The Chicago Development Fund, which provides investment capital for low-income communities and residents, is up for governing changes in a joint Budget and Finance Committee meeting Tuesday morning. The changes are necessary to continue qualifying for the Federal New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC) with tax-exempt status. According to its website, the fund has been awarded $356 million in NMTCs by the federal Treasury Department since 2006, and has helped fund the construction of Great Central Brewing, the Chicago Center for Arts and Technology, and the non-profit UCAN.

The first influx of funding for the city’s new Community Catalyst Fund–$50 million–is one of the Finance Committee’s biggest agenda items Tuesday. Aldermen are also set to consider one of the largest single payouts for police excessive force in recent history.  

Police Settlements Totaling $10.2 Million

The committee’s supplemental agenda includes $10.2 million in legal settlements,the bulk coming from a $9.4 million settlement to Jose Lopez and his wife Sandra Cardiel. The plaintiffs alleged excessive force by Chicago Police, who tasered Lopez. Lopez fell, hitting his head, leading to a coma. Lopez’ friend called an ambulance when Lopez said he was having chest pains walking down a sidewalk the night of the incident. Police said he resisted help and swung at an officer.

A $395,000 settlement is also on the agenda for 2008 election night revelers who say they were pepper sprayed and beaten by Chicago Police on the West Side while they were celebrating Barack Obama’s presidential victory.

Changes to the Catalyst Fund Ordinance

The committee will consider changes to the Community Catalyst Fund ordinance and its initial funding round of $50 million. The Catalyst Fund, brainchild of Treasurer Kurt Summers, has been on hold for some months and no appointees to the Fund’s board have yet been named. Many of the ordinance amendments move enactment dates.

Summers heralded the move in a July statement. “Today marks another important step by securing the initial funding of $50 million towards solving a multi-generational economic problem by investing in sustainable economic growth. I look forward to September’s City Council meeting when we can finalize the creation of the Catalyst Fund.”

Three aldermen voted against an ordinance that contained the fund’s creation, citing transparency concerns over appointments to the fund’s board, investment returns, and whether the fund’s activities would be subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, the state’s Open Meetings Act, and oversight from Inspector General Joe Ferguson.

The three aldermen–Rick Muñoz (22), Scott Waguespack (32), and John Arena (45)–were quick to reference the shortcomings of the Chicago Infrastructure Trust (CIT) and the city’s Tax Increment Financing system in the hearing at the time.

Per the changes, money for the fund would only come from the Corporate, Service Reserve, or Concession Fund “which are not subject to Other Investment Restrictions as determined jointly by the Comptroller and the Treasurer,” and cannot include debt obligation proceeds or money from the Enterprise Fund.

Those eligible funds would start flowing in 2020 instead of 2019. The changes also include amendments to the start dates of the first appointees, procedures for filling vacancies, and some perplexing conflict of interest changes.

The amendment defines financial interest as “an interest held in an Affiliated Entity by such Voting Member or Advisory Board Member that is valued or capable of valuation in monetary terms with a current value of more than $1,000.”

Voting members and Advisory Board members serve as fiduciaries to the Catalyst Fund “and accordingly are strictly prohibited from making decisions or recommendations on behalf of the CCCF for personal financial gain.” But “other investors” who contribute personal money to the overall investment vehicle are exempt.

The changes also give the mayor power to determine when and how big money transfers to the fund would be. The liquidation, merger, sale, or bankruptcy of the fund would be subject to a City Council vote, and the ex-officio members (the treasurer, chief financial officer, and planning commissioner) will decide where the books are kept.

County Assessor, Board of Review Reforms

Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios remains in the spotlight, as the committee considers a resolution from Ald. Anthony Beale (9) calling for the city’s Law Department to file a complaint against Cook County. The goal is “to revise any real-estate tax under-assessment which entails more than a seven percent (7%) negative variance from the market value of the property.”

The resolution, R2017-661, also asks the Assessor and Board of Review to present “proposed Revised Rules to address and resolve the inequities associated with the current assessment system” before November 30, 2017.

Berrios, and to a lesser extent, the Board of Review, have been under scrutiny since the Chicago Tribune’s series, “The Tax Divide,” suggested the county’s assessment system unfairly burdens homeowners in poor areas.

Landmark Tax Break in (No Surprise) Fulton Market

A Class L property tax incentive for renovation of a former meatpacking building in Fulton Market (933-943 W. Fulton Market) is on the agenda, O2017-5782. The $10 million investment is part of a larger land buy in the neighborhood by New York-based Madison Capital and its partner, ASB (MC ASB 939 Fulton, LLC).

