Local stakeholders will gather tomorrow evening to discuss the findings of the Police Accountability Task Force (PATF) "and its ramifications for future policymaking, people's lawyering, and activism." The panel will feature Paul Strauss, Director of Impact Litigation at the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights; Stan Willis, a civil rights attorney; and Cosette Hampton, an organizer with the Chicago chapter of Black Youth Project 100 (BYP 100). Loyola Professor Alan Raphael will moderate.

BYP 100 has already come out against the PATF report, saying it's "filled with name-changes and more money for current programs and new programs that increase loopholes and bureaucracy and that the most vulnerable population, young Black people, did not ask for."

The City Council’s Zoning Committee will take up internationally-known architect Helmut Jahn’s proposed 832-foot residential tower for 1000 S. Michigan Ave. and a controversial project from LG Development that calls for a nine-story plus penthouse condo building on a surface parking lot across from Mary Bartelme Park on the city’s Near West Side, among roughly 60 other zoning applications.

Jahn’s 506-unit residential building, which will be a mix of condos and rentals, received unanimous approval from the Plan Commission last week. Seventy percent (358 units) would be made condos while the remaining 148 units, to be located at the bottom half of the building, would be sold as rentals.

All units planned will be sold at market rate. The developers, a joint venture of JK Equities and Time Equities, took advantage of the old 2007 affordable housing requirements, opting to use the Affordable Housing Bonus, which lets them pay an in-lieu fee of $828,502.40. Only one person signed up to testify against the project when it came before the Plan Commission.

Meanwhile, LG Development’s plan for 111 South Peoria Street is likely to get some neighborhood pushback, as more than a dozen residents signed up to testify against it at the Plan Commission meeting in March. That group was especially organized, with handouts, zoning maps, and presentation boards supplementing their testimony. Attorney Ron Cope and city planner Les Pollack were among them. The project, which has gone through five revisions, received unanimous approval from the Plan Commission.

Ald. Burke’s Apps, Plan Commission Appointments

Ald. Ed Burke (14) wants to lift the ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in the city’s downtown area, and add a type of transparent plastic to the list of materials that can be used to board up vacant or foreclosed homes.

Ald. Burke’s two ordinances are the only non-zoning change, aldermanic-backed measures before the Zoning Committee today.

The medical marijuana ordinance would amend the city’s zoning code to make it possible for dispensary operators to apply for a special use permit to open a medical marijuana shop on any street zoned “Downtown Core”, or “DC.” To obtain a special use permit, the operator would still need to apply for the permit with the Zoning Board of Appeals, the land-use body in charge of granting all special use permits.

Burke’s other measure would change the city’s Municipal Code to allow “the use of polycarbonate clear boarding to secure vacant residential buildings.” This type of transparent plastic is advertised as a way to board up homes as not to attract vandals or squatters, because the material makes it indiscernible that the home is closed off.

Under the city’s zoning code, the mortgage holder of any residential building that has become vacant and is not already registered with the city is required to secure the building’s doors and windows. The zoning code requires that “commercial-quality metal security panels” or plywood be used. Burke’s ordinance adds polycarbonate clear boarding to that list.

The Committee is also expected to take up the re-appointment of Leslie F. Bond, Jr.and Linda Searl to the Plan Commission. Bond, the founder and CEO of Attucks Asset Management, was first appointed to the land-use board by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2012. Searl, the president and principal at Searl Lamaster Howe Architects, P.C., was first appointed to the land-use board in 1997 by Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Noticeably missing from the list of appointments is the replacement for Juan Linares, who resigned from the seat after spending less than a year on the commission. At the last monthly City Council meeting on April 13, Mayor Emanuel introduced an ordinance replacing Linares with Lucino Sotelo, a Chief Marketing Officer at BMO Harris Bank.

Aldermanic Applications

• 2438-40 W. 47th Street (15th Ward) - Ald. Raymond Lopez filed a request to rezone a closed-off vacant piece of property currently being used as a private parking lot. It’s located next door to two restaurants, and various other commercial properties are also situated on the street. But Ald. Lopez wants to downzone it from a commercial property (B3-2) to a residential, detached house district (RS3).

• 3116 W. 111th Street (19th Ward) - In his latest zoning request–he had 5 at the last zoning meeting held earlier this month–Ald. Matt O’Shea (19) has filed yet another application to rezone a section of 111th Street. The latest request makes a modest change: from a B1-1 to a B1-1.5. The difference of the “0.5” impacts density, such as the minimum floor area ratio and the minimum lot area per unit allowed. At the April 5th meeting, Ald. O’Shea received some pushback from his colleagues on the committee concerning his applications to downzone various commercial strips (mostly on 111st Street) to the lowest density allowable for this type of commercial use. At that meeting, an aide for Ald. O’Shea testified that the alderman filed the applications to “keep consistent our business district,” and that most of the ward’s commercial streets already conform to that zoning designation.

• 2701-07 W. Division St. (26th Ward) - Ald. Roberto Maldonado is seeking approval to up-zone this commercial and residential building located a block away from Humboldt Park. He’s asking for a B3-3 designation, up from a B1-1. The difference is the type of retail allowed; B1-1 allows for small-scale shops, B3-3 allows for a very broad range of retail and commercial businesses.

• 2119-37 W. Erie St. (26th Ward) - Another application from Ald. Maldonado that would make a modest change to a residential street. He’s asking for a change from a RS3 to an RS2. The change in number affects the amount of density allowed.

• Clark Street from Diversey (2800 N) to Wellington (3000 N) (44th Ward) - Ald. Tom Tunney wants to designate this busy stretch of sidewalks as a “Pedestrian Retail Street.” By classifying these streets as such, Tunney is making sure that they remain pedestrian-oriented shopping corridors. Under the city’s zoning code, a pedestrian retail street is characterized as one that has a high concentration of existing stores and restaurants, few vacant, and most of which have windows and stores facing the street.

