The Committee on Housing and Real Estate will take up a slew of mayoral appointments to City boards that oversee low-income and affordable housing, including the appointment of John T. Hooker as the new head of the Chicago Housing Authority Board.

Hooker worked at ComEd for 44 years, finishing his career as executive vice president of legislative and external affairs. He faces a big challenge at CHA as advocates have called on the agency to spend some of its $350 million surplus on housing initiatives. A CHA reform ordinance championed by Ald. Joe Moreno (1) is currently sitting in committee. CHA is the landlord for most of the city’s public housing stock and manager of some Section 8 programs.

Earlier this summer, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced he was appointing Eugene “Gene” Jones as the acting CEO of the city’s housing authority, after Michael Merchant stepped down from the position. Jones will be the Authority’s 8th CEO since the public housing agency started its billion dollar Plan For Transformation, which then Mayor Richard M. Daley touted as the largest, most ambitious public housing redevelopment plan in the country. The plan is behind schedule, and CHA has been accused of sitting on undeveloped land and not spending the money allocated for the plan.

Tribune: Emanuel pick for CHA board leader benefited from scholarship program
Sun-Times: Emanuel appoints ex-ComEd VP John T. Hooker as CHA chairman
Crain’s: Emanuel names ComEd veteran to lead CHA board

The Chicago Low-lncome Housing Trust Fund (new appointments)

• La Toya M. Dixon - an attorney advisor for the Social Security Administration who has managed labor relations for Cook County and Sinai Health Systems.

• Elise Doody Jones - a community organizer, volunteer manager and small business owner. She is the former treasurer of First Ward First, the independent Democratic political organization Ald. Joe Moreno (1) founded in 2011. She also made an attempt to unseat Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) in the most recent municipal election.

• Bishop Horace Smith, M.D. - a pastor at the Apostolic Faith Church on Chicago’s South Side, which serves 4,000 parishioners. He is also a physician at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital. He spent much of his medical career researching sickle cell anemia and as a hematologist and oncologist.

• Jennifer Welch – the first deputy commissioner for the Department of Family and Support Services and a former Policy Director in the Illinois Attorney General's Office. Much of her career has focused on addressing issues of domestic violence.

Chicago Low-lncome Housing Trust Fund (reappointments)

• Sol A. Flores - Executive Director of La Casa Norte, a nonprofit in Humboldt Park that serves homeless youth and families. Flores also serves on the Zoning Board of Appeals.

• Levoi K. Brown - Managing Director at BMO Harris Bank who specializes in underwriting and analytics on affordable housing transactions. Levoi graduated with a masters from the Booth School of Business, worked at GE, then for five years the community development Urban Partnership Bank.

• Malcolm Bush - Affiliated Scholar at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, whose research focuses on community reinvestment and economic development. He is also senior advisor to the International Center for Research and Policy on Childhood at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, was President of the Woodstock Institute, and served as senior vice president of Voices for Illinois Children.

• Wayne L. Gordon - founding Pastor of Lawndale Community Church and founding President of the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation, which facilitates economic development, education and housing. He is one of the founders of the Lawndale Christian Health Center, a healthcare ministry that sees over 150,000 patients per year.

• Thomas J. McNulty - President and partner at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP. He has served as president of the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund since its inception in 1989. He teaches and writes about real estate taxes. Before joining the firm, he served as supervisor of the Tax Unit in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

• Kristin K. Nance - Director of the Lewis University Stahl Center for Entrepreneurship who also worked at Roosevelt University in the College of Business. Nance has held City positions before in the South Loop & Near South Community Area and as Director of Economic Development with the Southeast Chicago Development Commission.

Chicago Community Land Trust Board (new appointments)

• Eva M. Brown - Vice President of Government and Community Relations at U.S. Bank, where she worked with community groups, non-profits, elected officials and government agencies to focus on lending, giving, investments and volunteer efforts. Brown was previously the director of the Access to Capital Program at the Women's Business Development Center (WBDC). She also worked in small business lending at Fifth Third and BMO Harris.

• Michelle Morales - associate director for the Alternative Schools Network (ASN), a nonprofit that oversees a network of community schools for high school dropouts.

Chicago Community Land Trust Board (reappointments):

• Patricia Abrams - Executive Director of The Renaissance Collaborative, Inc., which offers housing, supportive services and workforce development to over 300 low income children, youth, adults and seniors in Bronzeville. Abrams is also on the board of the Chicago Rehab Network, a network of nonprofit affordable housing developers.  

• Joel Bookman -  President of Bookman Associates Inc., a consulting firm that caters to public, private, and nonprofit organizations and businesses in community and economic development, management, planning, and real estate development.

• Timothy Hughes - Real Estate and Facilities Director for ComEd who oversaw the installation of the communication link between ComEd's critical substations and the City of Chicago's Office of Emergency Management Center.

• Edward H. Jacob - former Executive Director of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, a nonprofit neighborhood revitalization organization. Jacob’s career has focused on neighborhood lending and community development.

