Inspector General Joe Ferguson was blunt in his assessment of the city’s latest police reform efforts and his interpretation of the ethics ordinance when he went before Budget Committee Tuesday to be reappointed for another six year term.

He faced more questions than any of the other mayoral appointees up for consideration, to the point that a restless Budget Chair Carrie Austin (34) told him, “When budget time comes, all you have to do is show up and have lunch with us, they’ve asked every question under the sun.”

He critiqued a confidential draft plan Mayor Rahm Emanuel submitted to the Justice Department concerning continued federal oversight of the police department as “redundant” and said he wasn’t consulted.

“What it essentially is from my perspective is a less than IG, it’s a shackled IG with a narrow band of issues that it can attend to,” Ferguson said of the proposed oversight structure detailed in a memorandum of agreement that has yet to surface publicly.

“Do we really need this redundant oversight function that has no enforcement power when we’ve already got what we think–or what I’d like to think you all think–is an effective, independent function within the city?” he asked, referring to a new division in his office tasked with analyzing police department data to identify trends and recommend new strategies.

Later in his testimony, he intensified his criticisms, telling aldermen that they need to be realistic in understanding that a Justice Department under the direction of Attorney General Jeff Sessions won’t provide the support Chicago needs because of Sessions’ record opposing civil rights.

“That’s who we are negotiating with,” he stressed. “It’s the Justice Department that would decide whether to enforce. Look who that Justice Department is and tell me that there is any reason for confidence that they would actually step into that situation [...] So we’re left with essentially a handcuffed, second IG. That’s what the MOA is.”

“The alternative is crappy, too, right? But we’ve all got to recognize that we are in a crappy situation, there’s a lot of work we need to do,” he said of the added costs and work that will be needed to rebuild the police department for the long haul.

He also said the city’s current definition of what constitutes a lobbyist is “the broadest in the country” telling aldermen that under it’s current form, any small business-owning constituent who inquires about a street repairs at their home is technically lobbyist. An audible chorus of “wows” could be heard from aldermen, who appeared shocked by the realization. He added that it’s okay for the definition to be broad as long as the regulatory body (The Board of Ethics) clearly defined “the tipping point.”

Several other appointments to top slots in the Emanuel Administration advanced out of Budget Committee Tuesday, including a new Budget Director and a new Water Department Commissioner, as well as a renewed term for Procurement Chief Jamie Rhee:

 

• Randy Conner, Commissioner Department of Water Management (replaces Barrett Murphy) A 20-year veteran of the city’s Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Department of Streets and Sanitation, Conner would take over the department in the midst of a scandal. An Inspector General probe revealed a series of racist and sexist emails sent among DWM employees, forcing the resignation of Murphy. With that issue top of mind for aldermen at Tuesday’s meeting, Conner detailed new sensitivity training to change the culture of the department. “This appointment is the best we’ve seen yet,”  Budget Chair Carrie Austin concluded before the vote, echoing colleagues at Tuesday’s confirmation hearing and a recent statement members of the Council’s Black Caucus issued on the appointment. (Press Release)

 

 

• Samantha Fields, Budget Director, Office Of Budget and Management (Replaces Alex Holt) Following a short stint as the head of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP), Fields will take over the city’s Budget Office as it prepares for the 2018 budget season.

 

Two Chicago Public Library Board reappointments advanced unanimously, renewing terms for Barbara Bowman and Patricia (Patty) Gaytan Perez through June 30, 2020. Neither were asked to testify.

A threatened Rule 41–a notice by an alderman to discharge an ordinance stalled in committee – has fizzled for the second time in as many months, following last month’s fumbled plot to force a vote on the Keeping The Promise Ordinance, legislation that would place more City Council oversight of the Chicago Housing Authority.

This month, it would have forced a Council vote on a SEIU-backed ordinance that’s part of the union’s larger effort to increase wages and job security for airport service workers. In both cases, the administration was able to circumvent a floor vote by agreeing to meet with interested parties.

