There won’t be any Council action this month on two competing plans to regulate room-sharing businesses like Airbnb in Chicago. The Council’s License Committee released its agenda for next week’s meeting, noting both plans will be immediately referred to a joint License and Housing committee meeting. The time and date of that meeting is still unknown, a legislative aide for the License Committee told Aldertrack.

In January, Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced an ordinance  on behalf of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection that would regulate the industry and bring in an estimated $1 million in revenue.

The money would come from a 2% surcharge on the booking of any shared-housing unit, bed-and-breakfast or vacation rental. Hosts and house-sharing companies would be required to register their units with the city. Units that are rented out more than 90 nights a year would be required to register as a licensed bed-and-breakfast or vacation rental. Liability insurance would be required for all rental units. Airbnb, VRBO, and other companies that facilitate transactions between hosts and renters would have to receive a new “short-term residential intermediary license.”

“This new license will require the companies to provide the city with the information and data it needs to effectively monitor and regulate this new license type and compliance with city ordinance,” according to the Mayor’s Office. Revenue generated from the proposal would be used toward initiatives to “promote affordable housing, with a focus on reducing homelessness among families with children.” North Side Aldermen Ameya Pawar (47) and Joe Moore (49), who also chairs the Council’s Housing Committee, are co-sponsors.

The following month, Aldermen Anthony Napolitano (41), Pat O’Connor (40) and Marge Laurino (39) co-sponsored a similar ordinance, but aimed at restricting rentals in single family homes. Their plan includes the 2% surcharge on roomshare stays that would go toward affordable housing initiatives the Mayor’s ordinance has, in addition to proposing a ban on renting out apartments in multiple transactions for overlapping periods, or renting less than the whole space during a single transaction.

The Cook County Assessor’s office decided to weigh in on the fight between incumbent 12th Ward Democratic Committeeman Tony Muñoz and challenger George Cardenas. Yesterday we reported a flyer Muñoz’s campaign has been passing out promoting a property tax rebate seminar by the Assessor’s office at the same location and time as early voting, the McKinley Park Field House. It’s not a surprise that Cardenas’ campaign isn’t too happy about the arrangement.

State Sen. Munoz, “is guilty of [voter fraud] for handing out tax rebates at the polling place,” Cardenas campaign manager and 15th Ward Ald. Raymond Lopez told Aldertrack Tuesday.

Following our report, Cook County Assessor spokesman Tom Shaer contacted Aldertrack to ensure their office was not involved in any shenanigans.

“Senator Muñoz went through my department by phone weeks ago (approximately February 12th) and requested we answer the many questions his constituents have re: property taxes,” said Shaer in an email.

“It was my personal decision to use McKinley Field House,” Shaer added. “However, we require input from officials. My coordinator definitely talked to Senator Muñoz’s office about what location would work, and I usually go with whatever facility we’ve used in the past.” Shaer said they’ve held multiple events at McKinley in the past, and he was totally unaware of when early voting began when the event was scheduled.

Also: Recognize the name Tom Shaer? He’s the Channel 5 sportscaster you remember from the 1990’s. He left NBC5 in 1999 and broadcasting in 2009.

The Emanuel Administration is borrowing $220 million to prove the city has the money to pay the rest of its statutorily required FY2015 payment to Police and Fire pension funds, due by the end of this year.

The move, detailed in a letter Chief Financial Officer Carole Brown sent to aldermen this week, is in response to a lack of action in Springfield on the Mayor’s pension fund reform bill, SB 777, which would have decreased the annual payments the city is required to make to its police and fire pension funds.

Under current state law, the city’s Police and Fire pension plans must achieve a 90% funded ratio by the end of 2040. The Police Fund is only 26% funded with a $11.73 billion unfunded pension liability, and the Firemen’s Fund is only 23% funded with a $4.513 billion unfunded liability. The Mayor’s proposed legislation in Springfield would reduce payments through 2020 and push the 90% funding requirement to 2055.

But when the City Council approved the 2016 budget last year, it based its payment schedule on that reform bill, not current state law. The city only budgeted $619M for the FY2015 Police and Fire pension payment, but, under current law, is required to pay $839M, a difference of $220M.

Because SB 777 has yet to be signed by the Governor, state law requires the city deposit the difference with the city Treasurer to demonstrate it can make the full payment, Brown explained to aldermen.“To meet this requirement, the City is utilizing a short-term funding bridge. This short-term funding bridge will be terminated by the City when Governor Rauner signs SB 777.”

That “short-term funding bridge,” is a short-term line of credit, similar to the money the city uses for cashflow purposes to supplement the cost of city services until property tax receipts are dispersed, the city’s budget office told Aldertrack.

The money will be placed into an “agency fund” controlled by Treasurer Kurt Summers. He, in turn, will invest the funds, and use the earned income to offset the cost of borrowing the money, the city’s budget office said.

If SB 777 passes, the city would return the money to the bank and pay a nominal interest rate. But if SB 777 fails, the city would have to give that money to the pension funds and pay back the entire cost of borrowing the money.

