CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Chicago City Council members praised the City's special events and festivals at budget hearings Wednesday, but said administration officials need better communications about what they're doing and where.
It's a complaint he has made before, but 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett said too many events happen in his West Side community without any notice to his office from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE).
“I’m used to having the same courtesy that the police have. You don’t send an email to the police when you’re getting ready to have a big event. You call the commander up and ask the commander is it alright,” Burnett said.
He's not alone. Thirty-first Ward Alderman Felix Cardona voiced similar complaints and the problems they cause.
“We have a lot of work to do, and, then, we have to go back to our residents and have a discussion and let them know that we didn’t know about this either…It makes us look like we’re incompetent,” noted Cardona.
Fortieth Ward Alderman Andre Vasquez, like others, praised the department's work.
“What you all do brings us together and makes us safer…I want to thank you for that,” Vazquez said.
He voiced concerns about communications too.
Third Ward Alderman Marty Quinn was concerned about police manpower.
“Our officer per capita number is nine officers per 10,000 residents, and one of the concerns is that when we have festivals we lose officers in the neighborhood,” Quinn said.
Some events do provide their own security.
DCASE Commissioner Erin Hartke told the Council Budget Committee her agency has had a successful festival season this year.
“We saw a record attendance at the Chicago Jazz Festival in Millennium Park, with over 170,000 visitors over four days and increased attendance at the Gospel Music Festival,” Hartke said.
Hartke however did promise to do better with communication.
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