Government of Chicago
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The council takes official action through the passage of ordinances and resolutions and approves the city budget.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Government priorities and activities are established in a budget ordinance usually adopted each November.
OrganizationEdit
Generally speaking, the mayor and city departments comprise the executive branch of the city government, and the city council comprises the legislative branch.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On the other hand, the council has oversight authority over city departments.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" />
City CouncilEdit
MayorEdit
City departments and agenciesEdit
The below city departments and agencies operate as part of the executive branch, under the Office of the Mayor:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Finance and AdministrationEdit
- 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 ElectionsEdit
- Board of Election Commissioners
City DevelopmentEdit
- Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
- Department of Housing
- Department of Planning and Development
Community ServicesEdit
- Board of Health
- Commission on Human Relations
- Department of Family and Support Services
- Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities
- Public Libraries
Public SafetyEdit
- Fire Department
- Police Board
- Civilian Office of Police Accountability
- Police Department
- Office of Emergency Management and Communications
RegulatoryEdit
- 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 ServicesEdit
- Department of Aviation
- Department of Streets and Sanitation
- Department of Transportation
- Department of Water Management
City ClerkEdit
City TreasurerEdit
Other city agenciesEdit
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 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)
LawEdit
Chicago is a special charter municipality.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> 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.<ref name=Ellis>Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Cbignore</ref> The Municipal Code of Chicago is the codification of Chicago's local ordinances of a general and permanent nature.<ref name=Ellis/><ref>Chicago City Council Journal of 27 June 1990 Template:Webarchive, p. 17764</ref>
PoliticsEdit
Template:Expand section {{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:Further
Other governmentsEdit
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.<ref>"Major Office Buildings." Chicago City and Neighborhood Guide. Retrieved on April 17, 2009.</ref><ref>"Richard Wright Immortalized on Postage Template:Webarchive." United States Postal Service. April 8, 2009. Retrieved on April 17, 2009.</ref> The post office is the only 24-hour post office in the United States.<ref>"New York City's main post office stops 24-hour service." Associated Press. Friday April 17, 2009. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.</ref>
State governmentEdit
.jpg){kind=link}
Template:As of 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."<ref name=Gauen/> According to Gauen, "Everybody who's anybody in Illinois government has an office in Chicago."<ref name=Gauen/> 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."<ref name=INN/> 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.<ref name=INN>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.</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Template:Official website
- Data portal
- Municipal Code of Chicago from American Legal Publishing
- Chicago Decoded (unofficial Municipal Code) from the OpenGov Foundation
{{#invoke:Navbox|navbox}} Template:Authority control