City Council budget hearings

Hundreds of representatives of block clubs, neighborhood organizations, and advocacy groups gathered at public hearings in the City Council chambers to advocate for or against items in the proposed Chicago city budget for the following year.

They were wasting their time.

Only a handful of Alderman showed up. They spoke at the very beginning and stated their positions about budget matters, sometimes generating media attention, but always enabling them to return to their wards to boast of the positions they had taken on behalf of the community.

When they finished speaking, they left. They didn’t stay to listen to any of the other presenters. In fact, often the only Alderman in the chamber for the duration of the meeting was the one who chaired the session.

Most City Council members weren’t interested in anything said at the meeting. The hearing, in their opinion, was populated by grandstanders and by those who didn’t know any better. Nothing they asked for was going to see the light of day.

The way to influence the budget, they knew, was to begin on the first business day of the year, talking to the Mayor’s office and to the department responsible for the relevant program, winning the support of the local Alderman, and lining up support from Council members of other wards.

Most people didn’t know that. And the Aldermen who did know that didn’t tell them.