For the second time in a month, a widely-sponsored City Council ordinance was derailed by Budget Chair Carrie Austin. Yesterday, Austin, one of Council’s most senior members, delayed a hearing on a TIF surplus resolution from Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), a freshman alderman, by at least a month. The resolution “calls for immediate TIF surplus action to offset drastic cuts at our Chicago Public Schools.”

In a quick motion, Austin referred it to the Finance Committee without asking whether there were any objections.

After the committee voted on item three, Austin went out of agenda order. “Items six and seven will be re-referred to the Committee on Finance.” Moving back to item four, and skipping the usual “Hearing no objection, so ordered.”

In fact, Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22) was vocally objecting, and asking for a roll call on the motion to re-refer. “Madame Chair, Madame Chair,” he repeated loudly, but Austin moved past his objection to an item on M/WBE procurement.

“Ald. Munoz, I’ll recognize you when I have the procurement director speaking on this matter,” she told him. The committee then spent roughly 15 minutes discussing M/WBE changes, until Ald. Austin called on Munoz again.

He asked for a roll call on the motion to re-refer to Finance, saying he had objected.

“I believe that the rule of the Chair stands,” Austin told him, “Ald. [Ed] Burke [Chair of the Finance Committee] has re-referred items and there was no vote, so my assumption…” Munoz interrupted to say that he had vocally objected.

Off mic, Ald. Anthony Beale (9) said he wanted to table the roll call, which Munoz said didn’t qualify for tabling.

At that point, demonstrators, including some parents associated with Raise Your Hand, who about an hour earlier had held a press conference in support of Ald. Rosa’s resolution, stood along the partition separating the Council floor from the gallery, chanting, “Parents want a voice,” and “Parents want a vote.” Austin and Munoz continued to go back and forth above the din.

Austin banged her gavel multiple times, trying to speak above protestors, and saying she couldn’t hear. “The parents don’t run this committee,” she said. There was, despite Munoz’s objection, a roll call to table Munoz’s motion. Austin’s aide reported 10 ayes and 8 nays aloud. The Clerk’s office doesn’t track committee votes, and aides for Austin did not respond to a request for a roll call breakdown. DNA Info reported 10 ayes and 9 nays:

Yea: Chair Carrie Austin (34), Brian Hopkins (2), Pat Dowell (3), Anthony Beale (9), Derrick Curtis (18), Willie Cochran (20), Jason Ervin (28), Emma Mitts (37), Margaret Laurino (39) and Joe Moore (49)

Nay: Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6), Marty Quinn (13), Rick Munoz (22), Ariel Reboyras (30), Scott Waguespack (32), Deb Mell (33), Brendan Reilly (42), Tom Tunney (44), Deb Silverstein (50)

City CFO Alex Holt and budget staffer Molly Poppe were in the Chambers and prepared to testify, distributing a memo saying if aldermen wanted to expire a TIF, the Mayor’s Office would give up the city’s 18% cut to CPS. Poppe said she did not believe there would be a vote, but that there would be testimony.

One of Austin’s staffers later handed out photocopy of a paragraph in city’s municipal code that says the Finance Committee is the appropriate jurisdiction to hear all tax-related matters. The full City Council today will get to vote on whether to approve Austin’s re-referral to the Finance Committee, where its fate, so far, is uncertain.

At meeting’s end, reporters swarmed Chair Austin, who at first, would only take questions about the M/WBE ordinance. She pushed away a recorder placed too closely on the desk in front of her. Aides removed files, pencils, pens, and her bejeweled thermos while she took more than 15 minutes worth of questions.

Asked for a response to Ald. Rosa’s accusation that the referral was an old-school stalling tactic, “I don’t know what that means,” Austin replied. “When I say something in my committee, it is not to be at somebody else. I sent it to Finance where it belongs… now if he’s objecting to that, I’m sorry… Anything with TIFs, it’s Finance’s deal. He thinks that it’s something against him, it’s not. He thinks that it’s something against our children, no it’s not! I’m sending it to its proper committee.”

Munoz disagreed. “Both committees have jurisdiction over TIF surplus and TIF expenditures. The bottom line is the City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations put it on their agenda for a public hearing. The public hearing should have been had.”

As for the immediate impact on CPS, Munoz said, “They need money as soon as possible. It’s evident,” and he doesn’t want to wait another month to see further cuts. Hours later, CPS announced it would reduce school budgets by another $120 million.

Ald. Beale said his move wasn’t politically motivated, but procedural. “We followed the proper procedures for where it was supposed to be, other than sitting here trying to grandstand on something… you know. So that’s all we did… they sent it to the wrong committee.”

Beale says there are three TIFs within his ward, including the partially TIF-fundedPullman Park redevelopment project. A freshman alderman shouldn’t be telling him what to do with it, even if he has 34 co-sponsors, declared Beale.

“It’s dead on arrival,” he said twice. “I have the largest development in the City of Chicago going on right now. I’m not going to let somebody tell me what’s best for my community when I’m creating thousands of jobs, reducing crime because those jobs are being created. Now you just want to take people’s TIFs for a one shot, shot in the arm to do what? Learn the job before you start dictating what other aldermen should be doing with their TIF money.”

Rosa reiterated that the Mayor’s office led him to believe the resolution was in the right committee, and Budget Director Alex Holt’s testimony would have cleared up Beale’s issues. Rosa said the resolution was a starting point, and he wouldn't force aldermen to halt their TIF projects.

Rosa and Ald. Ameya Pawar (47) both doubled down on commitments to explore expiring TIFs in their own wards and redirecting the surplus money toward CPS.

Expiring a TIF before its expiration date requires City Council approval. Obligations for the TIF must be paid off, and tax districts who get TIF money are notified, but don’t hold any legal authority to formally object. In her memo to aldermen today, Holt said she would be happy to work with aldermen who want to freeze or terminate TIF districts in their ward, but “it’s a balancing act,” she told Aldertrack. “In order to generate much in the way of surplus, we have to talk about canceling projects, that’s something that aldermen say they have to prefer to surplus money instead of spending it on a park or school annex.”

Other Budget Committee Actions

A Progressive Caucus ordinance aimed at recouping losses from swap deals with banks was also re-referred to Finance Committee by Chairman Austin. The ordinance directs the Department of Law to explore legal action concerning early termination penalties, recovering past losses and repayment on all interest rate swap agreements.

