The City of Chicago announced that five sister agencies have joined the City’s Wellness initiative, and an additional 10,000 people will be eligible for the program. This will bring the total number of employees and eligible spouses to more than 45,000.

The additional persons joining the Wellness initiative today are employees of the Public Building Commission of Chicago; members of all three unions associated with the Chicago Park District and the Park District’s unrepresented workers, the unrepresented workers of the Chicago Housing Authority and 630 unrepresented employees of the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC), pending the approval of the CCC board. Additionally, earlier this year the Chicago Public Schools announced that their unrepresented employees would be joining the Wellness initiative. In accordance with standard Sister Agency contract approval procedure; these approvals are pending board ratification of the final contact where necessary under Sister Agency bylaws.

The Wellness program is one of the cost savings measures that made up more than $420 million in savings in the 2012 budget and is projected to save the City $20 million in the first year of the program, with dramatic increases in the future.