City Clerk Susana A. Mendoza begins her second tour of all 50 Chicago wards today, exactly one year after taking office as the first female City Clerk. The year has been marked with significant progress in the City Clerk’s Office, with the Office well on its way to improving access to City government, updating technology, and streamlining the City Vehicle Sticker process.

"I hit the ground running when I took office, visiting all 50 wards in my first 44 days and really diving in to understand the operations and every aspect of the office,” said Clerk Mendoza. “I’ve heard from thousands of Chicagoans and implemented many changes in our office based on ideas from the people I met and heard from. And now, as I begin visiting ward offices again, I look forward to hearing more suggestions and further modernizing and improving our office so it better serves Chicagoans."

In the first year in office, City Clerk Mendoza has:

• Increased City Dog Registration by 122%, in part through the re-launch of the City Clerk Dog Task Force and creation of the Dog of Distinction registration promotion
• Passed legislation to eliminate the $1 transaction fee for online dog registration purchases
• Reduced overtime by nearly 40%, resulting in cost savings to taxpayers of approximately $132,000
• Decreased printed paper copies of the Journals of Proceedings by 60%
• Launched a new, more user-friendly and robust website at chicityclerk.com
• Led the charge in social media and made the Office the place to go for information about City government and City Council on Facebook and Twitter, utilizing the Twitter hashtag #chicouncil for live, real-time Tweets during City Council meetings
• Created the online EZ Buy application, providing a one-stop portal to purchase City Vehicle Stickers and Dog Registrations
• Enacted legislation to provide free City Vehicle Stickers to Purple Heart Veterans, in line with existing policies allowing for free City Vehicle Stickers to Disabled Veterans and Prisoners of War
• Started a popular City Vehicle Sticker “Will Call” program for residents to drop off and later pick up their sticker orders and expanded the program to include the option for online city sticker purchases to be picked up in person, adding more convenience to City Vehicle Sticker sales
• Created the first-ever interactive Chicago city vehicle sticker by implementing the latest use of technology through the addition of a 2-dimensional quick response (QR) code to the back of the stickers, directing drivers to a dedicated mobile landing page with helpful information for Chicago motorists
• Created uniform City Vehicle Sticker sales policies and a staff handbook, helping to ensure accuracy across all Office locations and sales personnel

"We’ve come a long way this year, making Chicago government more accessible, transparent and delivering more robust and better services and programs. But much more can be done and I’m committed and confident that we will further modernize the City Clerk’s Office through the strategic use of technology and streamlining operations over the next year," said Clerk Mendoza.