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Government of Chicago

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Chicago City Hall, shortly before construction was completed in 1911

The government of the City of Chicago, Illinois, United States is divided into executive and legislative branches. The Mayor of Chicago is the chief executive, elected by general election for a term of four years, with no term limits. The mayor appoints commissioners and other officials who oversee the various departments. In addition to the mayor, Chicago's two other citywide elected officials are the City Clerk and the City Treasurer.

The City Council is the legislative branch and is made up of 50 alderpersons, one elected from each ward in the city.[1] The council takes official action through the passage of ordinances and resolutions and approves the city budget.[2] Government priorities and activities are established in a budget ordinance usually adopted each November.

Organization

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Generally speaking, the mayor and city departments comprise the executive branch of the city government, and the city council comprises the legislative branch.[3] However, the mayor does have some formal legislative functions such as being the presiding officer of the council and being able to break tie votes, and informally has dominated legislative activity since the late 19th century.[4][5] On the other hand, the council has oversight authority over city departments.[6] The city treasurer and city clerk are the only other directly elected positions in the city government, and are independent from the mayor's office and the council.[5]

City Council

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See also: Chicago City Council

Mayor

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See also: Mayor of Chicago

City departments and agencies

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The below city departments and agencies operate as part of the executive branch, under the Office of the Mayor:[7]

Finance and Administration

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  • Department of Administrative Hearings
  • Department of Finance
  • Department of Fleet and Facility Management
  • Department of Law
  • Department of Human Resources
  • Department of Innovation and Technology
  • Department of Procurement Services
  • Office of Budget and Management

Legislative and Elections

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  • Board of Election Commissioners

City Development

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  • Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
  • Department of Housing
  • Department of Planning and Development

Community Services

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Public Safety

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Regulatory

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  • Office of the Inspector General
  • Department of Buildings
  • Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection
  • Chicago Animal Care and Control
  • License Appeal Commission
  • Board of Ethics

Infrastructure Services

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City Clerk

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See also: City Clerk of Chicago

City Treasurer

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See also: City Treasurer of Chicago

Other city agencies

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Other city-level government bodies include:

  • The Chicago Board of Education, which oversees the Chicago Public Schools system, and whose members are appointed by the mayor
  • The Chicago Housing Authority, a not-for-profit municipal corporation whose board of commissioners is appointed by the mayor
  • The Chicago Water Department, oversees water utility. Water Commissioner is appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Alderpersons. Services they handle includes: Metersave, Water Quality Reports, Sewer Regulations, Pay Water Bills Online, Conservation, Education, Chicago Water Quality, as well as, Full Payment Certifications.[8]
  • The City Council Office of Financial Analysis (COFA) was created in 2015 to provide the City Council with independent analysis of the fiscal implications of the issues before it. COFA works with the City Council's Committee on Budget and Government Operations, and applies the tools of financial analysis to budget recommendations and forecasts, the city's annual audit, proposed public-private partnership agreements or asset leases, bond rating agency actions, and other matters as requested by Alderpersons. COFA also provides an options report of potential cost-saving reforms and efficiencies.
  • The Board of Trustees of the City Colleges of Chicago, whose members are appointed by the mayor with the approval of the council (except one elected student member)

Law

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Further information: Law of Illinois

Chicago is a special charter municipality.[9] The Journal of the Proceedings of the City Council of the City of Chicago is the official publication of the acts of the City Council.[10] The Municipal Code of Chicago is the codification of Chicago's local ordinances of a general and permanent nature.[10][11]

Politics

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Main article: Political history of Chicago
Further information: Chicago-style politics

Other governments

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Chicago is also part of Cook County. The Government of Cook County is primarily composed of the Board of Commissioners, other elected officials such as the Sheriff, State's Attorney, Treasurer, Board of Review, Clerk, Assessor, Recorder, Circuit Court judges and Circuit Court Clerk, as well as numerous other officers and entities. Illinois State police also operate in Chicago.

Other agencies that operate in the city of Chicago include the Chicago Transit Authority and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, both of which were created by the state government of Illinois.

The United States Postal Service operates post offices in Chicago. The main Chicago Post Office is located at 433 West Harrison Street in the Near West Side community area.[12][13] The post office is the only 24-hour post office in the United States.[14]

State government

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See also: Government of Illinois
James R. Thompson Center, which has offices of Illinois officials. Pat Gauen, columnist of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, argued that Chicago is "de facto" state co-capital with Springfield[15]

As of 2012 most cabinet officers and constitutional officers of the Government of Illinois conduct a majority of their business in Chicago, with offices at the James R. Thompson Center. In 2012, St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Pat Gauen argued that "in the reality of Illinois politics, [Springfield] shares de facto capital status with Chicago."[15] According to Gauen, "Everybody who's anybody in Illinois government has an office in Chicago."[15] University of Illinois researcher and former member of the Illinois legislature Jim Nowlan stated "It's almost like Chicago is becoming the shadow capital of Illinois" and that "Springfield is almost become a hinterland outpost."[16] A former director of the Southern Illinois University Paul Simon Institute for Public Affairs, Mike Lawrence, criticized state officials for spending so little time in Springfield since it estranged them from and devalued Illinois state employees in that city.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "City Council, Your Ward & Alderperson". www.chicago.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  2. ^ "Chicago Government". City of Chicago. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  3. ^ "City of Chicago :: Chicago Government". www.chicago.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  4. ^ Dumke, Mick (2019-02-25). "At Chicago City Hall, the Legislative Branch Rarely Does Much Legislating". ProPublica. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  5. ^ a b "Government, City of Chicago". www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  6. ^ g.angelo (2015-09-21). "Rules of Order". City Clerk of Chicago. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  7. ^ Office of the Mayor of Chicago (2019). "City of Chicago 2019 Budget Overview" (PDF). p. 55. Retrieved 2019-06-04. City of Chicago Organizational Chart
  8. ^ "Chicago FPC Service". Chicago FPC Service. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  9. ^ "Charters, Municipal". The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  10. ^ a b Julia Ellis, Chicago City Clerk Legislative Counsel (20 November 2013). The Making of Chicago City Law - How It Works. OpenGov Foundation / YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  11. ^ Chicago City Council Journal of 27 June 1990 Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine, p. 17764
  12. ^ "Major Office Buildings." Chicago City and Neighborhood Guide. Retrieved on April 17, 2009.
  13. ^ "Richard Wright Immortalized on Postage Archived 2009-04-12 at the Wayback Machine." United States Postal Service. April 8, 2009. Retrieved on April 17, 2009.
  14. ^ "New York City's main post office stops 24-hour service." Associated Press. Friday April 17, 2009. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.
  15. ^ a b c Gauen, Pat. "Illinois corruption explained: the capital is too far from Chicago " (Archive). St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved on May 26, 2016.
  16. ^ a b Reeder, Scott. "What does it cost taxpayers to pay for lawmakers’ empty Springfield residences?" (Archive). Illinois News Network. September 11, 2014. Retrieved on May 26, 2016.
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