The voting has ended.
Alderman Martin is proud to present the 47th Ward's first fully Youth-led Participatory Budgeting electronic sample ballot for the 47th Ward in Chicago (PB47), courtesy of the Stanford Crowdsourced Democracy Team.
All projects on this ballot were suggested and vetted by members of the 47th Ward Youth Council. This Council was first stood up by Alderman Martin after he was elected. It is made up of young residents of the Ward between grades 8 and 12. They consult with the Alderman on legislative priorities, plan community events, and weigh in on the issues most affecting young people in Chicago. Alderman Martin believes in engaging our youth in the democratic process – and he is pleased to provide youth a prominent role to play in shaping their community and ours.
The following pages will help you familiarize yourself with the project proposals for 2020. You will decide how to spend a portion of the 2020 47th Ward aldermanic menu money should be allocated. You may choose up to four (4) projects.
After completing the ballot, we ask you to take just a few minutes more to participate in a short on-line exercise, comparing projects and their costs. This is part of the academic research that Stanford is doing, and is completely voluntary. After that is a survey to help us learn a little about you, the voters in our PB election. UIC’s Great Cities Institute is collecting this data to help us do a better job in engaging and informing the community in the future.
Thank you again for voting. Please tell your friends and family to vote as well!
More Information on Project Implementation & the 47th Ward Participatory Budgeting Process is Below
If you don't have an access code for voting or for more information, call 773-868-4747 or email pb@aldermanmartin.com
More Information on Project Implementation & the 47th Ward Participatory Budgeting Process
Initial suggestions for projects came out of Youth Council brainstorming sessions coordinated by the Ward Office during which they were asked to reflect on the sort of infrastructure changes that affect ward residents of all backgrounds. Each proposal and location came directly from Youth Council members and reflects how they interact with their built environment. The Ward Office assisted Youth Council members in assessing the feasibility of each project and communicating with the relevant city agencies.
Alderman Martin will submit the projects that win the most votes, up to $150,000, to the City of Chicago and its sister agencies for implementation. All the projects listed on the ballot are feasible to the best of our knowledge, yet most require final approval from the City of Chicago or its sister agencies. Thus, while Alderman Martin pledges to request funding and advocate for the winning projects, he cannot guarantee that the government agencies will provide final approval to each and every project request.
Reasons that projects may not be approved include: interference with previously planned projects, legal restrictions, and policy decisions of the governmental entities. If a winning project cannot be implemented for any reason, Alderman Martin will use the allocated money to fund the next runner-up project that falls within the budget.
Not all of the funded projects will be completed in the 2020 construction season. Required project approval procedures or construction work by utilities or other agencies may prevent some projects from being completed this year. Funds for projects not completed this year will be held in reserve and used to complete the projects in the following year(s). For up-to-date information on the status of the various projects, contact the 47th Ward Office at (773) 868-4747 or pb@aldermanmartin.com.
Participation in the 47th Ward Youth Council – and in the participatory budgeting process – is available to all Ward residents between grades 8 and 12, as well as to students of 47th Ward schools who may live outside the ward.
The PB Chicago City-Wide Steering Committee developed the rules and procedures for this process. For a list of all members of the committee, visit www.pbchicago.org.
Many thanks to the Youth Council’s fearless leaders for their dedication and service to this bold experiment in direct democracy. Additional thanks to the many dedicated employees at the City of Chicago, the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Transit Authority, the Chicago Public Schools, and the Chicago Department of Transportation for their expertise; and to the PB Chicago City-Wide Steering Committee for their expertise and guidance of the process.