The Committee on Finance is holding a public hearing this morning regarding the creation of a new Special Service Area for the Jefferson Park community and the renewal of the Lincoln Park SSA.

Timed for today’s celebration of Veterans Day, a joint committee on Finance and Public Safety approved an ordinance yesterday categorizing attacks against military personnel in Chicago as hate crimes.

The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate met for more than three hours yesterday and approved Mayor Emanuel’s $12.4 million dollar parking lot sale, a land sale on the South Side that will pave the way for a new waste processing center that will produce renewable energy, and appointments to boards that oversee affordable housing. All lease agreements and land sales on the agenda were approved by voice vote. Ald. Joe Moreno’s (1) ordinance establishing height limits on exterior staircases to residential homes was re-referred to the Zoning Committee.

Progressive Caucus aldermen and child care workers held a last-minute press conference at City Hall yesterday calling on the General Assembly to pass a bill that would restore cuts Governor Rauner made to a state-run child care program.

Two ordinances that would designate attacks on military personnel as hate crimes will be taken up during a joint meeting held by the City Council’s Finance and Public Safety Committees at 10:00 a.m. this morning.

The Committee on Housing & Real Estate is expected to advance Mayor Emanuel’s plan to sell off four city-owned parking lots in River North for $12.4 million dollars.

CPS CEO Forrest Claypool wants to revoke the charters of four “chronically underperforming charter schools” currently listed on the Academic Warning List. Pending approval by the Board of Education, the following schools won’t have their charter renewed at the end of the current school year:

Public testimony turned into a die-in and shouting match at Tuesday’s Cook County Board of Commissioners hearing on the proposed FY2016 budget, with an unusual heated exchange between Commissioners Robert Steele (2) and Deborah Sims(10), and a young woman advocating for $2 million in funding for restorative justice programs across the county. Roughly 20 activists, many in orange tees from Community Renewal Society, participated. The group also staged a vigil at a public hearing in Skokie.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s proposed 3% expansion of the amusement tax, which would include activities like bowling, golf, and cable TV, seems dead on arrival after Finance Chairman John Daley said the votes just weren’t there at yesterday’s public hearing at the Board of Commissioners. The Board is expected to vote on Preckwinkle’s budget proposals in two weeks. She pitched the tax as a closure of loopholes without changing the underlying tax rate.

City Treasurer Kurt Summers projects his office will generate an additional $38 million in new revenue next year by investing more of the City’s cash on hand. Summers provided more details how he plans to do that, as well as giving a general update on the city’s investment portfolio during a public conference call yesterday afternoon.

October was a slow fundraising month for the City Council, while fundraising heavyweights Zoning Chairman Danny Solis (25), Finance Chairman Ed Burke(14), and downtown alderman and Vice Mayor Brendan Reilly (42) eased up during last month’s budget talks.

At one point, in the midst of the City Council’s tense city budget debate, the whole chamber went quiet. Every aldermen held their breath, Clerk Susana Mendoza and Mayor Rahm Emanuel froze at the podium and every reporter in the press box stilled themselves to see what would happen next.

Aldermen David Moore (17) had voiced an objection to Finance Committee Chairman Ed Burke’s (14) motion to suspend the rules of the Council.

Backroom negotiations, last minute concessions, and waves of phone calls to Aldermen from the Mayor’s office, coupled with a fear that there were no alternatives, ultimately helped pass Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s nearly $8 billion budget, historic property tax hike, and a new monthly garbage fee Wednesday.

According to our conversations with aldermen, the first important move was to take something office the table. In the week leading up to the budget vote, mayoral staffers assured aldermen 311 privatization wouldn’t happen. Then, Mayor Emanuel agreed to cap the $9.50-a-month garbage fee through the next election, and put the new revenue in an enterprise fund solely dedicated to trash collection. He agreed to working on implementing a rebate program to help mitigate the impact of his property tax increase should Springfield fail to pass the homeowners exemption in time.

Those and other privately-made concessions were just enough for some aldermen to flip their vote. Of the ten aldermen who opposed the Mayor’s revenue plan when it was voted on in Finance Committee October 19th, four switched their vote.

The most notable switch was Ald. John Arena (45), a member of the Council’s Progressive Caucus, a “no” to last year’s budget, and one of the Mayor’s biggest targets in this year’s election. When Aldertrack spoke to Arena yesterday to ask if he made a separate deal with the Mayor to help sway his decision, he replied, “No, I don’t really deal that way.”

