Following roughly four hours of debate and public testimony, the Chicago City Council’s Housing Committee approved two, 3-year pilot programs that would strengthen the city’s affordable housing requirements in certain neighborhoods facing an unprecedented amount of luxury housing development.

The council’s Housing Committee will consider a pilot program aimed at addressing rising housing costs in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods on the northwest side.

The 3-year program would force the inclusion of affordable units in new developments planned in the designated zone.

October is a crazy month for Chicago and Cook County government. The city and county governments both roll out their budget plans in October, warily eyeing each other to see who will raise taxes first, and for how much.

Chicago & Cook County Campaign Finance Reports

Every Friday we present some of the most interesting campaign finance reports from Chicago and Cook County. All A-1s are within the last 7 days. There are no new D-1s to report this week.

Cook County Candidates

Committee	6/30 COH	Contrib Since 9/30	Potential Cash
31st Ward Democratic Organization	$515,482.10	$141,450.00	$656,932.10
Friends of Dorothy Brown	$1,602.74	$4,300.00	$5,902.74
Committee to Elect John P Daley	$5,093.14	$0.00	$5,093.14
Committee to Elect Maria Pappas	$87,053.40	$0.00	$87,053.40
Citizens for David Orr	$149,341.00	$0.00	$149,341.00
Friends for Fritz	$83,661.38	$57,900.00	$141,561.38
Citizens for Edward Acevedo	$12.37	$0.00	$12.37
Friends of Peter Gariepy	$51,743.70	$7,700.00	$59,443.70
4th Ward Democratic Org	$28,737.43	$0.00	$28,737.43
Citizens for Dart	$24,197.21	$0.00	$24,197.21
Citizens for Jerry \Iceman" Butler"	$1,359.02	$0.00	$1,359.02
Suffredin for Cook County	$1,438.83	$0.00	$1,438.83
Goslin Campaign Comm	$84,971.12	$0.00	$173,144.65
Citizens for Timothy O Schneider	$96,902.99	$0.00	$96,902.99
Friends of Robert Steele	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Citizens for Deborah Sims	$19,743.14	$39,800.00	$59,543.14
John Fritchey for Us	$55,293.30	$2,500.00	$57,793.30
Voters for Sean M Morrison	$67,489.11	$0.00	$67,489.11
Preckwinkle for President	$441,432.86	$65,000.00	$506,432.86
Citizens for Bridget Gainer	$674,722.37	$2,500.00	$677,222.37
Friends of Jeffrey Tobolski	$351,989.47	$79,800.00	$431,789.47
11th Ward Democratic Party Campaign Committee	$79,580.64	$0.00	$79,580.64
Friends of Dennis Deer	$0.00	$5,500.00	$5,500.00
Friends of Richard Boykin	$81,508.57	$28,000.00	$109,508.57
Friends of Ed Moody	$159,065.06	$46,800.00	$205,865.06
Committee to Elect Joseph Berrios Assessor	$1,123,201.87	$1,500.00	$1,124,701.87
Citizens for Luis Arroyo Jr	$41,991.86	$35,000.00	$76,991.86
Silvestri for Cook County Commissioner	$120,956.18	$1,100.00	$122,056.18
Citizens to Elect Karen Yarbrough	$55,653.91	$10,982.50	$66,636.41
Friends of Chuy Garcia	$28,541.32	$11,500.00	$40,041.32
Friends of Stanley Moore	$10,335.47	$29,400.00	$39,735.47
Friends for Donna Miller	$1,423.56	$1,000.00	$2,423.56
Friends of Charise Williams	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

 

Cook County Candidates' A-1s

Committee	Amount	Date Filed
Friends of Dorothy Brown	$2,000.00	9/20/17
Friends of Ed Moody	$26,800.00	9/19/17
Friends for Fritz	$5,600.00	9/19/17
Friends of Richard Boykin	$1,000.00	9/19/17
Friends of Richard Boykin	$1,000.00	9/19/17
Friends of Richard Boykin	$1,000.00	9/18/17
Friends of Richard Boykin	$8,000.00	9/18/17
Citizens to Elect Karen Yarbrough	$9,482.50	9/18/17
Friends of Richard Boykin	$10,000.00	9/18/17
Friends of Richard Boykin	$2,000.00	9/18/17
Friends of Richard Boykin	$5,000.00	9/18/17
Citizens for Deborah Sims	$28,300.00	9/15/17
Friends for Fritz	$1,000.00	9/15/17
Citizens for Deborah Sims	$2,500.00	9/14/17
John Fritchey for Us	$2,500.00	9/14/17
Friends of Ed Moody	$1,000.00	9/14/17