• 5140-90 N. Northwest Hwy (45th Ward) - Ald. John Arena filed an application to rezone this triangle lot occupied by a Walgreens building. The property is designated as a manufacturing district (M1-1). Arena wants to designate it as a business commercial district (B1-1). The lot is sandwiched between the 16th District police station and the Orion Industries and Surface Solution Group manufacturing building.

Private Applications on the Regular Agenda (Highlights)

• 1317-1335 N. Western Ave (1st Ward) - Gibbons Construction filed an application to rezone this property to facilitate construction of a new five-story, 60-foot, 39 dwelling unit building. No commercial space is planned. Other amenities would include 32 parking spaces.

• 4352 W. Flournoy St. (24th Ward) - Manal Musa filed an application to rezone a vacant piece of property at this location to build a one-story, 2,400-square-foot commercial strip mall building.

• 1708-12 W. Cermak Road (25th Ward) - Ashcer, LLC, owned by Tatiana Nowak, filed an application to rezone this property to construct a four-story, 46-foot tall building with 24 residential units and 24 parking spaces. Located on the northern border of the city’s lower west side neighborhood, the property is a block away from Benito Juarez Community Academy.

• 863 N. Orleans St. (27th Ward) - Three applicants filed a joint application to rezone this property to build a six-story office and retail building near the Chicago Brown Line CTA Station at Chicago Avenue, making this project a so-called “Transit Oriented Development.” According to the application, the bottom floor would include 3,700-square-feet of retail. Floors two-through-six would have 11,700-square-feet of office space. The three applicants are:
  BlitzLake 3D (David Blitz), TJ Tully LLC (Thomas Tully) Eric Rothner.

On Friday evening, the Chicago Police Department released dash-cam videos and details of the 2011 police shooting and arrest of Tiffani Jacobs, an armed robbery suspect who had evaded police and whom police say tried to run down an officer. Aldertrack first reported the existence of the video on Wednesday, April 20, after receiving reports of the video from black pastors who had received courtesy calls from CPD about the video.

Watch dash-cam video.

Despite three days of requests to the Police Department and Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office, police and mayoral press relations staff would not confirm or deny the existence of the video until its release Friday evening.

According to police reports, Jacobs’ was spotted driving a car through a gas station in Lawndale on the evening of May 25, 2011. The automobile was a suspected getaway car from a recent armed robbery of a McDonald’s earlier that night. Believing Jacobs was bringing the car to a stop, Officer Matthew Brackenapproached the car on foot, then Jacobs sped up, attempting to run him down, according to police reports, but disputed by Jacobs who says she was just trying to avoid parked police cars. Bracken fired his gun at Jacobs through the windshield five times, hitting her in the chest. Jacobs then left the gas station in her car, and multiple police units pursued her.

Documents provided by CPD include a dash-cam video, with sound muted, showing the pursuit and stop of Jacobs’ car. In the video, she steps out of her car and is grabbed by her hair and thrown to the ground by a police officer, then tasered by another before finally being handcuffed.

Jacobs late pled guilty to the armed robbery charge and is now serving 12 years in state prison.

According to a statement released by police Friday evening, “The Superintendent found that the officers’ actions in apprehending one of the offenders – who is now serving time in jail -- concerning. As a result, [Supt. Eddie Johnson] has requested the use of force investigation to be reopened and has stripped two officers of their police powers pending the outcome of an independent review.”

On the afternoon of Tuesday, April 19, Aldertrack reporter Claudia Morell received a tip from an activist black pastor that Chicago Police Department representatives had been calling pastors with an update: They would soon release a police dash-cam video depicting a female armed robbery suspect getting shot by a police officer, then aggressively thrown down to the ground and tasered by an officer before her arrest.

The details of how Aldertrack interacted with city public relations staffers is a snapshot of how Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration interacts with the press: We will tell you what we want, when we want. The process does less to clearly inform the public, but instead treats reporters as adversaries that need to be manipulated to control the message of the day.

Despite the hazy details on why the woman was shot and how or if she resisted arrest, or even when the event happened, this was big news. Another police shooting video was potentially explosive, especially on the heels of the release of the Police Accountability Task Force (PATF) Report, which specifically calls out police behavior toward minority suspects.

Quickly, Morell found two other pastors that afternoon who confirmed receiving similar calls from CPD. We also received confirmation from someone familiar with the video that it definitely existed. But we could not pin down the name of the suspect or when the arrest happened. We did learn from our sources that the suspect had since pled guilty to armed robbery and was in prison.

Later in the afternoon, we called Chicago Police News Affairs to confirm the existence of the video and to ask when it would be released. We received no response back that day.

On Wednesday, April 20 we reported the story in our daily 7:30 a.m. email, “Sources: CPD to Release Police-Involved Shooting Video of Female Armed Robbery Suspect”.

Lacking a victim name or a date for the incident, we could not identify the shooting in court records or past news reports. We also lacked enough information to submit a Freedom of Information Act request.

Again, on Wednesday, Morell contacted CPD News Affairs to confirm the existence of the video and to ask when it would be released. That same afternoon, we contacted Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s lead press contacts, Kelley Quinn and Adam Collins, with the same questions.

We received no answer from the Mayor’s Office. But at 7:33 p.m., we received an unsigned email from a general CPD News Affairs account, “As you are probably aware by now, we will not be releasing any video's [sic] to the media today.”

Two days after first reporting a police-related shooting, we had neither an official confirmation or denial from the police or Mayor’s office.