Arena said he voted in favor of the budget because it finally addressed fundamental issues he had with budgets from prior years: too much dependence on borrowing to pay for basic city services, lower than required pension payments, and no new sources of revenue.

But minor concessions were made. Arena was able to get a rideshare ordinance he co-sponsored with Ald. Anthony Beale (9) through the City Council. And even though their original proposal, a requirement for Uber drivers get a public chauffeurs license, was cut out of the final version, Beale and Arena were able to increase the surcharge on all rides hailed through a ride-sharing app, start a rebate program to mitigate the fees taxi drivers have to pay on fingerprinting and background checks, and a request that the Commissioner of Aviation conduct a traffic study to determine the impact of opening the airports to ride-share drivers. Arena said the last item keeps the door open for potential changes down the road.

Arena and Ald. Michele Smith (43) were also successful in getting the Mayor to bend on the rebate issue. Smith’s vote was also in play since she represents Lincoln Park, one of the areas expected to be hardest hit by the increased property tax. Smith was one of several aldermen who called for a city-wide property tax rebate.  

Two weeks ago, in the midst of budget hearings, the Mayor poured cold water on the rebate idea, saying he preferred exemptions over rebates, because they don’t require a stable revenue stream and can be easily applied. But this past week, according to multiple aldermen Aldertrack spoke to, the Mayor’s office began promoting Arena and Smith’s rebate resolution, even pushing Council members to co-sponsor it the night before the budget vote.

With the Mayor’s support, Arena and Smith secured their plan by attaching their resolution to the agreed calendar vote at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. They called for creation of a city-administered property tax rebate program by June 1, 2016 if the Illinois General Assembly fails to enact the Mayor’s homestead exemption into law by April 30, 2016.

Joanna Klonsky, a representative for the Caucus, says she believes the whole caucus supports the ordinance. The rebate deal is why none of five Progressive Caucus revenue amendments introduced last week made it into this year’s budget, according to Arena. Since a rebate plan is estimated to cost between $20 and $40 million dollars, depending on how many people apply, and since the city doesn’t currently have a dedicated revenue source to pay for it, some of the Progressive Caucus ordinances, like closing amusement tax loopholes, are being held back as potential ways to pay for the rebate, Arena says.

One aldermanic staffer, who asked not to be named for this story, claimed Arena excluded the rest of the Caucus when he made that deal.

Arena wasn’t the only Progressive Caucus alderman to support the Mayor’s plan. He was joined by Ald. Nick Sposato (38) and Ald. Leslie Hairston (5), who had originally voted against it in committee but changed their minds when it went to the full Council; Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6), Ald. Rick Munoz (22), and Ald. Toni Foulkes (16) also voted “yes”. Ald. David Moore (17), split his vote, approving the Mayor’s spending plan, but rejecting the revenue ordinances, because he refused to support the monthly garbage fee.

Ald. Foulkes said the mayor’s decision to not pursue 311 privatization and the cap on the garbage fee secured her vote, in addition to the unprecedented open line of communication between her, the Mayor and his staff.

“I stopped counting after nine meetings [with Mayoral staff],” Foulkes told Aldertrack yesterday. She says she never experienced a budget cycle that involved as many meetings and follow-up calls as this one. On one occasion, one of her constituents asked her to clarify language on new snow shoveling regulations. Soon after Foulkes called mayoral staff for an answer, she got a quick response from the Mayor’s office to explain the changes.  

Ald. Tom Tunney (44), who voted against the revenue plan in committee after lamenting how high commercial property taxes in his Lakeview ward has already contributed to vacant storefronts, ultimately voted in favor of the budget. In an email sent to constituents after the vote, Tunney explained that his decision was based on the assurance he’d get an additional 35 police officers assigned to the 19th Police District and a new multi-million dollar capital investment in Lake View High School.

Ald. James Cappleman (46), whose ward is also within the 19th district, cited increased police presence as part of how he got to yes. So did Ald. Pat Dowell (3), a critic of many of the Mayor’s revenue proposals, but who voted yes, because of extra police and “the opportunity to address overcrowding issues affecting some my neighborhood schools and allows other schools in my ward to get the deferred maintenance and upgrades - like air conditioning - they desperately need.”

But not everyone on the Council felt the mayor had done enough to mitigate their concerns, or felt the backlash from constituents would have been too much to stomach.

Ald. Deb Silverstein (50), who voted against the budget in committee and at the full City Council meeting, told Aldertrack there weren’t any offers on the table to change her mind and that her decision was based on negative feedback on the budget from constituents. The chiefs of staff for Ald. Deb Mell (33) and Ald. Harry Osterman(48) also cited constituent outrage as the reasons for their no votes.