 

Aldermen and Democratic Committeemen's A-1s

Committee Type	Committee	Amount	Date Filed
Candidate	Hopkins for Chicago	$1,500.00	9/20/17
Candidate	Citizens to Elect Willie B Cochran	$1,200.00	9/20/17
Candidate	Friends of Matt O'Shea	$1,100.00	9/20/17
Candidate	Citizens for Patrick O'Connor	$2,500.00	9/20/17
Candidate	Hopkins for Chicago	$1,500.00	9/20/17
Political Party	14th Ward Regular Democratic Org	$12,500.00	9/19/17
Political Action	The Burnham Committee	$20,000.00	9/19/17
Candidate	Hopkins for Chicago	$22,500.00	9/19/17
Political Party	19th Ward Democratic Org	$2,000.00	9/19/17
Candidate	Friends of Anthony Napolitano	$1,800.00	9/19/17
Candidate	Carlos for Chicago	$1,000.00	9/19/17
Candidate	Friends of Michele Smith	$1,500.00	9/18/17
Candidate	Friends of Matt O'Shea	$5,000.00	9/18/17
Candidate	Citizens for Ariel E Reboyras	$6,500.00	9/18/17
Candidate	Friends of Raymond A Lopez	$1,500.00	9/18/17
Candidate	Citizens for Waguespack	$10,000.00	9/18/17
Candidate	Citizens to Elect David Moore	$3,500.00	9/18/17
Candidate	Friends of Gilbert Villegas	$11,500.00	9/17/17
Candidate	Summers for Chicago	$6,640.00	9/16/17
Political Party	13th Ward Democratic Org	$58,700.00	9/16/17
Political Party	41st Ward Regular Republican Org	$1,300.00	9/15/17
Candidate	Citizens to Elect Willie B Cochran	$3,000.00	9/15/17
Political Party	6th Ward Democratic Org	$2,000.00	9/14/17
Political Party	23rd Ward Regular Democratic Organization	$1,000.00	9/14/17

The Chicago Plan Commission approved new design guidelines for the rapidly growing West Loop neighborhood Wednesday. The neighborhood’s close proximity to the Loop, widely available public transit, and thriving retail has “made it one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the city,” the Department of Planning and Development explained in its draft report.

Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development is soliciting pseudo-public input on possible locations for Amazon to open its second headquarters.

Chicago Chief Financial Officer Carole Brown and other city budget officials briefed aldermen Wednesday on a new borrowing vehicle for the city: the sales tax securitization structure. The new structure would allow the city to issue up to $3 billion in debt.

 



One day after the city cleared dozens of homeless people living under the viaducts, a joint committee on Housing and Human Relations met to discuss two initiatives aimed at reducing homelessness in Chicago. The resolutions, proposing a joint subcommittee on homelessness and the exploration of a possible “tiny house” program to provide low-cost or free housing, were both approved after more than three hours of testimony.

The Chicago Plan Commission meets Wednesday morning to consider proposals for three West Loop projects, including a 200-room Hyatt Hotel from Sterling Bay, and the return of a pair of 15-story residential towers designed by bKL Architects dubbed Union West. The Wednesday meeting is rare. The land use-body regularly meets once a month, almost always on Thursdays.

Commissioners are also scheduled to give preliminary approval of a key land sale that’s part of the city’s ongoing efforts to reform and modernize its police department.  

PDF: DPD Staff Report for Land Acquisition of 4301 W. Chicago Ave.

The city intends to acquire property at 4301 W. Chicago Ave. in West Garfield Park for the construction of a new Public Safety Academy for police and fire recruits. Both Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Police Accountability Task Force and the Department of Justice gave scathing reviews of the Chicago Police Department’s outdated training facilities and curriculum.

One paragraph of the DOJ’s 161-page Findings Report following its 13-month investigation into the Chicago Police Department best illustrates their structural concerns:

"One of CPD’s scenario training buildings, which houses the Training and Tactics Unit, is dangerous, both because of the dilapidated, inadequate facility, and the lack of adequate safety protocols. When we visited, this facility did not have locked main doors. The armory room—a former school office—was unlocked with loaded guns left in open, unlocked cubbies in a room left unattended. Training guns and ammunition were stored close to guns loaded with live rounds. The close proximity of these materials, without adequate controls or labels, created a serious risk that the real guns would be mistaken for training ones, or that the guns and ammunition could go missing or be stolen.” (page 104)

The city plans to redevelop the 30-acre site with two buildings. One would house classrooms, labs, simulators, conference rooms, an auditorium and offices. The other would serve as a shooting range and space for “active scenario training and a dive training pool.” Outdoor amenities include a driving course, skid pad, and additional space for active scenario training.