• Guacolda E. Reyes - Vice President, The Resurrection Project, a 25 year old project founded by churches and concerned neighbors in Pilsen to address blight and crime.

• William W. Towns - Assistant Vice President of Neighborhood Initiatives at the University of Chicago, charged with leveraging U of C resources to help revitalize nearby communities. He was previously Regional Vice President of Mercy Portfolio Services, under the Mercy Housing Inc. umbrella.

• Marva E. Williams - Economic Development Director at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and Senior Program Officer at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) of Chicago. She was also Senior VP at the Woodstock Institute from 1996-2007.

• Jeffrey Wright - Business Banker at the Urban Partnership Bank, whose mission is to create jobs, opportunities and leaders in the black community.

In addition to the Mayoral appointments, the committee is scheduled to approve numerous applications for the sale of city owned land and an intergovernmental agreement with the Chicago Park District regarding the Hadiya Pendleton Park expansion plan.

Hadiya Pendleton Park Expansion Plan - 3rd Ward
(#O2015-5383)

The former South Side quarter acre Buckthorn Park playlot was recently renamed after Pendleton, a King College Prep High School student who was fatally shot by local gang members in 2013. Pendleton performed as a drum majorette in President Barack Obama’s second inauguration and Michelle Obama spoke at the high school’s commencement last May.  

The ordinance before the Housing Committee today transfers the adjacent City-owned vacant land at 4323-4329 S. Calumet Ave to the Park District, so they can turn the playlot to a two acre park. Ald. Pat Dowell says Pendleton Park will be outfitted with a new playground, walking path and fitness stations. The Park District is in the process of applying to close a portion of South Calumet Avenue between 43rd and 44th Street to connect parts of the park on the east and west sides of the street. 47th/King Drive Redevelopment Area TIF money is going toward the project.

Read Dunning Park Expansion Plan - 38th Ward
(#O2015-6170)

Another park expansion plan on the agenda is related to the Read Dunning Park, located in the similarly-named TIF district. The ordinance before the Housing Committee transfers 7.5 acres of adjacent city owned land to the Park District to help with the $3 million expansion funded by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The Park will have a turf field for sports, 93 parking spots and a walking path that encircles the park. Construction is scheduled to be completed by next summer.

Lease Agreement for J. Michael Fitzgerald Apartments -  39th Ward
#O2015-6213

The Committee will take up an ordinance authorizing a 75 year ground lease agreement between the City and Fort Lauderdale-based Elderly Housing Development & Operations Corporation (EHDOC) to help with the development of the J. Michael Fitzgerald Apartments, an affordable housing development for seniors located within the North Park Village Nature Center.  EHDOC broke ground on the project in August 2012, but due to a lack of federal funds, construction has stalled. It’s the last apartment building to go up in the Planned Development, which includes 527 residential units spread across 3 other four-story buildings.

When completed, the $17.7 million Fitzgerald apartments will include one-bedroom apartments for elderly residents earning up to 60% of the area median income. It’s financed through $10.6 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s Section 202 Supportive Housing Development program and $5.3 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the Illinois Housing Development Authority.

Sale of Closed CPS Marconi Elementary School - 28th Ward
(#O2015-5857)

United for Better Living Inc. is interested in buying the site of now-closed 6,200 square foot, 55 year-old Marconi Elementary School in West Garfield Park. United for Better Living is affiliated with Allison United Foundation for Better Living, a non-profit founded by the late Corinthians Temple Church of God in Christ (COGIC) Bishop Bennie Allison. Rev. David Whittley, Allison’s grandson, is listed as the contact on United for Better Living's bid. The school is valued at approximately $500,000-$620,000, but United for Better Living submitted the highest bid:  $100,000. The buyer can’t used the property for anything other than an alternative or options school for grades K-12 without first receiving approval from the Board of Education.

Expansion of the Pilsen Industrial Corridor TIF - 11th & 25th Ward
(#O2015-5354)

The Department of Planning and Development needs approval from the Committee to acquire eight vacant pieces of land and one privately owned industrial site along South Sangamon Street from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. This 61,000-square-foot acquisition will help with the development of the Sangamon Paseo walking trail, a north-south pedestrian link similar to the recently opened 606 trail. Once the City Council approves the acquisition, the parcels will be appraised, purchased and converted into public open space.

ANLAP Bids

One buyer who stands out among the several ANLAP bids before the Committee is John J. Pikarski, the so-called “dean of zoning lawyers” in Chicago. He also spent some time serving on the Chicago Plan Commission. Pikarski wants to buy a city-owned vacant parcel in Bridgeport at 2918 S. Archer Ave., parallel to the Stevenson Expressway. Real estate development company Bertco is also interested in a vacant lot valued at $112,000 in the 11th ward.

Proposals to allow wine sales along the Chicago Riverwalk and a new license for mobile food vendors are on today’s agenda.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) wants to make it legal for vendors to sell sealed, 750mL bottles of wine along the downtown Riverwalk, a pedestrian-centric walkway that runs along the banks of the Chicago River from Lake Shore Drive to Franklin Street. Reilly’s ordinance would let vendors sell bottles of wine during normal business hours (11am to 9pm), but since it is still illegal to consume alcohol along the Riverwalk, retailers can’t provide a corkscrew or drinking container with the purchase of alcohol. Retailers would have to train staff and post signs that say “All retail wine purchases are for off-site consumption only–No open containers beyond this point.”

Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26) is resurrecting his plan to establish a license for pushcart vendors that sell prepared food on City streets. Street vendors would have to pay $350 for the license. Maldonado first introduced his proposal to create a license for these so-called “Mobile prepared food vendors” in 2014. The ordinance failed.

The Council Committee on Human Relations will discuss a resolution calling on the City’s Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund to divest in companies engaged in the economic boycott of Israel. More than half of the City Council is listed as a co-sponsor to the resolution Ald. Michele Smith (43) and Ald. Debra Silverstein (50) introduced at the last City Council meeting. This will be the committee’s first meeting since Ald. Joe Moreno (1) was appointed as the new chair. Ald. Moreno’s legislative aid, Evelyn Rodriguez, said Ald. Smith is the only speaker lined up for tomorrow’s meeting.

Both of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s zoning proposals were deferred in committee yesterday and will likely get a second reading at the subsequent Zoning Committee meeting scheduled for next Monday, three days before the full City Council meets.

Committee Members Present: Chairman Danny Solis (25), Vice Chairman James Cappleman (46), Joe Moreno (1), David Moore (17), Matt O’Shea (19), Walter Burnett (27), Deb Mell (33), Brendan Reilly (43), Tom Tunney (44).

Others Present: Patrick Daley Thompson (11), Raymond Lopez (15), Jason Ervin (28), Joe Moore (49).

Zoning Chairman Danny Solis delayed a vote on the Mayor’s proposal to incentivize more development near public transit stations to allow for additional time for the Committee to review the mayor’s Transit Oriented Development (TOD) reforms.

The Mayor introduced the TOD ordinance at the July City Council meeting as a way to increase the number of large-scale mixed-use commercial and residential transit-centric projects near CTA and Metra stations. The changes build upon the Mayor’s 2013 TOD ordinance by expanding the size of TOD zones, eliminating all parking requirements, and adding new incentives for affordable housing.

The proposed changes increase the maximum distance required for development projects near CTA and Metra stations to 1,320 ft, up from the 600 ft currently required in the City’s zoning code. The current 50% on-site parking requirement would be eliminated. Developers would instead have to add pedestrian-centric amenities like wider sidewalks, outdoor seating or open green space. Developers who commit to making 100% of units affordable could add additional square footage, through what it known as the floor-area-ratio (FAR). A building’s FAR is equal to the building’s total floor area divided by the total gross area of the lot. The ordinance also gives the Department of Transportation the authority to approve any alternative forms of transportation, like Divvy bike racks, provided on site.

This policy brief from land-use law firm DLA Piper (the firm of recently named Planning Commissioner David Reifman) raises issues with DOT’s potential involvement in TOD projects and questions whether the Department will have the power to reject projects if developers fail to actively promote or provide alternative modes of transportation on site.

Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) also raised objections to the new zoning changes. He claimed it gave “substantial benefits to big developers, while robbing residents of any meaningful input in these local zoning decisions.”

After testifying at the zoning meeting, he sent out a press release calling for more affordable housing requirements for TOD designated projects. “TOD is broadly recognized to raise property taxes, and is so doing threatens to make transit-rich communities unaffordable for working people,” the release said. 

In addition to holding the TOD ordinance in committee, Chairman Solis tabled the Mayor’s plan to establish a new license classification for parties at large industrial venues. The new license would establish new liquor requirements for these types of parties, including a fee structure based on the number of expected attendees, ranging from $700 to $6,600.

Chicago Plan Commission Appointments Approved

The committee advanced three mayoral appointments and one reappointment to the Chicago Plan Commission. The three new appointees–Laura L. Flores, Sarah E. Lyons and Juan Linares–gave brief statements expressing gratitude and excitement. The commission is tasked with reviewing large-scale development projects like Planned Developments and changes to Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts.

Flores is the lead project architect for Epstein, a global design and construction company that designed the $300 million Medical District Gateway Projects near Damen & Ogden.

Linares is Executive Director of the Latin United Community Housing Association(LUCHA). He highlighted his experience developing affordable housing and defending tenants going through foreclosures. Ald. Joe Moreno (1) vouched for Linares, noting the work they have done together to bring more affordable housing to his ward.

Lyons is a research analyst for Unite Here Local 1, a labor organization that represents garment and textile workers across the county. Ald. Ramirez-Rosa said he used to work with Lyons and called her appointment an “excellent addition” the the Plan Commission.

Doris Holleb was the one reappointment to the board and the only appointee not in attendance. Holleb is a professor of Geographical Studies at the University of Chicago. Appointed to the Commission in 1986 by Mayor Harold Washington, Holleb is the longest serving member on the Plan Commission.