Ald. Brian Hopkins (2), a new alderman who voted “no,” wrote on his Facebook page that while the Mayor made compelling arguments, he stuck to his campaign pledge to vote against a property tax hike. 

Ald. Jason Ervin (28), Vice Chair of the Budget Committee, says he wasn’t offered a deal, despite his plan to vote no. “I laid out my position [with the Mayor’s staff] and that was about it,” Ervin said. The driving factor for him: The iniquity of how the new garbage fee will impact Chicago’s poorer communities.

Ald. Milly Santiago’s (31) Chief of Staff, Kevin Lamm, said the alderman met with the Mayor and his staff and was even offered to have the schools in her ward wired up with new fiber optic technology. But she rejected that offer, according to Lamm, and ultimately decided to go against the Mayor’s spending plan, because she felt uncomfortable with how much it relied on help from Springfield.

Santiago also had one of the closest races this past election, narrowly beating long-time incumbent Ald. Ray Suarez, by highlighting his close relationship with the Mayor and portraying him as someone who was out of touch with the needs of the ward’s residents.

The City Council approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2016 budget plan that calls for nearly $8 billion dollars in city spending, a $544 billion dollar property tax increase to be phased in over four years, a $9.50 per month garbage collection fee, a new cloud tax and various increases in existing fines and fees. As expected, Finance Chair Ed Burke (14) lumped the 2016 Revenue Ordinance and all four years of the property tax increase into one motion, forcing opponents of any item into one opposing or supporting vote.

The day came down to a series of key, divided roll call votes with some surprising last minute changes.  One of the day’s biggest surprises: Ald. John Arena (45), one of the Progressive Caucus’ most outspoken critics of the Mayor, voted in support of Emanuel’s budget plan.

[Official Clerk's Office Vote Tally]

Along with another earlier property tax opponent, Ald. Michele Smith (43), Arena introduced a resolution, later passed unanimously as part of the consent calendar, saying if Springfield did not enact double the existing homeowner’s exemption by April 30, City Council would consider a city-managed rebate program by June 1. In off the record discussions with Aldertrack earlier this week, a number of aldermen said the resolution would help make a yes vote easier for them.

Reading from a prepared speech, Ald. Arena said that while none of the revenue proposals the Progressive Caucus introduced will be implemented in this year’s budget, he’s still determined to get them in future budgets. The Mayor’s decision to not outsource 311 is the main reason he'd vote in favor, he said.

Another surprising vote came from Ald. Jason Ervin (28), who served as Budget Chairman Carrie Austin’s (34) right hand during the budget hearings as she dealt with health issues. He gave one of the most impassioned speeches of dissent on the floor yesterday.

“We always tell people that we have to do more with less, but the truth is, we do less with less,” he said, adding that it is unacceptable that city’s Police Department has been a hundred million dollars over budget for the past four years, mainly due to overtime costs, but “decent folk can’t sit on their porch or walk to the corner for fear of being the next [shooting] victim.”

Raising his voice as he pressed on, Ervin was furious that nearly $600 million dollars in new revenue–the money from the property tax increase–was going to one item, “while the rest of our services and our police department doesn’t have what it needs.” He continued to rail against the garbage fee, warning the time would soon come when the city would need to raise revenue again, and Springfield will be unlikely to help.

Vote: Management Ordinance and 2016 Appropriations – 36-14
First, there was the 36-14 roll call vote on the actual spending plan, which included the appropriation ordinance, management ordinance and the community block grant. The “no” votes came from aldermen Brian Hopkins (2), Susan Sadlowski-Garza (10), Roberto Maldonado (26), Jason Ervin (28), Chris Taliaferro (29), Milly Santiago (31), Scott Waguespack (32), Deb Mell (33), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), Gilbert Villegas (36), Anthony Napolitano (41), Brendan Reilly (42), Harry Osterman (48), and Deb Silverstein (50).

Vote: Revenue Ordinance and 2015-2018 Property Tax Levies – 35-15
Second, there was the 35-15 roll call vote on the revenue ordinances, which included the phased-in property tax increase, a $45 million property tax levy to help fund capital expenditures at Chicago public schools, a $9.50/month garbage-fee, and various increases to existing fines and fees.

Ald. David Moore (17) joined the group above in voting “no”, after his motion to break up the revenue vote failed. Moore wanted to vote against the garbage fee and support the property tax, but when he called a motion to separate the ordinances, 46 aldermen voted against him.  