The Class L is a 12-year tax break intended to encourage the preservation and rehabilitation of landmark properties. Owners must invest at least half the value of the landmark building in an approved rehabilitation project.

New Fees for Multi-Year Vacant Properties

Ald. George Cardenas’ (12) proposed ordinance, O2017-3889, on the agenda imposes climbing fees for owners of properties that have been vacant for multiple years. Fees to renew vacant building designations “shall be based on the total number of years that the property has been vacant from the original registration date.”

The schedule:

• $500 for properties that are vacant for at least one year but less than two years


• $1,000 for properties that are vacant for at least two years but less than three


• $2.000 for properties that are vacant for at least three years but less than five


• $3,500 for properties that are vacant for at least five years but less than 10


• $5,000 for properties that are vacant for at least 10 years, plus an additional $500.00 for each year in excess of 10 years.  

Letting City Employees Donate to Red Cross via Payroll

Chairman Ed Burke’s (14) resolution,R2017-668, urging the City of Chicago to allow its employees to donate directly to the American Red Cross and other blood donation groups through automatic payroll deductions is also on Tuesday’s agenda. Doing so would add organizations such as the American Red Cross to a list of 30 approved organizations to which city employees may designate donations from their paychecks.

The blood shortage in Chicago and in Illinois “mirrors a nationwide drop in supply that has left it 61,000 donations short of what it has needed to keep up with demand for the past two months,” Burke’s office said in a release.

The resolution also calls upon the Chicago Department of Public Health to appear before the Committee on Finance “to address current or potential efforts to combat the blood donation shortage.”

Two anti-theft measures will be considered by Public Safety Committee Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in Council Chambers.

License Committee meets Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. in Room 201A to resolve a plethora of packaged good store bans, some new car booting operations rules and new limits on when packaged goods stores hours.

Juan M. Calderon, the Chief Operating Officer of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center and Director of the Center’s HIV prevention program [LinkedIn], is Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s pick [A2017-74] for the city’s Board of Health. His nomination will be considered in Wednesday morning’s meeting of Council’s Health and Environmental Protection Committee. The advisory board made up of health and insurance professionals meets once a month to advise Health Commissioner Dr. Julie Morita and mayor on health policy and priorities for the city.

An ordinance that would overhaul and align Chicago’s electrical code with national fire safety standards is on tap for Thursday's Zoning Committee hearing. Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced the ordinance in July with the intention of making Chicago “one of the first major cities to align with the 2017 National Electric Code.”

Tuesday morning Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced, with Mayor Rahm Emanuel standing beside her, that the State of Illinois has filed a federal suit against the City of Chicago, seeking a consent decree, “to ensure the City enacts comprehensive, lasting reform of the Chicago Police Department,” according to the complaint. The suit seeks creation of an independent monitor answerable to the court, regular status hearings, timeline and financial commitments from the city, and court jurisdiction to enforce reforms if the independent monitor does not find the city’s action appropriate.

Updated 12:12 p.m., Aug. 30, 2017

For over two hours, representatives of drug companies and their trade associations were treated to a slow, torturous witness examination by Finance Committee Chair Ed Burke (14) and his fellow committee members, as they demanded to know why pharmaceutical executives make so much money while drug prices remain so high. The subject matter hearing brought out as many top flight lobbyists as aldermen, for half a dozen industry representatives to testify against Burke and Ald. Sophia King’s (4) Chicago Drug Pricing Transparency Ordinance.

Updated 9:43 a.m., Aug. 29, 2017

Over 8,000 workers for airline support services companies at O’Hare and Midway Airports would receive a wage hike and new training as part of a new, proposed license agreement with the City of Chicago. The 30-page license agreement would force companies that provide food, cleaning, security, baggage handling and myriad of other services for the airlines to accept a labor peace agreement, as well as wage hikes.

Prescription drug price gouging is again on the Finance Committee’s agenda Tuesday. Ald. Ed Burke (14) and Ald. Sophia King’s (4) ordinance to require regular financial disclosures of drug prices to reveal dramatic spikes already had a subject matter hearing earlier this month, featuring supporters and representatives from the city’s Department of Public Health. Opponents are expected to speak at this meeting.

A series of city property sales, lease agreements are on planned for Tuesday’s Housing and Real Estate Committee meeting at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday in Room 201A.