BK Chicago, LLC, a subsidiary of real estate firm Colliers International, and Chia LLC, a subsidiary of Northern Builders, owns the parcel located in Planned Manufacturing District 9. Revenue from the sale of the former Department of Fleet and Facilities Management headquarters in North Branch are expected to cover part of the acquisition costs.

According to this DPD staff report, the parcel is valued at $13.4 million ($10.13 a square foot) but the city has put in a request for a reduced price of $9.6 million ($7.36 a square foot).

The item slated for Plan Commission approval is a preliminary step. The official ordinance is scheduled to be introduced to the City Council in October with closing slated within the first quarter of 2018.

Wednesday’s agenda includes nine large scale zoning applications, including another transit oriented development (TOD) for Uptown, a 19-story apartment building planned for the Illinois Medical District, and an affordable senior living facility in Ravenswood.

Agenda Highlights

“Union West” Twin 15-Story M/U (O2017-2162) 

933-43 W. Washington St. (25th Ward)

Known as “Union West”, this project from Haymarket Apartments Joint Venture, LP calls for a pair of 15-story residential towers with up to 358 units for the city’s West Loop neighborhood. Designed by bKL, and to be developed by a joint venture of ZOM Mid-Atlantic and Verde Communities, the project has been in the works for more than a year.

It requests a rezone of the site bounded by West Washington, North Morgan, West Madison, and North Sangamon Streets from a downtown mixed-use district, DX-3, to a DX-5. The development team is taking advantage of the density bonus system for an addition FAR of 1.5, though the payment amount isn’t listed in the application.

The property, a surface parking lot, is owned by McDermott Center, doing business as the Haymarket Center, an addiction treatment center located across the street from the proposed development.

This latest version, according to DNAinfo, has been scaled back to address neighborhood complaints that the original plan was too tall. That proposal, according to Neighbors of the West Loop, called for more than 400 units split among three buildings.  

 

GRE Medical District City Apartments (02017-3852)

801-939 S. Ashland Ave. and 1532-54 W. Taylor St. (28th Ward)

A 19-story, mixed-use tower with 254 residential units and 28,000 sq ft of ground floor commercial space is planned for the GRE Medical District. GRE Medical District City Apartments, LLC, a joint venture of Focus Development, Atlantic Realty Partners, and Guggenheim Partners are requesting city approval to amend an existing planned development that includes a two-story parking structure. The project triggers the city’s affordable housing requirements, 10% of total units, or 25 units.  Six of those (25% of 25) are required. The developer has the option to pay an in-lieu fee of $125,000 for the 19 remaining units.

Hyatt Hotel For West Loop (O2017-3196)

113 N. May St. (27th Ward)

A scaled down version of their original plan, this application from Sterling Bay would support a new 200-room Hyatt Hotel for the West Loop near McDonald’s new headquarters. Now down to 16 stories (from 19), the building designed by Eckenhoff Saunders Architects includes ground floor retail and space for 41 accessory parking spots. The planned development application requests a rezone from a DX-3 to a DX-5 and incorporates a neighboring two-story building to be renovated for a new Chicago Public Library branch.

 

Clayco’s 150-unit Residential Building for Uptown (O2017-2156)

943-57 W. Wilson Ave. and 4545-57 N. Sheridan Rd. (46th Ward)

This proposal from Clayco calls for a 12-story, 150-unit residential building with ground floor retail that’d replace an existing vacant commercial property at the corner of Wilson Avenue and Sheridan Road. The project triggers the city’s affordable housing requirements (ARO) with the option to provide 15 affordable units (10% of 150) or pay an in-lieu fee of $125,000 per unit not added. Of the 15 ARO units, four are required (25% of 150).

The renderings are designed by Forum Studio, Inc. CRG Acquisition, a Missouri limited liability company, filed the application. Their supplemental economic disclosure statement lists Clayco Chief Executive Officer Robert Clark as one of the owners. A Miami-based real estate firm owns the property.

Local Ald. James Cappleman’s (46) zoning committee voted in favor of the plan in March after it and the Department of Planning and Development requested modifications, according to DNAinfo.