On Wednesday morning, Mayor Emanuel had begun a rollout of his planned changes to policing policy in response to the PATF report. It dominated news coverage for the next two days.

On Thursday the 21st, we repeated the drill with CPD News Affairs. No confirmation, no denial.

On Friday the 22nd, again, we contacted CPD News Affairs in the morning. No response, until 5:46 p.m. when CPD Director of News Affairs Anthony Guglielmisent us an email, “In reference to the 2011 armed robbery incident you asked about, below is the video. We also included all the relevant documents and audio files.”

Five minutes later, CPD News Affairs sent the same information in a press release to all outlets in Chicago. Too late for the early TV news, but likely to be released on the 10:00 p.m. Friday evening broadcast and to hit papers on Saturday. The perfect time to bury a story.

Viewing the videos released by the Police Department, it appears the police shot the victim, Tiffani Jacobs, with cause. Police say she was attempting to run down Officer Matthew Bracken with her car, and he fired at her in defense, although Jacobs disputes that. Whether or not she was handled correctly by police by being thrown to the ground and tasered after the pursuit when she got out of her car, is less defensible. Jacobs had already been shot in the chest, but officers were likely charged up from chasing a suspect they’d been told was armed with a gun.

Early in my career, when I was working on the political side of things in Washington, D.C., and still learning how to talk to reporters, an old hand took me aside, “Remember, the press isn’t your enemy, but they aren’t your friend either.” It’s a complicated mix, that every politician and their staff has to constantly balance.

But Mayor Emanuel and his team has gone too far towards treating the press as enemies. It’s worth remembering: We love this city too. Yet, if Team Emanuel keeps manipulating the press and withholding information, the “cover up” will always be the first thing we report.

It’s clear that Mayor Emanuel is here to stay for at least a while. So take a chance, Team Emanuel. We won’t be your patsies, but if you can’t be wholly transparent, take us into your confidence now and then to explain why, so we can move past reports on how you withhold information. Your attempts to manipulate us are only holding the city back from greatness.

The latest administrative shuffle from Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office came down Friday, with the announcement that former hedge fund manager and current City Comptroller Dan Widawksy would be stepping down from his post. Deputy Comptroller Erin Keane will be stepping in as acting comptroller, effective May 1. Widawsky replaced Amer Amhad, who is currently serving a federal prison sentence for his involvement in a kickback scheme when he was the deputy treasurer for the state of Ohio.  

According to a release from the Mayor's office, Keane has been a city employee for 15 years, and currently "oversees day to day operations within the Department, which includes preparation of the City’s financial statements, administration of federal and state grants, enforcement and collection of City revenue, and management of the City’s payroll and healthcare plans." In addition to her time at the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Streets and Sanitation, according to her LinkedIn, Keane also worked for about a year and a half at law firm Querrey & Harrow, Ltd., a corporate and litigation firm. 

“I am truly humbled by the Mayor’s confidence in me, and if confirmed by City Council, I look forward to joining CFO [Carole] Brown and Budget Director [Alex] Holt in continuing to strengthen the City’s finances and building on the many operational efficiencies and cost savings introduced by Comptroller Widawsky,” Keane is quoted as saying in the release. 

The Mayor has made four other department leadership changes and appointed a new alderman in the past month: Susan Russell as the new head of Animal Care and Control, Barrett Murphy as the new head of the Department of Water Management, Alicia Tate-Nadeau as the head of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, as well as Eddie Johnson as Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department and Sophia King as 4th Ward alderman.

Another week of back and forth between Chicago Public Schools and the teacher’s union over stalled contract negotiations. Mayor Rahm Emanuel outlines new police reforms plucked from a task force he assembled after the Laquan McDonald video release. And newly appointed 4th Ward Alderman Sophia King flexes some political muscle getting a land-use board to table a parking lot expansion plan in her ward, because she says it’s not open to the public.

At their monthly meeting held yesterday, the Chicago Plan Commission unanimously approved architect Helmut Jahn’s proposed residential tower for South Michigan Avenue, while newly-appointed 4th Ward Ald. Sophia King, in her first appearance before the land-use body, successfully tabled a vote on an application from the Chicago Park District that would have expanded a parking lot serving visitors of the 31st Street beach and harbor, which are in her ward.

The Park District sought approval to significantly expand the existing surface parking lot off 3100 S. Lake Shore Drive from 159 to 422 stalls. Heather Gleason, the Director of Planning and Development for the Park District, said it’s part of a six-year-long development plan for the harbor, with the goal of providing more parking to one of the city’s most popular beaches. The district already received approval from the city’s Transportation and Fire departments, and had a letter of approval on file from Ald. King’s predecessor, Will Burns. Gleason said Burns had been working with the District on this development plan for upwards of a year.

But Ald. King took issue with a permanent sign she says is prominently displayed at the entrance of the parking lot that states only people with harbor passes are allowed to park in the lot.

“My kids grew up here and went to the beach, and I know personally we’ve been turned away,” said Ald. King, “So I just want to make sure that any parking plans that are there, that the residents’ input are accurately taken into consideration.”

In a briefing she had on the project the night before, King said she was told the parking lot would be open to the public. She said she then drove to the beach to check for herself, only to find a “permanent” sign noting the contrary.

“I want to make sure that in the plans there is proper access for everyday beachgoers who want to go to the beach as they’ve been doing,” she noted. “I don’t want community members to feel like they’re being pushed out of their park.”

Park District Superintendent and CEO Mike Kelly, who is also a member of the Plan Commission and had requested the application be heard early so he could attend a funeral service, promised to address her concerns and urged the other commissioners to approve the project.

