WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A MILLION DOLLARS?
Every year, each ward in Chicago receives $1.3 million dollars, also known as “menu money,” for infrastructure-related improvements.
Alderman Vasquez built a really big table to create space for neighbors to decide how to spend one million dollars improving the 40th Ward — whether it be fixing specific alleys, repairing certain sidewalks, or installing pedestrian refuges — by engaging in participatory budgeting (PB).
PB is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend menu money. Participation in the 40th Ward PB process as a community representative, and/or as an attendee at a neighborhood assembly, is entirely voluntary and open to all 40th Ward residents regardless of age, citizenship, or voter registration status.
There are two immediate ways that you can get involved:
1) Join our PB Committee to help collect and vet projects for our 2020 cycle by contacting Chief of Staff Jessica Peters, Jessica.peters@40thward.org.
2) Let us know how you’d spend $100,000 to improve our ward via the Project Idea Collection form.
We are excited about bringing more neighbors into the menu money budgeting process and we look forward to hearing from you!