Chicago, Illinois
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| Chicago, Illinois | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Mayor: | Lori Lightfoot |
| Last mayoral election: | 2019 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2023 |
| Last city council election: | 2019 |
| Next city council election: | 2023 |
| City council seats: | 50 |
| City website | |
| Composition data (2019) | |
| Population: | 2,709,534 |
| Race: | White 50.0% African American 29.6% Asian 6.6% Native American 0.3% Pacific Islander 0.0% Two or more 2.8% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic 28.8% |
| Median household income: | $58,247 |
| High school graduation rate: | 85.1% |
| College graduation rate: | 39.5% |
| Related Chicago offices | |
| Illinois Congressional Delegation Illinois State Legislature Illinois state executive offices | |
Chicago is a city in Cook County, Illinois. The city's population was 2,746,388 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government[edit]
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Chicago utilizes a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body, and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[1]
Mayor[edit]
The mayor serves as the city's chief executive and is responsible for proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing departmental directors and committee members, and overseeing the city's day-to-day operations.[2] The current Mayor of Chicago is Lori Lightfoot. Lightfoot assumed office on May 20, 2019.
City council[edit]
The Chicago City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, approving mayoral appointees, levying taxes, acquiring or selling land, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[3]
The Chicago City Council is made up of 50 members (called aldermen) from 50 wards. They are elected by district to four-year terms.[3]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials[edit]
Mayoral partisanship[edit]
Chicago has a Democratic mayor. As of May 2022, 62 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 26 are affiliated with the Republican Party, four are independents, seven identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and one mayor's affiliation is unknown. While most mayoral elections in the 100 largest cities are nonpartisan, most officeholders are affiliated with a political party. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Elections[edit]
2019[edit]
The city of Chicago, Illinois, held nonpartisan elections for mayor, city clerk, city treasurer, and all 50 seats on the city council on February 26, 2019. A runoff election for races in which no candidate received a majority of the vote took place on April 2, 2019. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was November 26, 2018.
2017[edit]
The city of Chicago, Illinois, held a special election for the Ward 4 seat on the city council on February 28, 2017.[4]
2015[edit]
The city of Chicago, Illinois, held nonpartisan elections for mayor and city council on February 24, 2015. A runoff election for races in which no candidate received a majority of the votes took place on April 7, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was November 24, 2014. All 50 city council seats were up for election.[5]
Census information[edit]
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Chicago (2020) | |
|---|---|
| Chicago | |
| Population | 2,699,347 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 227 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 47.7% |
| Black/African American | 29.2% |
| Asian | 6.8% |
| Native American | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% |
| Two or more | 5.3% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 28.6% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 85.9% |
| College graduation rate | 41.1% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $62,097 |
| Persons below poverty level | 17.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020) | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget[edit]
The city's budget process operates by fiscal calendar years running from January 1 to December 31. Each summer, city departments begin the budget process by giving the Office of Budget Management (OBM) their projections on personnel and non-personnel needs for the coming year. The mayor and OBM then combine these figures, along with feedback from the public, to propose a budget on or before October 15. The city council holds committee and public hearings on the proposed budget. Once approved by the city council, the budget becomes the Annual Appropriation Ordinance and is officially implemented on January 1 of the following year. The city is required by state law to maintain a balanced budget.[6]
Fiscally standardized cities data[edit]
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[7]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[8] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[9] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure[edit]
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[7]
Chicago, Illinois salaries and pensions over $95,000[edit]
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information[edit]
Mayor's office
121 N. LaSalle Street
Chicago City Hall 4th Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: 312-744-5000
City Clerk's office
121 N. LaSalle Street
City Hall Council Chambers 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: 312-742-5375
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures[edit]
- See also: Cook County, Illinois ballot measures
The city of Chicago is in Cook County. A list of ballot measures in Cook County is available here.
