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City Council Fri May 03 2013
Infographic: How Big is Chicago's City Council?
Chicago's City Council, compared to other large U.S. cities, is one of the largest. One alderman representing 53,912 Chicagoans, based on 2010 census data.
According to the 2013 budget released by the city, City Councils budget for this year is $26.4 million. Chicago aldermen's salaries range between $104,101 to $114,913, depending on whether they decided to take raises.
Cody / May 22, 2013 6:55 PM
And may it become ever larger. May we move toward better and better representative ratios. Chicago needs a council of 500, each person of which should have a salary not to exceed Chicago's median income.
Spending money on a larger council is not 'wasting' money. The price of representation is small compared to the benefits of less power and corruption for each representative, as well as more chance that an underfunded candidate can win.
In order to eliminate the influence of money, increase the size of representative bodies all across the land.