Chicago two weeks away from flipping switch on interactive 311 system

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday celebrated a 16 percent reduction in graffiti removal requests that has cut city response time to “four days or less” and said a new interactive 311 system will only make it better.

Three years ago, a City Council rebellion forced the mayor to shelve his controversial plan to privatize Chicago’s 311 non-emergency system.

Emanuel was forced to find another way to bankroll a sorely needed system upgrade after aldermen argued that services so pivotal to their residents must be provided by Chicagoans who know the city and its neighborhoods.

Now, City Hall is just two weeks away from flipping the switch on an overhaul that not only will allow Chicagoans to text their service requests, along with photographic evidence, but also will let the city text those same residents back to let them know when crews will do the work. Residents also will get a text when work is complete.

And the mayor who made it happen is touting the “modern, mobile, smart” 311 system for its ability to “revolutionize” how city services are delivered.

“Not only will you get better, quicker service. You won’t get confusion when sometimes, somebody thinks that’s graffiti and it’s actually public art. That’s a big deal,” Emanuel told a news conference in the 2700 block of West Chicago Avenue

The plan to turn 311 into more of a two-way street has been in the works for nearly five years, though the City Council rebellion on privatization slowed the process.