Pappas, commissioners roll out TIF transparency ordinance to expose ‘unmined frontier’ of government finance 

Chicago and more than 500 other taxing bodies across Cook County would be required to publish detailed information about how they use a controversial but widely used financing mechanism under a new measure pushed by county Treasurer Maria Pappas. 

Comm. John Daley (D-11) will introduce an ordinance (21-1048) during Thursday’s monthly county Board of Commissioners meeting that would require units of government to send the treasurer’s office line-item reports on expenses furnished by tax-increment financing (TIF). Twelve of Daley’s 16 colleagues were listed as cosponsors on Wednesday. 

Remap disputes kick off as City Council approves Welcoming City ordinance among slew of other measures 

Results from the 2020 Census may be delayed, but the grappling over how boundaries of Chicago’s 50 wards will be redrawn has already begun.  

As disagreements on the remapping process began to bubble up, the City Council on Wednesday approved a Welcoming City ordinance (O2021-117) eliminating carveouts that allowed Chicago police to work with federal immigration agents, a hike in fines (O2020-6200) for industrial facilities that violate air quality rules and two measures (O2020-6206, O2020-6207) that set minimum density requirements in parts of Pilsen and the city’s Near Northwest Side to stop the conversion of affordable small apartment buildings into more expensive single-family homes, among a slew of other measures.

‘Welcoming City’ ordinance, hiked pollution fees set for final approval in first City Council meeting of 2021 

The City Council is poised to solidify legal protections for undocumented immigrants, raise fines on scofflaw industrial polluters and try to slow displacement in gentrifying neighborhoods among dozens of measures set for approval during their first regular meeting of the new year on Wednesday. 

The “Welcoming City” proposal, proposed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and a handful of aldermen, would eliminate carve-outs in existing sanctuary city rules that allowed police to cooperate with federal immigration agents in some cases. The newer ordinance strikes language that has allowed such cooperation in cases that involve any suspect who has an “outstanding criminal warrant,” has been charged or convicted of a felony or “has been identified as a known gang member.” 

Cook county tenant protections on fast-track to approval after unanimous committee vote 

Cook County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously endorsed a sweeping proposal to iron out legal protections for renters across the county’s suburbs, signaling its near-certain final approval this week after more than six months of grinding negotiations. 

Commissioners voted 15-0 to advance the Cook County Residential Tenant and Landlord Ordinance (20-3562) out of the county board’s Zoning and Building Committee after incorporating the latest of a half-dozen revisions aimed at softening the blow on landlords. If approved again by the full Board of Commissioners on Thursday, the ordinance will go into full effect on June 1. 

Approved anti-displacement ordinances set floor on housing density in Pilsen, 606 area 

Aldermen on Tuesday overwhelmingly advanced a pair of measures aimed at stemming displacement in gentrifying neighborhoods despite reservations from some council members who said the new rules could bump into legal challenges.  

Under the companion ordinances (O2020-6206, O2020-6207) introduced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, developers would need to apply for zoning changes in order to create single-family homes in parts of the Pilsen and the Near Northwest Side that are zoned for multi-family housing. Long advocated by the Logan Square Neighborhood Association and other housing organizers, the measures are designed to slow the conversion of small, naturally-affordable apartment buildings into million-dollar single-family homes. 

News in brief: Aldermen pass ‘COP House’ proposal over Lightfoot’s objection; aldermen eligible for vaccinations 

Cook County tenant protection ordinance primed for vote after fresh round of tweaks 

A proposal to extend a version of Chicago’s tenant protection rules across Cook County is on track for preliminary approval on Tuesday, capping off more than six months of intense back-and-forth lobbying between housing organizers and real estate groups. 

The Cook County Board of Commissioners Zoning and Building Committee is scheduled at 2 p.m. Tuesday to vote on an updated draft the Residential Tenant and Landlord Ordinance (20-3562) that would give landlords slightly more leeway than a version that narrowly missed a vote last month. 