City officials remain confident that SB 777 will pass. For them it’s a matter of when, not if. But Gov. Bruce Rauner has said that he’d only agree to it if it’s part of a larger structural reform package that includes aspects of his Turnaround Agenda.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle used her post-Board of Commissioners press conference Wednesday to again blast Gov. Bruce Rauner for a stalled budget and announced she’s asked departments to institute holdbacks for personnel and spending. She says some of the state’s Medicaid payments to the County’s hospitals are lagging by $100 million.

“Bureaus, departments and elected officials must trim their spending on personnel by an additional half a percent, and non-personnel items by three percent,” Preckwinkle told reporters. “These measures will not fully plug the gap created for us by Springfield. It will not pay for the expenses we incur every day enforcing child support for tens of thousands of Cook County minors. We continue to assess our options on that issue, including all possible legal remedies.”

The cutbacks would run from March 15 through November 30, the end of the fiscal year.

The Cook County Board last month passed a resolution from Comm. Larry Suffredin asking the State’s Attorney to look into ways the County could recoup that money. The resolution calls for the SA’s office to “review and research all existing court orders and consent decrees related to the 2016 Proposed State of Illinois Budget to determine if either they cover payments to Cook County or could be amended to cover payments to Cook County. Further, the Cook County State’s Attorney should research any new cause of action that would cause a Federal or State Court to order payment owed to Cook County.”

Preckwinkle says the state is more than $100M behind on some Medicaid payments owed to the Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS). “As a result of the failure of the state to pay its bills timely, [CCHHS is] running monthly deficits, and we’re going to have to take corrective action,” Preckwinkle said.

At a regular briefing during the Board of Commissioners meeting, CCHHS Chief Financial Officer Doug Elwell said the system was operating within “a fair amount of red ink as we continue to work through issues,” with enrollment in Cook County’s managed care Medicaid program, CountyCare. But Elwell anticipated the system would recover by the end of the fiscal year, as it had in 2014 and 2015. He said he’s getting advice from County CFO Ivan Samstein, and that the system is in negotiations with the state. “The state owes us $138 million,” Elwell said, though he characterized $68 million as a “normal lag.”

“We are now holding $31 million of their money and trying to negotiate with them to expedite the rest of the payments.”

Commissioners worried the delayed payments might impact CCHHS’ plans for new capital projects (including replacement of the outdated Fantus Clinic and CCHHS administrative offices), especially in light of lower-than-planned revenues from CountyCare and recent announcements of some possible competition: expansions at Rush University and the University of Chicago.

Elwell said the system is in talks with both Rush and U of C to ensure services wouldn’t be duplicative, and he’s confident issues with CountyCare will be worked out. “We just need to get our physicians to more often refer inside our system.” When asked, Preckwinkle didn’t express concern about CountyCare numbers at yesterday’s press conference.

Comm. Bridget Gainer asked that CCHHS brief the Finance Committee on enrollment in CountyCare and reimbursements to the system. “Those are troubling things. I want to make sure that before we make this enormous capital investment that we understand how people are using our system,” she said. Finance Chair John Daley agreed, and said he’d like an update on the impact of projects from Rush and U. of C.     

Other Items from the Cook County Board of Commissioners

Held:

• Litigation is still pending on Otero v. Thomas Dart, et al. The Litigation Subcommittee took up discussion of the case, which was slated to go to trial later this month. The two sides are instead pursuing a settlement. In 2011, Brian Otero was being held on Cook County Jail on a burglary charge, but was acquitted. Instead of going home, he was sent back to jail, told to put back on his uniform, and moved cell to cell for processing. He says when others found out he’d be going home, he was beaten, suffering torn ligaments in his hands and bruises on his face. Otero was released nine hours after his acquittal and is now lead in a class action lawsuit against the county for their post-acquittal detention policy. Commissioners requested monthly updates from the State’s Attorney’s office on the status of the settlement. A settlement on a similar issue in Los Angeles more than a decade ago cost taxpayers there $27 million, NBC Chicago reports.

Approved:

• A resolution from Comm. Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia urging Mondelez, the parent company of Nabisco, to continue its relationship with the South Side of Chicago, passed the board Wednesday. Garcia says 600 manufacturing jobs at the facility are “up in the air,” and the resolution “is simply imploring Mondelez and Nabisco to sit and continue to dialogue with affected workers, many of them residents of Chicago’s South and Southwest sides and suburban communities.” Comm. Richard Boykin, citing tax incentives Nabisco has received “reaching upwards of ninety million dollars” as well as an extended enterprise zone and $29 million in tax breaks over ten years, called for tougher legislation, or possibly penalties, for companies that leave the county after receiving tax breaks.

• Commissioners voted for a resolution calling for the U.S. Congress to pass the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act, which “would help disabled and older Americans live at home” by offering more resources and options to the estimated 40 million unpaid family caregivers in the country.

• A nearly $700,000 contract to Catalyst Consulting Group to make further improvements to applications on County Clerk David Orr’s website also passed the full Board of Commissioners. Catalyst has run the Clerk’s website since 2009, and developed 20 applications, according to the contract.

• An amendment to the County Code allowing licensed firearm instructors with current registration from the state to use replica guns for education, instruction, and training on firearm safety within a business or classroom setting also passed the full Board. Comm. Gregg Goslin introduced a substitute that corrected County Code language in committee Wednesday morning. “A couple items were left off,” Goslin said, the replica gun used as cell phone holder ordinance and a section on toy guns commissioners already approved last October. A similar ordinance in Chicago City Council was passed the month prior.

