Ald. Michele Smith (43) and Ald. Daniel La Spata (1) during Wednesday’s City Council meeting. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

An alderwoman sidetracked a new proposal by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday to crack down on water shutoffs, saying the mayor has ignored a better proposal that has been holed up in committee. It was one of multiple pieces of new legislation banished to the City Council Committee on Committees and Rules during the council’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, including proposals to tighten city ethics restrictions and to legalize car booting across the city.