CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- Animal advocates made their voices heard during a City Council hearing for the woman Mayor Brandon Johnson has selected to run the city's animal shelter on a permanent basis.
Aldermen on the council's Health and Human Relations Committee voted Tuesday to confirm the mayor's appointment of acting Animal Care and Control executive director Susan Cappello, after hearing more than a half-hour of comments from people supporting, and opposed to, her selection.
Cappello's advocates included representatives from PAWS Chicago, whose founder Paula Fasseas was in the packed gallery for the confirmation hearing. One PAWS affiliate called Cappello "a true public servant," while another praised her work boosting adoptions and transfers to other agencies: "Sue has partnered with local shelters on and developed innovative programming that's increased life-saving."
But opponents, who included representatives from smaller animal-welfare organizations, pointed to numbers suggesting more animals were being euthanized ... and cited complaints from volunteers about a "toxic" workplace culture that they say Cappello has not adequately addressed.
"They are treated as disposable labor rather than partners in the mission," one representative said.
"The conditions at the shelter need to be changed, and the current leadership has had three years to make changes," said another.
Cappello told aldermen that last year was the best-ever for adoptions and transfers to other agencies, and said she takes concerns from volunteers seriously: "I am proud of the progress our staff, volunteers and partners have made together."
And former CACC executive director Kelley Gandurski spoke up on Cappello's behalf during the meeting's public comment period, telling aldermen the problems described by critics were caused by "systemic problems" based on the city's large stray animal population and a lack of action by the City Council. "Sue Cappello knows the shelter inside and out," she said.
Northwest side Alderwoman Ruth Cruz pressed Cappello on efforts to get dogs out for walks and out of their enclosures, as well as ways to rebuild trust with volunteers.
"You acknowledge that there is a disconnect between the volunteers and the staff," said Ald. Cruz (30th Ward).
Cappello offered that because of the structure of the agency, many concerns raised by volunteers never made it to her desk, but suggested newsletters and other ways to improve communication in the agency.
Southwest side Alderman Ray Lopez praised Cappello's "exemplary" work, and suggested that criticism of her tenure was driven by out-of-state groups aiming to force the city to privatize Animal Care and Control.
"Those individuals ... have a track record of failure everywhere they go," said Ald. Lopez (15th Ward).
Opponents and some City Council members have called on the Johnson Administration to launch a nationwide search for a new director, but even though Humboldt Park Alderperson Jessie Fuentes (26th Ward) acknowledged "things are not perfect" at the agency, the city has neither "the time nor the money to conduct a national search."
Ald. Cruz was the only vote against Cappello's appointment. It now goes to the full Council for a final vote.