Ravenswood Senior Living Facility (O2017-3857)

4501 N. Winchester Ave. (47th Ward)

An existing seven-acre planned development in Ravenswood would be amended to convert the former  Ravenswood Hospital building into affordable housing for seniors.

The former Ravenswood Hospital Specialty Care Pavilion, a nine-story structure, is incorporated in Planned Development No. 9, a seven acre site. It’s divided into five sub-areas, each with different owners, including Lycée Francais de Chicago. Constructed in 1974, the building has remained vacant since the medical facility closed in 2002.

The applicant, Ravenswood Senior Living, LP, Synergy Partners & Evergreen Real Estate, filed an application in May to expand and convert an existing eight-story medical building into an Independent Senior and Supportive Living Facility with 194 units: 74- independent living units reserved for seniors,120-units for supportive living. The site plans provided by Worn Jerabek Wiltse Architects show dwelling units ranging from 340-square-feet to 768. “The newly converted building will also contain ancillary offices, common areas, a cafeteria (with kitchen), and other residential amenity rooms,” the application states. (Floor Plans; Renderings/Site Plan/Sustainable Features)

City Treasurer Kurt Summers joined black aldermen, pastors, and business owners Monday morning to announce the city would deposit $20 million at Illinois Service Federal, the last black-owned bank in Illinois. According to FDIC disclosures, the infusion represents about 20% of the bank’s total deposits. ISF reported $111 million in assets and $100 million in deposits.

For the second time this year, amid uncertainty with Chicago Public Schools’ budget, the Council’s Committee on Education met to handle less contentious matters: another round of appointments to the governing board for City Colleges of Chicago.

Monday’s meeting lacked the drama that accompanied April’s meeting, when Ald. Rick Munoz (22) threatened a quorum call and blocked a vote on another pair of mayoral appointees for CCC over his frustration with the lack of information on CPS’ budget gap by CPS CEO Forrest Claypool.

Members of the City Council’s Housing and Human Relations Committees meet Tuesday to discuss how the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts to federal grants could impact city homeless services. More than 5,800 Chicagoans are currently homeless, a problem that could get worse if the federal government approves plans to community block grants.

The bulk of the city’s programs to address homelessness are funded through federal grants, including Community Service Block Grants (CSBG) and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).

Mayor Rahm Emanuel's appointments to the seven-member Board of Trustees of Community College District No. 508 are the only items on the Education Committee's agenda Monday afternoon. In July, Mayor Emanuel announced Walter Massey, the chancellor for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), will serve as the new Chair. Current chair Charles Middleton and Vice Chair Gary Gardner both resigned. Gardner recently won aldermanic approval to serve on the Plan Commission.

The ordinance establishing COPA passed on October 5, 2016 after a fraught process of substitutions, infighting, and an outside push from community activists for a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC). Ald. Leslie Hairston (5) and Ald. Jason Ervin (28) also pushed for their own set of ordinances that ultimately never came up for a vote.

The new agency in charge of handling police misconduct cases in Chicago officially launched Friday with a ceremonial swearing in of investigators and repeated assurances that the agency is more than just a rebrand.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) replaces the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), the agency that Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s own Police Accountability Task Force and the Department of Justice described as a failure.

It was a “stinging indictment of the city’s police accountability structure,” reflected COPA Chief Administrator Sharon Fairley at a staged event at the South Shore Cultural Center.

The end of IPRA signals the near completion of a more than two year process to address the city’s past failures in properly addressing cases of police misconduct. The issue was made apparent on November 24, 2015, when a court order forced the city to release the now infamous dash-cam video of Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke fatally shooting Laquan McDonald, an African-American teen.

Past Coverage: What’s in The DOJ Findings Report:
Excessive Force, Poor Training And A Broken Accountability System

That was more than 660 days ago, and for much of the time since then it has been unclear how the city would handle the public outcry that followed. Though Mayor Emanuel was quick to fire then-Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy and convene a task force to audit the city’s existing channels for addressing cases of police misconduct, the overall process dragged on, with what appeared to be a lack of political will from the Fifth Floor.

Even Police Board President Lori Lightfoot, who chaired the Police Accountability Task Force, convened her own coalition to pressure the administration. The group accused the mayor of dragging his feet.

The City Council held close to a dozen committee meetings at City Hall and in neighborhoods across the city for much of 2016 to solicit community input for what an IPRA replacement should look like. But the final product was a modest tweak to its original plan, despite calls from reformers for an oversight body fully independent of the Mayor’s Office and a more prominent role for civilians.

