Mayor Rahm Emanuel is further distancing himself from Mayor Richard Daley’s tenure.
In a conversation Thursday afternoon with the BGA’s Andy Shaw, Emanuel touted changes he’s made including hiring he says used to be based "on who you knew, now what you know is what is important.”
Emanuel spoke of the parking meter deal, the City Council watchdog and how to make his administration more transparent. The BGA says it has had to sue numerous times for various city departments to release information.
“I do believe the data we’re making available is not just what I want to make available,” Emanuel says.
He promised changes are coming in his next term, should he win a second term. That same will be true for the 311 phone system to give residents more information about their neighborhoods.
The mayor was also asked about his schedule, which does not reveal who he meets with every day and only includes public events, but the mayor says his staff puts out his schedule.
"They put out everything I do on a daily basis,” he said.
Politics
Emanuel notes he takes the train twice a week, but doesn’t publicize it.
“I interact with a lot of people on the train,” he said. “I continue to shake hands at el stops."
The mayor noted “we do things all the time in the neighborhood.”
He also reaches out to families impacted by gun violence and does not notify the media.
“I’m visiting her as a fellow parent,” he said. “I try to go there and comfort them.”
Another question asked “if enough regular folks weigh in” on important issues like the city’s budget and the mayor said “through technology” residents were allowed to offer comments this year, rather than meetings in the neighborhood.
