Inspector General's Report Criticises City's Street Paving Strategy
(CBS) -- Chicago spends way too much filling potholes and not nearly enough preventing them, according to a new audit by the inspector general. The IG also looked at aldermanic clout and concluded, street paving and politics don't mix.
Inspector General Joseph Ferguson found Chicago doesn't regularly survey the condition of its main streets and spends far too little to prevent them from falling apart.
"What we found is you don't have to do a whole lot more preventative maintenance, but you have to commit yourself to a standard program based on good data," Ferguson.
The report estimates, if the city spent about $3 million a year in prevention, it could save 50 percent more, $4.5 million a year, by making streets last longer.
But the IG's most controversial recommendation involves side streets, removing from aldermen the decision on which streets to fix first.
But Little Village Alderman Ricardo Munoz insists aldermen know best.
"Whether or not it's efficient, neighbors don't really want to hear about that," Munoz said. "They want their street fixed."
But Ferguson says, significant savings would come if all paving and pothole decisions citywide, were made downtown.
"It would allow the aldermen to deal with other stuff they're much more expert in," Ferguson said. "Aldermen aren't expert in roads."
Ferguson argues, by using citywide surveys of road conditions, repair money can spent more efficiently. But that's a battle Mayor Emanuel didn't want to fight.
City Hall accepted and implemented most of Ferguson's suggestions, but the call on repairing side streets will remain with the aldermen.