“I do want to remind everyone at the commission this was a $100 million dollar investment by the taxpayers for this community. The park was built for the community,” Comm. Kelly said. “It’s one of the most popular beaches… In fact, it was so popular that that we needed to expand on the parking. The parking is for the boaters and the parking is for the community. It’s a parking lot.”

But Ald. King countered that his good faith effort was “tainted” because his commitment was not conveyed to her the night before. “The inconsistency there bothers me.”

Chairman Martin Cabrera deferred to King and said he would temporarily table the item while she and the Park District worked out the issues offline. The application was supposed to be brought up at the end of the meeting, but before adjournment, Cabrera announced that he would defer the item for a later date.

Another application from the Park District, a proposed 8,000-square-foot concession stand at Maggie Daley Park, received unanimous approval. The concession stand will overlook the Buckingham Fountain, and will have a sloping, 6,800-square-foot landscaped green roof. The building will have floor to ceiling windows, a “vegetated wall system”, and an expansive pedestrian plaza. Most of the presentation focused on desperately needed public restrooms for that area of the park. The closest bathroom, the fieldhouse near Randolph Street, is about a 1500-2000 foot walk away.

And internationally-known architect Helmut Jahn traveled to Chicago to present his proposed 832-foot residential tower for 1000 S. Michigan Avenue, across the street from Grant Park. Jahn shaved about 200 feet off the tower and did a complete redesign of his original plan, which first called for a more than 1,000-square-foot building.

The design was the product of a lengthy international competition, Jahn said, and he sought to design a building that would “stand the test of time.” The building’s “tough character,” as he described it, slopes upward, starting from a rectangle and ending with a parallelogram.  

Calling the project a “very strong downtown building that will complement our skyline,” Department of Planning and Development Commissioner David Reifmanthanked Jahn for working with the Landmarks Commission in making the building more compatible with the historic district.  

The project, which will have 506 units, was submitted prior to the beefed-up affordable housing requirements took effect. And the developers, a joint venture of JK Equities and Time Equities, took advantage of the Affordable Housing Bonus, which lets them pay an in-lieu fee of $828,502.40. No affordable units will be provided on site, a point that irked two aldermen on the Plan Commission: Tom Tunney (44) and Walter Burnett (27).

Of those 506 units, 70 percent (358 units) will be condos. The remaining 148 units, to be located at the bottom half of the building, will be rentals. Local Ald. King asked for the price points of the units, but JK Equities did not have that information, saying they’re still working on their costs.

The overall project would cost $385 million, according to the developer’s attorney, Jack George. Pending City Council approval, it’s expected to bring in $105 million in real estate taxes over the next ten years.

Two residents from the neighboring 910 South Michigan Avenue building testified on the project; one against, the other in favor. Elaine Soble, who opposed the project, said it would cause a tremendous shadow over Grant Park and “makes a mockery that [Michigan Avenue] is a landmarked area.” She said “everyone” at her building agreed with her, but then Stephen Gabelnick, another 910 resident, said Soble was speaking for herself and that he heard no such opposition from residents.

Since the Chicago Police Department’s release in November 2015 of the dash-cam video of Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke firing 16 shots at Laquan McDonald, aldermen have introduced close to a dozen police reform ordinances. None of those items will get a hearing anytime soon, City Council Public Safety Chairman Ariel Reboyras told Aldertrack yesterday, explaining that he and the Mayor’s Office have chosen to keep those reforms on the backburner while the department undergoes a federal probe into its practices and use of force procedures.

“We’re looking at those right now,” Ald. Reboyras said of the ordinances calling for changes to police training, a mandate that all officers be equipped with and properly trained on the use of tasers, and the abolition of the agency in charge of handling cases of police misconduct. “We’re not going to put them out right away. What I’m hoping to do is see what more direction we get from the Department of Justice.”

Reboyras’ remarks came on the same day that Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that he would begin implementing “nearly a third” of the reforms suggested in a 190-page report on police accountability from a task force he assembled following the public outcry of the McDonald video.

“The City has begun discussions with the United State Department of Justice (DOJ) on the Task Force’s recommendations in this area and will continue to consult with DOJ as we develop a strategic plan to accomplish these goals and create a robust, effective police discipline system,” the Mayor’s Office said in a press release.

To ensure “successful implementation of the reforms” the Mayor outlined, the city will issue quarterly, written progress reports to the public. Asked if the City Council plans to hold hearings on those updates, similar to how the Council’s Housing Committee holds regular meetings on the Department of Planning and Development’s progress on annual affordable housing goals, Ald. Reboyras said he’s open to the idea.

And among those “immediate reforms” Mayor Emanuel announced yesterday is a list of changes for the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), an agency that the task force described as “badly broken”, and that one alderman, Leslie Hairston (5), wants to abolish.

“We’re not going to dissolve them right now. We’re not going to address that ordinance right now, until we get input from the Department of Justice,” Ald. Reboyras explained. Instead, Reboyras wants IPRA to hold “some briefings” with aldermen.

“I want to be able to give them [IPRA] an opportunity, so they can prove that they are working different than the last group that was here,” Ald. Reboyras said, referring to the leadership shakeup sparked by former IPRA Chief Scott Ando’s decision to step down from the post. Since he was replaced by new chief Sharon Fairley, top investigators have also been replaced, and Fairley has publicly stated she’s committed to reforming the agency. She recently announced she’d hire an outside firm, McGuireWoods, to conduct an audit of past IPRA investigations.  

In an emailed statement following the mayor’s announced reforms, Ald. Hairston said Mayor Emanuel’s decision to wait on the DOJ recommendations “makes no sense.”

