The government of the City of Chicago, Illinois,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

is divided into executive and

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

branches. The

Mayor of Chicago The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and r ...

is the chief executive, elected by general election for a term of four years, with no term limits. The mayor appoints commissioners and other officials who oversee the various departments. In addition to the mayor, Chicago's two other citywide elected officials are the

City Clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...

and the treasurer. The

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

is the legislative branch and is made up of 50 aldermen, one elected from each

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

in the city. The council takes official action through the passage of ordinances and resolutions and approves the city budget. Government priorities and activities are established in a budget ordinance usually adopted each November.

Organization

Generally speaking, the mayor and city departments comprise the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

of the city government, and the city council comprises the

legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as ...

. However, the mayor does have some formal legislative functions such as being the presiding officer of the council and being able to break tie votes, and informally has dominated legislative activity since the late 19th century. On the other hand, the council has oversight authority over city departments. The city treasurer and city clerk are the only other directly elected positions in the city government, and are independent from the mayor's office and the council.

City Council

Mayor

City departments and agencies

The below city departments and agencies operate as part of the executive branch, under the Office of the Mayor.

Finance and Administration

* Department of Administrative Hearings * Department of Finance * Department of Fleet and Facility Management * Department of Law * Department of Human Resources * Department of Innovation and Technology * Department of Procurement Services * Office of Budget and Management

Legislative and Elections

* Board of Election Commissioners

City Development

* Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events * Department of Housing * Department of Planning and Development

Community Services

Board of Health Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environment ...

** Department of Public Health * Commission on Human Relations * Department of Family and Support Services * Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities *

Public Libraries A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamenta ...

Public Safety

Fire Department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

* Police Board ** Civilian Office of Police Accountability **

Police Department The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...

* Office of Emergency Management and Communications

Regulatory

* Office of the Inspector General * Department of Buildings * Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection * Chicago Animal Care and Control * License Appeal Commission * Board of Ethics

Infrastructure Services

* Department of Aviation * Department of Streets and Sanitation * Department of Transportation * Department of Water Management

City Clerk

City Treasurer

Other city agencies

Other city-level government bodies include: * The

Chicago Board of Education The Chicago Board of Education serves as the board of education (school board) for the Chicago Public Schools. The board traces its origins to the Board of School Inspectors, created in 1837. The board is currently appointed solely by the mayor ...

, which oversees the

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...

system, and whose members are appointed by the mayor * The

Chicago Housing Authority The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) is a municipal corporation that oversees public housing within the city of Chicago. The agency's Board of Commissioners is appointed by the city's mayor, and has a budget independent from that of the city of C ...

, a not-for-profit municipal corporation whose board of commissioners is appointed by the mayor * Th
Chicago Water Department
oversees water utility. Water Commissioner is appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Alderman. Services they handle includes: Metersave, Water Quality Reports

Pay Water Bills Online, Conservation, Education, Chicago Water Quality, as well as

* Th

was created in 2015 to provide the City Council with independent analysis of the fiscal implications of the issues before it. COFA works with the City Council's Committee on Budget and Government Operations, and applies the tools of financial analysis to budget recommendations and forecasts, the City's annual audit, proposed public-private partnership agreements or asset leases, bond rating agency actions, and other matters as requested by Aldermen. COFA also provides an options report of potential cost-saving reforms and efficiencies. * The Board of Trustees of the

City Colleges of Chicago The City Colleges of Chicago is the public community college system of the Chicago area. Its colleges offer associate degrees, certificates, free courses for the GED, and free English as a second language (ESL) courses. The City Colleges system ...

, whose members are appointed by the mayor with the approval of the council (except one elected student member)

Law

Chicago is a special charter municipality. The ''Journal of the Proceedings of the City Council of the City of Chicago'' is the official publication of the acts of the City Council. The ''

Municipal Code of Chicago The ''Municipal Code of Chicago'' is the codification of local ordinances of a general and permanent nature of the City of Chicago. The Code contains original and new ordinances, adopted by the Chicago City Council, organized into eighteen titles ...

'' is the codification of Chicago's

local ordinance A local ordinance is a law issued by a local government. such as a municipality, county, parish, prefecture, or the like. China In Hong Kong, all laws enacted by the territory's Legislative Council remain to be known as ''Ordinances'' () af ...

s of a general and permanent nature.

Politics

Other governments

Chicago is also part of

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

. The Government of Cook County is primarily composed of the

Board of Commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...

, other elected officials such as the

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

, Treasurer, Board of Review, Clerk, Assessor, Recorder, Circuit Court judges and Circuit Court Clerk, as well as numerous other officers and entities. Illinois State police also operate in Chicago. Other agencies that operate in the city of Chicago include the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , o ...

and the

Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, commonly known as MPEA or McPier, is a corporation that owns Navy Pier and McCormick Place in Chicago. It also manages the city's collection of taxes for vehicles picking up passengers (including lim ...

, both of which were created by the state government of Illinois. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

operates post offices in Chicago. The main Chicago Post Office is located at 433 West Harrison Street in the Near West Side community area. The post office is the only 24-hour post office in the United States.New York City's main post office stops 24-hour service
" ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

''. Friday April 17, 2009. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.

References

External links

*
Data portal

Municipal Code of Chicago
from American Legal Publishing *
Chicago Decoded
(unofficial Municipal Code) from the

OpenGov Foundation The OpenGov Foundation is a United States nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. It conducts research on legislatures like the United States Congress, develops software for government officials, and claims to help governments create policies and ru ...

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