IT implications of Chicago Mayor Emanuel’s first 30 days in office

Deltek Director of State and Local Information Services Tim Brett reports.

Over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, I drove back home to Sweet Home Chicago with my family. As we were driving on the Chicago Skyway, we passed the “Welcome to Chicago” signage, and it was an odd feeling seeing Rahm Emanuel’s name on it.

I have always loved the Chicago political scene. I remember back in high school, reading American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley – His Battle for Chicago and Nation, the book that first got me really interested in the state and local realm.

This was my first time back in the Windy City since a new mayor had taken seat. For 21 years of my life, Richard M. Daley was in the leadership post.

When I finished off the drive, it struck me that it would be great to take a look at what Emanuel has accomplished since taking office.

IT Commitments: Campaign Promises and the First 30 Days

Back in February, I reported on Emanuel’s campaign platform and the information technology (IT) implications it had to the vendor community [Subscription required to read in full].

To summarize my earlier thoughts on his election: “Rahm Emanuel’s victory in this Tuesday’s election for mayor of Chicago, bodes well for IT vendors. His campaign agenda was filled with items in the Community Development, Economic Development/Regulation, General Government Services, and Justice/Public Safety verticals. His victory, along with Mayor Gray’s (2010) in Washington, D.C., proves that IT remains a key area of investment for America’s major cities despite the economic downturn. As with the election of Gov. Quinn (2010), the spotlight is on procurement reform and ethics for government as the state and city seek to reverse their historic (and somewhat overblown) reputations for corruption.”

Target: Lobbying Transparency

As of June, when Emanuel marked 30 days as mayor of Chicago, the city has made some progress on the pillars of his platforms. A recurring theme is the use of publicly posted data to improve transparency, efficiency and accountability for city government operations, with a particular emphasis on enhancing the way it collects lobbying data, increasing the amount of available information and decreasing inefficiencies, and posting it online in a searchable format. In fact, the city has posted eight separate lobbying-related datasets to its data portal.

For the complete blog, go here.