*Three organizations were chosen through an RFP process that awarded $400,000 to be put back into their communities
By Ikenna Asomba
Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, has announced the awarding of the RFP for the Delegate Agencies that will help administer the CityKey Program to Catholic Charities, Phalanx Family Services and a coalition of organizations led by the Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition.
The three community-based organizations, or delegate agencies, will be awarded $443,470 in total and will function as a hub for coordination of the CityKey Program across different regions of Chicago to increase access to the ID for all Chicago residents, says a statement by Kate LeFurgy on the city’s website on Tuesday.
“The CityKey is one step closer to launching citywide as we officially announce the organizations that will help us to make this program a success,” Clerk Valencia said, adding that “we are thrilled to partner with such incredible organizations that serve the many different communities that the CityKey is meant to impact both programmatically and geographically.”
The delegate agencies will be responsible for:
Conducting community outreach activities to educate residents on the program;
Aiding CityKey applicants in collecting the necessary documents to apply for the program; and,
Staffing CityKey mobile sites and support Office of the City Clerk personnel when administering the cards in the community.
The contract will run through December 31, 2018.
“Every 30 seconds someone turns to Catholic Charities for help. With 150 locations and hundreds of community partners in the Chicago area, we are pleased to work with the City Clerk’s office to register individuals for the new City Key Program to help them gain access to valuable services and resources that require an ID,” said Monsignor Michael Boland, President and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
“Phalanx Family Services is excited to be a part of this initiative that brings additional resources and services to residents of the far Southside community. Municipal IDs will help address one of the barriers to employment,” said Tina Sanders, the Chief Executive Officer for Phalanx Family Services.
“The Coalition is very excited to partner with the Office of the City Clerk to connect Chicagoans to the CityKey Municipal ID. In partnership with more than 40 member organizations, the Coalition works to connect individuals to community resources and we are thrilled to work with our members to connect thousands of Chicagoans to CityKey. We look forward to making Chicago more accessible for the community residents that we serve,” said Becky Raymond, Executive Director of the Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition.
The full list of organizations that will be part of the Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition include:
Albany Park Community Center
Asian Human Services
Centers for New Horizons
Centro Romero
Chinese American Service League (CASL)
Erie Neighborhood House
Howard Area Community Center
Instituto del Progreso Latino
Latino Alzheimer & Memory Disorder Alliance
Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA)
North Lawndale Employment Network
PODER
The Safer Foundation
Telpochcalli Community Education Project (TCEP)
The Learning Center
Tolton Center – De La Salle Institute
United for Better Living
World Relief – Chicago
Chicago Mayor, Emanuel Rahm and Clerk Valencia launched the CityKey pilot in December 2017. To support the program’s implementation, the City’s 2017 and 2018 Budget allocated $1 million to the program.
Upon being sworn-in, City Clerk Valencia launched a listening tour to solicit feedback about the Municipal ID program from constituents all across the city and has held over 50 roundtables to date.
In April 2017, an ordinance solidifying the program was passed in City Council with overwhelming support. After testing the program, Clerk Valencia plans to make the ID available to all Chicago residents later this month.