Those reformers said anything short of community oversight and independence from the Fifth Floor would result in a replay of 2007, when another policing scandal prompted the disbandment of Office of Professional Standards within the police department.

But on Friday, the inaugural launch speakers – Fairley, City Council Public Safety Chair Ariel Reboyras, and former CPD officer and president of COPA’s Civilian Advisory Panel, Richard Wooten — reframed the fraught process as a collaboration of disparate police reformers, touted Mayor Emanuel’s leadership and underscored how COPA will address the failures of its predecessor.

“I am here to tell you that COPA is not IPRA. With new leadership, new highly trained investigators, and a system of independence,” said Wooten, “COPA has become a new landmark, not just for Chicago, but the entire nation.”  

“COPA has doubled the needed personnel in order to resolve cases in a timely manner, and the best part is that we have several satellite stations to bring in the reports [of police misconduct],” added Ald. Reboyras. “I want to thank the mayor for allowing us to move forward in creating COPA and changing the image not only of the agency, but the City of Chicago.”

Fairley Outlines Differences Between COPA & IPRA

IPRA’s public case portal has been taken down, but Fairley told reporters the information will be back up on the COPA website in the near future. A majority of the staff has been hired. 15 open positions are expected to be filled by the end of the year. And certain rights offered to police officers that impacted the investigative process under IPRA, such as how soon an officer can be interviewed after a shooting, remain unchanged, since those rules are guided by the collective bargaining agreement the police union has with the city.

All of COPA’s policies have two underlying goals, said Fairley: improve the quality and timeliness of  investigations.

Speaking to reporters after the event, Fairley used officer involved shooting cases–the most serious types of investigations her office will handle–to emphasize new protocols that will enhance information sharing between COPA and the police department. Evidence related to these investigations will be done in concurrently, rather than after, the police department’s investigation.

She said the directives are nearly complete. Rules will include: giving COPA investigators immediate access to the scene of the shooting; simultaneous review of police video (previously CPD reviewed footage before IPRA); and coordinating the order of witness interviews.

There will be strengthened evidence processing with the help of experts hired by COPA, rather than relying on CPD to collect and process evidence for investigators. This includes new digital forensic analysts to capture and analyze data.

The department is soliciting a pool of subject matter experts that investigators it can rely on for reconstructing crime scenes and forensic medical evidence.

To prevent individual biases from supervisors or investigators, an issue the Department of Justice found to be one of the primary reasons so few IPRA-led investigations led to a finding of misconduct, COPA investigators will work in groups of five, rather than alone.

"They work as a squad, so there is less control, or less impact of one individual investigator," she said. At IPRA, one supervisor could oversee a team of as many as 10 investigators, while at COPA, each team will have a maximum of five.

Reformer Concern With New Agency

Police Board President and Police Accountability Task Force head Lori Lightfoot says while there’s work to be done, the COPA launch deserves optimism. “I think the ordinance empowered COPA in a way that IPRA never was, but I also think Sharon Fairley and her team deserve credit for taking advantage of the opportunity to go forward,” she said, citing more rigorous training for recruits and engagement with subject matter experts over the transition period. “They’ve taken the time to do this right.”

“I have to add that what COPA will be judged by are the results. They’ve done the right things to lay a good and strong foundation, but meanwhile, in an environment when people are super skeptical about all forms of government, where folks are really questioning legitimacy of everything related to CPD, including IPRA, COPA, the Police Board, and so forth, it’s critically important that the work speaks for itself.”

One major concern for Karen Sheley from the ACLU of Illinois will be how CPD responds. “Over the last year, COPA’s been making recommendations to CPD in their quarterly and annual reports, and for many recommendations CPD has not responded. That’s worrisome, because COPA has a lot of information about patterns of officer behavior that CPD could head off and be trying to change. The fact that they aren’t responding is not a great sign for CPD’s willingness to have a public dialogue about changes they’re making and efforts for reform.”

Reformers are also concerned with the Fraternal Order of Police’s apparent resistance to the agency. A representative told the Chicago Tribune its current collective bargaining agreement (which is being renegotiated now) does not recognize COPA.

“As it stands now, the city has to turn a blind eye if the person injured by police doesn’t sign a sworn affidavit. That’s a real barrier to having true accountability,” Sheley said. “There are other provisions about technical requirements in interviews: the limitations on being able to interview officers after a shooting and failure to have restrictions on who officers on the scene talk to are things DOJ pointed out that could impact COPA’s ability to do its job.”