Highlights of Approved Items

With little to no public comment on most of the proposed zoning amendments before the Zoning Committee–save for George Blakemore who testified on as many items he could sign up for–aldermen swiftly approved dozens of zoning applications in two hours. Here are some of the highlights:

Parkway East Project, Lakeview - 44th Ward
O2015-4175

Broder Diversey, LLC’s application to build an 11-story residential tower with 56 units and commercial retail near Diversey Harbor was the largest development project approved at yesterday’s meeting. The proposed project site is currently a surface parking lot with a neighboring 3-story residential commercial building that is home to a notable local bar, Yakzies. The developers, Gabriel Development Group and LA Commercial, LLC, filed an application to rezone the area into a Residential Business Planned Development divided into two sub areas. The larger plot, Sub Area A, is 14,250 sq. ft. and will include at least 53 parking spaces and residential units. The neighboring Sub Area B takes up 4,750 sq. ft. and includes at least 3 residential units, but no parking.

When the application went before the Plan Commission in August, several residents raised objections to the project, saying it would overwhelm an already congested strip of Diversey. Some opponents even called the draft plan “ridiculous” because the new building would sandwich Yakzies between two residential towers. A large, landmarked residential building, The Brewster, neighbors the bar on the east side. But at Monday’s zoning meeting, no one signed up to testify against, and it was quickly approved without discussion.

Pritzker-backed Residential Tower in Rogers Park Approved - 49th Ward
O2015-5332

The Zoning Committee approved a proposal to turn a mostly vacant strip mall on 1313 W. Morse Ave. into an 8-story residential building with up to 50 residential units on top of a three floor parking garage. Col. Jennifer Pritzker's Tawani Enterprisesis behind this project, and the Mayne Stage Theater project across the street. Ald. Joe Moore (49) told the committee developers scaled down their original proposal after hearing resident concerns. The application passed without questions or opposing testimony.

Zoning Changes for New Town Homes in North Kenwood Approved - 4th Ward
O2015-5359 & O2015-5360

The Zoning Committee approved two applications seeking to rezone several plots of land in the South Side’s North Kenwood community to facilitate construction of two large town homes. Marcin Orpick, with D.O.M. Construction, filed two separate applications to rezone 1015-1019 E. 43rd St. and 4300 South Drexel. Both sites are within five blocks of each other and are currently classified as Neighborhood Mixed-Use Districts (B2-3). Orpick sought a rezone to a Community Shopping District (B3-3) to build a six-dwelling-unit, three story town home with an adjacent six car garage on East 43rd street and a nine-dwelling-unit, three story town home building with nine garages. The applications were approved without discussion.

Zoning Change for a New Banquet Hall Approved - 26th Ward
O2015-5364

Applicant Tonja Hall got the green light from the Zoning Committee to transform the vacant commercial building on 3213-16 W. 63rd Street into a large banquet hall. Hall requested a zoning change from a Neighborhood Shopping District (B1-1) to a Neighborhood Commercial District (C1-2) to establish the banquet hall on the first floor of the existing 3-story building. The upper two floors would have commercial retail and office space.

Rezone of Former Lincoln Village Cinemas Approved - 50th Ward
O2015-5365

Northbrook-based Banner Storage Group, LLC got approval from the Zoning Committee to transform the old Lincoln Village Cinemas into a self-storage warehouse. Gary Delaney, the manager behind the LLC, applied for the zoning change so he could expand the existing theater building to accommodate 95,164 sq. ft. of storage space. The group also plans to demolish the neighboring vacant car wash and turn it into a parking lot.

The following Items were deferred because they require prior approval from the Plan Commission: O2015-5321, O2015-5340, O2015-5371, O2015-5352, and O2015-5313

Mayor Emanuel’s proposal to create more incentives to increase development near public transit stations is one of several items listed on the City Council’s Zoning Committee agenda today. The changes build on the Mayor’s 2013 TOD ordinance by expanding the size of TOD zones, eliminating all parking requirements, and adding new incentives for affordable housing. The TOD ordinance the Mayor introduced at the last City Council meeting increases the maximum distance required for development projects near CTA and Metra stations to 1,320 ft, up from the 600 ft currently required in the City’s zoning code.

Developers who commit to making 100% of units affordable would get to expand the floor-area-ratio (FAR), which is the building floor area divided by the total gross area of the lot, from 3.5 to 4.0. TOD projects in business, commercial, manufacturing, and downtown zoned areas wouldn’t have to provide any on-site parking under the proposal. In lieu of parking, developers would have to beautify the surrounding open space with trees and shrubbery, outdoor seating, wider sidewalks or additional lighting. If approved in committee tomorrow and by the full City Council at the end of the month, the changes would apply to all zoning applications submitted on or after November 1, 2015.

In addition to the TOD reforms, the Committee will also vote on Mayor Emanuel’s proposed ordinance creating a private event license for large parties hosted at industrial venues. The license fee would be based on the number of expected attendees, ranging from $700 to $6,600.

Today Aldertrack paid subscribers received our first Quarterly Report, a guide that includes the member backgrounds of dozens of city administrative boards and commissions. While the report is only going to subscribers, the tale of what it took to gather this much information about how the city works is story that stands on its own.