Introduced:

• An ordinance from Comm. Larry Suffredin that would create inspectors general for all municipalities and specialty districts, including Cemetery Associations; Drainage, Mosquito Abatement, River Conservancy, Sanitary, and Street Lighting Districts; and Water Commissions, was referred to committee yesterday. Comm. Jeffrey Tobolski requested the State’s Attorney verify whether the program is constitutional or enforceable, “before we spend taxpayer money.”

• Suffredin also introduced a pharmaceutical disposal ordinance aimed at protecting the County’s waterways from “improperly disposed of prescription drugs passing through [the County’s] wastewater and treatment centers.” The ordinance cites Alameda County’s Safe Drug ordinance, which was passed and amended in 2012. The ordinance would establish a stewardship plan for the collection, transportation and disposal of covered pharmaceutical drugs. The program would be managed by the Cook County Sheriff’s Department. It was referred to the Legislation and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee.

• The so-called ‘tampon tax’ has made its way to the Cook County Board, after also being introduced at the City Council. Commissioners Richard Boykin and Deborah Sims introduced an ordinance that would exempt feminine hygiene products from the Cook County Retailers’ Occupation Tax. “Feminine products, like many medicines, are a necessity and not a luxury. Given this fact, these products should not be over taxed,” Commissioner Sims said in a release. Feminine products are currently taxed at the rate of any common product in Chicago: 10.25 percent. The proposal has been referred to the Finance Committee.

The Chicago Board of Elections reports the following:

UNOFFICIAL Early Voting - Day by Day - Citywide data thru 6 pm, March 2, 2016

190	Feb 17	1 site
194	Feb 18	1 site
194	Feb 19	1 site
48	Feb 20	1 site
36	Feb 21	1 site
192	Feb 22	1 site
192	Feb 23	1 site
159	Feb 24	1 site
173	Feb 25	1 site
198	Feb 26	1 site
114	Feb 27	1 site
65	Feb 28	1 site
9,330	Feb 29	51 sites
6,018	Mar 1	51 sites
6,603	Mar 2	51 sites
	Mar 3	51 sites
	Mar 4	51 sites
	Mar 5	51 sites
	Mar 6	14 sites
	Mar 7	51 sites
	Mar 8	51 sites
	Mar 9	51 sites
	Mar 10	51 sites
	Mar 11	51 sites
	Mar 12	51 sites
	Mar 13	14 sites
	Mar 14	14 sites
23,706	Unofficial Total

UNOFFICIAL Cumulative: Feb. 17, 2016 thru 6:00 pm, March 2, 2016
Ward ......Early Voting Ballots

1	384
2	418
3	732
4	696
5	570
6	544
7	701
8	652
9	695
10	438
11	640
12	247
13	1,532
14	232
15	138
16	267
17	476
18	680
19	1,047
20	325
21	641
22	171
23	588
24	250
25	275
26	235
27	380
28	315
29	489
30	192
31	188
32	320
33	316
34	853
35	185
36	228
37	408
38	472
39	477
40	409
41	767
42	471
43	535
44	444
45	451
46	379
47	506
48	557
49	397
50	393
	23,706

The 12th Ward Democratic Committeemen campaign got hotter today, as the Muñoz and Cardenas campaigns lobbed charges of vote buying at one another while allies of one campaign launched an attack website.

Cook County was set to go to trial over a class action lawsuit brought against Sheriff Tom Dart and the County over the County Jail’s policy of bringing detainees who have been acquitted back to jail during processing. Last month, Cook County Commissioners voted, essentially, to take the case to trial. But that trial’s been put on hold, a staffer in Litigation Subcommittee Chair Peter Silvestri’s office said. “The judge struck the trial date in hopes that they’ll settle.”

The case is Otero v. Thomas Dart et. al. In 2011, Brian Otero was being held on Cook County Jail on a burglary charge, but was acquitted. Instead of going home, he was sent back to jail, told to put back on his uniform, and moved cell to cell for processing. He says when others found out he’d be going home, he was beaten, suffering torn ligaments in his hands and bruises on his face. Otero was released nine hours after his acquittal.

According to CBS Chicago, there are 60,000 others found not guilty or had charges dismissed or dropped, but still had to wait up to 30 hours for their release. Otero sued for unlawful detention in 2012, saying the County violated of the Civil Rights Act. The suit demanded a trial by jury. Otero and others are being represented by Myron M. Cherry & Associates, LLC, The Law Firm of Peter L. Currie, PC, Chavez Law Firm, P.C., and Foote Meyers Mielke & Flowers, LLC.

In a closed committee session on February 9th, Commissioners voted unanimously not to seek a settlement, Litigation Chair Peter Silvestri told Aldertrack, but, “there’s been new developments, so the State’s Attorney’s Office wants to update us.” The Litigation Subcommittee regularly moves into executive session during discussion of cases, then reconvenes publicly for a vote.