“This is our opportunity to get in front of the DOJ and do what needs to be done to ensure independent and fair investigations for everyone,” Ald. Hairston said in the email. “This is another example of being penny wise and pound foolish, because any court-ordered reforms and oversight by the DOJ will cost taxpayers more money.”

The DOJ pattern and practice investigation focusing on CPD’s use of force, “including racial, ethnic and other disparities in use of force, and its systems of accountability,” was launched in December. Those recommendations can take upwards of a year. Hammering out agreements on reforms can take even longer. An investigation into Newark’s Police Department was launched in May of 2011. An agreement with the city wasn’t reached until July 2014. A similar investigation into the Seattle Police Department took 10 months, but mandates eventually became snagged in the court system in 2014. An investigation in Cleveland took 18 months.  

Some of the reforms Mayor Emanuel announced yesterday have been suggested before, including development of a “discipline matrix” at CPD “that will bring a clear and fixed set of penalties for misconduct.” That was first recommended in a 2012 report commissioned by Mayor Emanuel.

The expanded use of body cameras included in the Mayor’s reforms were announced back in January. The Mayor and CPD announced a body cameraprogram will be expanded to seven police districts, mostly on the South and West Sides. That does not include the two districts with some of the highest number of police complaints (per this Citizens Police Data Project heatmap based on CPD data): the 3rd (Grand Crossing) and 7th (Englewood).

Yesterday’s release says CPD is also developing an in-house early intervention system. But the Department already developed two, according to the Police Accountability Task Force report, which noted the system had “rarely been used.” Participation in CPD’s “Behavioral Intervention System” and “Personnel Concerns” systems “quickly dropped off after [the Fraternal Order of Police] filed a grievance against CPD for certain officers’ inclusion,” the PATF report said.

Those ordinances that will be languishing away in Chairman Reboyras’ Public Safety Committee include plans to put investigative oversight of police misconduct cases under the purview of the Inspector General and a plan requiring every active duty police officer be equipped with a taser. Ald. Jason Ervin (28) is behind both of those plans.

The Mayor’s recommendations released yesterday do touch on Ervin and Hairston’s suggestions, saying the city is “committed to” concepts like “a new Public Safety Auditor,” and “a role for citizen oversight.” But the release was short on specifics.

Another resolution, introduced in January by Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6) and supported by more than half the City Council, urges the department to research and institute procedures that promote alternative methods of force. Noting that using non-lethal weapons will “drastically reduce the likelihood of serious bodily injury or death in conflict situations,” Sawyer suggests the department consider solid or liquid filled rounds, foam baton rounds, rubber pellets, or bean bag rounds.

A similar ordinance, introduced from Ald. Ed Burke (14), would establish annual use-of-force and crisis intervention training for all Chicago police officers. The task force report noted that other than the academy, police officers rarely receive regular formal training sessions and that CAPs meetings are akin to “daycare”.

Another measure from Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) calls for the appointment of special prosecutor to represent Cook County in case against Jason Van Dyke regarding Laquan McDonald’s death. And an order from Ald. Rick Munoz (22) prohibits CPD “from destroying any documents currently in its possession or hereafter created pending U.S. Department of Justice review.”

A proposal to build apartments on top of the century-old Isaac G. Ettleson building in the city’s East Lake View Neighborhood and a scaled down Helmut Jahnskyscraper for South Michigan Avenue are up for review today by the city’s Plan Commission.

Today’s agenda is also noticeably less packed than those held over the past six months, when the Plan Commission was hearing about 6 to 8 applications a month.

The applications in agenda order:

#1 - 352 East Monroe Street (42nd Ward) -  An application forwarded by the Chicago Park District for the construction of an 8,000 square-foot concession building within Maggie Daley Park awaits Plan Commission review. The park is protected by the Lake Michigan and Chicago Lakefront Protection Ordinance. In January 2015, the Park District Board of Commissioners approved a concession stand contract with the Four Corners Tavern Group for the design, build-out and operation of a restaurant, a concession kiosk, and the right to cater special events at the park.

#2 - 3100 South Lake Shore Drive - Application (4th Ward) - This is another application from the Park District seeking a zoning change to expand an existing parking lot.

#3 - 3817-45 North Broadway Avenue. (46th Ward) - The owner of the former Spin nightclub in Boystown, David Gassman, who also owns several properties in Rogers Park, is behind a proposed eight-story mixed use building that would incorporate the existing Isaac G. Ettleson building currently located on the subject site. Built in the early 1900s, and once occupied by the Hamilton State Bank, the corner lot, two-story structure is known for the white terra cotta eagles crowning the building. According to the zoning application Gassman filed with the city in September, the proposed structure will keep retail at the ground floor, office space and 15 dwelling units on the second floor, and the remaining 110 residential units spread among the third through eight floors. The site is currently zoned B3-3 and Gassman is seeking to establish a planned development. He’s represented by zoning attorney Thomas S. Moore.

#4 - 920-1006 South Michigan Avenue and 1011-1015 South Wabash Avenue (4th Ward) - The Plan Commission will conclude its meeting with Helmut Jahn’shighly anticipated, but somewhat scaled down, skyscraper for 1000 S. Michigan Avenue. Originally proposed as a more than 1000-foot building for the Historic Michigan Boulevard District, the building would reach 832 feet in height. It includes 506 units, according to the specs listed on the meeting agenda.

The developers, JK Equities and Time Equities, are seeking a planned development to build an 86-story residential tower on a surface parking lot. The building will have enough parking stalls for 486 cars. Roughly half may be leased out to the public. The neighboring office building, located near the corner of South Michigan Avenue and 11th Street, would be included in the PD. Proposed uses include “school, college and university.” (Columbia College is located on the same block.) Somewhat related, the Landmarks Commission adopted new design guidelines in February that provide parameters for new construction in the historic district. The scaled-down renderings, which shaved about 200 ft from the original plan, align with those guidelines.

