One of City Council’s most influential aldermanic staffers is also working as a lobbyist for two of Chicago’s largest property holders, The Daily Line has learned. Madeline Hill, who acts as chief of staff for Ald. Brendan Reilly (42), is actually paid as a contractor for Citizens for Alderman Reilly and not a city employee. Hill’s consulting group, VX Consulting, is also a registered lobbyist for Wirtz Realty and M. Fishman & Company, two of Chicago’s larger residential landlords and developers.

“It’s unique, but not wrong,” Hill told The Daily Line Monday. “It’s not written, but obviously I keep a very far distance between the 42nd Ward, even the old 42nd Ward [boundaries], and other wards. That stuff I don’t do. Nothing in downtown Chicago. That’s a no brainer.”

According to city ordinances, Hill’s split relationship between being a senior staffer for Ald. Reilly, who has more development in his ward than any other alderman, as well as a consultant for two large real estate companies, is not illegal, nor is it officially unethical, according to advisory opinions posted by the Chicago Board of Ethics. However, Hill’s situation is unique among lobbyists and aldermanic staff, where she could attend to high-stakes policy for an alderman and a private developer in the same day, all while receiving payment from both groups.

Hill says that when she talks to city planning staff she keeps a clear line between when she is working on a 42nd Ward matter or a client. “What I always do, whenever I talk to them is make clear what I’m talking to them about. If it’s for an outside client, I’ll say it’s for a non-42nd Ward matter, I’ll say this is for X client. I’m always clear about what matter I’m on...I don’t mix conversation and I make sure keep things tidy.”

Since 2009, Hill or her consulting group has received $247,000 in payments from Citizens for Alderman Reilly, including $95,450 during 2016.

Contacted by The Daily Line, developer Marc Fishman was asked if he knew about Hill’s work for both Reilly and his company. He demurred, “I’m sorry, I’m at a construction site. I didn’t recognize the number,” and then quickly hung up.

The Daily Line also contacted Wirtz Realty for comment, but did not receive a response by publication.

Hill has received official city communications referring to both of her roles as aldermanic staff and lobbyist. For one development in July 2015, Hill acted as a representative for Wirtz Realty on a project in the 44th Ward, where she received a carbon copy from Zoning Administrator Patty Scudiero on her decision to provide zoning relief. On another occasion in March 2016, Hill was carbon copied as the 42nd Ward lead staffer on a request to Planning Commissioner David Reifman for a request to use a pocket park for private use.

The city ethics ordinance specifically bars employees (which includes aldermanic staff) from influencing decisions from which they have “derived any income or compensation” in the past 12 months, or the upcoming 12 months. However, the ordinance does not apply to contractors, providing Hill a loophole so she may work for both Alderman Reilly and outside clients simultaneously.

An analysis by The Daily Line found that while nine other aldermanic chiefs of staff did receive outside campaign payments by their bosses, they retained city employee status. Campaign payments for other aldermanic staffers were significantly less than Hill’s and was for campaign work done while not working on city time, conduct explicitly permitted by the Board of Ethics.

“It’s a lot of perceived power. I have a lot less power and influence that people think,” said Hill.

A tax break for a private developer building a commercial retail complex in the historic Fulton-Randolph area is on tap for Finance Committee today, and is one of a few non-routine items listed on the agenda.

Donald Trump’s presidential win has confounded elected officials in Chicago and Cook County, and raised serious questions about potential local impacts to County medical care and the federal probe into the Chicago Police Department. Tuesday’s election had other big impacts, including the elimination of a county office and new control of hundreds of millions in transportation dollars.

We’ve included an extended interview with Cook County Recorder of Deeds Karen Yarbrough, whose office will fold its duties under the jurisdiction of the County Clerk. The County has until 2020 to figure out how to merge the two offices, and Yarbrough, who opposed the binding referendum, says no one has reached out to her to talk about it.

