As Chicago begins laying the groundwork for its next budget — amid warnings of deficits and difficult choices — the same familiar debate is taking shape.
Raise taxes or cut services. Shift priorities or maintain them.
What remains missing is a more fundamental question: Why is city government still so difficult to see, navigate and evaluate in the first place?
Chicagoans are asked each year to support major fiscal decisions without a clear, accessible understanding of where their money actually goes. The information is public, but buried in documents few residents can realistically use. That is not meaningful transparency.
Artificial intelligence offers the city a practical way to change this — and to improve how government operates at the same time.
A first step would be a public-facing platform that shows, in plain language and in real time, how funds are allocated across services such as public safety, sanitation, housing and infrastructure.
But the opportunity goes further. AI could streamline routine processes that frustrate residents, from permits and licensing to service requests, reducing delays and administrative costs. It could help predict infrastructure needs before problems escalate, improving maintenance and lowering long-term expenses. It could also identify inefficiencies in spending, giving policymakers better tools to make informed decisions.
It could also help address one of Chicago’s long-standing structural challenges: fragmented service delivery across wards. Today, many services are effectively organized around ward boundaries, which can lead to duplication, uneven performance and inconsistent access. AI could help coordinate services citywide — optimizing routes for sanitation, aligning resource deployment across neighborhoods and ensuring more consistent service levels regardless of ward lines. The result would be fewer redundancies and more equitable delivery.
Over time, the city could introduce structured ways for residents to express priorities for how resources are allocated. Aggregated responsibly, that input could help inform budget decisions by the mayor and the City Council without replacing their role.
None of this would require surrendering control to technology companies. The city must retain ownership of its data, ensure transparency in how systems are used and maintain full public accountability.
Chicago has a long history of tackling complex challenges with practical innovation. Making government more transparent, coordinated and efficient would be a continuation of that tradition — and a meaningful step toward restoring public trust.
— Thomas Schoendorff, Chicago
Apartments for the unhoused
In the article “BEDS Plus withdraws proposal for 50-unit complex for chronically homeless people” (May 3), it was noted that zoning plans required “fewer than two parking spaces per unit,” even though the proposed apartment complex is for chronically homeless people who “often don’t own their own vehicles.” The property in question is a church that closed several years ago — a vacant building next to an empty lot — and met all the criteria to qualify for state funding, including being close to public transportation.
Is the parking truly needed, or is it a way to keep the nonprofit services out of the community?
— Liz Allan, Wilmette
A pillar of the community
Chicago lost a pillar of the community when Dean Buntrock passed away April 17.
I met Dean shortly after his 90th birthday, and what I’ll always remember is his passion. Despite his age, he carried himself with an urgency and purpose you don’t see in most men in their 20s.
Dean was born in a small town in South Dakota, educated in a one-room schoolhouse, and through grit and determination built a small garbage business into Waste Management — a global company serving multiple continents with over $9 billion in revenue by his retirement. He lived the American Dream in its purest form. And he believed in it completely.
One of the great lessons Dean taught me is that a company is not measured by how much money it makes. He believed the true measure was in how many lives it improved, how many families it supported and how many opportunities it created.
As a leader, he understood that success carries an obligation. We owe something to the places that shape us and to the people who lack the means to fix things themselves.
He loved Chicago despite its challenges and believed it was worth fighting for. Through his philanthropy and civic involvement in the arts, parks, symphony, medical centers and more, he invested deeply in the city and state that had helped make his success possible.
When I once asked him why he still cared so much, he didn’t hesitate: “It’s the right thing to do.” What a beautiful legacy.
God bless the soul of Dean Buntrock and condolences to his wife, Rosemarie.
— Matt Paprocki, CEO, Illinois Policy Institute, Chicago
Students need family support
Chicago’s own Arne Duncan was right on target about a key factor in educational success (“If Chicago wants to reduce absenteeism, start with families,” May 1).
He cites “family involvement” as a primary predictor of student achievement. No need to stop with academics: Virtually every aspect of a person’s quality of life can be directly linked to family involvement.
A loving and supportive family is the O.G. government program.
— Christine Walker, Crystal Lake
Are leaders ignoring issue?
Arne Duncan and co-author Bibb Hubbard write in their opinion piece that “roughly 40% of (Chicago) teachers were chronically absent last year.” Why aren’t the Board of Education, Mayor Brandon Johnson and the City Council up in arms over this staggeringly bad statistic, or are they all so fearful of offending their principal vote-getters at the Chicago Teachers Union that they continue to ignore this enormous problem?
— Kevin Garvey, Chicago
Parents fail to be involved
Congratulations to the authors on the recent op-ed on reducing the horrific 40% absenteeism of Chicago Public Schools students and advocating for the obvious: Involve the parents. The authors indicate that this has been known for a long time and is based upon research. They should have mentioned Rahm Emanuel’s observation that family structure is a major factor in Japan, which provides students with the necessary support for their well-known academic excellence. Also, Mississippi cites parental involvement as a major factor for its remarkable increase in student achievement.
That CPS has been so blind for so long to the obvious goes a long way to explaining why the achievement level of CPS students is so dismal. How about some investigative reporting on parents’ failure to become deeply involved in their children’s education?
— Robert Eme, Evanston
Just take up ice fishing
Regarding the story “Can fish, swan boats co-exist at Humboldt Park Lagoon?” (May 4): I have some advice for the members of the Humboldt Park Fishing Society. Either get a life — or find another hobby. Leave the swan boats alone. Better still, take up ice fishing.
During Bears season, with 10 of your favorite buddies, skate to your designated spot, auger your favorite hole, tune your 43- or 65-inch flat screen, DoorDash multiple orders of buffalo wings (does it deliver to ice huts?), break open brewskis and freeze your butts. Root for the new rookies who were just selected in the NFL Draft. What fun!
— Clark Andrews, Chicago
Sports about women welcome
I’m so glad to see the Tribune regularly running stories about women in sports. There’s a lot of interest now. I follow basketball and the Fever with Caitlin Clark.
— Rose McMills, Lombard
Note to readers: In honor of our “Chicago 2050” op-ed series, we’d like to hear from you about your hopes for what Chicago will be like in 25 years. (Sincere thoughts only.) Send a letter of no more than 400 words to letters@chicagotribune.com. Be sure to include your full name and your city/town.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
