Mayor Rahm Emanuel is advancing a ten year old plan to build an express train from the Loop to O’Hare Airport. The total cost of the endeavor is unknown, but Mayor Emanuel announced Wednesday that no taxpayer money will be used to achieve the city’s goal of shaving 20 minutes off commute times to its busiest airport.

“Express service to and from O'Hare will give Chicagoans and visitors to our great city more options, faster travel times, and build on Chicago’s competitive advantage as a global hub of tourism, transportation and trade," said Mayor Emanuel in a release.

A 2006 report CTA commissioned on the feasibility of express train service to O’Hare determined Express Service would be “substantially more capital intensive than implementing the Direct Service.” It estimated the costs could surpass $1.5 billion.

The financing structure would be similar to how the city funds operations at its airports. Both O’Hare and Midway International Airport are financed through segregated enterprise accounts that are funded through fees and lease payments.

The O’Hare Express System (OES) Project would be “funded solely by project-specific revenues (like fares or advertising) and financed entirely by the concessionaire,” the press release explains.

Emanuel put the Chicago Infrastructure Trust (CIT) in charge of finding a designer, contractor, and concessionaire to oversee the project. The public-private partnership (PPP) Emanuel created early in his first term to leverage private dollars for city construction was recently named as the lead collaborator on the new police and fire training academy planned for West Garfield Park. The City Council approved the necessary zoning changes and land purchase for the public safety academy earlier this month.

CIT issued a Request for Proposals (RFQ) Wednesday. A pre-submittal information session is scheduled for Dec. 20 at the Chicago Cultural Center in Millennium Park. RFQ responses are due Jan. 24, 2018.

[Request for Qualifications To Design, Build,

Finance, Operate & Maintain O’Hare Express System]



In 2016, Chicago’s Department of Aviation began soliciting engineering firms to “analyze and develop conceptual designs as well as an overall timeline for the project.” At the time, it had received three proposals, but did not identify the firms. Previous project plans for an express train to O’Hare were unrealistic, the solicitation said, because they were reliant on existing, overly burdened rail-lines. CDA sought creative solutions to address those obstacles.

On a given day, some 20,000 commuters travel between O’Hare and downtown Chicago, according to city estimates. That number is expected to reach 35,000 by 2045.

The CTA’s Blue Line is the quickest transit option to the airport, a ride that can take between 45 minutes to an hour depending on train delays. And adding an express train on the Blue Line is an unlikely alternative. Chicago’s public transit system is one of the oldest in the country. Its parent agency, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), estimates the CTA will need about $20 billion just to cover maintenance.

Lack of a state capital budget and declining federal aid, coupled with decreased ridership, has put a financial strain on the CTA. This is why Emanuel had aldermen approve a modest increase on Uber and Lyft rides over the next two years. The additional $16 million generated from the hike will be handed over to the CTA, and independent agency with its own budget and voting board, in perpetuity.

CIT has worked with the CTA. In 2015 it partnered with T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon to bring 4G mobile data service to the city’s subways.

In 2012, with President Bill Clinton by his side, Mayor Emanuel unveiled the idea of creating a separate agency to finance costly “transformational infrastructure investments” through advantaged financing. The press release from that event explains the structure: “each project to customize a financing structure using taxable or tax-exempt debt, equity investments and other forms of support.”

Though the City Council approved the authorizing ordinance a month later, and a slew of board members throughout Emanuel’s two terms, most projects stalled.

CIT’s inaugural project, which Emanuel detailed at that press conference with President Clinton, took years to initiate. Retrofit Chicago, a plan to convert approximately 85% of the City’s lighting fixtures to LEDs, reduced its scope and is behind schedule.

 Chief Judge Timothy Evans, as promised, has filed a complaint against Cook County for the 161 layoffs imposed in his office as part of the 2018 budget, as well as a general administrative order that orders the clerk and sheriff to fully perform all their office's respective duties.

Dozens of candidates for county positions lined the lower level halls of 69 W. Washington to turn in their signatures to Clerk David Orr in hopes of making it on the March 2018 primary ballot. One-foot tall stacks were heaped on to folding tables set up by the clerk. The Cook County Democratic Party boasted more than 120,000 signatures for slated candidates. Political teams for incumbents waited overnight in folding chairs to have the coveted first spots in line, in some cases, swapping out for fresh faced candidates before doors opened at 9:00 a.m.

