Mayor Emanuel's First 100 Days

Debrief with Eddie Arruza


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Mayor Rahm EmanuelOn Monday, the 99th day of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s term, the Mayor reported on the progress made on his goals for his first 100 days in office.

“I ran for Mayor because I wanted to lead a process of change and growth for the City of Chicago,” said Mayor Emanuel. “We have made significant progress during these first 100 days, but until every child can go to school thinking of the classroom and not about safety, our work will not be done. And until every parent can be thinking about building a life in our city and not about whether the next paycheck will go far enough, my job will not be finished.”

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Although the first 100 days of office is usually a milestone for the President, Mayor Emanuel decided to commemorate the day with a list of goals he outlined in his 2011 Chicago Transition Report. He has checked every goal off of his list, stating that each one has either been accomplished or is in the works.

To see a brief breakdown of what the Emanuel Administration has achieved in its first 100 days, look below, and click on the PDF at the bottom of the page for a more detailed report.

• Outlined $75 million in savings for 2011 on the first day in office, over $50 million of which have already been realized;

• Announced the redeployment of nearly 750 additional officers to Chicago’s neighborhoods;

• Secured more than 4,000 private-sector jobs in neighborhoods across the city;

• Signed an Executive Order on his first day in office that begins to close the revolving door between City Hall and lobbyists;

• Developed a new City-wide Credit Card and Reimbursement Policy, reduced the number of City credit cards from 500 to 30 and eliminated City petty-cash funds;

• Initiated reforms to the City’s procurement process by posting non-competitive contracting online for public review and implementing a Reverse Auction initiative;

• Implemented unprecedented City procurement modernization initiative to reach about $25 million in savings by 2013;

• Championed a stronger curfew ordinance to protect young people across the city;

• Launched Internet Essentials, a public-private partnership that will provide access to high-speed, reliable Internet service for families of 330,000 students across the city;

• Unveiled the Micro-Market Recovery Program to address foreclosures and stabilize property values on a community level to protect residents and neighborhoods;

• Advocated for state legislation to enable Chicago Public Schools to lengthen the school day and year;

• Engaged with Chicagoans through innovative public forums by hosting a groundbreaking Facebook town-hall, answering questions during a telephone town-hall, holding a live conversation during a virtual good government town-hall and launching the City’s first-ever interactive budget website, Chicagobudget.org;

• And published more than 200 data sets, allowing the people across Chicago to see City employee salaries, crime statistics, and contracts dating back to 1993, among many others, as part of an unprecedented open data initiative.

Inauguration Day © 2011 City of Chicago

“Promises are merely promises but results are what we are here to deliver to taxpayers,” said Emanuel. “The goals I set for my Administration hold me, and my team, accountable to the people who pay the bills and rely on us to be responsible stewards of the City budget: the taxpayers.”

In regards to his first goal of saving $75 million for 2011, the Mayor announced that he has saved $51.3 million so far. The Mayor cited the economic recession, the City’s structural deficit, and the potential for a decrease in the quality of service as reasons for cutting $75 million immediately in his 2011 Chicago Transition Report. In addition, a desire to put an end to the mandatory furlough program for non-public safety employees has also been a motivating factor.

Mayor Emanuel has used tactics such as cutting senior management payroll ($5.5 million), merging redundancies across government departments ($3.5 million), and introducing real estate and energy reductions to decrease the government’s spending ($5 million). The largest cuts have come from freezing non-essential contracts ($17.5 million) and improving grants management ($31.2 million).

For a more detailed breakdown of the steps the City has already taken to achieve the $75 million goal, look below.

Improve Grants Management: $31.2 Million
Roughly $12.2 million, or 40 percent, of this goal has been achieved by the Office of Budget Management’s practice of flagging, reviewing, and preventing the under-utilization of grant funds. Consequently, this money, which otherwise would be at a high risk of being either left unspent or returned to the grantor, will instead be used for City programs and services. In addition, the Office of Budget Management has implemented a regularly recurring process for flagging, reviewing, and preventing personnel-related overspending on grant accounts.