Vote: Rideshare Rule Changes – 38-11-1
Finally, there was a roll call vote on the recent amendments made to the rules and regulations governing taxi and ride-share drivers. It gives Uber and other ride-hailing drivers the right to pick up passengers at O’Hare and Midway Airports, McCormick Place, and Navy Pier, in addition to slapping on a $0.52 surcharge on all ride-share rides and a rebate program to minimize the fees associated with background checks and fingerprinting taxi drivers have to pay.

That motion passed in a 38-11-1 roll call vote. Ald. Gilbert Villegas invoked Rule 14, abstaining from the vote, while the following aldermen voted “no”: Leslie Hairston (5), Roderick Sawyer (6), Susan Sadlowski-Garza (10), Raymond Lopez (15), David Moore (17), Ricardo Munoz (22), Scott Waguespack (32), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), Nick Sposato (38), Anthony Napolitano (41), and Deb Silverstein (50).

Prior to the votes, aldermen stood up one by one to explain why they were either voting or rejecting the Mayor’s 2016 plan.

A number of the Mayor’s surrogates, like Ald. George Cardenas (12), Pat O’Connor (40), Ameya Pawar (47), and Joe Moore (49), urged the rest of the body to vote in favor of the budget, saying it would finally put the city on the right course to funding its public pensions and reducing its dependence on borrowing for basic city services.

But not everyone in the chambers was convinced by their pleas and expressed concern the mayor’s budget would cause more harm than good.

“This is incredibly stressful and incredibly crazy,” newly-elected 41st Ward Alderman and former firefighter Anthony Napolitano said, describing the pressure in the leadup to yesterday’s vote as worse than being trapped in a basement during a fire. And even though most of his family and constituents are public pensioners, he voted no, citing the impact the property tax hike would have on his North Side ward.

He was joined by Logan Square Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), who said he was sad his peers would rather vote to increase property taxes than cut city spending and their own six-figure salaries. In the weeks leading up to the budget, Rosa introduced an ordinance calling for a salary reduction for public employees who make more than $100,000, a stormwater stress fee, and a property tax rebate ordinance based on a homeowners’ salary. None of those items made it into the budget.

“I’m sad today because four to six months from now, a tenant will come to my office and tell me, ‘Alderman, I’m being pushed out. The council voted to raise property taxes...and as a result my landlord is raising my rent.’” He then equated the series of fees and tax hikes included in this year’s budget to a playground bully demanding money out of someone’s pocket.

His comments prompted Ald. Danny Solis (25) and Ald. Joe Moreno (1) to go on the offensive.

“This is the job you signed up for,” Solis said, looking back at Rosa. “Your number one job as an alderman is to make sure that your neighborhoods are improving, that the quality of life is good [...] How are you going to do that without money? Without revenue?”

“I cannot stand here to listen to hyperbole and pandering, you know, someone says they are sad in the 35th Ward,” Ald. Moreno said, raising his voice. “You know what I’m sad about? That people aren’t willing to bring their own solutions to the table, but yet vote against the solutions that have been brought about by your administration and many in this room.”

“That kind of hyperbole is why I got into this business, because I was tired of those so-called leftists that I share the floor with,” he added.

Taking another direct shot at Rosa’s emphatic no vote, Ald. Moreno tweeted out a statement almost immediately after council wrapped. “Aldermen cannot lament about this budget and tell their residents they're fighting for them by voting no without presenting viable solutions to address and resolve our budget crisis. Empty rhetoric is not going to dig us out of our budget hole. Pandering about how terrible this budget is and suggesting tax increases for corporations to resolve our city's fiscal problem, and then voting in favor of a major multi-million dollar tax break to a wealthy car dealer in their ward is simply unconscionable.”

Moreno was referring to the recently passed $5.5 million class 7(b) real estate tax break for a new Berman Mid City Nissan dealership in Avondale, in Rosa’s ward. He testified in favor of the tax break to help with a $19 million dollar renovation to turn two old warehouses into a new car dealership.

Other Items Approved

In addition to the budget-related items the City Council approved an ordinance that paves the way for the proposed Lucas Museum, the Mayor’s appointment of David Reifman as the new Commissioner for the Department of Planning and Development, and a new universal parking pass that lets Chicago realtors park their cars along any zoned street in the city during business hours. Nine aldermen asked to be recorded as no votes for the Lucas Museum: Pat Dowell (3), Leslie Hairston (5), Gregory Mitchell (7), Ameya Pawar (47), Scott Waguespack (32), Tom Tunney (44), Harry Osterman (48), John Arena (45), and Brendan Reilly (42). Chairman Burke abstained.