A compendium of Chicago’s most important boards and commissions with names, appointment dates, and pictures, the Quarterly Report contains as much contact information as we could find. And there arose our challenge: like anything else even remotely related to bureaucracy, things were often unnecessarily complicated, hard to track down, or lacking a single source for answers.

The Aldertrack team spent more than a month searching for members who sit on nearly all of the City’s boards & commissions. We say nearly, because we ran into many roadblocks: outdated information, unhelpful staffers, and in some cases, little to no publicly available information.  

Excluding Special Service Areas (SSAs), the City lists 70 different boards and commissions for the City of Chicago. These commissions advise and manage city business for everything from public transportation to noise control at Chicago-area airports; zoning and development commissions that approve large scale construction projects and landmark designations to panels that address affordable housing funding and development.

The City’s web page provides skeletal information: a brief sentence describing the board’s function, the corresponding legal authority, whether City Council approval is required and a list of names and expiration dates. Using these member lists as our starting point, we searched through LinkedIn pages and old press releases dating back to 2011 to confirm job titles. We also cross referenced appointment dates with the Journals of the Proceedings and Legistar, and searched the relevant legal text to find board duties, membership requirements, and compensation.

But over the course of the month, we found the city’s master list of administrative board members was often outdated or didn’t match the lists provided on various commission websites. More than a third of the members the city listed as members on the Neighborspace Board of Directors are no longer serving on the board. We found similar discrepancies with World Business Chicago and the Chicago-Gary Regional Airport Authority, a panel created through an interstate agreement with Indiana and Illinois.

We also found cases where members continued to serve on the board even though their appointments had expired. That was the case for the board the oversees the Chicago Public Library. The terms for six of the eight members currently sitting on the Chicago Public Library Board have expired. When we contacted the board’s staffer, Pete Malloy, he assured us that members are allowed to serve until their replacement has been found or their reappointment has been filed. The Mayor’s office usually renews appointments when they submit requests for new appointees, and since there is currently a vacancy on the public library board, those reappointments won’t be filed until a new board member is found, Malloy said, after verifying the information with the Mayor’s office.

We had an especially difficult time verifying the members of boards whose appointments don’t require City Council approval. Since the Mayor’s office doesn’t have to submit a resolution requesting these appointments, there is little to no paper trail detailing whether someone has stepped down or added to the board. We contacted various city departments and board staffers to get a simple list of names, and were sometimes told to submit FOIA requests.

When we contacted to the City’s Commission on Human Relations to to verify the appointment dates for the members of the Advisory Council on Equity, we were told to submit a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request. We were sometimes asked to submit FOIAs for simple questions like whether board members were compensated or whether the City's membership lists w

We even made a personal visit to the office that oversees the city’s boards and commissions on City Hall’s 4th floor to verify appointment dates and memberships for some of these boards. The receptionist there told us the person in charge of these governing bodies was out of the office, and refused to provide that person’s contact information, suggesting we go to the the fifth floor and address our questions to the Mayor’s press office.

Some boards have a mixture of City, County and State appointees, and each government entity has their own database listing board memberships. The lists rarely matched. We found that to be the case with the Chicago-Gary Regional Airport Authority and the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority Board.

But once we got past these discrepancies and began putting the lists together we started to notice some trends.

There are still a significant number of Mayor Richard M. Daley appointees sitting on development and social service related boards. Eight of the 18 members on the Community Land Trust Board were appointed by Mayor Daley, and most of those members secured a spot on the board in 2006 when the board was created to address the limited supply of affordable housing in the City. A similar oversight body, the Low-Income Housing Trust Fund Board, a not-for-profit organization created in 1967 to provide low-income residents with affordable housing, still holds eight Daley appointees, including Board President Thomas J. McNulty, a partner at the law firm Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, LLP. McNulty was appointed in 1989 and all of the board's meetings are held at his law firm. And even though the board is held to the standards of the Open Meetings Act, members of the public who wish to attend must submit a request ahead of time for security reasons. Then there's the Chicago Committee on Urban Opportunity, a 16-member oversight body that reviews block grants and Head Start funding. Daley appointed nearly half the board.

In addition to finding a notable number of Daley appointees, we also found what we can be described as musical chair appointments: members serving on multiple boards at once, or moving from one board to the next.

Reverend Richard L. Tolliver, M.D., of St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church, sits on three boards: He was appointed to the Development Fund Advisory Board in 2008, the Low-Income Housing Trust Fund Board in 2012, and the Commission on Chicago Landmarks in 2014.

Similarly, Martin Cabrera, Jr, the Chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission, currently sits on the Public Building Commission and World Business Chicago. He also served a stint as Chairman of the City Colleges Board of Trustees, a position he was appointed to in 2011.

Another frequent board member is Blake Sercye, a litigator for corporate law firm Jenner & Block who ran (unsuccessfully) in 2014 for the Cook County Board of Commissioners, with the backing of Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and Mayor Emanuel. Sercye was appointed this year to the Zoning Board of Appeals and currently serves on the Community Development Commission and the Illinois Medical District Commission.

