Making service requests to the City can be a bit challenging at times with long waits for 311 operators to pick up a call, not getting service numbers unless you remember to ask for one or not getting any if you report a problem online and many have found it not a task you can do on lunch time if you want a lunch. Many times one has to wonder if a service request was actually put in the system as no results is seen for months and months.
Hopefully Chicago residents will not have to wait long for improvement because on Friday, Mayor Emanuel welcomed to Chicago a team of four fellow innovators from Code for America, who will live in Chicago for the next five weeks to develop a program plan to create and implement an Open311 system. Mayor Emanuel requested Open311 system; a common standard for 311 reporting used across the country in which the data can be used everywhere; be deployed in Chicago to open up access to dozens of web and mobile applications that will revolutionize the way residents of Chicago will make service requests to the City. Chicagoans will be able to easily track the status of their requests, and city officials will be allowed to monitor these requests more efficiently and respond more quickly.
“We welcome the Code for America team to Chicago and look forward to their end product, an Open311 system that is long overdue and will help increase efficiency in our service delivery system,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “Organizations like ‘Code for America’ must be commended for their commitment to helping cities and towns across the country improve the way they function and provide services to their residents in a 21st Century world.”
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