The committee approved an amendment to the municipal code continuing the MBE/WBE Construction Procurement Program. Last month, Budget Chair Carrie Austin called for a temporary extension of the city’s Minority and Women-Owned Business Construction Program that was set to expire at the end of the year. Yesterday, Jamie Rhee, the city's Chief Procurement Officer, said the Mayor’s office wanted to increase all city-funded contract goals from 24% to 26% for minority businesses and from 4% to 6% for women owned businesses. The ordinance originally called for 30% and 10%.

Rhee said she believed the lower figures could be defended in court. The program will last five years, and there will be an interim review at the end of 2017 to assess whether the targets are appropriate.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36), who pushed for the 30-10 goals, congratulated Austin on the changes, which he said the city could work to incrementally increase. “I know this is something that your husband [Ald. Lemuel Austin] worked on during the Harold Washington days,” he told the chair, and said he wants to continue pushing for local hiring.

After more than two hours of testimony, close to two dozen public witnesses, one room change, and one mid-meeting closed door session, the Council’s Zoning Committee approved a zoning change for the controversial Montrose Clarendon project at the site of the former Maryville/Cueno Hospital in the city’s Uptown neighborhood.

Members Present (10/17): Chairman Danny Solis (25), Vice Chairman James Cappleman (46),  Ald. Joe Moreno (1), Ald. Toni Foulkes (16), Ald. Matt O’Shea (19), Ald. Walter Burnett, Jr. (27), Ald. Deb Mell (33), Ald. Emma Mitts (38), Ald. Brendan Reilly (42), Tom Tunney (44).

The project took up the bulk of the four hour zoning meeting as residents, one-by-one, provided testimony on a zoning change that would facilitate construction of a massive housing complex with 631 units at the nearly 5-acre shuttered hospital campus.

Opponents said the Cueno Hospital buildings should be designated as landmarks, not torn down. Several lamented a $15.8 million TIF subsidy that was made available to the project, and a few demanded more affordable housing units on site. The community of homeless people living under a nearby viaduct was brought up several times as a point of outrage.

Proponents said they’re glad to finally see the site, which has been vacant for years, turned into something new. Several community leaders argued this proposal was the product of years of negotiations with the developers and touted the economic impact to the neighborhood.

At one point, after getting into a few back-and-forth arguments with residents over what is legally required as it pertains to TIF money and affordable housing, local Alderman and Committee Vice Chairman James Cappleman (46) asked that Zoning Administrator Patti Scudiero step in and explain the zoning code.

When it was finally his turn to testify, Ald. Cappleman detailed his involvement in the project, from his first month in office to yesterday’s meeting. To address the housing disparity charges raised, he said the project passed through several local community meetings, “and reflected the economic diversity of the 46th Ward.” On the TIF issue, he said the land is currently tax exempt (it was a hospital site), which means it won’t generate any money until something is built there. The new project will generate $2 to $3 million a year in property taxes, according to his count.

“Without this project our community will continue to have a boarded up, vacant building that brings more crime to this neighborhood that is already incredibly overburdened,” he concluded, somewhat shouting by this point.

Following the public comment portion, Chairman Solis called for a five minute recess for aldermen to talk privately to DPD staff. When he returned, he immediately called the item up for consideration by voice vote. “Call the roll,” people in the gallery chanted as aldermen cast their vote in unison. It was divided with a few audible “nays.”

“This is democracy in Chicago,” one person in the gallery yelled.

Ald. Joe Moreno (1), who has recently made affordable housing a soapbox issue, accused the developer's lawyer, Mariah DiGrino with DLA Piper, of being “disingenuous” when she suggested the project “exceeded” the city’s 2007 ARO.

The joint venture by JDL Development and Harlem Irving Companies would cost $125 million and will be supported with $15.8 million in TIF assistance. 20 units, about 5% of total units, will be made affordable. The developer will also make two large cash payments totaling about $8 million to the city’s affordable housing trust fund to make up for the remaining affordable units required under the city’s 2007 affordable requirements ordinance.

The apartments would be divided between two high rise buildings. One building to be located at the northwest corner of West Montrose and North Clarendon Avenue would have 381 residential units. The other, at the northwest corner of West Agatite and North Clarendon Avenues, would hold 250 residential units. Other amenities in the new planned development would include a third single-story structure (a grocery store) at the corner of West Montrose and North Clarendon Avenues.

Other Applications

The Montrose-Clarendon project was the only item on the agenda to receive significant pushback. A couple of residents from the 4th Ward testified against an “off premise sign” at 600 S. Clark Street in the city’s Printer’s Row neighborhood.

The billboard would be too big (14 by 48 feet) and doesn’t conform with the surrounding neighborhood, said Chuck Gullett, a resident at a 60-unit condo building “catty-corner” to the location of the proposed sign. He and another resident said they were just notified about the hearing yesterday and requested that the item be held.

Chairman Danny Solis requested someone from the 4th Ward speak, but no one was present, so Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) suggested the item be held or voted down because, “the Fourth Ward has no alderman.” Ald. Will Burns (4) announced last week that he will be stepping down from his post. He’s accepting a job at Airbnb.

Ald. Joe Moreno (1) chimed in to say, “The Fourth Ward has an alderman, he’s just not here now,” and suggested the item be held. Chairman Solis held the item so the residents could work the issue out with Ald. Burns.

No one from the public (save for perennial speaker George Blakemore) testified on other proposed plans. All were approved unanimously by voice vote:

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  Landmark Status for the Marina City Towers: The committee swiftly approved landmark designation for the twin, 60-story corncob-shaped residential high-rises in the Loop. According to Ned Crawford with the city’s Landmarks Commission, the two Marina City Towers are icons because the building, often called “a city within a city,” was the the “first of its kind to layer residential, commercial, and entertainment uses into a dense high-rise complex in the city’s center.” Local Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) called the designation “long overdue.” The Commission on Chicago Landmarks made their preliminary recommendation to designate the two buildings as official landmarks in November.

  
  


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  Milwaukee TOD Gets one ‘No’ Vote: Ald. Joe Moreno voted against Vequity’s application for a zoning change to construct a six-story, 44-unit luxury high rise along a heavily trafficked intersection on Milwaukee Avenue (1920 N. Milwaukee Ave.) Moreno voted against the project because no affordable housing was provided on site. Instead, the developers will be making a cash payment to the city’s affordable housing trust fund.

