Activists call for public health funding, community programs in new ordinance

Chicago activists gathered in front of City Hall, on the last day of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency, to demand more funding for the city’s health department.

They want a meeting with Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson to discuss an ordinance they have drafted calling for more money for both the Chicago Department of Public Health as well as community-based public health programs.

These proposed community-based programs include turning Chicago Public Schools into neighborhood health centers that offer services including vaccinations and STI screenings.

“We would like to give congratulations to Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson,” said Lonette Sims, chair of People’s Response Network and one of about a half-dozen activists who attended the news conference. “We look forward to helping his administration create a healthy and equitable Chicago.”

Howard Ehrman, who was an assistant commissioner at the Chicago Department of Public Health under Mayor Harold Washington, said that since 1989, the CDPH has shrunk significantly in staff and resources.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Ehrman said the CDPH had 2,000 employees in 1989, but 600 employees today.

The department offered similar numbers when contacted Thursday, saying there were over 1,800 employees in 2001, which had shrunk to about 600 before the pandemic.

It increased through the pandemic, but a department spokesperson said “sustained funding for public health is definitely a concern.”

This proposed ordinance aims to “rebuild” the CDPH, Sims said. The ordinance and a letter were sent to the mayor’s office last week, Sims said.

Sims expressed “vehement” opposition to ending the COVID-19 public health emergency, citing concerns about Americans losing heath care coverage, as well as the continued deaths from COVID-19.

If passed, this ordinance would establish public health teams operating out of public schools and hire community members as public health workers. They would go to schools and door-to-door, offering a range of public health services. It also asks for environmental and building inspectors that would address concerns about asbestos and other health hazards.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

This is the second ordinance the group has proposed to expand public health funding, Sims said. The first, introduced in March 2021, sought funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and focused primarily on the COVID-19 response.

That ordinance was sponsored by 25th Ward Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez. It was assigned to the rules committee, the traditional burial ground for legislation the mayor opposes. Sims said no alderperson has stepped up to sponsor the new ordinance yet.

This new ordinance wants funding built into the city budget, instead of relying on federal COVID relief funds, said Paul Siegel, who spoke on behalf of Northside Action for Justice on Thursday.

The department, Siegel added, relies heavily upon grants for funding. This ordinance aims to help CDPH secure more funding from the city’s budget.

Kathy Powers, who represented the Alliance for Community Services at the news conference, said she deals with “severe” mental illness and hopes to see shuttered mental health facilities reopen. She said she is “heartened” by Johnson’s election, but added: “Brandon has his work cut out for him.”