And roughly 78% of Illinois voters advanced an amendment to the state constitution, dubbed the “Lockbox Amendment.” It would force the state and local municipalities to direct transportation-related tax dollars to roads, highways, bridges and other transportation infrastructure. In theory, it’s a laudatory goal, in practice, there are serious consequences. The Civic Federation’s Laurence Msall explains why.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle also cast the deciding vote on a controversial plan to slap a penny-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages, making Cook largest county in America to impose such a tax. Democratic commissioners who voted no invoked the wrath of Trump voters who might strike back when the board’s up for election in 2018.

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Voters last Tuesday overwhelmingly approved, 63-37%, a binding referendum that merges the Cook County Recorder of Deeds office into the County Clerk and eliminates the Recorder position by 2020. While the initiative was framed as a cost saving measure to combine two offices that do similar work, Cook County officials tell The Daily Line there’s no clear road map for how the merger should be carried out.

A vote already expected to advance on a razor thin margin was complicated at the Cook County board Thursday when it became apparent Comm. Robert Steele (D-2) was not in the building. Comm. Steele, who is recovering at home from a hospital stay earlier this week, threw an expected 9-8 committee passage of the President’s sweetened beverage tax out of whack, and ended up forcing President Toni Preckwinkle to play tie breaker. Cook County is now the largest county in the nation to pass a sweetened beverage tax.

The Cook County Committee on Finance meets today to consider President Toni Preckwinkle’s proposed penny per ounce tax on sweetened beverages, as well as her proposal to halt tax hikes for the next three fiscal years. A similar tax freeze proposal from Comm. John Fritchey that was deferred at the request of his colleagues is also on the agenda.

Only one alderman, Scott Waguespack (32), introduced formal amendments to the annual revenue and management ordinances for the 2017 budget at Wednesday’s full City Council meeting.

The City Council’s Latino Caucus is sending a letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel formally requesting that he select one of five Latino aldermen vying to replace Susana Mendoza as City Clerk, following her win Tuesday night in the heated state Comptroller race.

For months, members of the Latino Caucus have been quietly discussing the issue of who should replace Mendoza as Clerk. Those discussions picked up again Wednesday.

While many of us focused on national election results, a number of local races will have important impacts closer to home.

Last night’s election results will impact cities, and Chicago, in a major way. While President-elect Donald J. Trump’s campaign delivered a mixed message when it came to cities, calling Chicago a “disaster” while simultaneously promising to improve inner cities. However, one of President-elect Trump’s first promises in last night’s victory speech was to “fix our inner cities” and “rebuild our infrastructure”, which typically means big spending programs. Yet, Congressional Republicans, who took control of both houses of Congress last night, have campaigned on a message of cutting government spending and entitlements, most of which support big city infrastructure and social service programs.

The full City Council meets today for a quick routine meeting to defer and publish the various 2017 budget ordinances.

Three members of the Progressive Caucus voted against the Revenue Ordinance for the FY 2017 budget Monday, citing transparency concerns with the proposed Community Catalyst Fund. It was the day’s only roll call vote, and the item ultimately passed, 18-3. All other items, including the $1.35 billion property tax levy for FY2017, new parking meters and rates, and changes to the city’s plastic bag tax, also passed the committee. An expected direct introduction from Ald. Patrick D. Thompson (11) loosening restrictions on flavored tobacco sales near schools was held.

Representatives from the pharmaceutical industry told the City Council’s Budget Committee that a proposed license for drug salespeople included in the 2017 budget is “onerous” and would do little to curb the epidemic of opioid abuse within the city.

Ald. Pat Dowell (3), along with the other 17 members of the City Council’s Black Caucus, sent a letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel demanding that minority hiring be added to the list of criteria for an annual bonus Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans is entitled to every year.

Updated 6:34 a.m., November 8, 2016

Early vote turnout in both Chicago and suburban Cook County smashed previous records, with 683,426 early voted in both jurisdictions on Monday evening after many polling locations locations in Chicago stayed open long after 8:00 p.m. due to long lines. In 2008, 469,911 people voted by early vote.

Vote by mail numbers have also set post-war records, with over 105,000 applications requested in Chicago and 113,375 requested in suburban Cook County.  In Chicago over 62,000 vote by mail ballots have already been returned while in suburban Cook County over 69,000 have already been returned. The last time the numbers were higher were in 1944, according to Cook County Clerk David Orr.