Ald. Ameya Pawar (47) filed a notice with the City Clerk’s Office announcing his intention to discharge the ordinance requiring labor peace agreements between airliners that lease gates at O’Hare Airport and their subcontractors–the companies that employ janitorial staff, baggage handlers, cabin cleaners, and security.

But now, SEIU has finally grabbed the attention of the Administration–likely helped by an onslaught of negative attack ads and protests targeting some of the mayor’s closest allies on the City Council. Due to ongoing, productive talks on the labor issues, Ald. Pawar told The Daily Line he’s not going to force a vote Wednesday.

In a press release, SEIU confirmed it’s having “positive discussions” with the administration and quoted SEIU Local 1 President Tom Balanoff in saying, “We’re working with the Emanuel administration on a process to raise standards for these hardworking men and women, because no worker at O’Hare or Midway—or anywhere in our city—should be making poverty wages.”

The SEIU-backed ordinance, of which there are two versions (O2017-225 & O2017-3289),  would impact all future lease agreements at O’Hare and Midway Airports. It’s part of the labor organization’s efforts to increase wages and benefits for all airport service workers who allege widespread wage theft and poor working conditions. The first ordinance was introduced to Aviation Committee in January, the latter to Workforce Committee in April.

SEIU has been working to organize these service employees for more than a year. They’ve orchestrated several protests and walkouts at O’Hare, sometimes with aldermen present in solidarity.

In February, SEIU issued mailers and scheduled patch-through auto-calls targeting several aldermen, including Aviation Committee Chair Mike Zalewski (23) for not sponsoring the ordinance. Fliers from a protest outside Zalewski’s office said he “refused to stand with hardworking men and woman at the airport. Instead, he has sided with huge corporations like United and American Airlines!” (Mail Pieces 1 / 2 / 3 ).

This month they rolled out another negative mail campaign against Ald. Pat O’Connor (40), the second most tenured member of the City Council and Chair of its Workforce Committee.

Though the original ordinance has spent more time languishing in Ald. Michael Zalewski’s (23) Aviation Committee, Ald. O’Connor was the sole target of the six-piece campaign. (Mail pieces: 1 /  2  / 3  / 4  / 5 /  6)

The ordinance was crafted shortly after Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans told aldermen during last year’s budget hearing that her department has no recourse to force these labor agreements, because airport service workers are “third-step removed”, meaning they’re employed by subcontractors hired by the airliners, not the city.

This ordinance would work around that issue, by requiring airliners to agree to fair wage standards for subcontractors when they apply for a lease agreement with the city. The written agreement can either be an affirmation to provide wages and benefits aligned with the Building Owners Managers Association of Chicago (BOMA), or to enter into a “labor peace agreement”.

Labor peace agreements are typically used to cover hotels, restaurants, casinos, and airports that either receive public funding or do business with a local municipality, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Under the written arrangement between a union and an employer, both sides agree to waive certain labor rights granted under federal law, such as the right to organize or go on strike, as long as the employer treats the workers as a collective bargaining unit, essentially giving them the ability to negotiate wages and benefits.

Wednesday’s meeting of the full City Council may very well be the last time aldermen won’t have to listen to public testimony – a resolution codifying new public comment procedures for City Council meetings will be taken up by the Rules Committee this morning, an hour before the the full City Council.

Finance Committee also has some unfinished business to handle–an order from Ald. Brendan Reilly (42), co-sponsored by Finance Chair Ed Burke (14), that would block overnight pedestrian access to the lakefront at Ohio Street.  

Oddly, Finance and Rules are scheduled to meet at the same time, 9:00 a.m., in the Council Chambers.