A settlement on a similar issue in Los Angeles more than a decade ago cost taxpayers there $27 million, NBC Chicago reports. Otero’s attorney, Mike Cherry (of Myron M. Cherry & Associates), told WBEZ in 2013 he hoped this case would be expensive enough to force Cook County to update what has been criticized as a “bureaucratic disaster of disappearing files and dinosaur age technology” - namely, the County Court System’s reliance on carbon copies of files that can slow down processing for acquittals, among other essential court functions.

Other Issues Up in Committee Today

Commissioners might get a broad view of the cost of compliance with the Shakman Decree today. Last month, Comm. Deborah Sims noted the “astronomical amounts” the county is paying for compliance at departments like the Recorder of Deeds and Assessor. “This is really ridiculous what we’re doing,” she said.

“For last three years we’ve been told this is coming to a conclusion,” Comm. Joan Patricia Murphy complained at the time. Comm. Silvestri noted that the Sheriff’s Office had come into compliance, and asked that Don Pechous with the State’s Attorney’s Office put together a list of the total number of cases and dollar amounts that the County has paid out over time for the next Subcommittee meeting.

“We can do that,” Pechous said.

Cook County’s Finance Committee will be voting to approve roughly $125,000 to pay for costs and fees of administrators who oversee compliance with Shakman Decrees at the County, Recorder of Deeds, Assessor, and Democratic Organization of Cook County today. Those recurring fees have added up. Each agenda item authorizing the payment includes a “paid to date” number. For the Recorder of Deeds’ Compliance Administrator, the total is $1.46 million. In the case of Shakman v. Democratic Organization of Cook County, et al., the County has so far paid out $7.83 million.

Commissioners will also vote on a resolution calling for the U.S. Congress to pass the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act, which “would help disabled and older Americans live at home” by offering more resources and options to unpaid family caregivers. AARP estimates 40 million Americans serve as family caregivers, worth an estimated $470 billion a year.

The Criminal Justice Committee will take up an ordinance amending the County Code allowing licensed firearm instructors with current registration from the state to use replica guns for education, instruction, and training on firearm safety within a business or classroom setting.

The full Board of Commissioners will meet today to vote on some of the above items and things we previewed yesterday. Here are some highlights from the consent calendar:

• 16-1895 (Comm. Larry Suffredin) - This amendment would allow applicants for property tax breaks to receive multiple breaks for the same piece of property.

• 16-1896 (Comm. Larry Suffredin) - By January 1, 2017, all municipalities and specialty districts would have to create Offices of Inspectors General. Specialty districts include Cemetery Associations; Drainage, Mosquito Abatement, River Conservancy, Sanitary, and Street Lighting Districts; and Water Commissions.

• 16-1898 (Comm. Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia) - This resolution urges Mondelez, the parent company of Nabisco, to continue its relationship with the South Side of Chicago. The company plans to move 600 manufacturing jobs to Mexico.

• 16-0907, 16-1742, 16-1743 (Pres. Toni Preckwinkle) - Collective Bargaining Agreements between the county and the House Staff Association of Cook County, The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 399, and AFSCME Council 31.

Cook County Commissioners and officials from the Medical Examiner’s office gathered to announce the office achieved full National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) accreditation, what Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Stephen Cina called “the big prize”, years after the office was mired in scandal.  

Board President Toni Preckwinkle appointed Cina to the ME’s post in July 2012 to replace Dr. Nancy Jones, who announced her retirement after a series of bad headlines describing bodies piled up in the morgue’s coolers and poor administrative control. Preckwinkle brought Cina on during an overhaul of the department that included the firing of four, the disciplining of eight, and a new Executive Director, Daryl Jackson. She entrusted Cina with “reshap[ing] the Medical Examiner’s Office into a model facility.”

According to the Tribune, Cina approached the County, saying he was interested in righting the ship. He was previously associate medical director and chief administrative officer of the University of Miami’s Tissue Bank, Medical Examiner for Broward County, and well-versed in the politics of the job, telling commissioners at his confirmation, “Florida politics is not trivial, so I have been exposed to that… Cook County is legendary." After that staffing sweep, Comm. John Fritchey warned that turning around the ME’s office would fall squarely on President Preckwinkle’s shoulders.

Cina got a roughly $70k pay bump, an extended, five-year appointment, and a promise he could fill five vacancies and add three more medical positions. At the time, he was one of the highest paid ME’s in the country, making $300,000 a year.

He made staffing a priority at the outset, and thanked Preckwinkle and commissioners Tuesday for dedicating resources to turning around the office. The County has ramped up its spending on the morgue since Cina’s appointment, from $6.8 million in FY12 to about $11 million planned in FY16. In that time, commissioners have approved fee hikes for services like storage and cremation at the morgue. Spending has gone toward the beefed up staffing Cina called for, renovated “state-of-the-art coolers” ($1.4 million) and a “cutting-edge, cloud-based case management system” for tracking decedents ($900,000).

Other improvements include emergency preparedness, rehabbed policies and procedures, and increased staffing capabilities to handle more death scenes and process multiple shooting victims. “If a [shooting victim] hits the doors by 6 am, the family can claim that decedent by the end of the day,” Cina told reporters.

When he entered the office, Cina said, it had 27 deficiencies under the NAME requirements, but he won’t allow the office to lose the title under his watch.

The morgue will be up for review annually each January. Aside from prestige, the NAME-certified designation means more open doors for grant and fellowship money.

