Work

The Launch of Chicago Works For You

Smart Chicago

Today we’re launching a new project, Chicago Works For You, a citywide dashboard with ward-by-ward views of service delivery in Chicago.

Chicago Works For You The citywide dashboard with ward by ward views of service delivery in Chicago on Launch Day, September 19, 2013This site is going to be a central tool for Smart Chicago as we continue our work around internet access, digital skills, and civic apps. It allows us to engage residents, government, and developers around shared data so that we can all work together to make Chicago work better for all.

We’re conducting CUTGroup tests with residents, offering training and outreach to Alderman, and maintaining a full API of the data that drives our site.

This site is a result of years of work by many. It would not be possible without the vision of the MacArthur Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust to fund the Open311 project and the determination of the City of Chicago to make that implementation the largest and most comprehensive one in the world.

Much more to come. Write me at [email protected] with questions or comments.

Meanwhile, here’s a look at what this site does, taken from the About page:

Home

The homepage is a citywide map with a daily summary of all service requests submitted, by service type and ward.

Dark lines under and up-arrows next to a request type means there were more requests of that type on that date than average. The longer the line, the higher above average. Highest above average is highlighted on the map as default.

Click any service request type to see the raw numbers and averages. The legend in the lake shows you the number ranges for each type in each ward. Click any service type to see those numbers for any day.

Go back and forth in time, it will show numbers for that service request, updating the web address so that you can share any view via Twitter, Facebook, or email.

For advanced users who like to hack URLs, you can type in any date you want, going back to January 1, 2008, the first day for which we have data from the City.

Services

Choose any service request type from the Services menu to see weekly views of service delivery by ward.

The bars show all requests opened in each ward, displayed by the day of the week it was opened. Hover over any bar to see exact numbers of opened requests. The check mark is how many requests of that type were closed in each ward.

Click any day to see that service type on a map.

Move backward and forward in time to see the weeks go by.

Each service has details on the work it takes to close requests. Again, you can share any view and click links to view raw data or submit requests of this type.

Wards

Choose any ward to see the week in review– all open and closed requests. You can choose any request or view all of them at the same time.

The Time-to-close ranking shows the average time from open to close, per request, in context with all other wards.

The Days with the most requests is a raw count for each service type for this ward, going back to January 1, 2008.

The alderman name links to their ward website, and the Chicago start links to their contact information on the City website. See also Facebook account, Twitter stream, and legislative history (as compiled by Councilmatic) links.

Photos

See the last 500 photos submits with service requests. You can sort by service request and see raw counts. Clicking any image takes you to the detail page on the City’s Service Tracker website to see details and current status.

Annotations

All of the data, maps, and charts on this site are just mute representations of a 14-type portion of the services delivered by the city for the city. We use our Tumblr blog to make observations and solicit yours.

Update on Our Smart Health Centers Project

Kyla Williams

Smart Health Center Day with Chicago Health Corps at the Chicago Community TrustThe Smart Health Center project places trained health information specialists in low-income clinics to assist patients in connecting to their own medical records and to find information about their health online. The project is a joint effort led by the Alliance of Chicago in collaboration with the Otho S. A. Sprague Memorial Institute and the Smart Chicago Collaborative. We’d like to share a few updates about how the program is doing.

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GovJob: Director of Technology Communications for Cook County

Smart Chicago

328px-Seal_of_Cook_County,_Illinois.svgHere at Smart Chicago, we regularly work with units of government on a wide range of matters. We collaborate with City Departments on websites that increase collaboration with residents, with the Mayor’s Office on policy and implementation of technology efforts, and with the State of Illinois on expanding the open data movement.

In the context of this work, and in my role as  co-chair of the New Media Council for  Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, I see first-hand the immense opportunity that we have in this region to improve lives through technology and data.

But I also see that there is a lack of supply for the jobs inside government that are essential for this work to continue.

For instance, here’s a great job at Cook County, working directly for CIO Lydia Murray in the Office of the President. Lots of people ask me in my work about ways they can get involved in the fecund civic innovation here in the Chicago region. Here’s one, right here.

DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY COMMUNICATIONS

Requisition ID:  00114960

Job Posting:  Sep 12, 2013, 9:12:00 AM   Closing Date:  Sep 26, 2013, 11:59:00 PM

Full-time  Shift Start Time:  8:30 A.M.   Shift End Time:  4:30 P.M.

Posting Salary:  $90,000-$105,000

Organization:  Offices Under the President

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Join Smart Chicago at the Broadband Communities Economic Development Conference in Chicago

Smart Chicago

Smart Chicago is pleased to be a sponsor of The Economic Impact of Advanced Broadband Networks Conference on Community Fiber Networks in Tinley Park, IL on November  5 – 7, 2013.

The Economic Impact of Advanced Broadband Networks Conference on Community Fiber Networks in Tinley Park, IL on November 5 - 7, 2013.

The conference is part of a series developed by Broadband Communities Magazine, a leading source of information on digital and broadband technologies for buildings and communities. They are a welcome voice in the community broadband realm, documenting and amplifying the growing work of dozens of projects across the country.

Topics and themes include:

  • DEVELOPING broadband strategies for the knowledge economy
  • WORKING with economic development agencies
  • DEVISING innovative financing methods
  • DEPLOYING broadband to help foster vibrant communities
  • OBTAINING government incentives and support
  • BUILDING advanced broadband systems
  • SHAPING regional strategies and solutions
  • DIFFERENTIATING your community with advanced broadband
  • COMPETING and cooperating in a high-bandwidth world
  • CREATING jobs and attracting businesses with broadband networks

General admission is $185 for the conference. Smart Chicago has a limited number of free passes to this event on a first-come, first-served basis.

Go here to register.

Select the first radio button “General Admission:” at the top of the list.  An area to “Enter Discount Code” box will appear – enter your this code:   SmartChicago.

Please only register if you are certain you can make it to this conference in Tinley Park, IL on November  5 – 7, 2013. Let us know at [email protected] if you decide to register and use a code.