Items Deferred As of Wednesday:

#1 - 11127-29 South Langley Avenue and 704-706 East 112th Street (9th Ward) - A team of art and neighborhood organizations are behind a plan to transform a 18,500 square foot parcel of vacant land sandwiched between two historic apartment buildings in the city’s Pullman neighborhood to build lofts for artists. The so-called Pullman Artspace Lofts project has been more than five years in the making and calls for the rehabilitation of the two existing historic apartment buildings coupled with the construction of a new 34,000-square-foot, three story building to be located in the empty lot.

Pending zoning approval, the two rehabilitated buildings would have six units each, while the newly constructed masonry building will hold 26 units, with ground floor communal artist and exhibition space. “[The project] provides the opportunity to integrate historic preservation with cutting edge new construction and create an iconic group of buildings that anchor Pullman’s eastern boundary,” the project’s website notes. All 38 live/work units will be made affordable.

Pullman Artspace, LLC filed a planned development application with the city in February 2016. According to the Economic Disclosure Statement, the LLC is made up of Minnesota-based Artspace Projects, Inc. (55%), Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives (40%), and Pullman Arts (5%). The project is also designated as a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) due to its proximity to the the Metra. Plans call for 17 parking spaces and 25 bike stalls.

#2- 1050 West Wilson Avenue (46th Ward) - Cedar Street Capital Partners filed an application with the city in September 2015 under the name “Halsted Commons, LLC” to rezone the former Wilson Avenue Theater and later TCF Bank building into a planned development. Plans call for the restoration of the century-old building and construct an adjacent seven story, dark grey brick mixed-use residential building that would include ground floor retail, 110 dwelling units, and 16 parking spaces. Due to the September filing date, the application falls under the old, 2007 affordable housing regulations.

The development team is represented by Paul Shadle & Katie Jahnke Dale of zoning law firm DLA Piper. According to the Illinois Real Estate Journal, Ceder Property bought the historic theater building for $625,000, and, according to DNAinfo, local housing advocates are not thrilled with the housing plans for the site. Four people are listed on the Economic Disclosure Statement for Halsted Commons, LLC: David Duckler (33.3% ownership); Alex Samoylovich (25.5%), Jay Michael(25.5%), and Tom Kim (10%). Michael, a well-known developer in Uptown, died in January from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Committee funds controlled by the city’s 50 aldermen contain more than eight million dollars, with Ald. Ed Burke (14), Ald. Brendan Reilly (42), and Ald. Walter Burnett(27) controlling the biggest war chests as of the most recent reporting period. Details of all 77 committees are on this spreadsheet, with links to D-2s for the first quarter of 2016, spanning January 1 through March 31, 2016.

Last quarter’s most successful fundraisers were involved in tight campaigns. Ald. Michelle Harris (8), who lost her bid for Clerk of the Circuit Court against incumbent Dorothy Brown and Jacob Meister, reported close to $200,000 in individual contributions to her Clerk campaign committee for the most recent quarter, though her spending, as we detail below, didn’t help her chances. Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) who supported state legislature hopeful Jay Travis with mailers against Rep. Christian Mitchell, reported about $275,000 in total receipts for the quarter.

Reilly and Ald. Pat Dowell (3) both supported Juliana Stratton in her successful bid against Rep. Ken Dunkin. Dowell spent $122,000 last quarter, including on printing services and consulting.

Some committee funds took big hits this past quarter, not all due to campaign spending. Ald. Brian Hopkins’ (2) committee took a $68,000 hit in its final fund tally that wasn’t campaign related. He made $30,000 in principal payments to himself, and also paid staff and consultants. Ald. Ed Burke (14) also ended the quarter down by about $120,000, which didn’t put much of a dent in the $2.1 million account balance. Ald. Danny Solis (25) also ended the quarter down by about $50,000. His committee spent thousands on food (including many Costco trips), parking meter costs, $15,000 to New Chicago Consulting, and on a $10,000 contribution to Friends of Anita Alvarez.

Biggest spenders:

• Citizens for Pat Dowell (3) spent close to $125,000 in the first quarter of 2016, mostly on campaign work and advertisements. A sizable chunk, nearly $40,000, went to campaign work provided by Bamani Obadele. In 2011, Obadele, an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services appointee under Gov. Rod Blagojevich, was sentenced to half a year in prison for steering and pocketing DCFS money to companies in which he held a stake, and using some of that money for a trip to Jamaica.

• Citizens for Michelle Harris, the committee for Ald. Harris’ (8) run for Clerk of the Circuit Court, spent $379,450 this past quarter. More than half, about $225,000, went toward printing and postage from Breaker Press. $7,200 was paid to Loren Harris, the alderman’s daughter, for “contract work.” Harris also paid $30,000 in early February for a poll from Tulchin Research, a San Francisco-based firm.

• Ald. Brendan Reilly’s (42) committees, Citizens for Alderman Reilly and the 42nd Ward Democratic Org, spent a combined $310,000 last quarter. Reilly paid $7,500 to his former special assistant, Melissa Hoffman, for consulting work, as well as $25,000 each to LBH Chicago LLC and VX Consulting. LBH is also counts Cong. Robin Kelly and State Rep. Ann Williams as current clients.

• Ald. Ed Burke’s (14) Friends of Ed Burke committee paid exactly $61,000 for federal and $21,000 for state taxes last quarter, per its expenditure reports. That’s not counting quarterly estimated taxes and an additional $5,100 paid out of Burke’s Burnham Committee. About $24,000 total was spent between the “Friends” committee and another Burke-controlled committee, the 14th Ward Regular Democratic Org, on gifts from Bentley Consulting Services. Burke also spent about $13,000 on printing services from Rider Dickerson.

