We did work to ensure our training and educational materials are straightforward and easily accessible for all users.  We also engaged in community interaction to answer questions and to explain our work and how it promotes fair government for all Chicagoans.

Further, over the past year, we have received over 100 inquiries and complaints from the public. This represents a doubling  of such inquiries and complaints received compared with prior years.  While our law does not permit us to track the race/ethnic background of those who contact us, the nature of many of the complaints suggests that they are from historically marginalized neighborhoods. We believe that our community outreach efforts and increased social media presence account for this development.

To advance the citywide desired result around data, BOE’s FY23 goal is to continue and expand its practice of posting all Board related opinions and memoranda, training materials and educational materials on its website.  The Board also tweets out information. We plan to reach out to all 50 alderpersons to offer to participate in their community meetings for the purpose of explaining our work and the services we provide to the public. 

To advance the citywide desired result around community engagement, BOE’s FY23 goal is to continue its practice of meeting with community groups and encouraging the public to participate in the Open Session of the Board’s monthly meetings.  

To advance the citywide desired result around workforce diversity, BOE’s FY23 goal is to continue and expand its practice of providing ethics training and educational materials. We have one open position in our department at this time.  That position had been filled by a member of a minority group and we will be mindful of that when we begin the hiring process.

Our choice of goals reflects the means through which we believe we can best work towards racial equity, given the nature of our agency’s work, which does not per se involve racial equity, as government ethics and avoiding conflicts of interests is a universal goal.  Given the nature of our work, we strive to ensure all Chicagoans that we are dedicated to consistent ethics education and enforcement.

DOAH, in its efforts to advance racial equity, appointed 6 new ALJs in 2021. The breakdown for that appointment is as follows: 5 African Americans and 1 Latinx Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). As we continue in our hiring efforts, our focus will be on recruiting from the Latinx and Asian community. This focused effort is based on information we received from the 2020 census data and residents’ usage of Language Line, over-the-phone interpretation services, in our proceedings. The top three language requests are as follows: 87% Spanish, 5% Mandarin and 2% Polish. Mandarin exceeded the previous #2 slot from Polish. This indicator for DOAH is that the need for Asian ALJs is now more evident.

To advance the citywide desired result around community engagement, DOAH will have community outreach teams meet with Aldermanic offices and community groups to explain the role of DOAH in the administrative hearing process. DOAH gives Chicagoans equitable access to the court/justice system and wants to demystify the hearing process by educating the City’s residents on the administrative hearing process. 

To advance the citywide desired result around lifelong learning, DOAH will continue to fund and promote the Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Service (CARPLS) to ALL low-income respondents who cannot afford an attorney’s advice or guidance. CARPLS provides, for those who qualify, practical “how to” advice regarding the preparation of motions and presentation of their case at their administrative hearing.    

To advance the citywide desired result around workforce diversity, DOAH will develop new outreach programs to promote diversity when appointing new Administrative Law Judges. This will include targeted outreach to the various Latinx and Asian bar/alumni associations with “meet and greet” events.

1. The community outreach program is based on the influx of calls received asking questions about the administrative hearing process, about information required at hearings, and services available for legal advice or overcoming language barriers. The community outreach program will advance the outcomes the City is striving to meet by making information available to the community so that they are better equipped to appear and present their case at their hearing before an ALJ.
2. DOAH observed a decrease in the number of CARPLS consultations over the past two years, even though CARPLS continued to offer full services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The availability of this service assists in breaking down perceived barriers to the administrative hearing process and promotes equal access and understanding of the process to residents and gives them the necessary tools to present their defense at their administrative hearing.
3. We selected the goal of recruiting diverse ALJs to ensure the ALJs understand the broad range of backgrounds and experiences of the respondents coming before them, which will promote fair and impartial adjudication of the City’s ordinances. Increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of the ALJs is also important so that the ALJs are reflective of the population they serve. This will ultimately promote several Citywide desired results including workforce diversity. 

