Back on track in Chicago, but with delays

Back in June, we warned that PB in Chicago could be shut down prematurely, as new Mayor Rahm Emanuel was threatening to get rid of the discretionary funding for Aldermen.

Fortunately, those cuts appear to be off the table now, meaning that the Aldermen will still have discretionary funds and that PB will continue in the 49th Ward. Unfortunately, the uncertainty of the past few months derailed plans to expand PB to other wards this fall, leaving too little time for planning and preparation.

The PB Project is now working to build a broader PB process across multiple wards for the 2012-2013 budget cycle. If you know people or organizations who would like to be involved, let us know.

Participatory Budgeting Gains Steam in San Francisco

The San Francisco Public Press and Shareable.net recently published a feature piece on the momentum building around PB in San Francisco:

Participatory Budgeting Gains Steam in San Francisco
Participatory budgeting has become a mayoral campaign issue in San Francisco. This could lead to San Francisco becoming the first U.S. city to adopt participatory budgeting on a city-wide basis.
read more