Then there is Dr. Horace E. Smith, pastor at Apostolic Faith Church and a doctor at Children’s Memorial Hospital, who also serves on three boards. He was appointed to the Low-Income Housing Trust Fund Board this year, and currently serves on Board of Health and the Affirmative Action Advisory Board.

Aldertrack plans to update the board listings every quarter, so expect updates as we learn more.

Aldertrack sources tell us that Mayor Emanuel held individual closed door meetings yesterday to discuss the budget with the various City Council caucuses with confirmation that he met with the Progressive and Latino Caucuses. The Mayor has been holding regular meetings with aldermen to field revenue and cost saving ideas ahead of his budget unveil scheduled for Tuesday, September 22nd.

Workforce Committee quickly approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s appointment of Karen Coppa to the city’s Human Resources Board, a three member body that hears cases of alleged misconduct against city employees. Coppa briefly highlighted her tenure with the city–she worked in the City’s Law Department between 2000-2014–before the Committee approved her appointment. George Blakemore was the only witness to sign up for public testimony.

Members Present: Chairman Pat O’Connor (40), Raymond Lopez (15), Howard Brookins, Jr. (21), Walter Burnett (27), Emma Mitts (37), Michelle Smith (43). 

The Committee also approved a contract for 17 police communications operators in the City’s Office of Emergency Management and Communication. The term of the agreement is from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2017, with a 1.25% raise for each of the first three years and a 1.5% raise for that last two years.  The Union’s President Becky Strzechowski and Secretary-Treasurer Michael G. Melone negotiated the deal with the city, but did not speak at the hearing. The City’s Assistant Chief Labor Negotiator, Cicely Porter Adams, says the collective bargaining agreement took 17 months to negotiate. “It’s the best deal possible for taxpayers,” she testified. Blakemore spoke on that item, too. The appointment and contract will advance to the full City Council for a vote at the end of the month. 

Finance Chairman Ed Burke (14) is teaming up with Cook County Commissioner Richard R. Boykin to discuss the growing trend of heroin-related overdoses in Illinois. He’s holding a press conference this afternoon at City Hall to call for the creation of a joint City-County advisory task force to stem the epidemic. Donal Quinlan, Ald. Burke’s spokesperson, said Burke wanted to make sure the task force included the surrounding suburbs because the issue extends beyond the city’s borders.

Last year, 633 Illinoisans died from a heroin overdose, up from 583 in 2013. And according to a recent report from the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy at Roosevelt University, the Chicago metropolitan area ranked first in the nation for emergency room visits related to heroin use.

The press event comes hot on the heals of Boykin shutting down an ersatz campaign for U.S. Senate, which he ended earlier this week.

Jack Lydon, the 47th Ward Democratic Committeeman, stepped down from his post last Wednesday evening, September 2, and was immediately replaced by Paul Rosenfeld, a Springfield lobbyist who plans to run for the spot next spring. Rosenfeld was voted in by the 47th Ward Democratic Organization, who met in the back of O’Donovan’s Pub on West Irving Park Rd., as the organization has not had an official office since former Ald. Eugene Schulter stepped down from the post in 2012.

Rosenfeld says he plans for the organization, “to make decisions collectively. We’ve got a lot of really smart attorneys that live in this ward, I’m going to lean on them especially for vetting judicial offices.”

Rosenfeld, who says his run for committeeman already has the support of most elected officials living in the way, says he'll revitalize leadership in the ward organization, including naming Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer as president of the organization.

Rosenfeld, who currently leads Ald. Ameya Pawar’s Grow 47 public schools initiative, was also once a staffer for former Ald. Dick Mell (33) and a top fundraiser for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Rosenfeld was labeled “Lobbyist #2” in federal investigator phone tap transcripts of Blagojevich that led to the governor’s conviction and imprisonment.

Rosenfeld briefly ran for the post in 2011, but dropped out of the race in favor of an Mayor Rahm Emanuel-favored candidate, Peter Coffey, at the last minute. Emanuel lives in the ward.

Other political leaders in the ward say off the record that there are no other candidates openly passing petitions for the committeeman seat, so Rosenfeld may run unopposed. Candidates must file no fewer than 751 good signatures with the Chicago Board of Elections no later than November 30.

The Committee on Workforce Development and Audit has two items on today’s agenda: a mayoral appointment to the Human Resources Board and a collective bargaining agreement with unionized emergency phone operators.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has recommended the appointment of Karen Coppa to the Human Resources Board, a three member body that hears cases of alleged misconduct against city employees. Coppa is currently a principal at Clear Brook Consulting and does legal work for her own firm, Karen Coppa, LLC. Coppa was also a former Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel in the City’s Law Department. If her appointment is approved, she’ll join the board’s current members, Salvador A. Cicero and Samuel L. Evans, Jr.

In addition to confirming Coppa, the Committee is also scheduled to approve a collective bargaining agreement between the City and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local Union No. 700. The year-long agreement covers approximately 17 Supervising Police Communications Operators employed in the Office of Emergency Management and Communication.  (Here are the agreements for 2014 and 2013).

