Overview
- Mayor Brandon Johnson defended making Susan Cappello the permanent head of Chicago Animal Care and Control after three years as acting director, saying her decades of city experience qualify her for the role.
- Cappello announced an "every dog, every day" plan to get all roughly 240 dogs out of their kennels daily, acknowledging some currently are walked only once a week.
- Under department data, animal intake rose from 13,419 in 2023 to 18,337 in 2025, dog adoptions hovered around 13–15 percent, and the dog euthanasia rate stayed near 29 percent, resulting in more dogs euthanized as intake grew.
- Johnson attributed the strain to higher pet care costs driving surrenders and said adoptions and transfers reached record levels last year, adding a roughly $700,000 budget increase for 2026 to bolster staffing and operations.
- Alds. Gilbert Villegas and Ruth Cruz led a letter signed by 15 others urging a national search, citing reports from volunteers of unsanitary conditions and a toxic culture, even as the mayor maintains confidence in Cappello’s leadership.