  
  


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  Event Liquor Licenses: An ordinance that establishes an industrial private event license for large warehouses located in four PMDs (planned manufacturing districts) got approval from the committee. It was sponsored by Zoning Chairman Solis. According to Buildings Commissioner Judy Frydland, who testified on the ordinance because she helped draft it when she worked for the city’s Law Department, the new license would be limited to private events, such as weddings, fundraisers, corporate parties and those not open to the general public.
  
  The warehouse would have to be a minimum of 15,000 square feet. Alcohol would be allowed on site, insurance would be required, and a licensee would have to develop an on-site safety plan and give notice to local businesses. Chairman Solis said the ordinance would provide much needed revenue to the city, in addition to “protecting” these districts and providing a regulatory framework to keep track of these kinds of parties. Ald. Reilly voiced concern the license would lead to a lot of raves. Chairman Solis said provisions in the ordinance would prevent that. Pop-up establishments are not allowed.
  
  Giving the issues some context, Ald. Walter Burnett, Jr. (27) pointed to a recent incident where Mercedes Benz held a party in their Fulton Marketwarehouse and attendees clogged the streets with their cars, making it impossible for local residents to find parking. This ordinance would prevent incidents like that from happening because the surrounding community would be given the opportunity to object to the license.

  
  

The City Council Budget Committee meets today at 10:00 a.m. to hear resolutions and ordinances that would direct the Law Department to fight against early termination penalties, possibly hike fees for building inspections done by the fire department, and encourage the city to re-route TIF surplus funds to help plug CPS’ budget gap. Specifically:

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  An ordinance directing the Department of Law to explore legal action concerning early termination penalties, recovering past losses and repayment on all interest rate swap agreements: This Progressive Caucusordinance argues the City and CPS have paid more than $1.1 billion in payments for interest rate swap deals and the city should work to recoup them. “Other public and private entities in the United States have taken legal action... and avoided or lowered termination penalties for interest rate swap agreements and were repaid payments previously made to financial institutions.” Progressive Caucus opposition to swap termination fees within a $200 million water revenue bond deal last month delayed the sale (for the time being).

  
  


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  TIF Surplus for CPS Resolution: More than half the City Council has signed on to the CPS-TIF Surplus resolution that Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) introduced last month. The resolution states the City Council would be in favor of “immediate new TIF surplus action, in addition to the surplus declared in August 2015, be utilized to mitigate any program cuts, layoffs of staff, and reductions in services in the Chicago Public Schools.” Diverting TIF surplus to schools, though it would fall short of CPS’ initial $480 million budget gap for this year, would “offset drastic cuts”, keep “essential programs”, and alleviate “potential mass layoffs. Legislation introduced in Springfield by Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie would divert all TIF surplus to CPS in this emergency situation instead of to other local taxing bodies. Aldermen will hold a press conference an hour before the meeting on the second floor of City Hall to highlight this item, which more than half of the city council has signed up to co-sponsor.

  
  


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  An intergovernmental agreement to expand Divvy to Evanston and Oak Park: Chicago has so far received $28 million from the federal government for the bike sharing program, with the city chipping in roughly $6.5 million. According to the IGA, the City will pass through $320,000 to Evanston and $480,000 to Oak Park for an “interoperable”, branded Divvy program. Evanston will pay $80,000 in local matching funds, Oak Park will pay $120,000. Costs and revenues will be shared: Chicago will get annual membership fees for people whose addresses are listed in Chicago and anywhere outside Evanston or Oak Park, and annual memberships purchased by people with Evanston or Oak Park mailing addresses will be distributed to each. Revenue from overage fees and 24-hour passes will also go towards the municipality where the ride originates.

  
  


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  An ordinance authorizing the fire commissioner to pick a program for electronic tracking and billing of building inspections: The ordinance authorizes Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago to choose a provider for electronic handling of inspection records and fees for those inspections. The costs will be borne by inspectors, who can pass on charges to building owners.

  
  


• A communication recommending a proposed ordinance amending the municipal code concerning the continuation of the MBE/WBE Construction Procurement Program: Last month, Budget Chair Carrie Austin called for a temporary extension of the city’s Minority and Women-Owned Business (M/WBE) Construction Program that was set to expire at the end of the year. The original ordinance extended it through 2020, but Austin called for temporary stretch through March 31, 2016. Since this is just a communication, the committee won’t hear testimony or debate changes to the M/WBE Construction Procurement Program at this meeting.

For more than three hours, aldermen from a broad spectrum of backgrounds pushed back against Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposed tobacco regulations that would increase the city’s smoking age to 21 and generate $6 million in new revenue from increased taxes on tobacco products. Committee Finance Chairman Ed Burkeeventually decided to hold the item for further consideration.

At the end of yesterday's meeting, Burke called a new meeting on Wednesday at 9:15 a.m. to reconsider the item.

Present: Chairman Ed Burke (14), Joe Moreno (1), Pat Dowell (3), Leslie Hairston (5), Roderick Sawyer (6) Greg Mitchell (7), Anthony Beale (9), Sue Sadlowski Garza (10),  Patrick Daley Thompson (11), Marty Quinn (13), Toni Foulkes (16), David Moore (17), Matt O’Shea (19), Willie Cochran (20), Howard Brookins, Jr. (21), Rick Munoz (22), Mike Zalewski (23), Michael Scott, Jr. (24), Danny Solis (25), Walter Burnett, Jr. (27), Jason Ervin (28), Carrie Austin (34), Marge Laurino (38), Scott Waguespack (32), Nick Sposato (38), Pat O’Connor (40), Tom Tunney (44), John Arena (45), James Cappleman (46), Ameya Pawar (47) Harry Osterman (48), Deb Silverstein (50)

Yesterday’s Finance Committee meeting started with a full press gallery, likely in anticipation of a debate on a resolution urging the city to quickly settle the a lawsuit filed by Bettie Ruth Jones, the woman accidentally killed by the Chicago police officer responding to the Quintonio Legrier call, but a section of the gallery emptied out moments after the meeting was called to order when Chairman Burke (14) announced that he and resolution sponsor Ald. Jason Ervin (28) agreed to hold the resolution and submit it to a subcommittee to fix the “verbiage.”

Tobacco Tax Debate

Expressing worry that the increased taxes would kill small businesses, especially those located in border wards, and fuel the underground market of loose cigarette sales, aldermen argued the new regulations would cause more harm than good during three hours of debate.