Freeze All Non-Essential Contract Spending $17.5 Million
Currently, a 6 percent holdback on all non-essential contracts is in place, and should allow for $17.5 millions in savings by the end of 2011. The Office of Budget and Management (OBM) will continue reviewing existing contracts that have been outstanding for a substantial amount of time but not yet spent against. Over $25 million of these contracts have been identified and are in line for the Department of Procurement Services to terminate. Such terminations will not create immediate savings, but will prevent future spending.

Cuts in Senior Management Payroll: $5.5 Million
Part of this number consists of savings from reorganizing the Police Department. Although the majority of these reductions in both staff members and salaries have occurred, a few are still being processed and should be completed by the end of August. The savings are expected to meet the $5.5 million goal.

Department of Water Management/Department of Transportation Project Coordination: $5 Million
$4.2 million of this goal has already been identified and will be achieved as project coordination continues. As the Departments create a comprehensive survey of all scheduled water/sewer projects and street/alley resurfacing projects, and review GIS data to identify water main replacement and sewer lining projects in areas with deteriorated road conditions, the rest of the savings will be identified.

Facebook Town Hall. © 2011 City of Chicago, photo by Brooke CollinsImplement Real Estate and Energy Reductions: $5 Million
Through lease credits and cancellations, the re-negotiations of a fuel contract, and ComEd’s adjustments to the City’s street-lighting rates have allowed the City to realize roughly $2.5 million of this goal this year. The Departments of General Services and Fleet Management have identified another $2.5 million in additional savings, which include procuring a new natural gas vendor that could allow the department to exceed its targeted savings.

Merge Overlapping Functions Across Departments: $3.5 Million Combined
Currently, the Department of General Services is being merged with the Department of Fleet Management, while the combined Departments of Finance and Revenue are creating a new organizational structure. The departments will be fully merged by 2012 and the $3.5 million goal met by the end of this year.

Reduce Outside Legal Counsel Expenses: $3 Million
The Law Department has increased pro bono services, engaging four firms for pro bono counsel. In addition, the Department has taken back certain cases from outside counsel and stopped outsourcing certain types of cases, to meet the projected $3 million goal.

Parking Enforcement and Traffic Control Efficiencies: $2.3 Million
The Office of Emergency Management Communications (OEMC) expects to meet this goal this year by cutting costs and increasing revenues. The OEMC’s plan to decrease full-time Traffic Control Aides in the Loop and at the O’Hare and Midway Airports has already been implemented. The OEMC will keep 24 full-time positions and use part-time staff for special projects, events, and emergencies. In addition, the Department of Revenue had expanded parking enforcement to provide daytime enforcement in the Loop. This will ensure that the level and quality of service is maintained.

Rationalize and Reduce Vehicle Programs: $1.5 Million
The Departments of General Services and Fleet Management have reduced alternative fuel prices and eliminated the City’s shared lease program to accomplish over $550,000 in savings. An ongoing audit of the City’s fleet and various reductions in repair and maintenance costs will help the department reach its full goal.

Return Laborers to Work: $0.5 Million
The Laborers’ Local Union 1001 and the City are currently reviewing an agreement that would allow employees on duty disability to return to work and finalizing a list of titles available for such a return to work under this policy.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel © 2011 City of Chicago, photo by Brooke Collins

Besides the initiative to save $75 million, the Mayor’s Office has implemented several other cost-savings measures that will be realized this year. $20 million in savings results from the hiring freeze for the non-essential workforce and the partnership between the Department of Public Health and Federally Qualified Health Centers, while the Mayor’s Office expects to save another $10-12 million by the end of 2011 through seasonal labor reductions and outsourcing initiatives. These include the management of employee benefits, custodial services at the airports and libraries, and the city’s water bill call center operation.

“The goals I set for my Administration hold me and my team accountable to the taxpayers,” said the Mayor. “We are here to deliver results, so that Chicago becomes the most competitive city in the nation and one of the best places to build a family and grow a business.”

For a breakdown of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s first 30 days in office, click here

For more information, including the full list of 100-Day goals and a detailed breakdown of the Emanuel Administration’s achievements so far, visit the links below.

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