The 13th Ward continued on a tear yesterday, with 21% of all early votes submitted in the city so far. 5,972 early votes have been submitted across the city since ballots were first accepted on February 17, with 1,267 in the 13th. 
Also, a correction from the Board of Elections, The 11,003 total reported yesterday was actually the cumulative ballots cast since Feb. 17, not the one-day total for Feb. 29. The one-day total for Feb. 29 was 9,279.

Early Voting - Unofficial Ballots Cast by Ward - Feb. 17 through March 1
As of 5:47 p.m., March 1, 2016

Ward	Ballots
1	260
2	312
3	548
4	525
5	443
6	382
7	496
8	462
9	483
10	297
11	457
12	177
13	1267
14	165
15	85
16	131
17	326
18	471
19	723
20	235
21	434
22	128
23	413
24	168
25	210
26	163
27	293
28	232
29	341
30	137
31	148
32	223
33	220
34	589
35	143
36	172
37	267
38	348
39	333
40	279
41	537
42	356
43	402
44	339
45	325
46	280
47	385
48	359
49	269
50	269

 

In an attempt to dismiss claims that Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposal to increase taxes on tobacco products is a regressive policy that would hurt small businesses and fuel black market sales of loose cigarettes, particularly in communities of color, a coalition of African American doctors and religious leaders assembled at a South Side hospital yesterday to counter that African American communities would reap the most benefits.

“African Americans are bearing the brunt of big tobacco’s relentless marketing and our community must take a stand for the health of our young people, ” said Dr. Javette Orgain with the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians. “I’m disappointed when business owners and aldermen say that selling tobacco is good business, and therefore good for their ward. I say no, we should not take pride in building an economy including products that are addictive and harmful.”

Yesterday’s press conference at Mercy Hospital in Bronzeville was the latest salvo in the ongoing debate over the Mayor’s plan to raise the city’s smoking age to 21, impose new taxes on tobacco products like cigars, cigarillos, and chewing tobacco, as well as prohibit the use of coupons or promotional sales of tobacco.  

It was an effort by proponents to squash claims by business interests and aldermen who say the Mayor’s plan is about imposing burdensome taxes, not public health. That message got lost at a day long City Council committee meeting held last month, where all anyone wanted to talk about was the unencumbered and lucrative sale of loose cigarettes. Yesterday, proponents took the public health angle a step further, framing it as an issue that specifically impacts black youths more than any other group.

“Our youth actually deserve good health, and they deserve to be free of addictive substances….substances that will indeed kill them,” urged Rev. Dr. B. Herbert Martin, pastor of Progressive Community Church in Bronzeville, as he characterized the fight to curb smoking among youths a “moral imperative,” not a political or socio-economic issue.

“Everywhere I go I turn on the radio and I hear [reports] of who died the night before, who was murdered, either at the hands, sometimes of the police, unfortunately, or other African American men. But that pales in comparison to the number of African Americans who die every year from tobacco related diseases,” said Carol McGruder, co-chair of the African American Leadership Council. According to statistics provided by the council, in Chicago, African Americans’ rate of death from stroke is 61% higher than whites, and their rate of death from heart disease is 23% higher.

Leadership Council members argued that fighting “Big Tobacco” in predominantly lower-income, minority communities is on par with addressing other social justice and economic issues.

“We have to deal with these things, we have to multi-task, we can't wait and deal with police brutality… we can’t wait to deal with the blight… and say one day say we’re going to deal with tobacco. We have to deal with those things at the same time, because that is our number one killer,” McGruder added, saying premature deaths of parents and grandparents who were lifelong smokers are detrimental to establishing stable homes in minority communities.

McGruder also made a point to address the issue of loosies. Invoking Eric Garner, who suffocated to death when a New York City Police officer attempted to restrain and handcuff him for illegally selling loose cigarettes on Staten Island, McGruder said, “We were all appalled… but that’s a symptom of a problem, not the cause of a problem, and there are many cases of men being killed by the police.”

Pushing the argument that this ordinance is geared specifically toward curing youth smoking, Dr. Orgain ended the event to respond to a common refrain used by opponents who say that higher prices won’t curb sales because smokers can buy cheaper products in the suburbs or Indiana.

“It’s not typical for youth to cross the borders to [buy] tobacco products. Mostly adults. So our target, particularly as we speak today, are youths. And so if we can stop that, in regards to our legislation, I think we’ll do a good job.”

A coalition of African American leaders who support Mayor Emanuel’s plan to raise the city’s smoking age to 21 and increase taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco related products is holding a press event at 10 a.m. this morning at Mercy Hospital.

The so-called Tobacco Control Leadership Council includes: Dr. Javette Orgain (Illinois Academy of Family Physicians), Dr. Phoenix Alicia Matthews (University of Illinois-Chicago) Rev. Dr. B. Herbert Martin, Sr. (Progressive Community Church). The American Cancer Society Action Network, Mercy Hospital, and Trinity Health System are also part of the coalition.

The choice to hold the event at a hospital on the city’s South Side is likely in response to the fact that most of the opposition to the tax is from South and West Side aldermen who argue it would fuel the underground market of tobacco sales and eat into profit margins for locally-owned shops and gas stations that rely on tobacco sales to bring in customers.

