CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Disability advocates say they’re frustrated over Mayor Brandon Johnson leaving a once-promised Plow the Sidewalks program out of his proposed city budget.
“It was in his platform,” said Laura Saltzman, a senior policy analyst at the nonprofit Access Living.” It was in the Transportation Transition Committee report, but it is not currently in the budget.”
Saltzman said the initiative would cost around $1 million and provide free snow removal in four, 1.5-square-mile areas across the city, prioritizing those with disabilities.
“It is about being able to maintain a job,” she said. “It's about getting to the grocery store, it's about getting to doctor's appointments.”
Johnson's office said the city's budget challenges made the program impossible, and with a lengthy procurement process, Plow the Sidewalks may not roll out until 2027 — if at all.
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