And Ald. Ameya Pawar (47) has decided to hold off on a plan to force a vote on an SEIU-backed ordinance that would support their years-long effort to increase wages and benefits for airport service workers. (Details: Plan to Force Council Vote on Labor Protections for Airport Workers)

Mayor’s Office Amends Police Homebuying Program

Meanwhile, a plan to invest $3 million in a new homebuyer program for police officers has been amended ahead of today’s vote, following the lukewarm reception it faced from aldermen two weeks ago. Though the ordinance advanced out of Housing Committee by voice vote, some aldermen, including Ald. David Moore (17) and Ald. Pat Dowell (3), said they would only support it pending changes.

The program would encourage the city’s first responders to purchase homes in city’s community areas with the highest, consistent rates of violent crime. All Chicago first responders, including police officers, firefighters, and paramedics whose annual salary is between $82,950 and $118,500 could qualify for the city-funded $30,000, 10-year forgivable loans. One hundred loans would be made available on a first-come, first-served basis. That money could cover any of the costs associated with the purchase of a home, from appraisal to post-purchase rehab work.

The city had originally based the eligibility map on police district boundaries, even though the department tracks crime statistics down to the street level.

To the dismay of some aldermen, the Administration didn’t factor in where police officers currently live as a data point, nor did the city account for outliers, neighborhoods or clusters of residential blocks where crime isn’t an issue.

When it was presented in committee, eligible areas spanned across six police districts on the city’s South and West Side: the 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 15th. Those districts include portions of Auburn Gresham, Austin, Brighton Park, Chatham, East Garfield Park, Englewood, Gage Park, Greater Grand Crossing, Humboldt Park, New City, North Lawndale, South Lawndale, West Englewood and West Garfield Park.



 



Finance Committee Meeting

Between April and October, during the hours of midnight to five in the morning, the gates to the Ohio Street underpass would be locked under an order proposed by Ald. Reilly. When the downtown alderman directly introduced the item at Monday’s Finance Committee meeting, he said it was an issue of public safety: the 18th Police District is “stretched thin” and closing that access would allow more patrols at other pedestrian access points to the lake, from Navy Pier down to Oakwood Beach.

Rules Committee Meeting

Rules Chair Michelle Harris (8) recessed an earlier meeting of the committee because she didn’t have a quorum to vote on an ordinance mandating public comment at City Council meetings. Rules is the only Council committee that has all 50 aldermen as members. A quorum requires more than half be present.

Under the court-mandated proposal under consideration, 30 minutes of every Council meeting would be set aside for public comment, with each speaker allotted a maximum of three minutes. A new NBA-style countdown clock (the “Shot Clock”) has been installed on the wall of the Council Chamber to make sure they oblige to the time limit. The clock, which Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) called “tacky”, will only be in use for this portion of the meeting.

The resolution awaiting consideration amends the Rules of Procedure, carving out a public comment timeslot after the Clerk calls the roll, and before the parade of honorary resolutions submitted by aldermen.

Andy Thayer, one of the plaintiffs who sued the city for violating the state’s Open Meetings Act claiming he was denied access to two monthly City Council meetings last summer, characterized the 30 minute carve out as “totally inadequate” and threatened more litigation when he testified before Rules Committee last week. (Context: This court document of exhibits the plaintiffs submitted to the court includes detailed descriptions on the City Council’s seating policy )

“These proposed rule changes are totally inadequate and just invite further litigation and the city should not be wasting time on that, the city should just do the right thing and follow the Open Meetings Act,” Thayer said. “We need at least an hour of public comment at the meetings to ensure adequate input.”

Thayer wasn't the only member of the public to trash the plan, and some sympathetic aldermen questioned if the three minute time limit should be reduced or the public portion extended to an hour.   And the  administration has had a reputation for handing down 11th hour re-writes of controversial legislation minutes before a vote (see: Uber, Airbnb), but this item doesn’t have the broad, and monied lobbying efforts to pressure changes.  

No amendments have been added to the rules, a spokesperson from the city’s Law Department confirmed on background. The Law Department official added that Thayer would need to file a new lawsuit against the city if he wants to challenge it.

