Ald. Ed Burke (14) notified officials 121 times from 2009-18 that he had abstained from voting on measures in order to comply with the city’s Ethics Ordinance — six times more than any other alderman, according to disclosures compiled by the Chicago Board of Ethics.

Nearly a dozen aldermanic candidates rallied at City Hall Wednesday in an effort to breathe new life into a measure that would put the Chicago Police Department under the control of an elected board of civilians, while former U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez backed Ald. Ameya Pawar (47) in the race for treasurer and Toni Preckwinkle released her first ad buy focused on what her campaign said in a statement was her “pivotal role in the Laquan McDonald investigation.”

Nearly a dozen aldermanic candidates and mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot signed on to a package of ethics reforms Tuesday as the flood of good-government proposals continued to flow in the wake of the federal charge filed against Ald. Ed Burke (14).

Lincoln Yards will not include a 20,000-seat soccer stadium or a Live Nation-owned entertainment complex — but it could be fueled by an $800 million subsidy under a plan announced by 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins.

Aldermen who use social media like Twitter and Facebook to communicate with constituents and city residents should not block people from following their accounts or delete comments critical of them or their positions, according to an advisory opinion from the Chicago Board of Ethics.

Chicago is on the wrong track, according to a poll from the Chicago Teachers Union, and mayoral candidate Susana Mendoza has second thoughts about a plan that would have increased property taxes for the wealthiest Chicagoans. Meanwhile, the aftershocks of the earthquake caused by the criminal charges facing Ald. Ed Burke (14) continued to rumble through City Hall.

Mayoral candidate Toni Preckwinkle’s Cook County board president re-election campaign committee may have committed a “possible inadvertent technical infraction” involving a $10,000 contribution from one of the restaurant owners Ald. Ed Burke is accused of attempting to extort, a lawyer for Preckwinkle told state officials.

Mayoral candidate Susana Mendoza won the backing of the LiUNA Chicago Laborers’ District Council, and banked a hefty contribution. The nearly dozen mayoral candidates on the ballot will fan out across the city Tuesday as the campaign heats up.

Few of the aldermen who packed City Hall to try to turn the whirlwind surrounding Ald. Ed Burke (14) to their advantage would list themselves among Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s allies.

But the circus-like atmosphere that featured four back-to-back press conferences, props, one alderman heckling another and an offer to settle a dispute over the City Council’s rules proves yet again the truth of one of Emanuel’s most famous remarks: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.”

First up in front of the cameras and reporters to attempt just that feat was Ald. Joe Moore (49), an independent alderman during the Daley years who has been a close ally of Emanuel.

According to Moore, the city should:

• Ban outside employment for aldermen


• expand Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s power to audit all City Council operations and give him power to enforce his subpoenas


• create a small-donor public-financing system for aldermen and mayor, treasurer and clerk.


• Live stream all City Council committee meetings and record and publish them electronically.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) introduced a measure (R2018-510) in May to live stream Council Committee meetings. It has yet to get a hearing.

Moore, who voted with Emanuel 98 percent of the time according to a report from former Ald. Dick Simpson, who is now a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, had a two-word response when asked why it took the criminal charges filed against Burke to spur him to act.

“Human nature,” Moore said. “When you have something as monumental as the most powerful member of the City Council facing a very serious criminal indictment, that will give people the courage to change.”

But that wasn’t good enough for 10th Ward Ald. Susan Sadlowski-Garza, who was waiting with several other members of the Progressive Caucus for their turn in the spotlight to denounce Burke, the mayor and their allies.

Sadlowski-Garza yelled out that Moore had refused to sign on to the measure (O2018-9408) introduced by the Progressive Caucus last month to move the city’s $100 million workers’ compensation fund from the Finance Committee to the Law Department.

“We are not a jump on the bandwagon, all of the sudden having these epiphanies wanting to change things when the same alderman that stands behind the microphone and says he is now for these ideas last month and the month before pushed us away and didn’t want to be any part of it,” Sadlowski-Garza said when it was her turn in front of the cameras.

The measure to strip Burke of control of the worker’s compensation fund ran into the same wall that all of the Progressive Caucus’ efforts for reform have hit thanks to opposition from Burke and the mayor.

Accompanied by Alds. Michele Smith (43) and Deb Mell (33), the Progressive Caucus called for the enforcement of Rule 36, which gives aldermen the right to pick their own committee chairs — not the mayor — but hasn’t been implemented in decades.