[Draft Substitute Ordinance Language]

While the revenue generated by the new tax would fund a new orientation program for CPS freshmen smoking cessation programs, some aldermen argued the enforcement mechanism is unclear; a few questioned whether the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) or the city’s police department would take over the reins to enforce the new rules.

Although Chicago’s cigarette tax is already the highest in the nation, Public Health Commissioner Julie Morita, M.D. says raising the tobacco age would to curb youth smoking at a key time when their brains are still developing. Smokers who start at a younger age will have a harder time quitting as they get older, she said. Young consumers are also more price sensitive.

But Ald. Leslie Hairston (5) rejected that premise, pointing to the thousands of young adults who buy expensive concert tickets, cell phones, and designer clothing and shoes. “It seems like we are a city that wants to chase people away,” she said, garnering cheers from the gallery.

South Side Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6) says he knows one man who makes $800 a day selling loose cigarettes. He gave voice to concerns that the new taxes would hurt “communities of color”. Ald. Jason Ervin (28) recalled a constituent who used to sell loose cigarettes out in the “freezing cold” but now sells those cigarettes “from the luxury of a brand new Jeep.”

When Commissioner Morita suggested aldermen were raising “theoretical” concerns about black market sales, Ald. Ervin shot back, “I would implore you to walk down Madison with me, from Hamlin all the way to Kosner, and you will see the real consequences of what we’re talking about. This is not theoretical. This is not something I dreamed up,” he added.

Apologizing and saying she misspoke when dismissing Ervin’s comments, Morita tried to shift the conversation back to the public health benefits of the ordinance.

But few aldermen were interested in talking about health. While they agreed curbing youth smoking is admirable, they said they couldn't understand why the city felt the need to target small business owners who, in some cases, could see up to a 50% reduction in sales.

Several aldermen asked to hear how CPS plans to spend the $6 million in potential new revenue. The Mayor’s office has said it would be earmarked for a new week-long orientation program for students entering their freshman year of high school. Finding it odd that the new taxes are aimed at curbing smoking, which theoretically would lead to a reduction in year-over-year revenue, Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11) asked how the summer program could continue when the annual revenue isn’t guaranteed. Morita said she didn’t have an answer.

Even former Ald. James Balcer (11) showed up to testify against the ordinance. Balcer, who is a veteran, said vets and active military personnel should be exempt from the age restrictions, because, as he put it, if they are old enough to fight for their country and vote, they are old enough to smoke.

As the hearing approached the three hour mark, Ald. Ameya Pawar (47), who is not a member of the committee, but is one of the ordinance's lead sponsors, had had enough and accused his colleagues of backing big tobacco.

“I’m at a loss, we have progressives saying they’re for tobacco. I don’t know what is going on when we have people carrying the water of tobacco companies,” he opined. Taking his comments a step further, Ald. Pawar said yesterday’s focus on the economic impact of tobacco sales was akin to colonial times, when during the British occupation of India, the British used to give out free cigarettes as a way “to get them hooked so they could pay for them later.”

The dividing issue of public health versus business interest carried over into the public portion of the meeting. Representatives from the American Heart Association and area hospitals lined up to support the ordinance for its health benefits.

Representatives from the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, 7-Eleven, Jewel Osco, and two South Side pastors testified against the ordinance, citing the economic burden they’d face and the potential legal issues the city would open itself up to if it approved the changes.

According to Tanya Triche, vice president and general counsel of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA), Chicago has no jurisdiction to impose a new tax because the state legislature ended that authority in the early 1990s. Should the industry take legal action on this package, the recent taxes the City Council approved on vaping products could be folded into the lawsuit. “These are very murky legal waters,” she warned.

Committee Approves $3M+ In Police-Related Legal Settlements

The handful of aldermen who remained in the Council chambers following the heated debate on tobacco approved about $3.5 million in legal settlements lodged against the city’s police department. All three settlements were approved together by voice vote following testimony on each item from Jane Notz with the City’s Law Department.

The biggest amount, $3.1 million, settles a Department of Justice suit against a hiring practice no longer in effect that required ten-years continuous residency in the U.S. for all police candidates. Ald. Nick Sposato (38), a former firefighter, cast the sole “no” vote, arguing the department’s residency requirement was warranted. “I’m so troubled by this. I don’t think this is something I can support. I think we did everything right… We need a history, we need to know what these people were like.”

The suit alleges that between 2006 and 2011 the police department engaged in “national origin discrimination,” blocking 47 police candidates a spot on the force because they failed the residency requirement, said Notz.

“The requirement was designed to ensure that applicants had sufficient contacts in the United States for the department to conduct an adequate background check,” she explained. However, Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act makes it illegal to discriminate against an employee because of his or her national origin, leading the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to find the police department at fault. The department revised the policy to five years in August 2011. The new policy is not considered discriminatory, since only two candidates were turned down, Notz said.

A number of factors contributed to the $3.1 million figure. Under the settlement, the department has agreed to hire up to eight of the 47 applicants who were denied a spot on the police force. Each of the new hires will be eligible to receive retroactive retirement benefits (about $1 million). The city will also pay approximately $2 million in backpay damages and a $10,000 award to each of the two original plaintiffs, “in recognition of their assistance to the DOJ and EEOC.”

If the case had made it to court, Notz explained, the city could have been forced to pay out additional benefits to the denied police candidates and a court order could have forced the department to hire more than eight candidates.

The other two legal settlements the committee approved stem from allegations of police misconduct, or more specifically, illegal searches and seizures. Both had a smaller price tag: $200,000 and $220,000.

Municipal Depository Retraction - [Press release and draft ordinance.]

Ald. Jason Ervin (28) and Ald. Michael Scott, Jr. (24) directly introduced an ordinance into committee that would remove JP Morgan from the list of banks that can hold the city’s money in response to the bank closing a branch at 4114 W. Madison St. in East Garfield Park. It’s the only bank or ATM in the community, Ald. Ervin explained. Chairman Burke held the matter to give Ald. Ervin time to work the issue out with the bank and said it could be heard at the next meeting if no movement has been made.

McPier Building Permit Fee Waiver

Once-controversial building permit fee waivers for McPier that Chairman Burke held in committee after aldermen cried foul were brought up at the very end of the meeting, after the miscellaneous portion. Mike Merchant with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority testified for less than five minutes and it was quickly approved by the handful of aldermen that remained.