Ald. George Cardenas’ (12) says penny-an-ounce tax on sugary drinks he is proposing still has a chance to make it into Mayor Emanuel’s proposed budget scheduled to be unveiled next week, even though there was no vote on the ordinance after a lengthy two-hour hearing on the subject.

Members Present: Chairman George Cardenas (12), Vice Chairman Harry Osterman (48),  Brian Hopkins (2), Walter Burnett Jr. (27), Ariel Reboyras (30), Deb Mell (33), Tom Tunney (44).
Non-members: Emma Mitts (13), Raymond Lopez (15), Gregory Mitchell (17), Derrick Curtis (18), Ricardo Munoz (22).
Start Time: 10:17am

List of Affected Beverages, Other Press Materials

Beverage industry reps clad in branded polos packed the City Council Chambers Wednesday morning, as health experts and beverage industry lobbyists sparred over whether the proposed tax on sugary drinks would lead to healthier Chicagoans or reduced profits for city grocers.

Ald. Cardenas’ so-called “Chicago Sweetened-Beverage Tax” broadens his original proposal from 2013 to include a tax on sugary powders and syrups. A 12-pack of of soda would cost an additional $1.44 under the plan. Milk, liquor, coffee, tea-based beverages, as well as any drink with less than 5 grams of caloric sweetener for every 12 ounces would be exempt. The tax could bring an estimated $134 million in new revenue to the city’s coffers.

But before Aldermen can vote on the proposal, it needs an okay from the City’s Law Department, which could take about week or more, according to Ald. Cardenas. If Cardenas gets the green light from the City’s lawyers, he could schedule a last-minute vote before the City Council meets at the end of the month. There’s also the possibility Mayor Rahm Emanuel could stick it straight in the budget, he says.

Mara Georges, a lawyer with Daley and Georges and former corporation counsel for Mayor Richard M. Daley, brought up the potential illegality of the new tax when she testified on behalf of the American Beverage Association. She said she expects the ordinance would fail in a court challenge, because soft drinks are already taxed twice to the cap–3% for cans or bottles bought in retail stores, and 9% on syrup used in fountain drinks, and the city could not exceed either.

There was little questioning or testimony from aldermen in attendance at yesterday’s hearing, with the exception of Ald. Tom Tunney (44), who has owned Lakeview staple restaurant Ann Sather since his mid-20s. He came out in opposition to the tax, questioning the accuracy of Ald. Cardenas’ data, and said business owners have been squeezed enough. “I just really feel that we’re really pricing ourselves out of the middle class,” Tunney said, claiming Chicagoans are already heading across the Indiana border for gasoline, tobacco, and a lower sales tax.

Tanya Triche, with the Illinois Restaurant Merchant’s Association, lauded Ald. Cardenas’ intent, but said grocers on the city’s fringe would at risk of shutting down if the tax goes through. “Why would anyone near borders buy here when they could go a couple blocks away?” she asked. She said the tax would nearly double the price of a two liter. “At some point it becomes too much.”

But Ald. Cardenas and health officials who testified kept pulling the debate away from business and toward the obesity and diabetes epidemic. Money from the tax would establish the Chicago Wellness Fund and an oversight committee to manage it. 98% of revenue would go toward the fund, with 75% earmarked for health education and fitness programs at Chicago Public Schools. The Chicago Department of Public Health would pick up the other 2% of anticipated revenue for administrative costs for the rollout of the tax.

Malik Nevels with the Illinois African American Coalition for Prevention says minority Chicagoans already face several barriers to living a healthy life from targeted marketing by beverage companies to poor physical activity infrastructure in minority neighborhoods. He sees the ordinance as a way to support health initiatives in communities, rather than squeezing families’ spending, “[The Chicago Coalition Against Beverage Taxes] can’t say it hurts low income communities.”

Like most other revenue-raising options aldermen have come up with, Mayor Emanuel was non-committal in a separate event Wednesday. “The notion of a sugar tax is all about curbing behavior,” he told reporters. “Changing people’s behavior can be a big savings financially as well as improve healthcare outcomes, so I am encouraging all the aldermen to come up with ideas.”

Speaking to Aldertrack after the hearing, Ald. Cardenas said he was encouraged and optimistic that his co-chair, Ald. Harry Osterman (48), sounded open to the ordinance. At Wednesday’s hearing, Osterman said everything is on the table going into the budget process. “Taxing policies put on tobacco products I think has had a significant impact,” he said. “Maybe the taxing is not where it needs to be to get people to choose healthier choices.”

The Department of Planning and Development is on track to meet its affordable housing goal of 8,200 units by the end of 2015, but it remains behind on its goal to increase the number of first time homeowners, according to Deputy Commissioner for Housing Lawrence Grisham’s testimony to the Housing and Real Estate Committee. The hearing was a report from him and a review of highlights of the 2015 Second Quarter Progress Report of the city’s five-year housing plan. DPD is the lead agency for the City’s affordable housing, housing preservation, and homebuyer assistance programs.

