Some volunteers raise concerns over Mayor Brandon Johnson's pick to run Chicago Animal Care and Control

Concerns remain over the future of Chicago Animal Care and Control after Mayor Brandon Johnson nominated its interim leader to be appointed as the agency's permanent executive director.

Some current and former volunteers at the city's animal shelter said more needs to be done to improve the agency.

"Seeing the conditions inside the shelter, watching things happen that are inhumane is just, it's catastrophic," volunteer Irene  Jordan said.

Current and former volunteers at Chicago Animal Care and Control said conditions at the agency are deeply concerning.

"The euthanasia rate, the cleanliness conditions, the getting the dogs out every day," volunteer Julia Adams said.

"An atmosphere there of extreme tension, and it's very threatening to volunteers," former volunteer Claudia Langman said.

This group said they disagree with the mayor's choice to appoint interim executive director Susan Capello, who has run the agency for the past three years, as its full-time leader.

They and some alders want the mayor to conduct a nationwide search instead.

"Main thing I would love to see is for them to bring Chicago more in line with other major municipal shelters," said former employee Alex Fitzgerald.

Johnson and Capello spoke at an event this week, and Johnson said, "I'm confident that Susan will continue to lead CACC to success with professionalism, accountability and dedication."

Capello said, under her leadership, pet adoptions and transfers have reached record highs.

"Our team achieved record outcomes; the highest number of adoptions in department history," she said. "The highest number of transfers to our rescue partners in more than a decade, and then euthanasia did not rise proportionately and remained essentially flat year-over-year."

John Garrido, president of Garrido Stray Rescue Foundation, which partners with Animal Care and Control to take some animals from the shelter, the agency needs more funding.

"I know for Chicago, our budget is like $7.5 million. If you look at every other large city in the country, they're more than double," he said.

Garrido says the agency's budget is the biggest obstacle preventing it from making significant progress in areas of concern.

"Think of the best person that you can imagine, and put them in there, on that budget, they're literally going in with both hands tied behind their backs," he said.

Johnson this week announced a $700,000 increase for the agency's budget, about 10 percent. Capello's appointment as executive director still requires City Council approval.

PAWS Chicago, the city's largest no-kill animal welfare organization, has given its support to Capello and is asking volunteers to contact their alder to urge them to back her appointment.