January 13, 2012

Mayor Emanuel Asks Chicagoans to Submit Education-Related Questions for His Second #AskChicago Facebook Town Hall

Online Forum Allows the Mayor and Residents to Connect in a Conversation about Education

Mayor's Press Office    312.744.3334

CHICAGO - Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced today that he will be holding a second live Facebook Town Hall meeting with Chicagoans, centered around a conversation on education, on January 23 at 6:30 PM; leading up to the event the public is encouraged to submit education-related questions and vote for questions to ask the Mayor at www.AskChicago.org. The town hall can be viewed at www.facebook.com/chicagomayorsoffice or www.livestream.com/chicagomayorsoffice. This past June, Mayor Emanuel became the first sitting mayor of a major city to hold a live online chat in which questions were submitted and ranked by the public.

“In our first live Facebook Town Hall and during the 2012 budgeting process, we saw Chicagoans come together in a conversation about issues facing residents across the city,” said Mayor Emanuel. “This second Town Hall is part of my commitment to creating a more transparent and engaged government that not only listens to the voices of the people, but also responds.”

In addition to streaming the event live online, the Mayor’s Office is working with the Smart Communities program, the Chicago Public Schools and the City Colleges of Chicago to plan #AskChicago viewing events. These events will be posted online next week at www.AskChicago.org, and residents can also contact 3-1-1 find a local viewing locations where they can participate.

Since coming into office, Mayor Emanuel has leveraged social media to better connect with the public. This Facebook Town Hall forum compliments existing efforts including:

  • ChicagoShovels.org: Earlier this month, Mayor Emanuel announced ChicagoShovels.org, a new, interactive online resource that helps Chicagoans engage and participate in critical winter-preparedness efforts. The site was launched with a real-time “Plow Tracker” that allows residents to monitor the progress of the City’s snow plows, a volunteer “Snow Corps” program, and links to winter web apps. The City is also launching an “Adopt-a-Sidewalk” shoveling initiative where Chicagoans can soon visit the site and sign up to be a part of the program.
  • Chicago Budget, the first interactive budget website: People across Chicago were encouraged to engage in the City’s 2011 budget process. More than 10,000 ideas and comments for addressing the City’s challenges were posted, generating over 62,000 votes from 3,100 people.
  • Windy City Badge and Chicago’s Mayor on Foursquare: Chicago is the world’s first city with its own foursquare City badge, the “Windy City” City badge. The public can follow the Mayor as he travels across the City on Foursquare.com/ChicagosMayor.
  • Chicago’s first #AskChicago Facebook Town Hall: On June 30, 2011, Mayor Emanuel was the first sitting mayor of a major city to hold a live online chat in which questions were submitted and ranked by the public.
  • Mayor’s Office on Twitter, Facebook and Google+: Mayor Emanuel is the first Chicago Mayor to leverage Twitter and Facebook to connect with the public, answer questions and share news. Mayor Emanuel’s office was the first Mayor’s office to use Google+. You can follow the Mayor on Twitter at twitter.com/chicagosmayor, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/chicagomayorsoffice and on Google+ at gplus.to/mayor.

 

 

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