Committee Members Present: Chairman Joe Moore (49), Vice Chairman Pat Dowell (3), Gregory Mitchell (7), Raymond Lopez (15), David Moore (17), Michael Scott, Jr. (24), Deb Mell (33), James Cappleman (46).

Since the start of 2015, the City allocated over $151 million in funds to support more than 5,700 affordable housing units, representing 63% of the total affordable unit goal and 60% of the resource allocation goal for 2015. This includes the addition of four large-scale affordable housing projects the City Council approved funding for in the last quarter.

But DPD has only committed $12 million to help 180 households achieve or sustain homeownership. That amounts to 37% of the $33 million DPD had anticipated spending on the initiative this year.

Grisham attributed the continued lag in the home ownership numbers to a lack of demand, availability and affordability of homes in neighborhoods that have yet to rebound from the recession. He said DPD kept the higher than expected target for the homebuyer programs because the department anticipates increased interest in the near future.

“We are, in fact, beginning to see an uptick in activity in both our loan programs and other programs related to home ownership,” Grisham said.

But the discussion on DPD’s affordable housing progress report was only a portion of the nearly two hour meeting, as time was set aside to discuss the city’s Troubled Building Initiative (TBI) after several public commenters criticized the program at the last quarterly briefing in June. TBI was designed to address problems with negligent landlords and crumbling housing stock. Through the courts, a judge can appoint a receiver (i.e. developer) to take over and rehabilitate the property. Critics say the process, which takes over a year, is too long, and local community groups were kept in the dark when receivers were chosen.

Several South Side aldermen at yesterday’s hearing echoed those concerns, saying they too would like to be kept in the loop when foreclosed or dilapidated buildings in their wards go through this process.

Bryan Esenberg, Assistant Housing Commissioner, said the city has had a hard time finding eligible developers, since they are required to front redevelopment costs totaling millions before getting reimbursed from the city.

A proposal to slap a penny-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks will be the subject of today’s City Council Committee on Health and Environmental Protection.

Committee Chairman George Cardenas (12) is the architect behind the so-called “Chicago Sweetened-Beverage Tax”, which includes a tax on sugary powders and syrups sold at Chicago-area grocery stores. A 12-pack of of soda would cost an additional $1.44 under the plan. Milk, liquor, coffee, tea-based beverages, as well as any drink with less than 5 grams of caloric sweetener for every 12 ounces would be exempt.

Back in 2012, Cardenas introduced a resolution (R2012-172) that led to a lengthy hearing on the effects sugary beverages have on obesity and the implications of imposing a higher sales tax on these types of beverages. At the time, Cardenas was considering a 15 to 35-cent tax on sugary drinks to curb consumption and raise money for health programs, but that plan was never put into a written, draft ordinance.

If Ald. Cardenas' updated proposal is approved in committee today, and by the full City Council later this month, the ordinance would establish the Chicago Wellness Fund and an oversight committee to manage it. The Advisory Council for Health and Wellness would be made up of 22 members, including four aldermen, four representatives from designated city agencies, and 14 members appointed by the mayor.

Ninety-eight percent of the revenue generated through the tax would go toward the fund, with 75% of that money earmarked for health education and fitness programs at Chicago Public Schools. The Department of Public Health would pick up the other 2% of anticipated revenue for administrative costs associated with the rollout of the new tax.

Expect a lengthy hearing on the controversial tax. Ald. Cardenas has invited several expert witnesses to testify in support of the research cited in the preamble to his ordinance that suggests a tax on sugary drinks could result in a 23.5% reduction in consumption, a 9.3% reduction in youth obesity, and a 5.2% cut in adult obesity.

Speakers include: Esther Sciamarella, Executive Director of the Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition; Elissa J. Bassler, CEO of the Illinois Public Health Institute; Malik Nevels, Executive Director of the Illinois African American Coalition for Prevention; and Dr. Lisa Powell, professor of health policy and administration for the University of Illinois-Chicago’s School of Public Health.

The Chicago Coalition Against Beverage Taxes, a group created specifically to oppose Ald. Cardenas’ proposed tax, has said a tax on sugary drinks would burden businesses already paying special taxes on sodas and bottled water. The coalition, co-chaired by Rob Karr, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, lists nearly a thousand businesses, labor unions, and community groups as partners.

Former 2nd Ward Alderman and mayoral candidate Bob Fioretti plans to run for State Senate in the 5th legislative district, according to this D-1 Fioretti filed with the State Board of Elections. The seat is currently held by State Sen. Patricia Van Pelt Watkins, a West Side political activist who was elected to the state legislature in 2012, a year after she ran a quixotic fifth-place campaign for mayor of Chicago.

Watkins was supported by several West Side aldermen and ward organizations, including Ald. Walter Burnett, Jr. (27). Fioretti reported no funds for his new candidate committee, Bob Fioretti for State Senator, but his old aldermanic committee, which he used to fundraise for his mayoral bid, reported a balance of $8,461.70 as of June 30th.