Chicago’s 49th Ward

 

In February 2009, Alderman Joe Moore, of Chicago’s 49th Ward, decided to launch an experiment in democracy. Moore agreed to allow residents of his ward to decide how to spend his $1.4 million discretionary budget, through a democratic and inclusive process. The 49th Ward’s PB marks the first time in the US that ordinary residents are invited to directly allocate city budget funds.

 

The Participatory Budgeting Project has accompanied Alderman Moore through all stages of the initiative. To begin, we brought together over 30 local organizations and institutions (including schools, religious institutions, grassroots community organizations, NGOs, and neighborhood associations) to form a PB Steering Committee. In April and May we designed and facilitated a series of participatory workshops and meetings, in which the Steering Committee decided the basic structure and rules of the PB process. This exercise in participatory rule-making grounded the PB process in the particular characteristics and preferences of the 49th Ward, while also bringing together community leaders around a common project.

 

Throughout the process, we have advised both the Alderman’s office and the Steering Committee on meeting facilitation, staffing arrangements, educational materials, publicity materials, and a variety of other issues.

 

For more information about PB in Chicago’s 49th Ward see:

 


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