Chicago Animal Care & Control revised the Adoption Screening Form (Now Pet Adoption Questionnaire) in 2021/2022, specifically to remove barriers.  For example, for decades our adoption application had asked if people rented or owned. When we looked at potential barriers to adopters, we realized this was one.  In predominantly nonwhite census tracts, 60% of householders are renters. In majority Black census tracts, it's 63% renters. By eliminating this question, we hope to expand access to more Chicagoans of color, including those who rent.  Our new questionnaire creates an open discussion-based for adopters to ask more of the questions as opposed to CACC staff/volunteers to ask questions.

To advance the citywide desired result around public health, Chicago Animal Care and Control’s FY23 goal is to continue to provide resources to residents particularly in the Roseland community who do not have the ability to handle complex animal related situations in their home; if a resident cannot keep their pet, CACC is providing resources such as low-cost veterinary care referrals, pet food, and temporary housing referrals to those in need so they can keep their pet.  

To advance the citywide desired result around lifelong learning, CACC’s FY23 goal is to ensure that pet owners have knowledge around and access to pet vaccines, microchips, pet food, and pet adoption events, with a particular focus in several community areas such as Roseland and Austin. 

To advance the citywide desired result around workforce diversity, CACC’s FY23 goal is to encourage a more diverse volunteer base while also establishing why equity is important to the Department though onboarding and initial orientation.

CACC is committed to racial equity throughout its practices and programs and consistently evaluates our existing systems to see if we can find barriers that we can remove or opportunities to expand access to adoptions for low-income families. Research indicates that having a pet at home can improve mental health for residents, and we believe it is vital to support families with the resources and information they need to keep their pets healthy and in their home. We also know there are pet food and veterinarian deserts in Chicago, similar to the food desert problem. Our partnerships and efforts to provide animal care to families in these pet care deserts are designed to help families care for their animals without having to drive across the city to find services. While CACC does not have the resources it needs to be in all the community areas that could use our support, we identified the Roseland and Austin community areas as ones where we should focus our veterinary care referrals and other efforts to help families keep their pets.

CACC’s mission includes ensuring that families are educated about how to effectively care for their pets. Whether through education, services, or supplies, CACC is dedicated to ensuring pets can safely remain with those that care for them. We learned that the Roseland and Austin community areas need additional support so we will ensure our efforts expand in that area in FY23.

Additionally, our department could not run without volunteers, but our volunteers are not as diverse as our department staff. While there are some barriers within the citywide HR system that we hope will be reformed soon (such as requiring city volunteers pay any existing city debt before starting), we also believe CACC can design some additional recruitment ideas with nearby schools and universities to get additional volunteers to join.

The implementation of BACP’s revised funding strategy for neighborhood supports for business development programs that serve local entrepreneurs. The $5M program provides grants to chambers of commerce, economic, and business development organizations working to drive economic growth in communities in Chicago through placed based strategies, training, and technical assistance. After a thorough program evaluation, engagement with local businesses and existing grantees, recommendations for transparent and equitable funding methodology resulted in the shift in the funding model. In designing the program, racial equity was embedded in the program design and framework. We leveraged low-moderate income (LMI) data along with business density to determine geographical areas/communities that are prioritized. Leveraging LMI data was as a funding criterion was based in research, including a local study (Assessing Chicago’s Ecosystem) that indicated LMI community areas lacked significant resources and tools to support local businesses and budding entrepreneurs. Many of the zip codes outlined in the study had an LMI of 50% of less with demographics comprising largely Black and LatinX populations. We also leveraged research and best practices from other cities to help inform future strategies. We conducted ongoing surveys and focus groups to gather input from service providers. This revised funding structure allowed BACP the opportunity to make strides towards equitably funding communities that serve traditionally disadvantaged entrepreneurs. This was done by setting a funding floor for generalized business assistance of $40,000 for all delegate agencies in good standing. Delegate agencies providing hyperlocal support to community areas comprised largely of Black and LatinX populations were providing additional funding of $5-15k to address the barriers these communities continue to face in successfully running a business. Additionally, BACP launched 8 Chicago Business Centers, a new program neighborhood resource hub, providing business licensing support, professional services, and access to capital to underserved populations, specifically Black, LatinX and immigrant-owned businesses serving over 1,500 people. These centers also received an investment of $900,000 for facility renovations and improvements. This represents a total investment of nearly $3M in 2022

To advance the citywide desired result around community engagement, BACP’s FY23 goal is to assess its current public facing educational materials and update materials, where needed to include language-inclusive communication that can aid in assisting existing and new business owners with navigating city processes and small business supports. This will happen in coordination with the Chicago Business Centers, small business resource hubs located in communities throughout the city to assist entrepreneurs.