Odds and Ends

• More than half the committees run by aldermen owe debt, ranging from $1,000 - $5,000 for aldermen like Leslie Hairston (5), Anthony Beale (9), Mike Zalewski (23) –to the $20-$30,000 range like Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36), Ald. Scott Waguespack (32), and Ald. Michele Smith (43). Many are personal debt or from colleagues’ campaign committees. But Ald. Howard Brookins (21) takes the cake, with about $320,000 of debt between three campaign committees. The bulk, $317,000 worth, is from his Friends of Howard B Brookins, Jr committee, and dates back to 2007 and 2008. Brookins owes $125,000 to IPA Travel Services, LLC, close to $50,000 each to John E. Davis and John Davis Montgomery, more than $45,000 to the Competence Group of Chicago, Inc., and $25,000 to attorney Larry Rogers Sr.

• Only two aldermen have invested committee funds - Ald. Tom Tunney (44) and Ald. Ed Burke (14). Tunney has about $192,000 invested at MB Financial. But like much else, Burke does it bigger, investing a whopping $6 million: about $3.1 million in Credit Suisse, and $2.9 million in Northern Trust.

• The 43rd Ward’s new Democratic Committeeman, Lucy Moog, will inherit a nice nest egg. The 43rd Ward Democrats fund, managed by Ald. Michele Smith, ended the quarter $36,000 up from the previous one, and has a balance of more than $100,000.

• Ald. Pat O’Connor had some of the highest in-kind contributions to his committee for the quarter, at more than $10,000. Most of those contributions were donated gifts fit for a raffle or auction, including diamond and sapphire jewelry, White Sox tickets, Wrigley Field rooftop passes, and iPad Airs.

• Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30) had nearly as many itemized as non-itemized expenditures.

Gathered on stage at the auditorium of Drake Elementary in Bronzeville, a 96% black and 98% low-income school, CPS CEO Forrest Claypool, Board of Education President Frank Clark, Ald. Pat Dowell (3) and a group of mostly black pastors and community representatives said Gov. Bruce Rauner’s education budget proposal–which reduces CPS’ allocation by $74 million–discriminates against Chicago children. Claypool called the press conference the launch of a “grassroots campaign” to get equal funding for the system.

“The message from Springfield is clear: your children are not as important. Your children’s future are not as valuable. Your children can do with less,” Claypool said, calling the budget “morally repugnant” and repeating that it was “separate but unequal.” He referred the crowd to a new CPS website, which says the current funding approach discriminates against low income and minority children across the state. The website auto-fills emails to local legislators calling the recipient to work with State Rep. Christian Mitchell and State Senator Andy Manar, “who are fighting for fair funding for all of our schools.” Claypool also has a new Twitter handle.

“Most Chicago Public Schools students are children of color. Most are from families that are in the low income bracket,” Clark told a crowd with members of the Power of Parents, Metropolitan Faith in Action, and Illinois Grassroots Chicago that filled half the auditorium. Clark called Rauner’s budget “punitive and discriminatory,” and said it punishes kids for living in Chicago.

Some of the biggest applause from the bussed-in parents came during Dr. Byron Brazier’s turn at the mic. “[Gov. Rauner] has no regard for people, especially those that have been systematically and institutionally differentiated, disadvantaged, discriminated, and victimized,” said Dr. Brazier, a pastor of the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn and a member of the city’s powerful Public Building Commission. “It is intended to continue these racial and economic practices of the past and further accelerate the differences between the haves and the have nots.”

The new CPS campaign, 20% for 20%, argues that Chicagoans contribute 20% of the state income tax, but CPS students receive 15% of the state’s total funding. The missing 5%, CPS says, is “enough to save our teachers and class sizes,” and is essential for the balanced budget Claypool has promised in the coming weeks.

He said CPS does not have plans to engage in long-term borrowing. Instead it will issue tax anticipation notes. “We are talking about a revolving line of credit, which is renewed based on cash flow needs and then paid back as the revenues come in from the two big chunks of funding… to cover the differential between timing of when payments come in and when we need to spend funds,” he told reporters after the event.

By the time Claypool and Clark’s media availability had wrapped, the auditorium was emptied and parents from the audience were loaded onto school buses.

The Chicago Police Department has been making courtesy calls to influential South Side pastors this week in anticipation of a release this week by CPD of a police-involved shooting video stemming from an armed robbery incident from several years ago, Aldertrack has learned from pastors who received the calls.

The video shows a female armed robbery suspect pursued by police in a car, shot at while in pursuit, pulled out of the car, and, in a melee with the police, then tasered, a source familiar with the video told Aldertrack yesterday. The victim has since pled guilty and is currently serving time in prison, the source said.

One South Side pastor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, called the courtesy call “unusual” and that the department anticipates public outcry, possibly because of the way officers allegedly confronted the woman. Sources could not confirm the woman’s name or race or when the incident occurred.

That information was not provided in the calls, multiple sources said. Contacted for comment late yesterday afternoon, the Police Department’s News Affairs Office would not confirm the video release.

After rejecting an independent fact finder’s report over the weekend on the stalled contract negotiation between its members and the school district, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis repeated her demands for more concessions and threatened to strike after a state-mandated 30 day cooling off period if Chicago Public Schools does not comply. All while CPS CEO Forrest Claypool reiterated the bargaining terms outlined in the fact finder’s report and urged ratification, so the district can focus on finding money to pay its bills.

On Monday, Lewis called the fact finder’s report “dead on arrival,” because despite across the board raises for its members, which she says don't factor the added pension contributions members will be forced to pay, the contract doesn’t go far enough to close what Lewis described as “devastating loopholes.”