Chicago’s Law Department and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a lawsuit against Uber Monday for concealing a 2016 data breach that exposed more than 57 million users’ personal data.

The rumor mill was swirling late Monday night after the revelation that U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Chicago) is nixing his re-election bid after serving in congress for 24 years. One Chicago alderman who had canvassed for Gutierrez as recently as this weekend said he was “in the dark” when the news first broke.

Cook County candidates seeking to make it on the Mar. 20, 2018 primary ballot will begin filing their nomination papers this morning. Besides candidates for governor, that includes County Board President, Clerk, Treasurer, Sheriff, Assessor, County Commissioners, Board of Review commissioners for Districts 2 and 3, and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioners. The candidates for Township Committeemen are elected at the primary as well.

 

Capping a year of conflict and tough votes on the instatement and repeal of the beverage tax, all 17 Cook County commissioners voted in favor of an amendment cutting the county’s budget by $200 million. Those cuts were mostly made by laying off 321 people and eliminating 1,017 positions.

Cook County Budget Website

FY18 Amendments to the Appropriation Ordinance

FY 2018 Budget Amendment 2-S-1

Speaker List

Finance Committee Video

Board of Commissioners Video

A somber President Toni Preckwinkle called the vote heartbreaking after hearing more than an hour of testimony from county employees who would soon lose their jobs. But several commissioners hailed the president, the board, and separately elected officials whose collaboration they say largely spare front line staff.

“The spirit of collaboration has been unprecedented and should continue throughout the new year,” Comm. Pete Silvestri (R-9), one of the board’s longest serving members, said. “I think services will be stretched, but they will continue to serve our public.”

Budget Director Tanya Anthony broke down the layoffs:

• Assessor: 5


• Board of Review: 8


• Cook County Health and Hospitals System: 34


• Chief Judge: 156


• County Clerk: 3


• Offices Under the President: 15


• Sheriff: 100

The layoff number shrank from Friday’s estimate of 425, thanks to weekend wrangling and phone calls to commissioners’ offices from Chief Judge Timothy Evans’ and Sheriff Tom Dart’ staff. Both offices will still shoulder the bulk of layoffs and vacancy eliminations.  

Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown’s office was the only one that secured a deal with its labor union, the Teamsters, to institute furlough days rather than layoffs. There will be seven furlough days for union staff in 2018 and 15 for non-union staff.

In a statement late Tuesday, Evans said the Circuit Court "accounts for 7.6 percent of the overall county budget, but we are unfairly and disproportionately bearing 48 percent of the layoff total."

He said the board should have provided funding and allowed his office decide staffing. Issuing a layoff list, he said, "creates an unprecedented level of uncertainty for how any independently elected official handles employment decisions in Cook County."

He said his office is “considering legal options” and will have more information after the Thanksgiving holiday. Preckwinkle’s office declined to comment Tuesday.

Comm. Larry Suffredin (D-13), one of only two commissioners who stood by his vote to keep the beverage tax in October, appeared to serve as the nexus of staffing negotiations over the weekend. He made all of the motions on amendments in committee Tuesday.

In a statement on his website, he said he voted in favor “not because it has the thoughtful planning and coordination I wanted, but because it is the best and only alternative to protect Cook County from a meltdown of key services.”

“This amendment is different from Friday in that there has been a restoration of 22 people in the Chief Judge’s program who work for Office of the Public Guardian,” Suffredin said on the floor Tuesday. Also restored were 12 patrol officers in the sheriff’s police, 51 sergeants in court services, 17 civilians in the sheriff’s office, including in the Office of Professional Review, and two adult probation supervisors.

“Unfortunately this does not restore as many jobs as you’d want to at the (Juvenile Temporary Detention Center),” Suffredin said, nor full position restoration in adult probation, juvenile probation, or in social services. The Chief Judge will also cut its mortgage foreclosure program, he said. It puts the county “right at the edge of the standards we agreed to in federal court for the JTDC.”

“This is not a happy day,” he concluded, pointing out layoffs would hit around the holidays.

