Chicago has many layers of government, including the alderpeople who make up the city council, the person in charge of the city stickers and the person everyone knows about — the mayor.
But what exactly are their responsibilities?
WBEZ’s Tessa Weinberg has an overview of who the city’s voters elect every four years and what they do.
Here’s what the city clerk does:
City Clerk
Salary: $161,016 in 2023
Term: 4 years
What does the city clerk do?
The clerk is the city’s record keeper. The office manages the city’s official documents, such as ordinances passed by the City Council. The office is where you’ll go to get city stickers for your car, residential zone parking permits or business licenses.
The clerk’s office is even where you’ll head if you want to register your four-legged friend named Fido with the city.
Why is this job important?
The clerk’s office helps make the City Council more accessible. Through the clerk’s websites, the public can search for video archives of council meetings dating back to 2011 or pore over ordinances originally passed in 1981.
The clerk’s office also helps bring the City Council into the modern age and ensure you can stay plugged in to what your government is doing, by providing access to meeting notices and livestreams of council meetings.
Learn more:
- What does the mayor do?
- What does the city treasurer do?
- What does an alderperson do?
- What does a police district council member do?
Tessa Weinberg covers Chicago government and politics for WBEZ. Follow her @tessa_weinberg.