Pilsen, 606 ‘deconversion’ ordinances set for approval as potential demolition fee follow-up looms 

A pair of hard-fought ordinances aimed at preventing the loss of affordable apartments in gentrifying parts of the city is set to clear a crucial hurdle on Tuesday, as advocates say they are closing in on a follow-up proposal that would take their campaign even further. 

Under the companion ordinances (O2020-6206, O2020-6207) introduced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, developers would need to apply for zoning changes in order to create single-family homes in parts of the Pilsen and the Near Northwest Side that are zoned for multi-family housing. Long advocated by the Logan Square Neighborhood Association and other housing organizers, the measures are designed to slow the conversion of small, naturally-affordable apartment buildings into million-dollar single-family homes. 

$56M O’Hare project sails through committee after contractor elevates Black-owned construction firm 

Aldermen pushed forward a $56 million proposal on Monday to boost O’Hare Airport’s cargo freight capacity, signaling a fresh vote of confidence in the city’s chosen contractor months after council members blasted the firm over its record on hiring workers of color. 

Members of the City Council Committee on Aviation voted unanimously to approve a 35-year lease agreement (O2020-3997) with Aeroterm so it can build and operate the final phase of its Northeast Cargo Campus expansion on the airport grounds. Separately on Monday, aldermen on the council’s Committee on Finance voted unanimously to authorize the city to issue bonds (O2020-3996) to cover the cost of the project. 

Aldermen blast Metra over minority hiring, station maintenance before approving Fulton Market TIF agreement 

Aldermen on Monday nearly scuttled a deal allowing Metra to use tax-increment financing (TIF) for a study on railroad crossings in Fulton Market after they tore into the transit agency over its record on hiring minority-owned firms and the deteriorating condition of some of its stations.  

The City Council Committee on Finance during its meeting on Monday eventually approved the intergovernmental agreement (O2020-6213) with Metra among several other ordinances, but aldermen shelved an ordinance (O2020-5785) waiving permit fees for construction, demolition and renovations of public buildings undertaken by Chicago Public Schools and its contractors. 

The Chicago Office of the Inspector General on Friday published a memo it wrote to the Chicago Police Department with “urgent” recommendations on how to improve its warrant execution policies. [Office of the Inspector General]

Chicago Police will tighten their intelligence-gathering policies in an attempt to prevent more botched warrant executions like the February 2019 raid that targeted Anjanette Young, the city’s top police leader told a city watchdog last week.

Aldermen to take 2nd pass at $56M O’Hare Airport contract hobbled over lack of diverse hiring  

Aldermen are poised on Monday to revisit a $56 million agreement to expand O’Hare Airport’s cargo capacity four months after the measure hit a wall amid backlash from aldermen who cried foul over the contractor’s poor record on hiring Black-owned firms.  

The City Council Committee on Aviation is scheduled during a 2 p.m. meeting on Monday to take up a 35-year lease agreement (O2020-3997) with Aeroterm so it can build and operate the final phase of its Northeast Cargo Campus expansion on the airport grounds. City aviation officials have credited two earlier phases of the project, completed in 2016, with expanding the airport’s cargo freight capacity by 20 percent. 

Aldermen demand answers on spike in carjackings: like ‘something out of a video game’ 

Aldermen on Friday took turns demanding answers from police on all aspects of carjackings and suggested strategies to combat the sharp uptick in the crime that has bedeviled Chicago and other cities across the country in the past year. 

The City Council Committee on Public Safety held a five-and-a-half hour subject matter hearing on the issue after Chicago was beset by carjackings, some violent, in 2020 with the trend continuing this year.  

News in brief: Hearing on increased carjackings will include range of law enforcement officials; Lightfoot wants Biden to prioritize more COVID vaccines

Aldermen on Thursday approved a $9.8 million tax abatement for a warehouse in the 12^th Ward.

Aldermen approved a $9.8 million tax incentive for an already-built and occupied warehouse in Back of the Yards over the vocal objections of one alderman.

Members of the City Council Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development voted to approve the request from Michael Tadin Jr. of Marina Crossing Owner LLC for a class 6(b) property tax incentive for the 633,000-square-foot industrial warehouse and distribution center at 2075 W. 43rd St. In the 12^th Ward.