To advance the citywide desired result around economic development, BACP’s FY23 goal is to launch a new capacity building program that offers individualized counseling, back-office support and technology enablement opportunities.

To advance the citywide desired result around contracting, BACP’s FY23 goal is to launch a new minority and women-owned supplier development program, that will provide support to prospective suppliers with the following:

• In coordination with DPS, sharing information on available contract opportunities
• Providing professional services support with developing proposals by individualized counseling and workshops
• Providing assistance and mentorship for existing suppliers needing support navigating city processes

We have a robust engagement strategy that includes feedback from clients, stakeholders and philanthropic partners. The engagements include roundtable discussions with key stakeholders, individualized meetings with advocacy and advisory groups, including those supporting the communities we’re targeting, other municipalities and nonprofit leaders doing similar work and businesses and organizations that would be impacted by our program.

The biggest win was through our enforcement process Circuit Court appointed a receiver to stabilize 20 properties and a total number of 121 residential units in the city’s underserved communities.

To advance the citywide desired result around contracting, DOB’s FY23 goal is to work to revise the qualifications of demolition contractors to enable minority demolition companies to respond to the Request for Qualifications to become a part of the pool demolition contracts to reflect the communities where demolition activities are taking place.  

To advance the citywide desired result around economic development, DOB’s FY23 goal is to continue to diversify the workforce through our hiring process.

90% of the areas that request services from the department are in our community areas that have been underserved historically.   The goal is to help members of the community to become economically self-sufficient, can build wealth, and thrive through becoming an employee of the City of Chicago and/or to become a demolition contractor as part of our vendor pool.

We applied data science to allocate parking enforcement to promote impartiality while improving curbside access. Instead of deployment based on geographical consistency, we focused on areas in need of enforcement rather than those with violations that create less social harm (e.g. expired plate, missing city sticker). The latter carry higher fines and tend to be issued disproportionately in disadvantaged communities. In addition, we implemented the Clear Path Relief (CPR) program and Fix-It Defense to help low-income motorists cope with punitive aspects of citations and continued our efforts to enroll low-income homeowners in the Utility Billing Relief program.

• CPR: For households at or below 300% of FPL, cuts cost of newer citations in half and offers waiver of old ticket debt, including boot, tow, & storage fees. In the first 4 months of the program, more than 61,000 applications have been received and $20.9M of debt has been withdrawn, with an additional $10.9M put on hold.
• Fix-it: Allows motorists with tickets for expired City sticker or plate violations to come into compliance & get violations dismissed regardless of income level. 45% of these violations are issued in communities that are 70% or more Black and Brown.
• Utility Billing Relief entered its third year in 2022. Since inception, 24,000 have enrolled, over $14.9M has been forgiven, and $11M has been saved through rate reductions. 46% of enrollees identify as African American and 34% identify as Hispanic.

To advance the citywide desired result around economic development, DOF’s FY23 goal is to continue to use data to deploy parking enforcement personnel to further reduce average fine amounts in Black and Brown neighborhoods by 2.5%.

To advance the citywide desired result around economic development, DOF’s FY23 goal is to implement improved boot zones and a prioritization of resources to reduce the percentage of vehicles immobilized in Black and Brown neighborhoods by 5%.

To advance the citywide desired result around public safety, the DOF’s FY23 goal is to review debt relief programs and revise, as necessary, to support survivors. DOF is looking into changes to program eligibility and opportunities for directed outreach to impacted groups.  Because Black and Brown residents are more likely to experience gender-based violence, these efforts will directly impact those communities in a positive way. 

