2023 City Budget Hearing [Administrative Hearings; Elections; License Appeal Commission; Department of Family and Support Services] MORNING

Watch along with me here: https://livestream.com/accounts/28669066

Chairperson Dowell calls the hearing to order. The public comments session begins.

Kristen Emmanuel from the organization Start Early is asking the council for an additional 9 million in funding for the early childhood education program line. To fully fund the Chicago Early Learning Workforce Scholarship.

The next speaker, Dr. Nancy H. speaks about the health effects on children born to homeless parents. These children experience high-stress levels, low birth rates, and developmental delays. She wants the city council and Mayor to fund rapid rehousing programs.

Patricia Jackowiak, Director/Chief Administrative Law Judge of the city of Chicago’s Department of Administrative Hearings begins the hearing with an opening statement.

Director Jackowiak wants the department to increase the diversity of administrative law judges to reflect the city’s current demographics. And reaffirms the department’s mission to be fair and impartial.

The department currently has 69 administrative law judges. 35 White, 26 Black, and 8 Latinx judges. And promises targeted recruitment for these positions.

The director is now fielding questions and comments from the city council.

The director is being commended for the department’s work and for keeping their budget consistent with last year’s budget.

The Administrative Hearing is over. Next up is the Board of Elections hearing.

Chicago Board of Elections Executive Director Holiday Jr. opens the hearing with an opening statement.

Director Holiday Jr. says the department’s budget will expand early voting, modernize the election system with a new website, update the E-poll books, equipment and IT.

Director Holiday Jr. says the primary election earlier this year was the second-lowest turnout in Chicago’s history.

Exec Director Holiday Jr. says staffing shortages, increased vendor pricing, and mail delays have made voting more expensive.

Increased candidate filings and postage for mail-in ballots have increased the Board of Elections Department budget.

Board of Elections leaders is being questioned about voter outreach. Council members want increased mass texting, signage, and polling information to increase voter turnout.

There are 52 early-voting sites in the city.

There are polling locations that aren’t ADA accessible. City council members want to know which wards these locations are.

Early-voting locations which are all ADA-accessible will remain open on Election Day. But that law expires on January 1, 2023.

This year 172k mail-in ballot applications have been requested. In the recent election 140k, mail-in applications were requested. At the height of the pandemic in November 2020, 400k mail-in ballot applications were requested.

20th ward Alderperson Taylor says that mail delays equate to voter suppression. Says many residents have been angry with slow mail delivery.

City Council members want the Board of Elections department to use increased funding to target younger Chicagoans thru social media advertising.

The 2023 City Budget Board of Elections hearing ends. The License Appeal Commission budget hearing is next. After an hour-long lunch break.

The 2023 city budget hearings will resume at 1:30 p.m. This ends my coverage for @CHIdocumenters find more information through @_deiisiiB Deisi Ballesteros’s notes at http://documenters.org