Back in January, after nearly 40 minutes of debate, Chairman Burke held two proposals that would have waived building and permit fees for the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, as well as a proposal that would authorize $7 million in TIF funds to pay for a new public park next to the Marriott Marquis Hotel currently being built. Some aldermen complained the city shouldn't be subsidizing private development.

But those in opposition were long gone by then. Ald. Pat Dowell’s (3) ordinance, if approved Wednesday, will save McPier roughly $2.6 million in construction fees associated with the McCormick Place expansion plan through 2017.

SSA Appointments Approved

The Committee quickly approved SSA appointments for:

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  John H. Idler, SSA 1-2015, the State Street Commission

  
  


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  Jacob Elkins-Ryan, SSA 8, the Lakeview East Commission

  
  


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  Nicol Vargas, SSA 18, the North Halsted Commission

  
  


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  Nickolas J. Cocalis, SSA 18, the North Halsted Commission

  
  


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  Luis A. Monje, SSA 27, the West Lakeview Commission

  
  


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  Paul F. Kartcheske, SSA 31, Greater Ravenswood Commission

  
  

An ordinance that would trigger special reporting from the State’s Attorney’s Office on big County financial settlements is up for consideration in the Cook County Finance Subcommittee on Litigation. The ordinance, sponsored by Commissioner Bridget Gainer and co-sponsored by Comm. Larry Suffredin and Comm. Peter Silvestri,includes a provision requiring the State’s Attorney’s office to release photo, video, or other relevant evidence in cases where the County seeks to settle for more than $500,000.

The ordinance was introduced weeks after the release of the Laquan McDonaldvideo, and after Cook County Commissioners John Fritchey and Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia called for State's Attorney Anita Alvarez to testify before the board on her role in the case. Comm. Richard Boykin has also called for a special prosecutor in future police shooting cases in the County, arguing the State's Attorney's relationship with police is too close to prosecute fairly.

In any settlement above that amount, the SA’s office would have to disclose potential conflicts of interest in the case, the employment status of County stakeholders named in the case, and “significant tangible evidence” like photos or video that are relevant to the settlement recommendation. The SA would also have to submit an annual summary of all cases settled for more than $500,000, and report regularly to the County’s Ethics Officer on county employees involved in settlements.

"As advocates for the best interests of all Cook County stakeholders it is our job as County Commissioners to ensure we are given all information in order to make decisions with millions of dollars of taxpayer dollars. Access to this information will also help serve as an additional safety-net for our critical first-responders: police officers, sheriff’s deputies, doctors, nurses and all Cook County employees,” Gainer said in a statement.

A special meeting of Cook County’s Finance Committee is scheduled today to hear the impact of the state budget standoff on public safety and health programs. Last month, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and officials from her administration warned of the risk of the County having to lay off dozens of employees without tens of millions of dollars worth of state and federal grants that pass through Springfield.

In January, County CFO Ivan Samstein said “common knowledge has shifted”, and the possibility that a FY2016 budget for Illinois might never pass was becoming more plausible. Budget Director Tanya Anthony told commissioners 46 employees in public safety and public health could be laid off.

Today’s meeting will include presentations from Samstein on, “all state grants and other State of Illinois revenues that impact the 2016 Budget of Cook County,” Budget Director Tanya Anthony on what the County can do to balance the current FY16 budget without grant funds, and Cook County Health and Hospital System officials on all state funds owed to the system and the impact layoffs would have on county clinics and hospitals.

This morning the Zoning Committee will take up the next step in the Blackhawks’ andRush University Medical Center’s plans for the old Malcolm X College campus on the city’s Near West Side. The Chicago Blackhawks hockey team is looking to build a community ice rink and training facility at the site. Rush University wants to build a new medical campus. The University will take a majority of the 11 acre site to build a 1.4 million square foot “academic village” that’ll include three academic buildings and one dormitory for 300 students.

According to University President Peter Butler, who spoke before the Plan Commission in January, student enrollment has doubled over recent years and their current facilities and technology are nearly half a century old.

While both projects got full support from the Chicago Plan Commission last month, a handful of commissioners said they were concerned that the timetable for Rush’s plans–a six-year first phase and three-to-five years in between the subsequent three phases–is a bit long. Some weren’t thrilled that a provision in the planned development wouldn’t require Rush to go back for public review should they decide to amend their proposal later. Instead, the development team would have the ability to work out any changes through an internal review by the Department of Planning and Development.

Another application, from Clark 800, LLC, seeks to an amend an existing planned development to build a 230-unit residential building at a site directly north of Bush Temple, a Chicago Landmark. That item got Plan Commission approval in January as well.

Fulton Market Rezone

Sterling Bay’s application to rezone a section of Fulton Market where a partially completed office building currently stands will also be reviewed today. The project stalled after the dot-com bust in the late nineties, when developers were unable to finance the full project. The site and the adjacent 170-car parking garage to the north have been vacant ever since.

Calling the project a “catalyst” for the neighborhood at the December Plan Commission meeting, representatives from Sterling Bay sought a rezone to expand the existing skeleton, transforming it into an eight-story building with office and commercial space. The bottom five floors will conform with the height and design of the surrounding brick buildings, while the top three floors will have an extensive setback, with a glass and aluminum facade. The parking garage will be expanded to hold approximately 610 parking spaces to serve the entire Fulton Market community. At the December meeting, Ald. Walter Burnett (27) said the burgeoning Fulton Market is facing a parking shortage.

Bucktown Tower

Also on tap: Vequity’s plan to build a seven-story residential building at a busy intersection on the corner of Milwaukee and Western Avenue next to the Western Avenue blue line stop. According to Kyle Glascott, one of the members on Vequity’s development team, most of the units will be roughly 600-square-foot one-bedroom units. Their target audience is “young professionals” and they’re hoping to lease out the ground floor commercial space to a “transit oriented” retail operator, like a cafe or bike repair shop, he told the Plan Commission last month.

This application got a lot of pushback from commissioners because no affordable units are planned on site. Ald. Joe Moreno (1) was particularly peeved about this project and accused neighboring Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) of failing to do his job in ensuring affordable units. This project did not get unanimous Plan Commission support.