Items Awaiting Committee Vote, Before Full Council

• R2017-389: Changes to public comment rules at full City Council meetings (Preview, Committee Report)


• Order: [Record # Unknown] An Order requesting the Department of Transportation ban pedestrian access to the lake under Ohio Street.

Ordinances

• [Direct Intro/No Rec#] Amendment to Chicago Prepaid Wireless 911 Surcharge Act  – A telecommunications bill in Springfield that would renew Chicago’s 911 surcharge on prepaid wireless services, as well as increase city’s 911 surcharge on wireless and landline phones, from $3.90 to $5, is under threat of veto or inaction by the governor. This ordinance would give the city two paths: authorize the Illinois Department of Revenue to continue collecting the tax on the prepaid service, though at a lower, 7% rate, or collect at the higher 9% rate should the bill be signed into law. ( 911 Surcharge Briefing Sheet / 911 Surcharge Direct Introduction)


• O2017-3906: A $3 million Homebuyer Assistance Program for city police officers, firefighters and paramedics that would award up to 100 eligible applicants $30,000 toward their housing costs if they commit to purchasing a home in one of 14 community areas with the highest crime rates. The program would be funded through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (See more above, as well as this Preview, Committee Report)
  


• O2017-163: Changes to the city’s amusement tax as it relates to tickets sold on the secondary market. Originally portrayed as code cleanup by the mayor’s budget office, it was revealed that the city would lose about $200,000 in revenue. Several alderman, Harry Osterman (48), Patrick Daley Thompson (11) and David Moore (17) have already committed to voting it down (Committee Report / Briefing Document)


• O2017-3859: Reduction in overnight staffing requirements for coin-operated laundromats. Mayor Emanuel sponsored this legislation to reduce what the industry described as a costly, and burdensome that requires at least two employees present for the overnight shift at 24-hour, self-serve locations.  (Preview, Committee Report)


• O2017-3911: Massage parlor crackdown in response to “Operation Hot Towel” sex trafficking sting introduced by Ald. Matt O’Shea (19). Currently, massage parlors in Chicago can employ persons as young as 15-years old. This ordinance imposes various licensing requirements, as well as a new age minimum of 18 years old. (Preview, Committee Report)


• O2017-3933, O2017-3928, O2017-3938, O2017-3940: About $5.5 Million in TIFs for CPS School Construction. Three of the four TIF ordinances would reimburse the Board of Education for capital costs associated with bringing three schools on the city’s North Side up to compliance with federal accessibility standards. Amundsen High School and Chappell Elementary School, both located in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of the 40th Ward, would receive up to $1,083,069 and $760,137, respectively from the Western Avenue North TIF.  Carl Schurz High School in Jefferson Park, which CPS spent $4.9 million to build ADA compliant features, would receive $2.9 million from the Portage Park TIF. And Manuel Perez Elementary School in Pilsen would benefit from $800,000 from the Pilsen Industrial Corridor TIF to cover the cost of removing and disposing existing playground equipment for a new basketball court.  (Preview)


• O2017-3898: Establishment of a new bid incentive program for veteran owned businesses (Preview)


• O2017-3884, O2017-3904: A slew of ordinances from Ald. Marty Quinn (13) that’d ban residents who live within the boundaries of four voting precincts from renting out their homes on Airbnb. The process is similar to that of imposing a moratorium on packaged good license.  (Precincts: 10th, 48th, 12st, and 45th)

Appointments

• A2017-42: Appointment of Rosa Escareño as Commissioner of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (Preview, Committee Report)
  


• A2017-50: Appointment of Samantha S. Fields as Budget Director (Preview)
  


• A2017-46: Appointment of Randy Conner as Commissioner of Water Management (Preview)


• A2017-49: Appointment of Danielle DuMerer as Chief Information Officer (Preview, Committee Report)
  


• A2017-48: Reappointment of Jamie L. Rhee as Chief Procurement Officer (Preview)
  


• A2017-47: Reappointment of Joseph M. Ferguson as Inspector General (Preview)


