Spring has sprung and shake-ups are in the air. Speculation continues about
Ald. Michael Zalewski’s (23) replacement as chair of City Council’s Aviation Committee, while 80 committeemen meet to appoint the next head of the Cook County Democratic Party.
Zalewski formally endorsed long-rumored favorite, state
Rep. Silvana Tabares, to replace him as alderman on Tuesday. Mayoral spokesperson
Adam Collins said news was forthcoming on the process to select Zalewski’s replacement. City Council’s last retirement,
Ald. Will Burns (4) led to the mayor appointing a selection committee and open applications to ward residents. That committee recommended
Sophia King.
Just after City Council is expected to wrap, Cook County Democrats meet up the street at 203 North LaSalle to select the new head of the party. Several committeemen suggested Cook County Board President
Toni Preckwinkle is favored to win – what remains a mystery is how much she will depart from the style and operations of retiring Chairman
Joe Berrios – including who will serve on the party’s executive committee. Our story with
weighted votes and new party faces is here.
The Finance Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. to consider its recessed agenda –
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s pay gap measure, a resolution asking the General Assembly to support "Good Samaritan" civilian liability laws to protect animals in distress (
R2018-300), and an ordinance on the impounding of stray animals with microchips.
Progressive aldermen are expected to introduce an ordinance creating a new Office of Labor Standards to enforce the city’s minimum wage and sick leave regulations. It aligns with the
caucus’s backing of its “Fair Workweek” ordinance to “give workers more control over their schedules, require employers to first offer existing employees additional hours prior to hiring additional workers, and require employers to provide clear expectations about hours and schedule on an ongoing basis.”
Other items aldermen are expected to approve at the full City Council meeting:
-
Sydney R. Roberts’ appointment as Chief Administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (A2018-35) – Our coverage.
- Four settlements – three police related – totaling $6.2 million. The largest settlement, is owed to 16-year-old Jaquise Evans, who was shot and wounded by Officer Richard Salvador in the summer of 2015. City lawyers on this case were accused of failing to turn over crucial evidence in the case. – Our coverage.
-
Ald. Brian Hopkins’ (2) crackdown on landmark property owners who “willingly neglect” their buildings in the hopes of knocking them down and profiting off the land O2017-4871. The ordinance imposes daily fines of $1,000 to $2,000 on owners with compromised exterior, structural or defective elements. – Our coverage.
-
Ald. Marge Laurino’s (39) latest effort to tighten the city’s sexual harassment provisions, O2018-2401. It alters the declaration of city policy to affirm that sexual harassment “threaten[s] the rights and proper privileges of the city’s inhabitants and menace the institutions and foundation of a free and democratic society.” – Our coverage.
- Acceptance of roughly $28 million in grants, including the $10 million gift from billionaire Ken Griffin for Chicago Police Department and University of Chicago Crime Lab initiatives (O2018-2337).
- A fuel lease agreement (O2018-3039) with ORD Fuel Co. LLC (whose members are from American, Delta, and United Airlines) and an expanded agreement with Chicago Airlines Terminal Consortium (CATCo) (O2018-3040) to manage equipment and operations in and around Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 5 at O’Hare Airport.
- A four-year collective bargaining agreement covering the 24 sergeants who patrol O’Hare and Midway airports (O2018-2579).
-
Ald. Brendan Reilly’s (42) O2018-921, which triples fines “for parking or standing of vehicles alongside properly parked vehicles within Central Business District.” Double parkers downtown would see fines triple from $100 to $300.
-
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s latest crackdown on tobacco to deter teen smoking. The ordinance bans tobacco samplers from operating in the city and mandates that the Department of Public Health create warning signs about the dangers of other tobacco products like e-cigarettes, cigars, and cigarillos to be displayed at retailers (O2018-2340). – Our coverage.
- The extension of three existing leases with Catholic Charities. Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) voted against in committee, arguing the city wasn’t getting its money’s worth. (O2018-2449, O2018-2428, O2018-2400) – Our coverage.
- The new 16-story residential building planned in Ald. Proco Joe Moreno’s (1) ward. The building would have 168 units (seven affordable), and developers promise an $875,000 cash payment to the Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund (O2016-6342). – Our coverage.
- A 12-year class 6B tax for break construct an approximately 174,536 square foot last mile urban logistics facility at 2445 S. Rockwell, R2018-186.
-
Leslie D. Davis and Shirley J. Newsome’s reappointments to the city’s Community Development Commission (A2018-23).
- TIF Assistance for accessibility improvements at the Seward Park Fieldhouse on the Near North Side (O2018-2342) and improvements at the Big Marsh Environmental Center on the far South Side (O2018-2343) – Our coverage.
- 12-year landmark tax breaks for the old Cook County Criminal Building, or Court House Place (O2018-2347) in River North and the former Avondale Butter & Egg Co. building (O2018-2348) in the red-hot Fulton Market District. Our coverage.
- Another precinct ban on shared housing in Ald. Marty Quinn’s (13) ward (O2018-2361). It is is the 29th ban out of 48 precincts. – Our coverage.
New COPA Chief Administrator Sydney Roberts briefly addresses reporters after her City Council appointment on Apr. 18, 2018.
Cook County Democratic Committeemen pose for a class picture, with the new Executive Committee front row.
