Chicago City Council Referred to Committee on Transportation and Public Way
July 25, 2018
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The so-called infrastructure "menu" program allocates equal funding on an annual basis to each of the City's 50 wards, such funding to be used for any combination of infrastructure projects within each ward, as selected by that ward's alderman; and
WHEREAS, The 50 wards of the City of Chicago are of substantially equal population, but the needs for local infrastructure in the wards vary considerably depending on the geographical size of a ward, the age of local infrastructure, planned repairs and replacements of infrastructure, the magnitude of use of the infrastructure, intended or planned local development, immediacy of need and many other factors; and
WHEREAS, Aldermen have very little information about the plans of the City's Department of Transportation to repair, replace and upgrade City streets, bridges, sidewalks and other public ways; and
WHEREAS, Other departments have prepared detailed five-year plans; one example being the Department of Planning and Development's five-year housing plan; and
WHEREAS, Menu money could be used more effectively if Aldermen had a detailed five-year plan from the Department of Transportation about their proposed infrastructure construction in the next five years; now, therefore,
GILBERT VILLEGAS
Alderman, 36,n Ward
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the City Council of the City of Chicago, gathered here together this 25th day of July, 2018, call on the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation appear before the Committee on Transportation and Public Way to present its detailed five-year plan and present written copies of that plan to the Committee.