With the exception of weekdays preceding or following holidays like Christmas, New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Presidents’ Day, city workers were most often absent on Tuesday, February 25, 2003, Chicago’s Municipal Election Day, and March 16, 2004, the date of the last General Primary Election in Illinois. Some city workers say they perform electioneering duties on those days as a favor to those who helped get them hired.
Source: City of Chicago, Department of Finance; analyzed by The Chicago Reporter.