Today, Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and the Department of Assets Information and services, has announced measures to modernise the City’s information technology. This is in an attempt to deliver more accessible city services for residents, business and other members of the public. These efforts aim to provide more efficient IT systems, enable transparency through broader access to data, and maintain protections for residents’ privacy and security.
“As we saw with initiatives like Chicago Connected, technology, when properly wielded, has the tremendous power to uplift residents in all of our communities,” said Mayor Lightfoot.
“By providing equitable access to better technological resources, we can empower our residents — giving them the tools they need to access opportunities, resources, and so much more. This new technology approach will help ensure that moving forward, City government uses technological resources in a way that benefits all and not just some.”
Chicago’s new approach to technology will ensure equity and access to all and increase transparency. Features of this new approach include lowering cost and burden of receiving city services and benefits, reengineering outdated business processes and adopting new technologies, improving data integrity to allow more accessible data, and reducing IT burdens on City departments.
“I have seen firsthand how residents will be helped by these new technology initiatives,” said 40th Ward Alderman Andre Vasquez. “As my office continues to collaborate with city agencies to build more transparency and a better customer experience into city service delivery, today’s announcement sends a strong signal that Chicago recognizes the power of technology to deliver better services.”
This is only a small part of Mayor Lightfoot’s broader strategy to close Chicago’s digital divide according to the city as the new initiative will not only offer new services but will build on the Mayor’s launch of Chicago Connected which provided free high speed internet access to students and their households.
The City’s new technology strategy also complements the Chicago Digital Equity Council, a cross-sector, community-driven effort to understand and tackle the nuanced barriers to digital equity. As the City investigates these barriers and dismantles them, government benefits, and services must keep pace with demand and be easily accessed online.
