City Crews Begin Spring Cleaning Blitz

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Thinking about spring cleaning? So is City Hall.

City workers launched the first "service blitz" of the season on Friday.

Crews from the departments of Transportation, Water Management, and Streets and Sanitation planned to tackle tasks from pothole repair and tree trimming to street light replacement and graffiti removal.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said coordination between city agencies is the key to the success of the blitzes.

"So it's going to bring all the services; whether it's rodent abatement, graffiti removal, pothole fixing, street light fixing, markings, signs, all the work that has to be done in a coordinated fashion to actually have the type of spring cleaning in a comprehensive way in an entire neighborhood," he said.

The city will conduct 20 blitzes this season in neighborhoods across the city. They were chosen based on the number and severity of residents' requests for help.

Crews will focus on one neighborhood each week now through November, weather permitting.

To request a crew on your block, you can call 311, or submit a service request on the city's website.