Noteworthy events[edit]
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd[edit]
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Chicago, following the death of George Floyd. Events in Chicago, Illinois, began on Tuesday, May 26, 2020, with a demonstration outside Chicago Public Safety Headquarters organized by Chance the Rapper and Rev. Michael Pfleger.[10] On May 30, Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) issued a 9:00 P.M. - 6:00 A.M. curfew, saying, "What started out as peaceful protest has now devolved into criminal conduct."[11] The curfew began on the night of May 30 with no specified end date.[11] On May 31, Lightfoot requested that Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) deploy the Illinois National Guard to Chicago. Later that day, 375 members were activated in the city.[12]
2017: City files lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department[edit]
On September 15, 2017, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber ordered a preliminary injunction to block plans by the U.S. Department of Justice to connect public safety grants to cooperation with federal immigration agents. The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by the city of Chicago on August 7, 2021, against the department over revised criteria for the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program, which is used to provide federal funding to cities and counties for police equipment and training.[13] In his ruling, Leinenweber said, "The court finds that the city has established that it would suffer irreparable harm if a preliminary injunction is not entered." The injunction applied nationwide because Leinenweber concluded that the issues presented by Chicago could apply to other cities.[14][15]
On July 25, 2017, the Department of Justice announced that jurisdictions wishing to receive JAG funds had to comply with three new conditions: 1) the city had to share any immigration status information collected by city agents with federal officials, 2) the city had to honor requests by federal immigration officials to receive 48-hour notice prior to releasing certain detainees, and 3) the city had to allow federal immigration officials access to local jails and prisons in order to interrogate prisoners. In announcing the new requirements, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R) stated that local jurisdictions needed to partner more closely with federal immigration authorities as part of the Justice Department’s strategies to reduce violent crime. Chicago’s Welcoming City ordinance, which began as a policy initiative of then-Mayor Harold Washington in 1985 and was codified as a city ordinance in 2006, prohibited or restricted city police from complying with all three of these conditions.
The city contended that the new criteria were unconstitutional. In filing for a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the new criteria for JAG funding, the city argued that the government could not deny JAG funding to the city as the grants were based on a statutory formula created by Congress, and that both the president and the Justice Department lacked the constitutional authority to alter Congress’ requirements for awarding the grants. In its filing, the city petitioned the court to issue a ruling by the September 5, 2017, deadline to apply for the JAG program. Chicago had expected to receive $3.2 million in JAG grants that year to purchase new police vehicles and equipment.[16][17][18]
On April 28, 2021, the President Joe Biden (D) rescinded the executive order made by former President Donald Trump (D) that introduced penalties against sanctuary cities, including making them ineligible for federal grants.[19]
2016: FBI reports increase in reported murders[edit]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported 765 murders in Chicago in 2016, a 60% increase over the 478 murders reported in 2015. This total represented the city's highest number of reported murders since 789 were reported in 1996. From 1985 to 2016, Chicago's annual murder totals peaked at 939 in 1992 and hit a low of 415 in 2014.[20]
In 2017, there were 653 murders. A Pew Research Center report stated that Chicago had the 14th-highest murder rate, at 24.1 murders per 100,000 people, among cities with more than 100,000 residents in 2017.[21]
The following table shows the city's murder totals as reported by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics database from 1985 to 2017.[20]
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws[edit]
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Chicago, Illinois, as a city or county that prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[22]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- Official city website
- Office of the Mayor
- Chicago City Council
- Chicago Office of Budget and Management
- Chicago Municipal Code
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ City of Chicago, "Chicago Government," accessed August 10, 2021
- ↑ City of Chicago, "Office of the Mayor," accessed August 10, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 City of Chicago, "City Council, Your Ward & Alderman," accessed August 10, 2021
- ↑ Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, "Candidate Filings for the February 28, 2017 Municipal Election," January 3, 2017
- ↑ Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, "2015 Election Calendar," accessed August 21, 2014
- ↑ City of Chicago, "Operating Budget," accessed August 10, 2021
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed June 4, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed May 26, 2021
- ↑ CBS Chicago, "Protest Held In Chicago After Death Of George Floyd During Arrest By Minneapolis Police," May 26, 2020
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 CBS Chicago, "Mayor Lightfoot Announces Curfew From 9 p.m. To 6 a.m. ‘Until Further Notice’ Amid George Floyd Protests," May 30, 2020
- ↑ The Chicago Tribune, "How the weekend unfolded: Timeline of Chicago protests, looting and unrest," June 1, 2020
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Emanuel sues Trump's Justice Department over sanctuary city policy," August 7, 2017
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Judge Blocks Trump on Threat to Punish Sanctuary Cities," September 15, 2017
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Judge rules in city's favor on sanctuary cities, grants nationwide injunction," September 15, 2017
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Emanuel sues Trump's Justice Department over sanctuary city policy," August 7, 2017
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Trump administration toughens policy against sanctuary cities," July 25, 2017
- ↑ United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, The City of Chicago v. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, Attorney General of the United States - Complaint for injunctive and declaratory relief, filed August 7, 2017
- ↑ Reuters, "United States Justice Department ends Trump-era limits on grants to ‘sanctuary cities,'" April 28, 2021
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Chicago Police Department, "Annual Report 2017," accessed December 14, 2018
- ↑ Pew Research Center, "Despite recent violence, Chicago is far from the U.S. ‘murder capital,’" November 13, 2018
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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