Uptown/Maryville Development

Vequity’s application is not nearly as controversial as the proposed residential development for the former Maryville/Cuneo Hospital site in Uptown. JDL Development is looking to build a massive, 860-unit housing complex with 50,000 square feet of retail and commercial space at an expected price tag of $125 million. At issue: TIF money is being offered for the project and local residents are crying foul. Dozens of local residents testified against the project at the January Plan Commission meeting and it failed to win unanimous support from commissioners.

Industrial Party Liquor License

Zoning Chairman Danny Solis (25) will finally bring up an ordinance he introduced over the summer creating a new liquor license for industrial parties. It’s unclear why Solis has been holding on to the ordinance for so long, but a staff assistant said it will move forward unamended. The ordinance would eliminate Class A and B licenses and create a new license with a fee structure based on the number of attendees, starting at $700 for an event with at least 350 attendees and capped at $4,000 for an event with 4,000 attendees.

With the new license, hosts could serve liquor for up to three days at a maximum of six locations between 4:00 p.m. and midnight on weekdays, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. on Saturdays, and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. on Sundays. Events held at places of worship or schools would be exempt. To apply for the license, a vendor must submit certification of insurance of at least $300,000 per incident, a description of the event, a site plan, and other routine information (time, location, place, etc.). A 35 to 90 day review process is required under the ordinance.

Solis' ordinance also provides local control: the city must notify the local alderman and all property owners within 500 feet within 5 days of receiving a license application. All parties have 35 days from when the license fee is paid to file an objection. Violators could face penalties of up to $10,000.

A new incentive program for cab drivers pitched by the Mayor’s Office is up for discussion in License and Consumer Protection Committee today, as are restrictions for mobile food vendors along certain stretches in Lincoln Park and label changes for grease containers. One item noticeably missing from the agenda today: Mayor Rahm Emanuel's proposed changes to regulations for home-sharing companies likeAirbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway.

Council sources say the holdup is not entirely due to Ald. Will Burns' (4) exit from City Council to lobby for Airbnb. Many stakeholders, including aldermen and lobbyists for condo, realtors, and hospitality interest groups, think the ordinance needs tinkering. Mayor Emanuel introduced an ordinance at City Council's January meeting that would, according to a press release, allow the city to track units. Renters will have to “register their units with the city through a free and simple online process. House-sharing companies will also be able to register these units directly with the city."

Yesterday evening, after working hours, Ald. Pat O’Connor (40), chair of a working group to tweak an ordinance that would merge the Office of the Legislative Inspector General with the City's Office of the Inspector General, released an analysis of draft legislation detailing how the changes would work and what proposed new jurisdictions the IG would have. The analysis, mailed to aldermen’s private email addresses, was forwarded to Aldertrack.

[IG Working Group Ordinance Analysis]

The original merger ordinance, sponsored by Ald. Ameya Pawar (47) and Ald. Michele Smith (42) was deferred and published at the January Council meeting. Following the meeting, O’Connor announced he was chairing a working group to “clean up” the ordinance in preparation for the February full City Council meeting, when it would be forced to a simple up or down vote. The chief changes, according to the worksheet are:

• IG’s authority does not extend to reviewing, auditing or investigating waste and inefficiency in the City Council’s legislative processes and operations.


• The IG receives complaints against CC employees.


• Investigation against an alderman can be initiated only by a complaint that (1) names the alderman; (2) states the facts underlying the complaint; and (3) is signed by the person making the complaint. Any city officer or employee may sign such a complaint.


• The deferred and published IG ordinance is amended by inserting “whereas” clauses.


• The deferred and published IG ordinance is amended by removing a code section amending the OIG’s minimum budget. The minimum budget language is legislated and already included in the code.


• The deferred and published IG ordinance is amended by specifying that the IG can investigate alleged violations of Chicago Municipal Code Chapter 2-156 (the Ethics Ordinance), or any other law, order or regulation applicable to aldermen/CC employees’ performance of duties or discharge of responsibilities.


• The deferred and published IG ordinance is amended by correcting outdated effective date language.

The Council’s Finance Committee will take up a $3 million settlement today stemming from a Department of Justice lawsuit filed against the city’s Police Department over a hiring practice it no longer employs. The committee will also take up new tobacco regulations that includes a plan to change the smoking age to 21 and dozens of other routine items involving TIFs.

Police-Related Settlements

The lawsuit filed by Vanita Gupta, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Friday claims the Chicago Police Department unfairly discriminated against foreign-born police applicants because of a hiring policy requiring ten years of continuous residency in the U.S.

This requirement, according to the lawsuit, “resulted in statistically-significant adverse impact against candidates born outside the United States on the basis of their national origin.”

Of the police candidates whom CPD disqualified through this requirement, 92.2% were foreign-born candidates and only 7.8% were born in the U.S., the lawsuit argues. “CPD has not demonstrated that its use of the ten-year continuous residency requirement is job related for the PPO position and consistent with business necessity.”

The lawsuit cites two police candidates, Masood Khan from India, and Glenford Flowers from Belize, who passed the written test in 2006 but were denied a spot on the force because they didn’t pass the residency requirement.

“When reviewing the PHQs [Personal History Questionnaires] of candidates who passed on of the 2006 written examinations, CPD disqualified from further hiring consideration all candidates who had not continuously resided in the United States of ten years prior to the date of submission of the completed PHQ. CPD enforced this ten-year continuous residency requirement for all PPO applicants who took the 2006 written examination other than those who were abroad as result of military service.”

Soon after being denied a badge, the candidates filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Fund, which forwarded the complaint to the Department of Justice.

The police department eliminated the ten-year continuous residency requirement in 2011, replacing it with a five-year requirement.

The other two legal settlements on the agenda are also police-related. One lawsuit filed by Tiffany Hondras alleges police officers unfairly cuffed her and her boyfriend after pulling her boyfriend’s car over without cause. Hondras filed the lawsuit in 2013. The city seeks to settle the case for $220,000.

A second lawsuit filed by Jonathan and Jesse Hadnott, Kevin Hunt and Brandell Betts would be settled for a $200,000 payout. Jonathan Hadnott alleges Chicago police officers illegally stopped, searched, and detained him one December afternoon in 2006. After police detained Hadnott, the suit claims, police officers drove to Hunt and Betts’ home. “Defendant police officers entered and searched [home] without warrant, without permission, and without legal cause,” the lawsuit claims.

“Plaintiffs were detained against their will at the home and not allowed to leave withle defendant police officers searched the home. Defendants say they were looking for a gun.”

