Mayor Daley Names Heads of Two Departments Created by Consolidation

Mayor Richard M. Daley today announced the appointments of commissioners to head two new city departments created by department consolidations.

The mayor also announced the appointments of a new Commissioner of Buildings and Executive Director of the Board of Ethics, both of whom have been serving in those positions in an "acting" capacity.

"As the people of Chicago know, the City has always put the better management of government first before turning to taxpayers. With the nation in a financial crisis, our city revenues have been lower but the demand for services continues," Daley said in a City Hall news conference.

"Last month I announced that in our 2009 budget we would consolidate several city departments as another way to manage government more efficiently and to protect our working families and those Chicagoans who are most in need."

Daley said that in addition to delivering city services more efficiently and making them more accessible for residents, the overall department consolidations will reduce headcount by almost 240 positions, 103 of which are in the corporate fund, and reduce costs by about $5 million in that fund.

The city began implementing the consolidations upon City Council's passage of the 2009 budget and expects the new departments to be up and running by the beginning of the New Year.
The appointments announced today are:

• Patti Scudiero, Commissioner of the new Department of Zoning and Land Use and Planning and Zoning Administrator. She has been the city's zoning administrator since 2006.
  This department is created by merging the Zoning Department and the land use section of Planning to provide a centralized location where people can receive economic development, land use, business and consumer services.
• Norma Reyes, Commissioner of the new Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. She has been Commissioner of Consumer Services since 2004.
• This department combines the Departments of Business Affairs and Licensing and Consumer Services to provide streamlined services for businesses and consumers - from licensing to inspections to protection from unfair practices.
• Rich Monocchio, Commissioner of the Department of Buildings where he has been serving as Acting Commissioner.
• Steve Berlin, Executive Director of the Board of Ethics, where he has been serving as Acting Executive Director.

"All four of these individuals are committed to public service and bring significant experience to these positions. They are dedicated leaders who will help move our city forward. I have made it clear to them that during these challenging times, we all need to work together to provide the services our people need, but in a way that our taxpayers can afford," he said.

"The challenge of operating with lower revenues but increasing demand for services is not a short-term one. Looking to the future, every city needs to be concerned about the effects of our nation's deteriorating economy.

"And as we always have, we will continue to look for ways to better manage government," he said.