Items on the docket include:

After months of negotiation, political threats and demonstrations, airport service workers and the contractors that employ them at O’Hare and Midway Airports are hailing a labor peace agreement [O2017-5553] that will be considered in a joint committee hearing Monday at 10:00 a.m. in Council chambers. The meeting of Aviation and Workforce Development Committees will take up an ordinance binding passenger service contractors to wage increases for nearly 8,000 airport employees, starting July 2018, and in perpetuity for any contractors doing business in Chicago airports.

SEIU Local 1, which negotiated the agreement on behalf of the workers, has been working to organize airline contractors that clean cabins, handle baggage, de-ice planes and push wheelchairs at the city’s airports for over two years. Those workers, they say, are often victims of wage theft and poor working conditions, leading to massive turnover.

The union’s organizing efforts were kicked up a notch this spring, when the union mailed flyers attacking Finance Chair Ed Burke (14), Aviation Chair Mike Zalewski (23) and Workforce Chair Pat O’Connor (40) as well as Ald. Tom Tunney (44), Ald. Marty Quinn (13) and Ald. Marge Laurino (40) for not supporting their organizing efforts. Then, in June, SEIU targeted O’Connor with six mail pieces in his city worker-heavy ward, denouncing him for his opposition to union organizing.

Earlier this year an ordinance with broad Council support was introduced, but it was referred to Rules Committee, where many ordinances go to die.

In addition to the labor peace component, the ordinance requires any subcontractors or sublicensees to pay their employees no less than $13.45 per hour for work under the Illinois Minimum Wage Law. Increases are tied to the consumer price index. Tipped employees, like wheelchair attendants and skycaps, would be paid “no less than the minimum hourly wage set by the Minimum Wage Law for workers who receive Gratuities, plus an additional $1.00 per hour.” Tipped employees must be paid minimum wage, which is $8.25 per hour, but an employer may take credit for the employee's tips in an amount not to exceed 40% of the wages under Illinois law.

It also requires that licensees “establish a written training program to ensure that all employees are thoroughly trained and qualified to perform their job duties, including all applicable airport emergency preparedness, evacuation, and first aid procedures.”

Labor peace agreements are typically used to cover hotels, restaurants, casinos, and airports that either receive public funding or do business with a local municipality, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Under the written arrangement between a union and an employer, both sides agree to waive certain labor rights granted under federal law, such as the right to organize or go on strike, as long as the employer treats the workers as a collective bargaining unit, essentially giving them the ability to negotiate wages and benefits.

It was a strong week for Comm. Luis Arroyo Jr. (D-8), who got a $35,000 transfer in from Arroyo Open PAC, and an even stronger one for the Cook County Democratic Party, which accepted large transfers in from a number of committees for candidates who were slated earlier this month (including Sheriff Tom Dart, Assessor Joe Berrios, and MWRD Comm. Kari Steele, and several judicial candidates).  

While Illinois legislative leaders were keeping mum on the deal they forged on school funding, Mayor Rahm Emanuel took to the podium Thursday evening to trumpet Chicago’s gains in the deal, as well as a few details. Emanuel said legislative leaders plan to introduce a package similar to SB1, including a Chicago pension pick up and the same funding for the city as promised in SB1.

“That, and more,” crowed Emanuel.

Creating confusion near the end of the presser’s question and answer period, Emanuel was asked if Chicagoans should expect a property tax increase.  

“I think the answer is, I think that actually, we look at this a little...Yes,” Emanuel said, before briefly pausing, “but I also look at this slightly different, if I can add a perspective. I think they were hit hard a long time ago. When you’re paying for everyone else’s teachers’ pension and you don’t get anything back, and for the first time your money’s coming back to a 606 ZIP code, I think that’s a big step forward.”

After this outlet and others Tweeted last night that the statement was a “yes” to property taxes, Mayoral spokesperson Matt McGrath shot back, “Easy there. He was agreeing with the assessment that Chicagoans have stepped up to pay more in taxes. Listen to entire answer.”

Asked if he would deny there will be a property tax increase, McGrath responded, “I'd refer you to the first Q&A of the presser on that one. But if you'd rather parse words and tweets on a lovely night I can't stop you.”

The first question was “Does this include a property tax increase?” To which Emanuel provided neither a yes nor no.

Attorneys for the City of Chicago argue a lawsuit seeking federal oversight of the city’s police reform efforts lacks legal basis because the Chicago Police Department is already on the road to reform.