This is the second press conference related to the mayor’s controversial tobacco plan since alderman blocked a vote on it last month. Last week, a group of business industry lobbyists, small business owners, and aldermen opposed to the Mayor’s tobacco plan held a press conference at City Hall to reaffirm their concerns.

The Chicago Board of Elections reports a new record for the first day of early voting with 11,032 votes cast. One especially big turnout: 1,003 votes in the 13th Ward, where Democratic Ward Committeeman and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is rallying forces to combat primary challenger Jason Gonzalez.

The Board of Elections has also provided this history of early vote turnout. Below are unofficial ward-by-ward turnout numbers for yesterday as reported by the Board of Elections.

Unofficial Ward-by-Ward Early Voting for Feb. 29, 2016

1	162
2	226
3	386
4	391
5	273
6	239
7	313
8	319
9	284
10	172
11	293
12	115
13	1,003
14	97
15	51
16	76
17	202
18	274
19	419
20	156
21	258
22	80
23	241
24	104
25	157
26	112
27	201
28	162
29	227
30	83
31	98
32	132
33	133
34	356
35	82
36	106
37	153
38	216
39	218
40	181
41	333
42	275
43	296
44	224
45	200
46	177
47	226
48	216
49	159
50	180
	11,037

The Cook County Board’s Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee meets today to vote on several appointments to the Board of Ethics, the Cook County Department of Human Rights and the Cook County Justice Advisory Council, including Chief of the Bureau of Human Resources.

Board President Toni Preckwinkle appointed Velisha Haddox to Chief of the Bureau of Human Resources. She is currently listed as Bureau Chief on the County’s website. Haddox previously worked as Associate and General Counsel in Gov. Pat Quinn’sadministration from 2010 to 2013, where she managed legal issues for the Departments of Labor, Children and Family Services, Corrections, Human Rights, and several others. She also reportedly helped overhaul State’s Worker’s Compensation Act. She also serves on the Board of Directors for South Central Community Services, and has worked at various law firms in Chicago and Philadelphia.

Board of Ethics:

• David Grossman - Founder and CEO of The Grossman Group, a communications consultancy

• Professor Juliet Sorensen - Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Northwestern’s Center for International Human Rights

• Thomas Szromba - Principal Senior Counsel, Litigation at The Boeing Company

Cook County Commission on Human Rights:

• Gia Orr - Director of Community Rights, Relationships and Resources, Chief Results Officer and EEO/AA Officer, State of Illinois

• Amber Smock - Director of Advocacy, Access Living

Cook County Justice Advisory Council:

• Edith Crigler - Associate Executive Director at Chicago Area Project

• Lisa Stephens - Chief Operating Officer, Institute for Nonviolence Chicago

• Dia Weil - former President and Chief Operating Officer of Mercantec, Inc.

The Labor Committee will also meet to vote on a collective bargaining agreementbetween the County and the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) representing Deputy Sheriffs in the Cook County Sheriff’s office with a term from December 1, 2012 through November 30, 2017.

And the Workforce, Housing & Community Development Committee will vote on the allocation of four Community Development Block Grant loans totaling $9 million. Loans will cover partial costs of the following projects. The first three are qualified as “Disaster Recovery”:

• $1.3 million to BEDS Plus Care of LaGrange, Illinois for new construction of 20-units of permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless.  

• $2 million to the Hines Veterans Residences Limited Partnership for new construction of a 52-unit multi-family rental housing project in Hines, Illinois.

• $3.2 million to Ford Heights Cooperative, Inc. to support renovation and flood mitigation of a 100-unit single-family rental cooperative housing project in Ford Heights.

• $2.5 million to Related Affordable, Inc. This project loan will be utilized to support HOME-eligible project costs incurred during the rehabilitation of a 145-unit multi-family rental housing project in Park Forest, IL.

Ald. Will Burns (4) sent his resignation to City Clerk Susana Mendoza yesterday, dated Feb 10, putting an end to his time on City Council with a couple sentences: “I am writing you to tender my resignation from the Chicago City Council effective February 29, 2016. It has been my great honor and privilege to serve the people of the Fourth Ward and the City of Chicago.” Burns’ new job as senior advisor and director of Midwest policy at Airbnb starts today.

Rather than preserve his account for posterity, or re-direct followers, Burns simply deleted his @Ald4_WillBurns Twitter account. His Facebook page is still active, but his most recent posts are auto-shares of his newsletter, the latest of which has a simple copy and paste of a press release from the Mayor’s office detailing how his replacement will be found. No personal note. Burns' final appearance as alderman in the Council Chambers was before the Zoning Committee last week, to advocate for a new billboard that seven residents signed up to oppose.

His only formal press statement announcing his departure was on February 1st, a paragraph outlining some of his legislative accomplishments: new housing, retail, improved infrastructure, job creation, a higher minimum wage, and making neighborhoods the mid-South Side and South Loop safe and walkable. It ended, “I can look back at the last five years and see the change that we have created together, and I believe that our momentum will continue in the future.”

Few believe this marks Burns’ permanent exit from elected office, and several alluded to that fact during his official goodbye at the full City Council meeting last month, which was overshadowed by a debate over changes made to an Inspector General oversight ordinance and President Obama’s visit to Springfield. “You will come back to public life because it’s part of your calling,” Mayor Emanuel told him.