Post-Vote Statements From Aldermen

In an email to his newsletter subscribers, Ald. Tom Tunney (44) called this year’s budget vote the most difficult he’s had to take. Tunney’s “yes” was threefold: he was assured 35 extra officers would be assigned to the 19th police District, be believed police and fire pension obligations had to be met, and the budget included a new addition: a multi-million dollar investment in Lake View High School “to increase the academic rigor of the school, inclusive of an honors program, and stronger connections to area elementary schools. The investments provided in the 2016 budget will make Lake View HS the quality neighborhood option which our residents demand. This will further build on the efforts of the current leadership of Lake View High School.”

Ald. Michele Smith (43), whose ward is likely to be one of the hardest hit by the property tax increase, voted “yes”, after securing Mayor Emanuel’s support of her and Ald. John Arena’s (45) rebate ordinance. Arena also voted in favor of the budget, despite being a staunch Emanuel critic. In a statement emailed shortly after Council wrapped, Smith said, “This is an iron-clad commitment to extend property tax relief to the people that have helped build our community and stabilize our neighborhoods… The plan provides tax savings, whether or not the expanded homeowner’s exemption passes in Springfield.” Smith said the Mayor also gave her a direct commitment to aggressively pursue major spending reforms, and form a task force on absenteeism, a common line of questioning from Smith during the budget process.

Ald. Will Burns (4) also sent an e-blast in the hours after the vote, saying pension obligations were his main driver. He cited the state-mandated requirement for payments, growing liabilities, and an obligation to police and firefighters to pay up. But he also called out no voters: “A vote against this budget is a vote against guaranteeing the future of Chicago. A no vote says that we will not fulfill our contractual obligations, invest in affordable housing, early childhood education, and afterschool programs.”

Ald. Matt O’Shea (19), explained his “yes” vote in his newsletter, saying hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cuts had already been made, and voting “no” would go against the “interests of the nearly 5,000 first responders who reside in Beverly, Morgan Park and Mount Greenwood. Our police officers and firefighters deserve their pension benefits.” O’Shea was one of a few aldermen who successfully pushed the Mayor’s office to cap the proposed garbage fee at $9.50 through 2019 (the next election year), and to dedicate funds from the fee to a sanitation enterprise fund, rather than the corporate fund.

Ald. Deb Mell (33) was generally laudatory of the Mayor and his openness during the budget process in a statement on her Facebook page, but said her “no” came down to the impact the property tax would have on residents in her ward. “I’m concerned about the young family that has purchased their first home, the senior citizen living on a fixed income, the small business owners who are struggling to stay afloat, and the renters who are finding it more difficult to make ends meet in this great city. This property tax increase asks too much of these residents and not enough of those in Chicago who have the means to absorb a larger share of the tax burden.”

Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) released a brief statement echoing his floor testimony, and highlighted Rosa’s proposed aldermanic salary reduction ordinance and the revenue ideas the Progressive Caucus pitched this summer. Rosa’s statement reads, "It takes courage to cut your six-figure pay. It takes courage to turn to your big and powerful corporate donors and ask them to pay. It's easy to turn to those with the least power and ask them to empty their pockets; that's what bullies do every day. City Hall should have cut its six-figure salaries and emptied out hundreds of millions in TIF funds before raising property taxes and fees on Chicago's working families."

Ald. Sue Sadlowski-Garza’s (10) statement reads, in part: ““It isn’t fair to stick home owners [sic] with the bill.  From parking meter deals, CPS no-bid contracts, to top heavy city departments – city government sure finds way to waste and mismanagement money, and now home owners [sic] are left to clean up the mess.”

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) also tweeted his post-vote statement, saying he didn’t believe his middle-class constituents could afford “another $1,000” in new taxes and fees. He invited residents to a job fair he’s holding in a couple weeks. "A lot of people are going to need better paying jobs and/or second jobs after the way Council voted today. I know we will make it work, but it's unfortunate that it has to get worse before it gets better."

In a short Facebook post, Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41) said pressure from his constituents opposed to the budget pushed him to vote no. A large chunk of his North Side ward current and retired police and firemen. “I believe this budget put too much of the burden on the taxpayers and small businesses. My job is to represent the entire 41st Ward, pension holders and non-pension holders. Over the last few weeks a large number of residents contacted my office to voice their opinion. An overwhelming amount were opposed to this budget.”

Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26) simply wrote it was unfortunate the budget passed, and shared this post from the Hermosa Neighborhood Association, which reads, “The garbage fees ($114-$456) are going to come as an utter shock and burden to many who haven't been able to stay informed about this complicated budget process, and in the second installment of their 2016 property tax bills will come another shock, a $500-$1,000 increase in property taxes. However, HNA is very happy to see that ALL the Aldermen who represent Hermosa voted ‘no’ against the budget.”

Ald. David Moore (17) shared these pictures from his recent budget town hall, and said 98% of those who attended told him to vote no if a garbage fee was included.

Mobile food vendors, who won licensing approval from Council just a month ago, might face a lock-out from some of Chicago’s busiest sidewalks. The Committee on License and Consumer Protection approved substitute ordinances limiting vendors from certain portions of the Central Business District, around Wrigley Field, and in parts of Lakeview on Tuesday.

Attendance (members in bold): Chairman Emma Mitts (37), Vice-Chair Deb Silverstein (50), Will Burns (4), Gregory Mitchell (7), Sue Sadlowski Garza (10), George Cardenas (12), Marty Quinn (13), David Moore (17), Ricardo Munoz (22),Michael Scott Jr. (24), Walter Burnett (27), Chris Taliaferro (29), Ariel Reboyras(30), Brendan Reilly (42), Michele Smith (43), Tom Tunney (44)

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) told committee members the Central Business District has 5,000 workers, all filling sidewalks already obstructed by benches, signs, landscaping, and bus stops. He wants to keep food cart vendors from blocking narrow or cluttered sidewalks during heavy pedestrian hours. It’s not a blanket ban across downtown, he told members, and he plans on possibly walking back some restrictions after looking at infrastructure changes over the winter.

Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26), the key driver that pushed licensing for mobile food cart vendors and a member of the license committee, did not attend Tuesday’s meeting. Reilly applauded him, saying he supported the ordinance and even worked at food truck back in the day, but food carts in certain stretches of sidewalk in the CBD would pose a public safety risk. “The way food carts work is that they take up 3 or 4 feet of the public right of way, but then people queue… [during rush hour] you can imagine there will be pinch points created.”

Reilly’s substitute ordinance limits carts on Michigan Avenue from Oak Street all the way down to Roosevelt; Rush from Division to Pearson; Clinton, near Ogilvie station; Halsted, near Mariano’s Whole Foods, and a string of Greek restaurants, the Lasalle street business district near City Hall, stretching all the way to Jackson; and big chunks of Michigan, Chicago, Sedgwick, and State streets. Read the full list here. He says there are many other public spaces in CBD where vendors can make good money.

Ald. Tom Tunney’s (44) substitute ordinance limits carts “on the sidewalk immediately adjacent to Wrigley Field; such sidewalk consisting of the north side of Addison Street, the east side of Clark Street, the south side of Waveland Avenue, and the west side of Sheffield Avenue” plus stretches of Halsted, Belmont, Broadway, Clark, and Diversey. He said he’s spoken at length about congestion problems around Wrigley Field, which he says has an already too small footprint. And on other major East Lakeview Streets, he says sidewalks are only 6 or 7 feet wide, where it’s tough for a couple to pass a baby buggy.

Like Reilly, Tunney says the ban isn’t ward-wide “by any stretch”, and mentioned the Southport Corridor as a better possible alternative for vendors. Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Maureen Martino echoed Tunney, saying there’s not even space for sidewalk cafes on Clark Street, “let alone a cart.” Broadway has 73 restaurants already, and half have cafes, Martino says, leaving little room for cart vendors.

Both substitutes passed unanimously and will be reported out at today’s full Council meeting.

Ald. Will Burns (4) also won unanimous approval for a municipal code change allowing private companies to boot cars parked on their property. He told the committee it’s quicker for businesses to get a car moved by booting than by towing, and cheaper and more convenient for the driver who got the boot. He called it a “win-win”, and said there would be signs posted warning the car will be booted if the driver leaves the premises. Private booting is legal in more than half the City, according to DNAInfo.

The committee also expanded the city's definition of service dogs beyond their assistance to the blind, an ordinance introduced by City Clerk Susana Mendoza. The amendment to the municipal code calls for a broader definition of service dogs who are trained “for the benefit of a person with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.” Service dogs are exempt from the City’s $5 per-year dog license (which costs 10 times more for dogs who aren’t spayed or neutered).

All other agenda items passed the committee and will be reported out today.