To advance the citywide desired result around community engagement, DOF's FY23 goal is to continue to promote debt relief programs, affordable payment plans, and accessible payment options so that City debt is not a barrier to employment or contracting with the City.

These goals were selected because they advance the goal of racial equity in a measurable way. DOF’s efforts to promote impartiality and fairness to improve curbside access, while also dismantling systemic barriers that prevent progression in affected communities have been iterative. They have been part of a broader, multi-year agenda that sparked the implementation of several initiatives developed in conjunction with the Fines, Fees, and Access Collaborative. These include the end of doubling City sticker fines, City sticker debt relief ($11M dismissed), capping storage fees at $1K, the Fresh Start program, and online payment plans that save motorists 22% collection fees. We have witnessed positive progress to date and our intent is to drive greater fairness and further reduce systemic barriers for Black and Brown communities. The parking enforcement allocation strategy reduced the distribution of fines in disadvantaged communities, including city stickers (from 22.8% to 20.3%) and expired plates (from 16.8% to 15.9%), and lowered the average fine value (from $82.08 to $78.21). Citation issuance in Black and Brown communities declined 8.9%, and in just the first four months of CPR, the City received 61,000 applications, withdrew $20.9M in debt and placed $10.9M on hold. We recognize that continued progress requires a commitment to analyzing data and pivoting as necessary, and DOF will provide ongoing feedback in hopes of achieving improvements

The completion of a new, revamped City of Chicago Employment Plan resulted in a document that allows the flexibility needed to drive equitable hiring procedures and outcomes. The new Employment Plan demonstrates our commitment to hiring practices that base employee selection on candidate qualifications, provide equal employment opportunities and prohibit entry of improper considerations in any stage of selection processes.  The new Employment Plan eliminates some of the structural barriers present in prior hiring documents, allowing DHR, in partnership with hiring departments, to craft targeted programs such as internships and specialized training programs focusing on underrepresented groups, such as returning citizens. The new Employment Plan supports the development of partnerships with organizations that provide resources to support City hiring goals.  The Employment Plan contains a new section, Promotions & Career Progressions, which supports career advancement and professional development of current City employees, by facilitating the promotion of qualified internal candidates.

To advance the citywide desired result around workforce diversity, DHR’s FY23 goal is to drive the implementation of the City's updated Employment Plan in a manner that aligns with the City's framework for diversity and fairness in hiring.  DHR will focus on the expanded opportunity to use internships and training programs by having departments identify titles where such programs would be effective and lead to strong entry-level candidates, then creating specific strategies to attract underrepresented groups to participate in those internships and training programs.  

To advance the citywide desired result around workforce diversity, DHR’s FY23 goal is to cultivate and attract diverse and female candidates.   DHR will task its internal Diversity Committee with assessing the most effective use of funds budgeted for advertising and marketing and make a written recommendation to the department head in early 2023. During the year, the committee will provide quarterly reports of that spending and planned spending.   

To advance the citywide desired result around public safety, DHR will leverage its role on the Police Promotions Review Committee (PPRC) created as part of the Chicago Police Department Consent Decree. DHR will work with the Chicago Police Department and other stakeholders on the PPRC to improve application and selection processes, with the goal of driving increased diversity in the ranks of Detective, Sergeant, and Lieutenant. DHR will review the application process to find opportunities to make it more user-friendly and conduct candidate experience surveys to identify trends and ultimately minimize barriers to the application process.

Our goals were selected to leverage the role of the Department of Human Resources (DHR) in providing opportunities for employment and career advancement for all Chicagoans. The Department of Human Resources recognizes that historically there has been a lower representation of Hispanic and women employees in its workforce. In addition, there has also been a limited representation of people of color in leadership roles.  The goal related to the Employment Plan is a necessary acknowledgement of the City’s structured hiring process and seeks to maximize our ability to adjust the process where possible to connect with equity objectives.  The training goal was selected to equip all City employees, particularly managers and supervisors, with the tools and capacity to promote equity in their everyday work.  The goal regarding attracting diverse and female candidates focuses on the importance of promoting awareness of the benefits of City service and the need to educate those in our potential workforce about advantages and opportunities available through City jobs.   The goal acknowledges that we must strategically allocate advertising funds, to attract women and people of color to work for the City of Chicago.

