Brian Miller, Cook County Comm. Larry Suffredin’s longtime Chief of Staff, is on today’s ballot for Evanston’s mayoral election. It’s a nonpartisan consolidated primary election, and Miller has the first position on the ballot. His four challengers include Mark Tendam, Gary Gaspard, Steve Hagerty, and Jeffery P. 'Jeff' Smith. Miller is also 9th Ward alderman in Evanston, and was past president of the Democratic Party of Evanston.

Suffredin’s son, Tom Suffredin, is also running for 6th Ward alderman in Evanston in the April 4 Consolidated General Election.

Five Fourth Ward candidates face off in today’s special aldermanic election to fill the vacancy left by Ald. Will Burns. Burns exited the City Council a day shy of one year ago to work for Airbnb, kicking off a somewhat closed-door process to find his replacement. In April, a five-member selection panel hand-picked by Mayor Rahm Emanuel presented three finalists out of a crowd of 18. Shortly after, the mayor announced Sophia King as his choice. She was unanimously approved by the City Council and sworn in on April 14.

In a desperate move to obtain funding for the remainder of the school year, Chicago Public Schools filed a motion for preliminary injunction in its lawsuit against Gov. Bruce Rauner Monday. The injunction (via The Sun-Times) asks the Court to take swift action in deciding the two count racial discrimination case filed by the district and five parents of CPS students against the Governor, the State Board of Education, and Comptroller Susana Mendoza. Without an injunction, the district said it could resort to ending the school year on June 1 instead of June 20.

Close to ten transit oriented development (TOD) projects, most of which are along the CTA’s Blue Line, a landmark designation for the Essex Inn, and two changes to the zoning code introduced by Ald. Brian Hopkins (2) were approved by the Zoning Committee Tuesday.

Ward Reports

• • Ald. Proco Joe Moreno (1) engaged in a President Trump tweetstorm. "Put the twitter down you clown and quit talking about our City. You don’t have an ounce of the integrity that residents of Chicago have... when dealing with tough problems and you embarrass this country every time your little fingers touch your phone to tweet. /rant"

 

• • Ald. Pat Dowell (3) shared pictures and video from the unveiling of the Great Migration plaque at the 35th Street suspension bridge, and attended the Out in the Open Sleep In for homeless youth at 2nd Presbyterian Church. "Thanks to Tracy Baim for the invitation to speak and great remarks by Ja'Mal Green, State's Attorney Kim Foxx, Caprice, Fawzia Mirza, State Representative Juliana Stratton and Pastor David Neff."

 

• • Ald. Sophia King (4) won the endorsement of Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. 

 

• • Ald. Michelle Harris (8) has some pics from around the ward. 

 

• • Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10) shared this Bart Simpson meme aimed at Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. 

 

• • Ald. George Cardenas (12) is hosting a tenants rights event on March 8 and shared a picture of "all political stripes coming together in a testament to the importance of welcoming immigrants now & in the future."

 

• • Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) thanked "Zacatecaño community leaders for inviting me to join them for a discussion on how we can work together on behalf of immigrants during these difficult times, particularly Mexican immigrants which are so often demonized by federal officeholders."

 

• • Ald. David Moore (17) attended the Hugs No Slugs Youth Talent Show, as did Superintendent Eddie Johnson and Deputy Mayor Andrea Zopp.

 

• • Ald. Matt O'Shea (19) gave a big "thanks to @DavidEigenberg from @NBCChicagoFire for supporting the @cpdmemorial. He served pancakes & cleared tables, a real class act."

 

• • Ald. Howard Brookins (21) shared pictures from his town hall. 

 

• • Ald. Michael Scott Jr.'s (24) full community meeting schedule is in his latest newsletter. 

 

• • Ald. Jason Ervin (28) shared a Facebook event to protest the closure of a CVS in his ward: "CVS is closing several stores in the City but by closing this one, there will not be a pharmacy anywhere in the East or West Garfield Park community." It's unclear what the event is calling for, exactly. It's scheduled to continue into this morning. 

 

• • Ald. Milly Santiago (31) is hosting three community meetings this week. 

 

• • Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) will attend a TIF Forum hosted by Cook County Clerk David Orr on March 2nd at 9 a.m "with several panelists to discuss Tax Increment Financing in the county. Here's the Clerk's TIF 101 primer for those of you interested in learning more about the basics."

 

• • Ald Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) was at a "Packed house" meeting for "@peopleslobbyusa @neighbors35th budget townhall w/ @OmarAquinoIL2 @robertmartwick @AndradeRep40 @WillGuzzardi#PPFBudget"

 

• • Ald. John Arena (45) has details of the new Independence Library. 

 

• • Ald. James Cappleman (46) attended a protest "for the rights of our transgender community is packed with advocates. #ChicagoProud#LoveAlwaysWins"

 

• • Ald. Ameya Pawar (47) said he was heartbroken over last week's shooting in Kansas City. "I've felt like 'the other' many times in my life. It's especially profound today." 

