Chicago’s 49th Ward

In November 2009, Alderman Joe Moore and the residents of Chicago’s 49th Ward launched an experiment in democracy. In a series of public meetings and voting over six months, community members decided how to spend Moore’s $1.3 million discretionary budget. This marks the first time in the US that local people are able to directly decide on city budget spending through participatory budgeting.

The Participatory Budgeting Project has accompanied Alderman Moore throughout this initiative. We began in April 2009 by bringing together over 30 local organizations and institutions (including schools, religious institutions, community organizations, NGOs, and neighborhood groups) to form a Steering Committee. We then facilitated a series of participatory rule-making workshops and meetings, in which the Steering Committee decided the basic structure and rules of the process.

The participatory process began in November with nine neighborhood assemblies, in which residents identified, discussed, and prioritized infrastructure improvements for the ward, and selected community representatives. For the next four months, the representatives met in six committees: Parks & Environment, Public Safety, Streets, Traffic Safety, Transportation, and Art & Other Projects. During these meetings, they developed project proposals based on the community priorities, and consulted more with the community. In April, all ward residents were invited to vote on the project proposals, with their votes determining what gets built. In the end, over 1,600 people turned out to decide on improvements for their ward.

The participatory budgeting process has generated creative new spending ideas, greater understanding of budget issues, and new organizing and collaboration between residents, community organizations, and the Alderman’s office. This pilot project demonstrates that local governments and communities both benefit when local people are invited to democratically decide how to spend their tax dollars.

Alderman Joe Moore: "I worked closely with the Participatory Budgeting Project in designing and implementing our participatory budgeting initiative in Chicago's 49th Ward. They introduced the concept to my community and me and guided us every step of the way, from the initial formation of the process to its final implementation on election day. Their advice and counsel proved indispensable, and contributed enormously to the success of our 'experiment in democracy.'"

For more information see the 49th Ward Participatory Budgeting site and the updates below:

Previous Updates

• Video: Democracy in Action
• Chicago's $1.3 Million Experiment in Democracy
• Chicago Tribune: Spending out in the open for 49th Ward
• Participatory Budgeting and Community Organizing: Update from Chicago
• Between Neighborhood Assemblies and Community Reps: PB in Chicago
• Participatory Budgeting in Chicago - Neighborhood Assembly Dates
• Progress in Chicago
• Another article on PB in Chicago
• Update on Participatory Budgeting in Chicago