While many aldermen were surprised at the timing of Burns’ announcement, a few said privately that Burns didn’t have much of a taste for the job. During their goodbyes, some aldermen joked that they often disagreed with him, but knew they’d see him in 366 days, referring to the city’s revolving door restrictions.

“I think you’re going to be a millionaire,” Ald. Pat Dowell (3), Burns’ neighbor said, to laughs, “Don’t forget your friends.”

“It’s not over,” Ald. Walter Burnett (27) said of Burns’ political career during his goodbye on the council floor. “Will and I spar sometimes in the boxing ring. Will can take a punch and Will can give a punch… He never gives up, he bobs and weaves, and he makes things happen. I look forward to sparring with you in the future.”

Ald. Ed Burke said of his in his 47 years in City Council that Burns was “one of the best.”

Burke will soon know if Burns’ replacement will be one of the best: the search committee tasked with finding the new Fourth Ward alderman must submit their top three picks to Mayor Emanuel by this Friday.

Ald. Michelle Harris (8) raised more money than anyone else on the City Council in February, adding roughly $166k to her personal campaign fund as she runs for Clerk for the Circuit Court of Cook County. Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) trailed far behind in second place, reporting about $27K in new money over the same period. Meanwhile, two aldermen received donations from a construction company that has been doing business with the city since 2001, and one alderman reported a $50k donation from one individual, which is significantly higher than the $5.4K cap imposed on individual contributions to personal campaign funds.

Notable Individual Contributions:

• Ald. Carrie Austin (34) reported a $50k contribution from Patrick Heneghan, a business litigation partner at the law firm of Schopf & Weiss, LLP. That amount is well beyond the $5.4k cap imposed on individual contributions to personal campaign funds. (Aldertrack called Ald. Austin’s office to determine if the amount is a typo, but they did not confirm with us by publication deadline.)

• Ald. Austin also got a $1K donation from Ald. Ed Burke’s Burnham Committee. In January, Ald. Austin joined Burke in using a parliamentary procedure to delay a vote by the City Council on plan to put the city’s Inspector General Joe Ferguson in charge of investigating aldermen. That move gave them enough time push a diluted version of the ordinance through the council.  

• Custom Strains, a medical marijuana dispensary that got approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals in November to open a dispensary in the 28th Ward, donated $3k to Ald. Jason Ervin (28). ZBA had previously approved a special use permit for Custom Strains to open a dispensary in Fulton Market (1105 W. Fulton Market St.), but according to the company’s attorney, Jim Banks, who spoke at the November ZBA meeting, unnamed “obstacles” at that site proved too difficult to allow the project to proceed. Instead, his clients found another site: an old car dealership at 1301 S. Western Ave, located within a few blocks from the Illinois Medical District, Garfield Park, and the Union Pacific Railyard. Ald. Ervin spoke in favor of the dispensary at that ZBA hearing, noting its close location to area hospitals and the applicant’s commitment to refurbish a building that had been vacant for over five years.

• Benchmark Construction, a building company that does business with the city, gave money to two aldermen: $2.5k to Ald. Deb Mell (33) and $1k to Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6). In 2014, the company won a $11.2M city contract the 37th Street Sewer Improvement Project, among more than 40 other city construction contracts dating back to 2001.

• The Magellan Development Group, the real estate firm behind the famed Wanda Vista project, donated $2.5K to Ald. Brendan Reilly’s (42) personal campaign fund. The Plan Commission and the Council recently approved a planned development for the “supertall” downtown lakefront skyscraper that will consist of four interconnected, all glass, curve-shaped buildings, each one taller than the next. David Carlins, a developer with Magellan, also donated $2.5k to Ald. Reilly.

• Fred Eychaner, owner of Newsweb Corporation, a Chicago-based company that owns several ethnic and alternative newspapers, gave money to two Aldermen, Deb Mell and Scott Waguespack (32). His $1K and $1.5K contribution to them, respectively, dwarfs the $400K he gave to Cook County State’s Attorney candidate Kim Foxx in February.

• The Peter Kamberos Revocable Trust donated $2.5k to Ald. James Cappleman (46). Kamberos is the husband of Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.

• Kimbal Goluska, president of the Chicago Consultants Studio, Inc. and a board member of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce donated $5,000 to the 4th Ward Democratic Organization. She is a proponent of opening a casino in downtown Chicago.

Biggest Fundraisers:

• Ald. Michelle Harris (8), who is running for Clerk for the Circuit Court of Cook, raised more money than anyone else on the City Council in February, adding roughly $166k to her newly-created personal campaign fund, Citizens for Michelle Harris. But that number isn’t truly representative of how much cash she brought in for the month of February, since it includes a $48K transfer from her other, older campaign fund, Friends of Michelle Harris, which is still active. That fund closed out the the fourth quarter of 2015 with about $228,600 in the bank, and received only one contribution in February: a $2.5K transfer from Ald. Will Burns (4). Meanwhile, Ald. Harris’ new fund reeled in some sizable checks from MWRD Commissioner Marty Durkan ($50k), the Construction & General Laborers’ District Council of Chicago ($10K), and Grosvenor Capital Management($25K). The Durkan transfer helped pay for these double sided mailers blasting Gov. Rauner.

• Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) was the second highest fundraiser on the City Council for the month of February, reeling in about $27K in political contributions. The largest check came from Michael Bisbee, Owner of LGN Group. He also got a $3.5K contribution from Bill Gritsonis, a consultant with PCG Consulting, Inc., a management consulting firm based in Boston, MA, “that serves primarily public sector education, health and human services agencies, and other state, county, and municipal government clients.” Ald. Reilly also transferred $15k from his personal campaign fund (Citizens for Alderman Reilly) to the 42nd Ward Democratic Organization, which he also controls as 42nd Ward Democratic Committeeman.

• In addition to receiving money from Benchmark Construction, Ald. Sawyer reported campaign donations from the Illinois Hotel-Motel Political Action Committee($1K); Unison Consulting, a Chicago-based, “leading aviation consulting firm” that is certified as a minority and disadvantaged business, according the the company’s website ($1K); Nikki Zollar, a member of the board of trustees for Chicago State University ($1.7K); and Killerspin, LLC, a table tennis facility ($1K).

• Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) reported five $1K contribution checks from Baker Development Corporation, the real estate firm that oversaw the development of the 180,000-square-foot big box retail complex located on the border of Lincoln Park and Bucktown. It’s directly across the Chicago River from the Lathrop Homes, a public housing complex that will soon become a massive mixed-used development once the City Council approves the master plan for the site. That Lathrop plan calls for 50,000-square-feet of commercial retail, which Ald. Waguespack opposes because there’s no shortage of retail space in the area, his Chief of Staff Paul Sajovec told the Plan Commission. Two of those checks Ald. Waguespack reported list a different limited liability corporation (2230 Elston, LLC; Baker Lincoln, LLC) with the same address: 1156 W. Armitage Ave., the headquarters for Baker Development.  Checks from 105 Madison OPCO, Inc. and W & A Baker Building Trust list the same address as the two LLCs. One check from Elston Development, LLC lists a separate address on the SBOE website, but according to state records, the LLC is owned by Baker Development, too. Ald. Waguespack also got $1k from Midtown Athletic and $2.5k from Steven Schwartz, owner of the Midtown Athletic Club.

• IL State Sen. Tony Munoz’s 12th Ward Regular Democratic Organization raised $12k in February. MWRD Commissioner Michael Alvarez donated $1k and Cook County Democratic Party Chairman and Assessor Joe Berrios gave $1k. Meanwhile, Friends of Twelve, the PAC run by Ald. George Cardenas (12), who is running against Munoz for 12th Ward Democratic Committeeman, reported one contribution: a $11.3K check from All Around Amusements, a carnival company located in Lockport, IL. Ald. Cardenas’ personal campaign fund received four checks totaling $8K. The largest donation, $5K, came from Theresa Siaw from Burr Ridge, IL. Siaw’s occupation is listed as “Healthcare.” Her LinkedIn says she’s a Board Member for Centro Romero, a “community-based organization that served the refugee immigrant population on the northeast side of Chicago,” according to its website.

• Ald. Pat Dowell got a notable amount of political support: $5k from State Rep. Mattie Hunter, $3K from State Rep. Lou Lang, $2K from Mike Zalewski (she didn’t specify if the check came from Ald. Zalewski or his son, the state rep. who shares his name), $1.5k from State Rep. Marcus C. Evans, Jr., $1.5k from State Rep. Bob Rita; and $1.5k from State Rep. Silvana Tabares.

• Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) received $2K from Gutierrez for Congress, the personal campaign fund for U.S. Cong. Luis Gutierrez. The two were seen together at a campaign event for Theresa Mah, whom both are supporting in the upcoming election against incumbent State Rep. Alex Acevedo.

• Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29) got some political support, too, with $5K from Ald. Nick Sposato (38) and $2K from Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin.

• City Treasurer Kurt Summers raised $19,700 in February, including three $5.4K checks from Chicago-based investment firm Victory Capital Advisors, the company’s partner and co-founder Brendan Carroll, and his wife, Colleen Carroll, who is listed as a “homemaker.”

• “The Democratic Party of the 49th Ward,” the political party campaign fund for the 49th Ward Democratic Ward Organization, has beefed up its fundraising efforts since Ald. Joe Moore took over as ward committeeman following David Fagus’death last year. The campaign fund reported $17K in new contributions in February, including $5K from State Sen. Heather Steans; $1K from the law firm DLA Piper; $1.5K from JN Pritzker; and $2.5K from Azieb Gebrehiiwet, a day care provider who got an honorary street designation from the City in 2014.

• The 28th Ward Democratic Organization run by Ald. Jason Ervin (28) received $16k in February, all of which came from construction companies.  

Non-Financial Highlights:

• The treasurer for Ald. Scott Waguespack’s personal campaign committee, Angelina Briguglio, resigned in January, according to this letter filed on Feb. 25th with the SBOE.

• Ald. Ervin (28) created a new campaign, “Ervin for Committeeman” on Feb 10. But despite the name, the campaign fund won’t be fundraising for Ald. Ervin’s re-election campaign for Democratic ward committeeman, instead, it will support the campaign of his wife, Melissa Conyears-Ervin, a candidate for state rep.