Ald. Pat O’Connor (40) — an ally of the mayor — replaced Burke Friday as chairman of the Finance Committee after Burke filed his resignation with City Clerk Anna Valencia.

That is “utterly ridiculous,” said Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), adding O’Connor does not have the “moral authority” to lead the Finance Committee.

O’Connor is a member of the City Council’s “go-along-to-get-along” or “rubber stamp” caucus, Ramirez-Rosa said.

Instead, Progressive Caucus chairman Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) should head the committee, said Ramirez-Rosa and Ald. John Arena (45).

In addition, Arena said he planned to introduce a measure Jan. 23 to overhaul Rule 14, which allows an aldermen to abstain from votes involving matter they believe presents a conflict of interest. The expanded rule would require the alderman invoking Rule 14 to file a detailed explanation of the conflict with the City Clerk to be published online, according to the proposal.


The revised rule would also prohibit the alderman from participating in committee hearings on the matter. If the alderman is the chairman of the committee considering the matter, he or she may not be present for the debate or preside over the hearing, according to the proposal.

The Progressive Caucus has also called for expanding Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s power, and an independent audit of the workers’ compensation fund. Emanuel announced such an audit Sunday.

Once the aldermen wrapped up, mayoral candidates Willie WIlson and Paul Vallas’ took turns trying to capitalize on Burke’s woes.

Wilson said he would not allow aldermen to pick the chairs of the committees, a move his adviser and former alderman and state Sen. Rickey “Hollywood” Hendon likened to “opening the door of your house to a burglar.”

That drew an angry retort from Arena who yelled out, “That’s insulting.”

Hendon minced no words in his reply.

“I did not interrupt you, alderman,” Hendon said. “If you want to interrupt me, I can meet you outside and you can say anything you want.”

Wilson said he would convene an advisory committee of citizens to weigh his choices for chairmanships, Hendon said.

Chicago aldermen are “two-timing people, they’re backstabbers, they ain’t no good,” Wilson said.

Wilson called for Preckwinkle to resign as Cook County Board president — and to drop out of the race. Fellow candidate Bob Fioretti made the same demand last week.

With Wilson finished, mayoral candidate Paul Vallas stepped to the microphones brandishing a broom, symbolizing his push for a “clean sweep.”

Vallas said Preckwinkle, Susana Mendoza, Gery Chico and Bill Daley should all drop out of the race for mayor because of their ties to Burke.

Vallas mocked rival Daley, who proposed reducing the size of the City Council from 50 members to 15 Monday.

“After the horses have left the barn, he’s now shutting the door?” Vallas asked.

Aldermen should rotate the City Council committee chairmanships to prevent certain aldermen from accumulating too much power, Vallas said. “Change begins at the top… Sweep the bums out.”

A group hoping to derail a fast-moving effort to approve a new tax-increment financing district that would fuel the massive Lincoln Yards development announced its petition drive had reached a milestone, while Sen. Tammy Duckworth met with Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee.

Mayoral candidate Toni Preckwinkle announced Sunday evening that she would return the $116,000 raised for her county board re-election run at Ald. Ed Burke’s home, and that she had ousted him as chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party Judicial Slating Committee. Two mayoral candidates hoped to capitalize on Chicago Bears’ playoff fever — while three others sought to highlight rivals’ ties to Burke, who is facing attempted extortion charges. Meanwhile, the challengers hoping to unseat Ald. Pat O’Connor (40) blasted his new job as Finance Committee chairman.

Precisely 24 hours after facing a judge after being charged with attempted extortion, Ald. Ed Burke (14) made it clear he would not end his 50-year career in public office quietly.

With approximately four months left in his term, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has vowed to work until the last second as mayor — and leave office only after transforming wide swaths of the city with private developments fueled by taxpayer money and borrowing $10 billion to ease Chicago’s pension crisis.

Ald. Ricardo Muñoz (22) appeared in domestic violence court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to charges that he physically assaulted his wife during an argument on New Year’s Eve. Family and colleagues of the late political advisor and campaign manager Brian Sleet launched a scholarship in his memory.

Mayoral candidate Neal Sȧles-Griffin’s podcast details the indignities involved in fighting a ballot challenge, the candidates endorsed by the Chicago chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America got a national nod and mayoral candidate Bob Fioretti takes aim at Streets & San.