to their budgets for 2024.

Office of Public Safety Administration Executive Director Annastasia Walker is questioned by Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48) during a budget hearing Monday. [Livestream]

Alderpeople during a budget hearing Monday heard from leaders from the Office of Public Safety Administration (PSA) about surveillance camera installations in their wards, the civilianization of timekeeping staff and overall technological upgrades within the city’s police and fire departments.