One of our highest priorities is to represent the interest of Chicago and its residents in a fair and equitable matter.  Guided by this principle, we have been laser focused on expanding the applicant pool for new hires to ensure that more diverse and qualified candidates apply for open positions. Because of changes made in the selection process to attract more diverse candidates, the Department of Law currently has one of the most diverse classes of Summer Law Clerks it has ever seen. 75% of the Summer Law Clerks self-identify as minority status.  These top-of-their-class students are currently enrolled at many of the country’s elite law schools.  In comparison, only 20% of the 2021 Summer Law Clerk participants self-identified as minority status. The summer clerk selection process was refined to achieve program goals; for example, staff reached out to law school affinity groups, local organizations, and conducted information sessions to highlight the unique opportunity within this program. Highlights include the Enrichment Program, Internal Insight Series, and Committee on Diversity and Inclusion mentor matching. Utilizing an internal interview process, and allowing students to select their top 3 divisions with the option to switch divisions half way through the program, were noted as contributors to the program’s success by law department staff and clerks.

To advance the citywide desired result of around lifelong learning, DOL’s FY23 goal is to increase professional development opportunities for staff to learn about and engage in DEI goals within the legal community, through seminars and workshops provided by trained DEI facilitators.   

To advance the citywide desired result around workforce diversity, DOL’s FY23 goal is to increase on-campus presence at local law schools, legal job fairs and with affinity organizations to recruit diverse and qualified attorneys   

To advance the citywide desired result around lifelong learning, DOL’s FY23 goal is to enhance staff-produced CLE production. Encourage more CLE's driven by division content to highlight the interesting, incredible work of our Department. Changes include:  Encourage presenting staff to invite their law school alumni groups, professional groups and offer CLE processing for them. Proactive outreach to DOL and CID and Inclusion to ask them about CLE ideas.  Empower internal leaders to lead practice tools/tips/tricks sessions. These encourage leadership, demonstrate healthy practice skills and enhance overall work.   For example Westlaw Practice Tools sessions for 'power users' in helpful areas: primary law, analytical, litigation, practical law.    

These goals were selected because of the extraordinary benefit afforded to both the entire city workforce and Chicago residents at large when talented and diverse attorneys represent the City in its legal matters. Increasing diversity is important in the legal field, because historically underrepresented groups have not had the same access to entering the legal profession. By actively recruiting from affinity organizations, law schools and bar associations, and creating a workplace culture that celebrates diversity, DOL will brand itself in the legal community as a welcoming law office to all attorneys, which will help in the City’s ultimate goal of hiring a diverse and talented workforce that reflects the communities it serves. 

The Department of Procurement Services’ (DPS) racial equity goal was to increase the City’s participation with minority and women owned businesses throughout Chicago.  DPS would like to highlight the recently restructured Contract Administration Unit as well as the establishment of a new unit, the Office of Contracting Equity.  The Contract Administration Unit restructuring allows the Procurement Specialists to put greater focus on their disciplines and to work more closely with the user departments on the unbundling of contracts which could facilitate greater participation in the contracting process for minority and women owned businesses.  The establishment of the Office of Contracting Equity is to remediate barriers to entry, support the growth and success of minority and women owned businesses.

To advance the citywide desired result around economic development, DPS’s FY23 goal is to work with Assist Agencies to increase equity for businesses citywide with a focus on socioeconomically disadvantaged areas through trainings and cohorts on a variety of topics.  Assist Agencies are not-for-profit and/or chamber of commerce organizations that represent the interest of minority and women businesses.  

To advance the citywide desired result around contracting, DPS’s FY23 goal is to increase the number of small and diverse businesses. DPS will collaborate with user departments to unbundle large procurements to facilitate opportunities that provide for increased participation in the contracting process (e.g., Target Market, Small Business Initiative (SBI) Construction Program and Mid-Sized Business Initiative (MBI) Construction Program).  