“People asked us to live within our means,” Finance Chairman John Daley (D-11) said. “To the elected officials, consider and take this board serious. I don’t think you took this board serious at all.”

He noted the board gave those officials two opportunities to propose their own cuts, and several fell short. Almost all said they did not support the beverage tax.

“To those being laid off I want to thank you for your years of service. We appreciate your hard work,” Daley said.

Dozens in green AFSCME shirts packed the room Tuesday to make their case during public testimony. Amy Carioscia, a juvenile probation employee, was one of them. She is a mother of two, and said her husband was laid off earlier this year.

She pleaded with the board before the vote. At one point, she started to cry. “I am one of the 46 people that will be laid off. I ask you today to please reconsider your decision. I’ve been at the county for 19 and a half years. I never woke up and thought I’d have to stand before you today to defend my job. I’ve always been a dedicated employee who’s never said no, and here I have to beg for my job,” she said.

Single mother Eboni McLemore, a juvenile probation support staffer for 19 years, was equally emotional. She was one of 39 slated to be cut. She had to pause for several moments while she cried. “Even though I’m not a front line employee like my P.O. brothers and sisters, we are the backbone and we are the support staff. If you get rid of us, who is there to support? Just please, just please find some other resources, this would be so detrimental not just to me but all my other brothers and sisters.”

Union layoffs are effective Jan. 5, and nonunion are effective Dec 8. Benefits for both will extend through the end of the month, and laid off employees will be offered services through the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership. Comm. Sean Morrison (R-17) says he hopes those laid off employees will be first in line when others retire throughout the year.

Layoffs and vacancy eliminations account for about $158 million of the county’s shortfall. The budget also counts on $42 million in additional revenues–about half from increased Medicaid payments.

The Cook County Health and Hospitals System’s (CCHHS) labor division will be moved under the president's Bureau of Human Resources to cut costs. The President's Bureau of Technology will also take on the State's Attorney's IT functions. Board of Review satellite locations will close, as will the county’s branch court location at 2452 W. Belmont in mid-2018. The county will cut spending on justice programs, hold the line on salaries at their current rates, and institute furlough days at the Clerk of the Circuit Court.

“We maintained services at the hospital and criminal justice system and we achieved both of these goals without raising taxes,” Comm. Bridget Gainer (D-10) said, standing by her vote to repeal the beverage tax. “After a sales tax at the county, property tax at the city and income tax at the state, we need to find a balance between the county budget and a healthy economy.”

Comm. Richard Boykin (D-1) said he was proud this budget “doesn’t lay off public defenders, prosecutors, or front line sheriff’s police” and “helps to right size county budget.” Boykin was also happy his addition, a dedicated sexual harassment investigator included in the Office of the Independent Inspector General, made it in the amendments.

At a brief, solemn press conference after the vote, Preckwinkle said the budget office will “almost immediately try to figure out how we’re going to put together the budget in fiscal year 2019.”

 

 

By a vote of 47-3, the Chicago City Council approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s $8.58 billion budget plan for next year.

Police accountability advocates raised their voices Tuesday, some striking a clearer note than others. Here are the highlights from the day’s action.

Today is Budget Day for the Cook County Board of Commissioners and Chicago City Council. Both bodies are scheduled to take a final vote on their respective spending plans for next fiscal year. Cook County had a rougher season, with a last minute $200 million hole due to the repeal of President Toni Preckwinkle’s sweetened beverage tax. Chicago City Council’s budget includes minimal tax and fine increases, but it lacks any major hikes unlike the past two spending plans. Subscribers can check out full budget coverage archives here.

Aldermen approved three referenda for the March primary ballot during a Rules Committee sandwiched between, and interrupted by, other committees that met Monday. Aldermen approved questions on healthcare coverage, opioid abuse, and bump stocks without any questions for referenda sponsors. Pending full City Council approval, they will be put to voters in 2018.

The only aldermanic amendments made to the city’s 2018 budget never made it to committee before Tuesday’s expected budget, leaving Ald. Leslie Hairston (5) to declare the situation “very suspect and I do believe politically motivated.” The two offices who handled the paperwork, the finance committee and clerk’s office, pointed fingers at each other.

