Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday inched closer to honoring her 2019 campaign promise to resurrect the full-blown Department of Environment abolished by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel — but not enough to satisfy those demanding more urgent action to combat climate change.
Tucked away in a thick package of amendments to Lightfoot’s $16.4 billion budget is a proposal to beef up the Office of Climate and Environmental Equity — from six employees to 10 — and take those staffers out of the mayor’s office and put them under a director confirmed by the City Council.