 

• • Ald. Harry Osterman (48) hosted third graders from Northside Catholic Academy to City Hall. "Students got to hang out in the Council Chambers and ask the alderman some hard-hitting questions!" He also issued a short statement on the property tax rebate vote last week. 

 

• • Ald. Deb Silverstein (50) has some tax reminders. 
  • Comm. Richard Boykin (D-1) held his 3rd Annual Black History Trailblazer award/dinner program. "It was a complete success! Thank you to all that attended and congratulations again to the honorees! Happy Black History Month! #teamboykin."  

• • Comm. Bridget Gainer (D-10) tweeted: "Violence is rooted in a lack of jobs. Executive orders can be used for Infrastructure, not just immigration."

• • Comm. Sean Morrison (R-17) tweeted about the Oscars: "And OJ was a women and eventually wife beating murder, but go ahead lib left praise him. U folks have lost your damn minds! It's why Trump 1" The Oscar winner for OJ: Made in America dedicated his speech to victims of police brutality. 

 

The City Council’s Zoning Committee will consider zoning applications recently approved by the Plan Commission, including two CPS applications, and a couple of existing downtown projects paying for more density.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to appoint Walter Katz as his lead policy advisor on public safety this week, according to multiple sources that have spoken to The Daily Line. Katz is currently the Independent Police Auditor for San Jose, California and has been serving there since his appointment in November 2015. Previously Katz had served as the Deputy Inspector General for Los Angeles County overseeing the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.

This video includes an interview with Katz talking about his agency and job.

His predecessor, Deputy Chief of Staff Janey Rountree, left the Mayor’s office last month, on the same day the Department of Justice’s report on Chicago policing was released. Rountree had overseen policymaking for Police, Fire, OEMC, IPRA and 911 services.

Katz comes with high praise from Chicago’s police reform community. “When we started doing research for the Task Force, we spoke to a lot of people to get a sense of who around the country was doing the best work on police accountability and Walter was on almost everybody’s short list,” said Adam Gross from Business and Professional People for The Public Interest.

Indeed, Katz, who also served as a public defender for fifteen years in Los Angeles has earned a national reputation for his work on police oversight. He is a board member of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement and has directed multiple training panels for police oversight professionals, including one on investigating police shootings of unarmed persons. Katz is also well written, with an article published in the Harvard Law Review and an opinion in The New York Times.

Last fall, Katz was flown in to Chicago for a special City Council hearing on police reform. Katz discussed San Jose’s process for hiring a police oversight head, which included a detailed interview process with community oversight panels. None of his advice was heeded for the hiring of Chicago’s current Independent Police Review Authority head, Sharon Fairley.

“The primary currency when you’re involved in oversight is credibility, and that’s having credibility with all stakeholders,” Katz told a joint Council Committee on Budget and Public Safety. “You hear the word credibility and trust coming up time and time again. Those two things cannot be legislated.”

During his testimony last September, Katz told Council members that he oversees a staff of six with a $1.25 million budget. San Jose’s police force is about a tenth the size of Chicago’s with approximately 1,400 sworn and non-sworn personnel.

Katz has overseen a number of investigations in San Jose that mirror some of the problems discussed in reports from the Department of Justice and the Police Accountability Task Force. This month a study requested by his office found African-American drivers in San Jose are about one-and-a-half times more likely than whites to be pulled over by police for a traffic stop. Also last month, Katz kicked off a series of community forums meant to bolster relationships between San Jose minority residents and the city’s police force. Last year San Jose rolled out police body cameras.

“There is a definite gap in perceptions of reality. It’s important to have conversations so they can learn about how police do their work, and also for police to get a better understanding of how the public perceives their work,” Katz told the San Jose Mercury News this week.

Katz is also a member of the police oversight consulting firm, OIR Group, which has filed to serve as the monitor for federal consent decrees with the New Orleans Police Department and the Cleveland Police Department. Chicago contract records show no city relationship with OIR Group.

Mayor Emanuel's office was contacted by The Daily Line but did not provide comment by publication.

As of early Friday afternoon, 1,301 early votes have been cast in the special election for 4th Ward alderman, including 1,149 in-person early votes and 152 cast by mail, according to the Chicago Board of Elections. The special election is four days away, scheduled for Tuesday, February 28.

No one filed to be a write in candidate by the state-imposed deadline. Five candidates are vying for the seat, including incumbent Ald. Sophia King who was appointed to the seat by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in April.

Ward Reports

• Ald. Proco Joe Moreno's (1) next 1st Thursday meeting is March 2 at Madison Public House. 


• Ald. Sophia King (4) will be at the new 35th Street Bridge this Saturday "for the unveiling of a bronze plaque commemorating the 100 Year Anniversary of The Great Migration to Chicago."


• Ald. Leslie Hairston (5) posted ward by ward shooting statistics on Facebook and wrote, "I want to make sure that everyone is aware of why the Aldermen are asking Mayor Rahm Emanuel to use at least $5 million of the unused tax rebate money for violence prevention. What's most striking is that all 50 wards have been hit by gun violence. So, why is the Mayor so insistent on spending taxpayers' money on his pet projects and not to save lives? Given the international spotlight on our city's violence, one would think the Mayor would try everything possible."