• A2017-45: Reappointment of Barbara T. Bowman and Patricia G. Perez as members of Chicago Public Library Board (Preview)


• A2017-43: Appointment of David A. Helfand as commissioner of Chicago Park District (Preview, Committee Report)
  

Resolutions

• R2017-302: Call for President Trump and the U.S. Congress to support mission of the EPA and maintain operation at Region 5 office in Chicago (Coverage)


• R2017-213: Call for opposition to the reduction in federal funding to EPA and Great Lakes Restoration Initiative


• SR2017-297: Call for Department of Transportation to adopt Federal Highway Administration provisions regarding use of post-consumer recyclable materials in roadway projects


• R2017-291: Reaffirmation of commitment to restricting non-essential City-funded employee travel to State of North Carolina

Chicago would still have the authority to collect a surcharge on prepaid wireless services under a change to the municipal code the Council’s Finance Committee approved, protecting the city from losing out on nearly $9 million in annual revenue. A few members voted against a modest tax change on resold tickets because it isn’t revenue neutral–the city will lose out on about $200,000 a year. Finance Committee will resume again Wednesday morning an hour before the full City Council meeting to take action on a last minute addition to Monday’s agenda: an order from Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) that would prohibit late night public access to the lakefront through the Ohio Street underpass, though it’s questionable that it’s an item meant for Finance Committee.

Commissioners will gather for a special meeting at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday to honor the late West Side Comm. Robert Steele, a Democrat who represented the county’s 2nd District for more than a decade. Steele passed away last week at 55. He is survived by his mother, former Board President Bobbie Steele, and his children, Ahja Steele, Cameron Steele and Stephanie Williams.

A slew of promotions and reappointments that Mayor Emanuel announced in an epic Friday news dump last month are up for hearings Tuesday in the Budget Committee. Samantha Fields’ promotion from a short stint at the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection to city Budget Director gets top billing, followed by new Water Department Commissioner Randy Conner (a move praised by several black aldermen in the wake of the release of racist and sexist emails among DWM employees). Procurement Services head Jamie Rhee and Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s reappointments are next up.

With uncertainty in Springfield on a telecommunications bill that would renew Chicago’s authority to tax prepaid wireless services at 9%, the Emanuel Administration has come up with a plan B to be directly introduced in Finance Committee Monday.

Updated: June 26, 2017

Cook County Clerk David Orr’s announcement Wednesday that he plans to retire after 39 years of elected office, 26 of them as Clerk, and not run for reelection in 2018 has set things in motion, next come the quakes.

Political retirements in Chicago are like shifts deep within the Earth’s crust. Starting out as a small movement, the tectonic pressures force a series of cascading rumbles, often resulting in devastation and change on the surface, never again are things the same.

Many have had their eye on the Clerk job, a position with lots of people to hire and lots of goodwill–you don’t collect taxes or fine people, but you make sure elections are clean–it’s the kind of job you could show up for 20 hours a week and the public would never know the difference. Sounds fun, right?

Lots of Cook County politicians think so, and candidates are already lining up, working to gain crucial Democratic Party support before too many commitments are made. Cook County Recorder Karen Yarborough, an African-American from the West Suburbs with close ties to Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan had already announced her candidacy even before Orr announced his retirement. It seems like Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, hoping to cash in his high name I.D. and goodwill from his 2015 mayoral campaign loss, is serious about a run. And 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore, an acolyte of Orr’s, told the Chicago Tribune that he’s considering it, too.

We’ll probably hear lots more names before July is out, since the Cook County Democratic Party plans to announce their slate by August 11.

Victories by Yarbrough, Garcia or Moore would set off even more aftershocks.

If Yarborough won, there would still be two years left in her term as Recorder. County citizens voted last November to merge the Recorder job with the Clerk, so someone would get a cushy two year paid gig to just do whatever Clerk Yarborough wants.

