Tag Archives: Mayor Daley
DOR’s First Deputy Director Steps Down Friday
Very quietly Friday, after 16 years with Chicago’s Department of Revenue, First Deputy Director Matt Darst will leave city government for good.
“Matt Darst has decided to leave the City of Chicago Department of Revenue for a position in the private sector,” said colleague and DOR spokesperson Ed Walsh. “Matt told me it was a difficult and deeply personal decision, and he is honored to have had the privilege to work for the people of Chicago.”
Since joining the DOR in 1995, armed with a law degree from DePaul, Darst quickly rose to the position of Deputy Managing Director and ultimately winding up as the number two position within the department, and Director Bea Reyna-Hickey’s right hand man.
Mayor, Parking Meter Company Announce FREE Parking Today
In a surprise and unprecedented move, in an early morning press conference Chicago mayor Richard Daley along with officials from Chicago Parking Meter, LLC, announced, a special day of FREE parking at all city parking meters for today only.
“I know the driving citizens of Chicago already have been hit hard by the 500% increase in meter fees and a severe recession, so I wanted to do our part and give them what we are calling ‘A Day Off from Parking Meters’,” said Daley. “No one will have to feed any of Chicago’s 37,000 parking meters all day today, April 1, 2010.”
Street Sweeper Rebellion Brewing In City Council
Normally Mayor Daley always gets his way.
But, perhaps not this time.
Last Tuesday, just eight days from the traditional April 1st start of the Chicago street cleaning season, the administration decided to make a drastic change to how city streets get cleaned.
For decades, street cleaning was under the control of each of the 50 alderman and their ward’s Street and Sanitation Supervisor. With one street sweeper designated per ward, the two parties would put together a detailed schedule to make sure their ward got the proper amount of street cleaning per season.
But the mayor, facing a severe budget shortfall, and a shortage of street sweeper drivers due to layoffs, decided to switch street cleaning to a grid system. While on its face, the new system seems more efficient, alderman are complaining that the new plan will reduce the number of street cleanings by almost half in many cases and not allow for the type of flexibility needed to sweep on demand after street festivals, after running events, or even after traffic accidents.
But the city council seems to be pushing back.