• Ald. George Cardenas (12), Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), Ald. John Arena (45), Ald. Ameya Pawar (47), and ARISE Chicago announced a campaign to open a "Chicago Office of Labor Standards to enforce the city’s employment laws—currently anti-wage theft, minimum wage, and paid sick days ordinances." 


• Ald. Willie Cochran (20) says he "went through an Elevated train boarding station for 5 different lines recently and saw 6 Homeland Security Officers on point. Unsettling."


• Ald. Rick Muñoz (22) urged Twitter followers to "Show ur support for Mark by commenting on this article..." ABC7's Mark Giangreco was suspended after he tweeted that President Trump was a "cartoon lunatic".


• Ald. Deb Mell (33) is collecting school supplies for World Relief Chicago's backpack drive for refugee children.


• City Clerk Anna Valencia attended a Black History Month event with Secretary of State Jesse White. Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41) and Ald. Nick Sposato (38) spent some time with White yesterday, too. 


• The deadline to apply for the Chicago Latino Caucus scholarship has been extended until April 3. 


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  Comm. Richard Boykin (D-1) says of Chicago's deadliest day: "It is time for us to rise up and take our streets back! It is time for us to demand that our elected officials pass policies that put African American youth to work. Our communities are being flooded with guns and drugs. We must flood our communities with hope, great schools, jobs, and resources. Rise up!"


• Comm. Sean Morrison (R-17) shared a story about layoffs in Philadelphia as a result of their sugary beverage tax: "This is why I fought very hard against this type of a Tax! Bad policy."

The land use and development framework for the North Branch Industrial Corridor could make it to the Plan Commission as soon as April 20, according to a powerpoint presented at the most recent community meeting.  

A total of 1,181 votes have been tallied in the 4th Ward Special Election as of the morning of February 23 according to the Chicago Board of Elections. Most (1,011) are from early in-person voting, 142 are from mail in ballots, and 19 are from grace period voting.

Ward Reports

• Ald. Sophia King (4) joined fellow aldermanic candidates on WTTW last night. 


• Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10) is hosting a housing expo next month: "Free credit reports (for early attendees), mortgage assistance, free workshops on the home buying process, up to $7500 in down payment assistance, up to $50k in federal assistance to refinance your home, and so much more!"


• Ald. George Cardenas (12) advocated for his resolution calling for the city's department of public health to treat gun violence as an epidemic. It "would allow the CDPH to connect their resources to the Department of Family and Support Services which assists the majority of the violence affected children, teens and adults. The collaboration of these two extensive systems create target areas for increased anti-violence programming in churches, schools, parks and neighborhood organizations."


• Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) tweeted about yesterday's property tax rebate workaround: "Compromise means working w/ MRE to ensure $45M to interrupt violence & employ from w/i ten communities most in need & involve local orgs... ...that is what is most important & will work w/ MRE & ald's to ensure successful rollout in all communities."


• Ald. Willie Cochran (20) says he's "Very pleased with the Appointment of Samantha S. Fields" as Commissioner of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.


• Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26) celebrated the passage of an honorary street sign designation for Oscar Lopez Rivera. Its approval was one of several divided votes yesterday. 


• Ald. Deb Mell (33) has an interactive map of construction projects going on her ward.


• Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) introduced an ordinance yesterday "creating a Veteran Business Enterprise program for Chicago."


• Ald. James Cappleman (46) introduced a resolution aimed at reducing prison recidivism in Illinois yesterday. "We need real change."


• Ald. Ameya Pawar (47) tweeted: transgender rights are human rights, and what he thinks are really behind the protests against the new affordable housing development in Jefferson Park: "I think the protests, the narrative, cliches, the fear mongering is the same everywhere. Never subtle."


• City Clerk Anna Valencia's listening tour second stop was with the Polish American Chamber of Commerce and its board members. Her new Deputy Clerk is Rodrigo Carrillo, who previously served as Director of Operations at La Casa Norte.


• City Council's Black Caucus wrote on Facebook its "teaming up with a coalition of groups concerned with police accountability to push for specific changes in police union contracts to make it easier to investigate officers."

More than a thousand items were introduced at yesterday’s full City Council meeting. While most were routine matters, including hundreds of sidewalk cafe permits, we've catalogued some of the more interesting items in our monthly spreadsheet here: February 2017 Introductions. As of this writing, language and sponsorship was not available for most measures. We’ll have a more thorough rundown soon.

There were divided votes on five items that went before the full City Council Wednesday, from a not-so-surprising split vote on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to spend nearly $15 million of unspent property tax rebate dollars on various neighborhood development projects and violence prevention initiatives, to a seemingly out-of-nowhere roll call on an intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Tollway Authority.

A plan to reappropriate $14.7 million of city funds originally designated for property tax rebates was passed by Council Budget Committee in an early morning vote Wednesday by a tally of 20 to 4. The vote came after protests from some minority aldermen that not enough of the funds were devoted to violence interruption groups like Ceasefire. The measure later passed in the full Council meeting later that day.