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Chicago City Council October 14, 2021
RESOLUTION CALLING FOR HEARING(S) WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ASSETS, INFORMATION AND SERVICES (AIS) IN RELATION TO DATA SHARING ISSUES
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago ("City") is responsible for the protection and promotion of public health, safety, welfare, and economic and structural conditions, among others, that allow businesses, communities, and residents to thrive; and
WHEREAS, The largest department supporting such responsibilities is the Department of Assets, Information and Services ("AIS"), that provides operation, maintenance, and repair support for City-owned and leased vehicles, and the operation, maintenance and repair of City buildings and properties. AIS is also responsible for custodial services, security coverage, graphic services, mail service, relocation services, document storage and management, energy procurement, and environmental engineering technical support; and
WHEREAS, Additionally, AIS is the department held responsible for the coordination of technology business processes and solutions, providing networks, databases, software, and technical support for all City departments. Communications and information crucial to the city's function, efficiency, and internal transparency; and
WHEREAS, AIS provides an array of resources, including but not limited to Information Technology (IT), where AIS has designated a Data Science team that is further divided into four units, including Advanced Analytics, Open Data, Business Intelligence, and Data Management, intended to store, analyze, research, visualize, publish and liberate data for city users and the public; and
WHEREAS, According to the proposed 2022 Budget, AIS will be receiving close to $75 million in funding for the Bureau of Information Technology, an amount comparative to similar sized cities that have devoted independent departments for such allocated funds; and
WHEREAS, This past summer the Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development called for hearings on the state of the City's cybersecurity protocols and additionally discussed relative technology efforts related to the Gartner Report ("report"); and
WHEREAS, The report demonstrated a need for significant IT investment, including but not limited to a major increase in communication between City departments, with a particular emphasis on data sharing, in effort to strengthen operation efficiencies and avoid the increasing risks that slow down the rate of innovation; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the 2022 Budget Hearings, several Commissioners, Chairpersons, and Elected Officials, stated that they did not have knowledge or accessibility of data sharing tools that assisted with pertinent cross-departmental communications and information, impeding efficient delivery of their services; and
WHEREAS, Collectively, the recent findings, testimonies, and allocated funding, reveal the unnecessary and substantial negative impact experienced by the City due to the lack of data sharing platforms; and, now, therefore,
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