Chicago

Transition report: a promise of reform

HAROLD Washington was elected mayor of Chicago not because the voters were impressed by his proposals for running the city. He didn't have many. He was elected because huge numbers of blacks registered to vote and they wanted a black in City Hall.

The campaign started late and there never really was time to compile a detailed platform. But after Washington won the Democratic primary, he assembled a large team of urban experts to study the city government. The 400-page report they now have submitted to him is an impressive document; it is a comprehensive study of each city agency, and it calls for sweeping changes in the way the government is structured and the way it operates.

The transitioners found that many of the agencies have existed over the years, and grown by leaps and bounds, without any real definition of what their function is.

The report is especially critical of the departments of Streets and Sanitation, Health, Neighborhoods, and Law. It says the Streets and Sanitation Department budget has increased 64 percent in four years "and there is little discernible evidence of service increases or improvements." The Health Department, according to the report, "has failed to respond to the city's growing health problems in an organized manner." The Department of Neighborhoods, the report says, "does little more than operate the city's switchboard and perform public relations functions at a cost of nearly $2 million [per year]." And the report says serious questions have been raised "about the administration of case flow in the Department of Law [corporation counsel's office] and the methods of recruitment and qualifications of staff attorneys." Washington moved quickly to replace the heads of those departments, although he left many other Byrne administration cabinet officers in their jobs, at least for the time being.

Among other points in the transition report:

• Overlap and conflict plague the four agencies working on jobs and economic development. The Economic Development Commission "has been criticized as a funnel through which large Chicago corporations receive grants and special favors."

• The budget process should be thoroughly overhauled to enable more participation by the council and the public. (The aldermen, a majority of whom have been at odds with Washington, won't complain about that!)

• The city lacks a long-term strategic planning agency.

• If provided with additional staff capacity and greater policymaking authority, the Police Board could provide effective civilian oversight for the operations of the Police Department.

• Prudent spending practices by the Purchasing Department could save millions of dollars and a "Buy Chicago" policy could help the city's economic health.

• The Public Works Department is guilty of "virtually nonexistent maintenance" of the city's infrastructure, except for bridges and auxiliary sewers.

• The practice of requiring job applicants to submit letters of introduction from their Democratic committeeman and alderman must be ended.

A key recommendation is that the mayor organize city departments into several categories and that a deputy mayor be appointed to oversee each group of agencies. Two other recommendations relate to the concept of decentralization: setting up "little City Hall" around the city to bring services closer to the people and creating citizen committees in the neighborhoods to advise the city on various matters.

The transition team contends that the mayor has the authority to bring about much of the reorganization it says is needed by issuing legally binding "executive orders," a tool often used by state governors and the president. "The City Council could go on vacation for four years and city services could be improved if the mayor acts," Dick Simpson, one of the authors of the report, said. Almost eveyone in the state of Illinois must be aware by now that the new mayor and the 29-member majority of the council led by Aid. Edward Vrdolyak don't have a very cordial relationship. So it was no surprise when some of those aldermen cried "Foul" at the suggestion that they be bypassed. Never mind that most of them remained silent for decades under the domination of a succession of previous mayors. Some of the news media also criticized the executive order idea.

Who's right? Well, ideally, the legislative branch ought to be involved in any major revisions in the structure and functions of the government. But Chicago isn't an ideal city. People of questionable integrity have long occupied high places in City Hall. And two of the most powerful members of the council — Vrdolyak and Edward Burke — both approach government with a "What's in it for me?"attitude and both make little secret of their racism. Nevertheless, Washington's critics say he should cooperate with them "for the good of the city." The alternative for the mayor is to move forward with whatever reforms he can accomplish on his own. But when he asks for council approval of funding for the reforms, he should be prepared to face opposition. He was given a chair in the mayor's office, but nobody ever promised him a rose garden.

August 1983 | Illinois Issues | 3