Website
Design

An aldermanic office is often the first place constituents will go to find information on a variety of topics, from proposed developments to quotidian government services. For this reason, I felt it was important to design a robust website that can serve as a resource hub for 49th Ward constituents. The website helps constituents connect to a variety of resources, gain a better understanding of Alderwoman Hadden's priorities, find community events, navigate the byzantine bureaucracy of the City of Chicago, and so much more.

Showcased below are a handful of pages I have published on the 49th Ward website. The website is a living document, so I work with Alderwoman Hadden and staff to consistently update and fine-tune it to make it more accessible. Click through the tabs below to view various pages on the 49th Ward website and learn more about the thought process when creating the page. To view the 49th Ward website in its entirety, visit 49thward.org.

Home Page

The home page is the most important page on the aldermanic website. It is where constituents first land when seeking information. With the range of issues an aldermanic touches, it's important to categorize resources, services, and information in an intuitive manner to help people more easily navigate the website. This includes a drop-down menu bar at the top, and "Quick Links for Popular Resources" buttons to popular, relevant pages on our website. A search bar is included to help constituents who might not be familiar with the city bureaucracy find what they're looking for more easily. Finally, a community calendar on the homepage lets residents know about a variety of community events, including those organized by third parties.

Current Developments Page

Development proposals receive the most engagement from constituents in the 49th Ward. For this reason, we feel it's important to keep our website current with the most up-to-date information. This helps constituents find information about proposals and keeps the process for development transparent. Our "Current Proposals Page" includes all proposals that are under consideration by Alderwoman Hadden or still in the process of receiving requisite approvals from the City. All past developments are housed under the "Past Developments" page and are archived by year. Developments currently under consideration also include a button on the home page, under the "Quick Links for Resources" section, to help people access the most relevant and timely information more quickly.

Archiving and publishing all our decisions helps constituents more easily view decisions and trends in the neighborhood, while providing our office with data that can help shape policy, decisions, and future investments.

Legislation Page

The role of an alderman is primarily legislative. Alderpeople serve as the legislative branch of City government and are tasked with introducing and passing legislation representative of their constituents. With City Council meeting monthly (except for its August recess), the number of issues they vote on adds up quickly. For this reason, we maintain a page on our website that documents all of the major legislation that Alderwoman Hadden has spearheaded or supported through the years. This helps our constituents better understand what she's working on at City Hall and which issues she prioritizes.

Menu Allocations Page

In its "only could happen in Chicago" way, each alderperson is charged with allocating $1.5 million annually to a variety of infrastructure projects through the aldermanic discretionary budget (known colloquially as the menu budget). In the 49th Ward, we use participatory budgeting to put the power back in the hands of the taxpayers by letting them pitch, develop, and vote on projects they'd like to see. Every year, we set aside $500,000 of the $1.5 million to go toward additional critical infrastructure projects, overages on any slated projects, and emergency repairs. To realize transparency, we maintain a map on the 49th Ward website that shows how menu funds were spent each year Alderwoman Hadden has been in office. This map also helps our office see where previous investments have been made, so we can more equitably spread the resources across every part of our ward.

2026 Budget Page

One of the most important legislative issues alderpeople vote on each year is the City's budget. We are dedicated to community-driven processes and transparency in the 49th Ward, so it is important to us to document all the different stages of the budget negotiation each year. We also send out a community survey each budget cycle to gauge our constituents' priorities and help inform Alderwoman Hadden's final decision on the proposed budget. The past two budget cycles have been exceptionally tumultuous, which has made it all the more important to document the process and share it back with our constituents so they remain informed.

Website Design

Website
Design