Rahm Reaches Out, Touches Participatory Budget Contributors

By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 5, 2011 1:57PM

The suggestions for how to plan next year's city budget continue to flow to the website set up by the city to give residents a voice in the budgeting process.

Mayor Emanuel has responded in kind by picking up the phone and personally reaching out to some of the more active contributors, thanking them for their ideas and suggestions. The mayor also stated in a press release that he's charged his staff and City department commissioners to "examine these ideas carefully, provide feedback and consider what can be implemented to move our city forward." Not vague at all but, in defense of Emanuel, we also don't think Richard Daley would have done this, let alone put up a website allowing for city residents to suggest ways to cut the budget.

Here is one specific gleaned from the press release: Emanuel ordered City Chief Technology Officer John Tolva to personally respond to one contributor to the website whose suggestion centered on leveraging technology to improve government operations, and continue the discussion. Other City Commissioners are also entering the discussion on www.chicagobudget.org. We wonder if Emanuel called the person who asked to decriminalize marijuana and how that discussion went.