If Garcia won, he’d leave behind an open Commissioner spot, which his close friend, Ald. Rick Muñoz (22) has not been shy in coveting. The spot would be filled by appointment by Democratic Ward Committeemen, many friendly to Muñoz. That would leave the 22nd Ward aldermanic job open, which Mayor Rahm Emanuel would fill by appointment before the 2019 election, just a few months after the 2018 general election. But since we’d know if Garcia won during the March 2018 primary, likely a dozen of candidates (if not more) would line up for the Little Village aldermanic campaign. It would be a madhouse.

If Moore won in the Democratic primary, it would set off a mad scramble for 49th Ward Alderman, a position that has attracted at least two serious challengers against Moore for the last 12 years. Lots of people in the highly economically and racially diverse Rogers Park want that job.

Although David Orr is 72, he is only now retiring. Congressman Bobby Rush is 70. Congressman Danny Davis is 75. Toni Preckwinkle is 70. All of them have expressed their intention to run for reelection in 2018. Imagine the earthquakes when they retire.

Corrections: This article originally mis-stated David Orr's age and has been corrected to state that County Commissioner vacancies are filled by Ward Committeemen, not the Board President.

Did you know that since the start of Mayor Emanuel’s second term, the City Council has supported nearly $93 million in property tax breaks for 60 development projects across the city? We didn’t either, until we dug through all our own data earlier this month. We found out that the county’s property tax incentive program, managed by Cook County Assessor (and Democratic Party Chair) Joe Berrios, is opaque. While the city and county say lower assessments for businesses help retain construction and industrial jobs, it’s appears no one is checking up on those promises.

Why should you care? For every dollar in tax breaks awarded, someone else has to pay. If you’re a property owner, that includes you.

Got questions, comments, corrections, or suggestions? Send us an email: [email protected]. And don’t forget the promo code for 10% off your subscription to The Daily Line’s new Springfield reporting: LAUNCH.

Aldermen on the City Council’s Transportation Committee spent the better part of the meeting on a favorite aldermanic pet project: roadwork, and the finer points of different kinds of hot mix asphalt, binding materials, and the durability of road improvements. The Committee ultimately approved a resolution that would allow the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) to use other recycled materials in its road projects–including recycled roof shingles.  

Aldermen on the city’s Special Events and Cultural Affairs Committee swiftly approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Parks District Board appointee, millionaire real estate manager David A. Helfand. Helfand replaces Juan Salgado, the recently-appointed Chancellor of City Colleges.

 

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and her finance team released the county’s Fiscal Year 2018 preliminary forecast Thursday. The mid-year projection of year-end revenues and expenses for the rest of FY17 is a look ahead to the budget that will be introduced in October. While President Preckwinkle promised no new taxes, it’s likely union employees in the county will face tougher negotiations as collective bargaining agreements are hashed out.

A coalition of neighborhood community groups that had been tasked by the Emanuel Administration with designing a community oversight board for the Chicago Police Department announced Thursday their support for a consent decree, but then also admitted they haven’t come up with a blueprint for public oversight.

Zoning Committee forged through four hours of testimony Thursday to approve dozens of zoning changes and the first precinct bans on room sharing through online platforms like Airbnb. While much of the meeting’s pace was kept to a slow walk because of repeated testimony by Leading Citizen George Blakemore, almost an hour of testimony came from more than a dozen Jefferson Park residents. They turned out to oppose a planned 13-story mixed use building on Lawrence and Lipps Avenues, near the Jefferson Park Transit Center.

The Cook County Democratic Party will meet Thursday and Friday for their “pre-slating” meeting, an opportunity for candidates of countywide and statewide offices to make their pitches to the 80 Ward and Township Committeemen, as they seek the County Party’s endorsement. The speeches, open to the media at 134 N. LaSalle, in the 7th floor conference room, promise to deliver drama and a couple of political shifts. The County Party will hear candidate’s pitches this week, then meet again on August 10 and 11 to vote on slating.