To advance the citywide desired result around lifelong learning, DPS’s FY23 goal is to offer additional trainings and workshops that would prove most beneficial to small and diverse firms seeking to participate in contracting opportunities on a prime level.  In addition, DPS will be hosting business matchmaking sessions in which DPS proactively matches potential vendors that may be able to collaborate in future contracting opportunities.

These goals were selected because DPS is committed to contracting equity and the goals presented were likely feasible in the short-term given the current staffing.  The desire to an increase not only in subcontracting opportunities for small and certified firms, but also to an increase in prime contracting opportunities. These goals will align with the City’s ultimate outcomes breaking down some of the barriers to entry, allowing inclusivity of more small and women businesses to pursue contracting opportunities.

The License Appeal Commission is the forum through which liquor license holders and applicants can appeal adverse decisions regarding discipline against their liquor licenses or denial of their liquor license applications. It is helpful to business owners and interested residents whose first language may not be English to be able to access descriptions of procedures not only to see how the Commission works but also to make informed decisions about their participation in the process. As such, our biggest win is that we have translated our guidelines and procedures which are posted on our website into eight different languages making it accessible for non-English language speakers.

To advance the citywide desired result around contracting, LAC’s FY 23 goal is to further equitable access by identifying and contacting representatives in Dept of Law and Procurement Services to explain our objectives and see how we can work together to find more MBE court reporters.

LAC chose this goal because court reporting is a profession that provides a service necessary for LAC to fulfill its duties under the law, is necessary to other City departments (particularly, Law), and may help City Colleges expand their offerings to attract more people, including minorities, into court reporting services and entrepreneurial programs, and may promote a career pathway to MBE certification in a field that desperately needs personnel. LAC will identify organizations relevant to court reporting and local institutions that offer court reporting education and inquire as to any outreach they may have done to encourage global majority participation in the industry and to explain our desire for more MBE court reporting services. It is important to note that even though court reporting is an incredibly important service, current research shows court reporting as a professional is on the decline and Illinois is one of the hardest hit states.

On October 11, 2021, OIG published data related to Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts’ annual end-of-year fund balances starting in 2017.  During the 3rd quarter of 2022, OIG plans to update the dashboards to allow users to view how TIF funds were allocated across various TIF eligible activities by district. In 2021, OIG also launched an internal research project to identify best practices for equitable community engagement. The research project concluded in 2022 and will inform OIG’s community engagement strategies moving forward. 

To advance the citywide desired result around public safety, OIG’s FY23 goal is to formalize its commitment to embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into all of its work by updating its manuals and templates for the Public Safety Section, and other sections across the office as well as its Audit & Program Review Section, to include a record of all diversity, equity, and inclusion processes and follow-up that occurred at each stage of the project.   

To advance the citywide desired result around workforce diversity, OIG’s FY23 goal is to continue to expand recruiting opportunities to ensure that a wide array of Chicagoans are aware of employment opportunities within OIG, including by reviewing and updating its job postings and position descriptions to ensure they best attract diverse talent.   

To advance the citywide desired result around data collection, OIG’s FY23 goal is to provide the public with a more detailed picture of the equity impacts of the dispersal of City services by enhancing its current publicly accessible dashboards to add demographic and socio-economic data, where relevant, and to link its currently available reports on its dashboards, where relevant.   

OIG believes that diversity, equity, and inclusion should be considered at every phase of its work from development of projects and intake to public reporting and dissemination. OIG does not believe that equity considerations should be limited to projects that specifically address diversity, equity, and inclusion across the dissemination of City services. With this in mind, OIG is committed to developing processes that ensure that the interests of all Chicagoans are considered in our work, including in our Public Safety oversight work. As such, OIG’s first goal will work to ensure that all Public Safety projects, as well as all other audit work, record and follow-up on equity issues throughout the life cycle of the project and that the final projects take into account equity considerations. Similarly, OIG’s second goal is aimed at increasing diversity in OIG’s workforce and therefore ensuring that its work is informed by diverse perspectives. Lastly, OIG’s third goal will ensure that the public has access to demographic and socio-economic information relevant to the datasets that OIG publicizes. This will aid the public in understanding the equity implications related to the data shared on our portals.