“The biggest drivers for the district’s fiscal crisis are charter expansion and debt service,” Lewis told reporters at CTU headquarters in downtown Chicago. She said she wants enforceable class-size limits, a “real” charter moratorium, an end to school closings and consolidations, a dedicated pension levy, and a commitment to “progressive revenue” solutions in Springfield.

“CPS is searching for cash under rocks, seat cushions and in their uncle’s pants pocket,” Lewis went on to say. “Instead of robbing Peter to pay Paul, the Board should work aggressively to fight for progressive, long-term revenue options in order to stabilize the school district and protect public education in our city.”

The union has 27 days left (as of today) in a state-mandated “cooling off period” before it can legally authorize a strike. And to call a strike, the union must provide 10 days notice. Asked if this could impact the end of the 2016 school year or if the union plans to strike next fall, Lewis said, “I’m not giving CPS my playbook,” adding that the union needs time to regroup and discuss next steps.  

Meanwhile, Claypool, in a separate availability with reporters held less than an hour after Lewis’, said that the deal on the table–the contract the district gave CTU leadership back in January–is the best contract the union will get given the district’s “unprecedented” financial crisis. The district is facing a $1 billion deficit and expects to finish this school year with barely enough cash on hand to cover two payroll days.

“We offered an incredibly generous deal given the fact that the district is near insolvency,” CPS CEO Claypool told reporters, saying he was “perplexed” the that the rank and file members of the union weren’t given the opportunity to vote on the contract the leadership had earlier approved.

“It’s sort of an Alice in Wonderland world within the CTU these days,” he added, saying he was available around the clock to negotiate. Claypool used the Alice in Wonderland analogy when referring to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s school budget proposal last week. Lewis, on the other hand, said “we’re too old for 24/7 negotiations,” and asked for time to talk with members to get a sense of what teachers want.

”We’re not going to kill ourselves going over the same stuff,” Lewis said. “What we’re going to try to do is meet on Thursdays like we have been. Try to find where other areas to close these loopholes.”

Pressed to explain the likelihood of a strike, Lewis said “100 percent today,” but that could go down to “95 percent” next week.

The contract proposal on the table would phase out the 7% pension pickup the district pays on behalf of teachers by 2017, adds an 8.75% cost of living adjustment (COLA) and step and lane increases, a retirement incentive, and includes classroom changes regarding testing and paperwork, among other items.

Earlier this year, CTU President Lewis called that contract proposal a “serious offer” and forwarded it to the union’s Big Bargaining Team for approval. The 40-member bargaining team unanimously rejected the offer on February 1st, prompting an independent arbitrator to commence fact-finding.

Both sides do however agree that Springfield and, more specifically, Gov. Rauner are to blame for the district's budget gap.

“We are together on [lobbying in Springfield]. We are not together on the silly contract proposal,” Lewis explained. CTU plans to go to the state capitol on Wednesday to lobby on behalf of a proposed millionaires tax and a bill that would make state education funding a priority.

Somewhat echoing that sentiment, CPS CEO Claypool urged the union to agree to the contract, so they both could join “hand in hand in Springfield.”

The district is expected to unveil its budget next month for the 2016-2017 school year. It will be balanced, Claypool said, adding that it will rely heavily on borrowed money. “We have to secure a new line of credit to stay solvent,” he said. “We can’t pay for anything absent a line of credit.”

On Saturday an independent fact finder released a report on the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Teachers Union bargaining process. Below are the basic details of what happened and the positioning of the two groups.

• The report, authored by neutral party negotiator Steven Bierig, was released Saturday morning, it largely endorsed the offer to teachers put forth by CPS January 29 and rejected by CTU.

• The fact finding plan (download here) recommended:

  • A four year contract.
  • Varying wage increases between zero and 3.75% over four years.
  • A resumption of “step and lane” wage increases, but not until second year.
  • Phase-out of 7% pension contribution over two years.

• The Chicago Teachers Union immediately rejected the fact finder plan (download here) arguing that the plan effectively reduces teacher pay.

• Teachers have been demanding:

  • A two year contract.
  • A 2% salary increase each year.
  • No change to step and lane wage increases and pension contributions.

• CTU says the schools are “broke on purpose” and as a result, CPS “simply cannot afford to sign a contract” because of the debt it carries. In CTU’s opinion, the negotiator should be allowed to take into consideration the school system’s need to seek additional funding, not merely its current finances.

• CTU points out the school system will have a negative cash position of -$846 million by June 30 through short-term borrowing. Including long-term borrowing, CPS will be $6.7 billion in debt.

• CTU claims the problems stem from CPS refusing for years to “secure stable… funding” for operations, and that problems are compounded by “Governor Rauner's jihad against CPS”

• CPS concurred with fact-finder plan (download here) rejected CTU demands, saying it would cost $140 million more over two years

• CPS projects it will have only $24 million cash on hand at the end of the school year, two days of payroll.

• CPS says the “root of the problem” is with the state and Gov. Bruce Rauner who has committed “treachery” by subverting last January’s bond issuance.

• CTU leaders have said they are preparing to strike. They may legally strike 30 days after the release of the fact finding plan, beginning May 16. CTU must provide a 10-day notice before striking. The school year is scheduled to end on June 21.

Chicago has a new Police Superintendent, Eddie Johnson, and 4th Ward Alderman, Sophia King. As the Council approves both, a scathing task force report takes on the CPD over racist policies, and aldermen vote to settle two police-involved deaths totaling nearly $7 million. We’ll look at a couple introductions reforming the department, and an upcoming report that will impact the contract fight between Chicago Public Schools and the teacher’s union.