Overview
One of the goals of the Civic Works Projects is to create more awareness of the information needs and solutions of diverse communities based on smart application of data and technology solutions and to identify technology solutions benefiting government performance and community solutions that can be sustained by the private markets.
As part of this work, Smart Chicago is developing a tool that mines Twitter to provide deeper insight and communication between County government and County residents.
This includes the development of Cook County Tweets, a system that collect tweets emanating from the various accounts maintained by elected officials, units of government, and County departments. It also includes identifying tweets that pertain to the government of Cook County. The system will allow Cook County officials to respond directly to tweets from residents concerning Cook County government.
We choose to build an app around Cook County because of the uniqueness of Cook County. There is only one other Cook County in the United States (in Wisconsin) and so it’s simple to focus the Twitter Classification System on one locale. Additionally, Cook County government greatly affects the lives of residents through the Cook County Health Care System, Cook County Court System, and because when residents pay property taxes – they pay it through the country.
This project is a spin-off of the Foodborne Chicago project and is built using similar technology.
Here are some further details on the project:
- Develop a web application (Cook County Twitter Classifier) to classify Tweets regarding Cook County government, elected officials, and services provided by the offices under the President of Cook County.
- Web application should include functionality that enables select Cook County staff to respond to tweets from residents.
- Providing technical support for the Cook County Twitter Classification system and the Foodborne Chicago web application.
- Assist with training of Cook County staff on the Twitter Classification System
Partners
Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has been a dedicated community leader for over two decades. Through collaboration and commitment, President Preckwinkle has worked with the County Board, our elected official and county employees to implement major reform and reshape county government into a world-class institution based on the foundation of fiscal responsibility, innovative leadership, transparency & accountability, and improved services.
In January 2013, President Preckwinkle created the New Media Council to advise the county on the design of it’s new website and offer recommendations on using social media and other digital tools.
You can learn more about Cook County on their website and on Twitter at @ToniPreckwinkle.
Cory Nissen
Cory Nissen is a statistician for Akoya, Inc and was one of the primary developers of the Foodborne Chicago application. You can learn more about his work on his blog Stats and Things.
Media Inquires
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