City to Submit First Quarterly Report on the Economic Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Mayor Richard M. Daley announced today that the City will submit its first quarterly report to the federal government on the economic impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to the City of Chicago. To date, the city's awards total more than $1 billion and have created nearly 10,000 full time jobs.

"I'm very happy to report that Chicago has already received the $1 billion that we were initially hoping for in formula funding from the federal stimulus program," said Mayor Daley. "But, in order to continue to give relief to struggling families and rejuvenate our economy, we are also applying for additional funds under the competitive grants portion of the federal program that may provide an additional $1.5 billion in funding."

The deadline for the quarterly report is Saturday, October 10, 2009, which is ten days following the end of the third quarter. The report will be submitted via the federal government's reporting website at www.federalreporting.gov. The City's Office of Compliance has performed final quality assurance checks with city departments required to submit information.

In order to offer accountability and transparency, the report offers the effect of the Recovery Act on overall economic activity and employment. As of the end of September, key findings of the report include:

• The City of Chicago has applied for $2,601,309,637.58 in federal funding.
• The City and its sister agencies have received a total of 30 grants representing $1,011,501,206.00 in award money and 9,936.57 jobs representing full time employment. Out of the 30 grants, 12 will be directly reported by the city, four by its sister agencies, and 14 by the state.
• More than $1,589,808,431.58 in award money is still pending.

All information about how the City plans to use the federal money as well as a breakdown of the 30 grants can be found on the city's website at www.cityofchicago.org/recovery.


In addition, earlier today Mayor Daley met with the Chicago Recovery Partnership, which includes 50 foundations from Chicago's philanthropic community, as well as members of Chicago's business, non-profit and academic community, to provide a six-month report on how their efforts are helping speed delivery of services funded by the ARRA.

"No other city in the nation has a foundation community working together with local nonprofits like the Chicago Recovery Partnership," said Mayor Daley. "Together the collaborations between foundations and City government have already helped to maximize the impact of the economic stimulus for Chicago residents."

The Mayor thanked Terry Mazany and The Chicago Community Trust for providing leadership that has resulted in additional federal resources and assistance in extending the benefits beyond just a one large infusion of federal funding. For example:

• To accelerate implementation of the Chicago Climate Action Plan, the City applied for a number of ARRA energy efficiency grants. LEK Consulting helped write the Clean Cities grant application. As a result, the City was awarded the second largest grant in the nation. The project will now deploy 554 alternative-fuel and hybrid-electric vehicles, install 153 alternative fueling and re-charging stations throughout the area, and will help displace 3 million gallons of petroleum per year.
• To help individuals and outside partners apply for funds for which governments were not eligible, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, via the Preservation Compact, hosted technical assistance workshops to help private owners of HUD-subsidized multifamily rental properties learn about a Green Retrofit Program for which they had to apply directly. As a result, 17 private owners applied for these funds, the highest number of applicants from any city.
• The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation helped the City secure regional letters of support for High Speed Rail grants. As a result, the State has submitted for High Speed Rail grant and additional funding for CREATE, a first-of-its-kind partnership between U.S. Department of Transportation, the State of Illinois, City of Chicago, Metra, Amtrak, and the nation's freight railroads
• Under the leadership of University of Illinois at Chicago, researchers from several universities have committed to helping us evaluate which stimulus programs will have the most impact on our city's progress. This evaluation will be the most comprehensive ARRA study in the country.

"I firmly believe that the Recovery Partnership has the potential to become a national model for bringing together local governments, philanthropic and business organizations in order to maximize the impact of federal funding in cities," said Mayor Daley. "The Recovery Partnership is yet another example of how Chicago's engaged civic community, working together with the City, helps to make the city a great place to live, work and raise a family."