Emanuel Wants to Privatize City's 311 Call Center [View all]

Wedged between a property tax hike and an e-cigarette tax in Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s budget proposal was a plan to take the 311 system Chicago “invented” private.
The decision to privatize the 311 system would mean that residents calling to complain about rats or report potholes would speak to employees of a private company rather than city

The move would save taxpayers “a million dollars each year,” Emanuel said during the address.
Later, Emanuel said the city needs “about $40 [million] to $50 million to modernize [311] in the coming years,” and noted that “capital expenditure” could be solved by a private operator, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Still, 311 operators say outsourcing the service is “harmful and wrong.” They cited the need for training in the position and the loss of jobs it could mean for the city, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents dozens of the workers at the 311 center, said.