After the police officers failed to recover a gun at the home, they left, the suit claims.

Another police-related item will also be addressed by the committee: A resolution sponsored by four South Side aldermen calling for the city to settle a lawsuit filed by the two daughters of Bettie Jones who was accidently shot by police over the Christmas holiday. The incident occurred on the evening of December 26th, when Jones’ neighbor, Antonio LeGrier, called the police because his son Quintonio LeGrier was threatening him with a baseball bat. When the police showed up, Jones answered the door and was “accidentally struck and tragically killed.”

But Alderman Jason Ervin (28), the main sponsor of the ordinance, claims the police are at fault for failing to provide medical attention and “stopp[ing] Mrs. Jones’ daughter Latisha from administering first aid.” The shooting happened in Ervin’s ward. Aldermen Michael Scott, Jr. (24), Derrick Curtis (18) and Chris Taliaferro (29) are listed as co-sponsors.

Tobacco Tax Changes

In addition to raising the smoking age in Chicago, the Emanuel Administration wants to further regulate the price and quantity by which certain tobacco products are sold. The ordinance would impose new taxes and set a minimum price of $11.50 for a pack of cigarettes, a pack of little cigars (cigarillos), and a pouch of loose tobacco. Cigarillos would have to be sold at a minimum pack size of 20. Bigger cigars would be capped at four per pack. Expensive cigars, generally sold at specialty shops, would be exempt from these rules. The changes are expected to bring in an additional $6 million to be used to fund a universal summer orientation program for all incoming CPS freshman.

Aldermen are expected to hear supporting testimony from Joel Affrick with the Respiratory Health Association, Jameika A. Sampson with Mercy Hospital, and Dr. Timothy Sanborn, a cardiologist at NorthShore Medical Group.

Naturally, the tobacco industry opposes the added taxes and regulations and have been pushing robo-calls to a lot of South and West Side aldermen warning them the changes could lead to an underground market of loose cigarette sales, one source said.

The changes, per the Mayor’s office:

• 
  

  Setting a minimum price for the following products:

  
  
  
  
  
  • 
    

    $11.50 for a pack of cigarettes, a pack of little cigars, and a 0.65 ounce pouch of roll-your-own tobacco

    
    
  
  
  • 
    

    $4.00 for an ounce of smokeless tobacco

    
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  

  Requiring little cigars be sold at a minimum pack size of 20 and four per pack for big cigars (exempting expensive cigars)

  
  


• 
  

  Ban of free samples and discounts that put the price below the minimum

  
  


• 
  

  A tax on non-cigarette products:

  
  
  
  
  
  • 
    

    $0.15 per little cigar, raising the price of a 20-pack from $5.79 to $8.79

    
    
  
  
  • 
    

    $0.90 per cigar, raising the price of the average two-pack of cigars from $2.25 to $4.05

    
    
  
  
  • 
    

    $6.60 per ounce of roll-your-own tobacco, raising the average price of a small pouch from $7.25 to $11.54

    
    
  
  
  • 
    

    $1.80 per ounce of smokeless tobacco, raising the price of the standard 1.2 ounce can from $4.19 to $6.35

    
    
  
  
  
  

Routine Items

TIF $ for Belmont-Cragin Elementary School: The ordinance before the committee would transfer $287,000 in Tax Increment Financing, TIF, money for the construction of a new playground with rubber surfacing. “The funds would be applied to planning, design and construction costs. The work would be entirely funded by TIF,” according to a press release from the mayor’s office.

Small Business Improvement Fund Program: This ordinance would renew this program in four Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts. The Small Business Improvement Fund provides financial assistance for building improvement costs. The SBIF grant uses local TIF revenues to reimburse eligible applicants for repairs done to industrial, commercial, or residential properties located within specific TIF districts. The assistance is provided once the project is complete and does not have to be repaid. The proposal the Department of Planning and Development introduced would reallocate $500,000 each for existing SBIF programs in the Austin, Commercial, Belmont/Central, and Portage Park TIF districts and $1 million for the Northwest Industrial Corridor TIF district.

The Committee will take up an ordinance that would help with the planned expansion of Julia de Burgos Park, one of a handful of city-owned parks located along the elevated Bloomingdale Trail. Under the agreement before the committee, the Logan Square park would receive $235,000 in “Open Space Impact Fees,” which are taken from new residential developments to help expand and improve local park space. The money would help pay for environmental remediation costs at an adjacent vacant plot of land the city acquired. Once the cleanup is done, the land would be transferred to the Chicago Park District.

In this week's episode we breakdown the stalled contract negotiations between the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers' Union, accusations that Gov. Bruce Rauner tried to tank CPS' bond deal, a $1 land sale for a new charter school campus in Woodlawn, and potential changes to the city's remaining mental health clinics.

A proposal to sell 19 city-owned parcels of vacant land for $1 to the University of Chicago advanced out the Council’s Housing and Real Estate Committee yesterday. But the plan wasn’t without controversy with a handful of aldermen questioning the “fairness” of the sale.

The land, approximately 153,200-square-feet, is appraised at $755,000 (approximately $4.93 per square foot). Under a public-private partnership with the city, the University would spend $27.5 million to build a new three-story charter school and athletic field.

The new school building will serve the university's existing Woodlawn Charter School (UCCS-Woodlawn), which has an enrollment of about 650 students in grades six through twelve. UCCS-Woodlawn, run by the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute, is currently leasing space from CPS at the old Woodworth Elementary school.

The sale got significant pushback from Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10), the only alderman on the Council who is also a member of Chicago Teachers Union (CTU).

“I have a big problem with this because this is a charter school network. We all know what is happening with CPS. We’re going to give a charter school network 19 parcels for a dollar when CPS is broke makes no sense to me, ”she said, pressing officials from CPS, the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) and the University of Chicago to explain the price.

The university made a bid to CPS in the summer of 2014 to purchase the Woodworth Elementary School building, according to Liza Balistreri, Director of Real Estate for the Board of Education. The board rejected their offer because the university’s $100,000 bid fell far short of Woodworth’s appraised value, which was somewhere between $2 and 2.6 million.

But since the university had planned to spend millions on rehabbing that school–almost as much as they planned to spend on a new campus–the city worked out a “public-private partnership” with university to sell the adjacent vacant land so they could instead build a new school, according to Michelle Nolan, a project manager for DPD.

Garza was unimpressed. “I don’t have a problem with new schools. I have a problem with new charter schools.”

