Chicago’s acting planning commissioner vows to “get more shovels in the ground and more ribbons cut”

Acting Chicago Planning Commissioner Ciere Boatright’s promised on Tuesday to work “in partnership and collaboration” with City Council members — music to the ears of alderpeople who chafed at the top-down approach used by her predecessor. (Provided)

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s choice to lead the Chicago Department of Planning and Development vowed Tuesday to get “more shovels in the ground and more ribbons cut,” even though “interest rates are high, capital is constrained and development is hard.”

Testifying at her City Council confirmation hearing, Ciere Boatright said she is determined to use tax increment financing, the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund and what she called the “entire financial toolbox” to remove roadblocks she encountered as a real estate executive known for her work on community revival.