Aldermen on City Council’s Public Safety committee just barely made up for last week’s lack of quorum, making it over the threshold by one member after starting nearly 30 minutes late. The group voiced strong support for Andrea Zopp’s appointment to the Police Board, despite criticism that Zopp could not act as an independent voice after her recent 18 months serving as deputy mayor.

Attendance: Chair Ariel Reboyras (30), Gregory Mitchell (7), Michelle Harris (8), Patrick D. Thompson (11), Ed Burke (14), Raymond Lopez (15), Matt O’Shea (19), Walter Burnett (27), Carrie Austin (34), Emma Mitts (37), Harry Osterman (48)

A group of police reform advocates said last week it was “a clear conflict of interest when a mayoral ally joins a police oversight agency,” and that it was “imperative that the Police Board, with its critical role in police discipline, be shielded from the influence of Chicago politics.”

After a lack of quorum and a no-show from Zopp last week, the committee recessed and rescheduled to Monday.

The nine-member board decides disciplinary matters involving police officers, nominates candidates for superintendent of police to the mayor, and proposes reforms to the police department. Its current president is Lori Lightfoot.

Members may collect a $12,000 stipend and the president can accept a $15,000 stipend. Lightfoot and three of the board’s members do not collect the stipend. All are appointed by the mayor and subject to City Council approval. Zopp was also recently appointed to serve as CEO of World Business Chicago.

Zopp was not present at Friday’s committee meeting, but was present Monday, and pointed to her time as an assistant U.S. attorney as her best qualifier for the board. “My history on police accountability proceeded knowing who Rahm Emanuel was, much less working for him,” Zopp said.

“I went to the U.S. Attorney’s office because I learned there were very few people that looked like me, very few women, very few people of color. I worked hard to make sure the justice system worked for everyone,” Zopp said. She ticked off high-profile cases she prosecuted, including the Ford Heights Four, Congressman Mel Reynolds’ sex abuse trial, and the shooting of an unarmed homeless man by Chicago police officer Gregory Becker.

“I advocated for Supt. [Garry] McCarthy’s resignation and for the Department of Justice investigation,” she continued. “Long before I came to work for Mayor Emanuel I have a track record of advocating for these issues. I’ve had several public roles… and stood up for what was right regardless of whether it’s popular.”

Ald. Matt O’Shea (19) agreed. “I’ve known Andy Zopp longer than most. She’s taken bad cops off the street. She’s prosecuted corrupt policemen. In addition to putting the real criminals, each and every day, out of the street, she’s been a voice for the underserved, the underrepresented, and we’d be lucky to have her.”

“We all believed the Police Board was just a pass-through board, but I have more confidence now with the board becoming a board of substance because you will be on the board,” Ald. Carrie Austin (34) affirmed Monday.

Just two members of the public spoke against Zopp Monday. Concerned citizen George Blakemore said there are “many other people in the black community who can do this job and do it better. She has been recycled from one agency to another.”

Karl Brinson of the West Side Chapter of the NAACP said Zopp’s appointment does little to instill community trust in the police reform process. “How is it looking like reform when we have the same people sitting on these same boards? We can’t continue doing this,” Brinson said. “People want to be served, protected, respected, represented. This is not going to work. This is not building trust. We have to do better than this.”

Chair Ariel Reboyras (30) retorted after Brinson walked away from the microphone, saying the board was independent.

Brison returned to the microphone to say, “The true word for independent means separate and apart. It is appointed by the mayor and appointed by this City Council.”

 

The City Council’s Zoning Committee approved landmark status for the former Michigan Avenue headquarters of the Johnson Publishing Company.

The 11-story building located at 820 S. Michigan Ave. was recommended for historical landmark status by the Chicago Landmark’s Commission for the company's prominence as one of the largest Black-owned businesses in the country. The Commission provided their preliminary approval in October. Landmark designations require secondary approval by the Council’s Zoning Committee, followed by the full City Council.

A packed slate of committee meetings await aldermen today. Reconsideration of former Deputy Mayor Andrea Zopp to the Police Board, three ballot referenda for the March 2018 primary, and another round of committee votes on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2018 Budget are just some of the items awaiting committee action ahead of Tuesday’s full City City meeting.