“When these schools are built, the neighborhood schools lose their kids and then CPS comes in, says they’re underutilized, and then they close them and give them to more charters,” she added.

Ald. Willie Cochran (20), whose South Side ward would benefit from the new campus, defended the project, touting UCCS-Woodlawn’s graduation and college acceptance rates, which he said are the second highest in the city. The network has a $40 million yearly budget. “This school has been doing a tremendous amount of work in improving education… $755,000 is worth the investment in my children, in my community.”

Sean Evans, CEO of the university's charter school network, reminded aldermen that this land sale isn’t considered “charter school expansion,” because their school has been around since 2006. “We want to serve students on the South Side,” Evans explained, adding that all four of the network’s schools are located there. He says 99% of their student population is African American and 82% qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Committee Vice Chair Pat Dowell (3) asked Evans to detail investments the university has made in the city, which he eagerly obliged. The Urban Education Institute has an annual budget of about $40 million, where it spends money on the charter schools, it runs a consortium that provides data and research for all public schools in the city, teacher training programs, and IMPACT, he said.

Ald. Michael Scott, Jr. (24) praised one of the school’s recent graduates, whom he said he had the “pleasure of meeting” recently. And Ald. Cochran again reminded his colleagues that this school is what his community wants.

Still, there was reluctance.

“A number of us feel charters benefit from incentives, that’s an argument for a whole other day,” Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) noted. “I don’t think that I would consider U of C to be a cash-strapped non-for-profit institute. I would have just hoped that we would have been able to negotiate a better deal,” he said pointing to the rest of the agenda where land sales were priced in the thousands of dollars.

Englewood Alderman David Moore (17) wasn’t thrilled that the new school would increase its capacity by 100 students, saying, “So, you are pulling students from all of our communities.”

When it was eventually time to vote on the item, Moore and Garza (10) voted no.

Mt. Sinai Land Transfer

Another one dollar land sale advanced through committee with a lot less pushback: a proposal to sell 12 parcels in North Lawndale to Mt. Sinai Health System. The hospital would rehab the existing 7,800-square-foot, one-story building, an old Boys & Girls Club, into a child development center with eight classrooms, administrative offices, and an outdoor playground. The building has been vacant since 2007 and construction would cost $3.5 million.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the price tag,” said Ald. Lopez said.“I would like to see us do a little better, especially when we have to go back to our constituents and tell them that we did everything we could.”

Chairman Joe Moore (49) asked local alderman Michael Scott, Jr. (24) to defend the price tag.

Scott said Mt. Sinai is the neighborhood’s biggest employer and the investment they’ve put in the community goes a long way. Sarah Wilson with DPD said the city had problems securing a tenant for the property.

The facility will serve as the new home for the existing Gads Hill Center, a family resource provider that’s served low-income residents on the city’s southwest side since the late 1800s.

CTA Lease Renewal

One item on the agenda was held: an ordinance authorizing a lease renewal with the Chicago Transit Authority for use of vacant city-owned property at 5975 N. Pulaski Rd. in the 39th Ward, at the request of local Ald. Marge Laurino. At the last housing meeting, she expressed concern that CTA bus drivers were using the lot as a bathroom stop (the bus drivers put a porta potty there) and she was working on getting them to find another place to do their business.

The Chicago Board of Elections says while yesterday was the statutory start date for early voting, because the board has yet to complete testing 1,000 different ballot styles in four different languages, balloting systems likely won’t be ready until Feb 17. You can check the status here. A Board statement said some pending statewide objections just wrapped this week.

Anyone who arrives early at the Chicago Election Board to vote early will get an application to Vote by Mail–you can save a trip by applying for a ballot online (deadline is March 10).

Per the board, when in-person early voting starts, the program will be offered:

• 
  

  Through Feb. 28 only at the Chicago Election Board at 69 W. Washington St.

  
  


• 
  

  From Feb. 29 through March 12, at 51 sites throughout the city.

  
  


• On March 13 and March 14, at 14 “permanent” early voting sites.

Ald. Pat O’Connor (40), Chairman of the City Council’s Workforce Development Committee, sent out an email to aldermen yesterday reminding them that he plans to discharge an ordinance from his committee that would eliminate the Legislative Inspector General’s office and put the authority of policing aldermen under the jurisdiction of the City’s Inspector General, Joe Ferguson.

That ordinance, sponsored by Ald. Michele Smith (43) and Ald. Ameya Pawar (47), was deferred and published at last month’s city council meeting at the request of two powerful aldermen: Finance Chairman Ed Burke (14) and Budget Chairman Carrie Austin (34). After that meeting, Ald. Austin told Aldertrack she wanted to clean up the language of the ordinance and add a provision requiring signed affidavits for all complaints. “If you gonna tell on me, how come you don’t want to swear to it?” she had asked rhetorically.

The email Ald. O’Connor sent is a procedural Rule 41 reminder that the full Council meeting will have to vote on the matter at the City Council meeting scheduled for next Wednesday.

A working group of six aldermen created at the January City Council meeting to “clean up” the ordinance has met twice since then, said one member, Ald. Joe Moore (49).

Another member, Ald. Pawar, tells Aldertrack he and his colleagues are, “still working things through… people are still trying to figure out whether there are any tweaks,” but couldn’t offer up specific changes that have been proposed.

Ald. Moore stayed similarly tight-lipped, “We’re still working on stuff. Still working on some language.”

“There’s going to be a vote. That much we know,” Pawar said.

Ald. Will Burns (4), who sponsored, but raised concerns about the ordinance, and two Progressive Caucus members and supporters: Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6), and Ald. Rick Munoz (22), are also part of the working group.

Before last month’s vote, Ald. Burns (4) suggested he’d like to see more protections from political attacks. "Sometimes when you tell people ‘no’ and you make difficult decisions over land use, over TIF funding, over public subsidies, CDBG, whether someone can purchase a vacant lot, you could anger those people and they could file complaints and use, or abuse, unfortunately, the ethics process to harass and to seek retaliation."

He suggested formation of a special City Council committee, similar to the State Legislature’s bicameral Legislative Ethics Commission, to “have some sort of oversight over whether or not the Inspector General conducts an investigation… as a check or protection against what can be fairly sweeping powers.” He said he worried that it would be politically difficult to change provisions of the ordinance in the future without it looking like aldermen were “watering it down.”