Yesterday the Chicago Board of Elections provided this absentee ballot report, in addition to early vote results:

UNOFFICIAL Early Voting - Day by Day - Citywide data thru 8:50 pm, March 9, 2016
Ballots           Date      Sites Open

190	Feb 17	1 site
194	Feb 18	1 site
194	Feb 19	1 site
48	Feb 20	1 site
36	Feb 21	1 site
192	Feb 22	1 site
192	Feb 23	1 site
159	Feb 24	1 site
173	Feb 25	1 site
198	Feb 26	1 site
114	Feb 27	1 site
65	Feb 28	1 site
9,477	Feb 29	51 sites
6,081	Mar 1	51 sites
6,616	Mar 2	51 sites
5,225	Mar 3	51 sites
7,040	Mar 4	51 sites
9,910	Mar 5	51 sites
1,413	Mar 6	14 sites
8,849	Mar 7	51 sites
10,395	Mar 8	51 sites
10,902	Mar 9	54 sites with UIC, NEIU, CSU
	Mar 10	54 sites with UIC, NEIU, CSU
	Mar 11	54 siteswith UIC, NEIU, CSU
	Mar 12	51 sites
	Mar 13	14 sites
	Mar 14	14 sites
77,663

UNOFFICIAL Cumulative: Feb. 17, 2016 thru March 9, 2016 - As of 8:50 pm
Ward ......Early Voting Ballots

1	1,374
2	1,283
3	2,167
4	2,323
5	1,855
6	1,924
7	2,120
8	2,161
9	2,081
10	1,370
11	2,040
12	898
13	3,200
14	747
15	479
16	862
17	1,500
18	2,276
19	3,350
20	1,080
21	2,079
22	583
23	1,609
24	822
25	986
26	868
27	1,153
28	1,082
29	1,658
30	732
31	629
32	1,265
33	1,126
34	2,595
35	662
36	799
37	1,342
38	1,587
39	1,759
40	1,561
41	2,747
42	1,512
43	1,680
44	1,594
45	1,565
46	1,465
47	2,148
48	1,977
49	1,617
50	1,371
Total	77,663

While Aviation discusses Napolitano's ordinance, the Budget Committee will take up an ordinance to amend the city’s Equal Employment Opportunity requirements with the goal of increasing job opportunities for minority and female workers in all city-funded construction projects, which are worth nearly $300 million annually.

The city incentivizes contractors to set aside a certain number of labor hours for minority and women apprentices, laborers and journeymen when bidding for city contracts. The plan introduced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel increases those bid incentives for vendors to hire minority workers (from 50% to 70%) and for female workers (from 10% to 15%). It also adds new incentives to hire residents from “neighborhoods of economic need.”

The criteria for those “socio-economically disadvantaged areas” are to be determined by the Commissioner of Planning and Development, and will take into consideration the median family income and unemployment rate of an area, among other things. The ordinance also enables the city’s Procurement Officer to create the rules and help administer the program.

“This proposal will ensure that we are leveraging our procurement dollars to create jobs for residents in all parts of Chicago,” Mayor Emanuel said in a press release when he introduced the ordinance in February.

The second item on the agenda renews an intergovernmental agreement with the Chicago Board of Education regarding an environmental program that turns asphalt schoolyards in flood prone neighborhoods into “multifaceted ‘green’ school yards.”

The so-called “Room to Grow” initiative is a partnership between the Chicago Board of Education, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and two non-profits: Openlands and the Healthy Spaces campaign. 

Four Chicago elementary schools received new school yards in 2014 as part of the program: Virgil Grissom, Theophilus Schmid, Donald Morrill Math & Science, and George Leland. Each school got a new school yard that is designed to include, “special gardens, permeable surfaces and other landscape features that absorb large amounts of water, which will help reduce neighborhood flooding.”

The first phase of the “Room to Grow” program cost roughly $5.87 million. The IGA awaiting committee approval today commits $2 million in funding toward that first phase payment, and notes that MWRD will provide matching funds, up to $500,000 for each of those four schools. It also re-ups the program for an additional six schools per year for five years. The total cost is $15 million. The city plans to use revenue from the city’s sewer system to pay for part of the project.

Pedestrian & Traffic Safety Committee

At noon, the Council’s Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety meets to discuss and approve routine parking matters.

A new candidate committee was filed yesterday for “Friends of Sophia King”, to support Sophia King for alderman. The address for the committee is listed in the 4th Ward. Aldertrack spoke with the committee’s chairman, Evonne Taylor, who would not provide details about King, but confirmed King had applied to fill Burns’ vacant seat and said the Emanuel Administration has not told her who the finalists are.

The search committee tasked with submitting names to Mayor Rahm Emanuel faced a deadline last Friday. Emanuel Administration officials told Aldertrack this week 18 people applied, but would not disclose names.

King is president of Harriet’s Daughters, “a non-profit group of professional women whose mission is to work collaboratively with peer organizations to advocate for, create and support policies that secure employment and wealth creation opportunities for African-American communities.” U.S. Senate candidate and former Urban League Executive Director Andrea Zopp is also listed as a member, but the organization keeps relatively quiet on social media - its Facebook and Twitter pages are pretty much dark.

A proposal to add a 50-cent surcharge to credit card payments for cab rides in Chicago advanced out of the Council’s Transportation Committee yesterday. Just three of the seventeen aldermen on the committee, including Chairman and sponsor Ald. Anthony Beale (9), were still present when the ordinance was finally voted on at the end of the two hour meeting.

Members Present: Chairman Anthony Beale (9), Pat Dowell (3) Raymond Lopez (11), Jason Ervin (28), Chris Taliaferro (29), Gilbert Villegas (36), Michele Smith (43). Non members: Walter Burnett, Jr. (27), John Arena (45).  

The 50-cent fee is aimed at easing the burden on taxi companies that have to pay a 5% service fee to cash credit card payments. The money will go to the cab companies, not the drivers. This point was clarified in the substitute ordinance that was adopted at yesterday’s meeting, which added the following provision: “The convenience fee shall be used only to cover any portion of the processing fee and related costs that a licensee incurs to accept non-cash payments for taxi services through credit card processing equipment approved by the department.”

When the City Council and the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection approved new rules for the industry in 2015, it set a timeline to decrease the driver’s portion of the service fee to 4% in January 2016 and 3% in July 2016, as a way to lessen the burden on drivers. But the medallion holders who lease the cars out argue they can’t afford to pick up the extra cost either.

“The affiliations [cab companies] are not able to absorb a loss of the kinds we're talking about when processing credit card fees, because of the proliferation of ride-share cars on the market, and… the lack of taxi drivers. The taxi industry is on the verge of collapse,” said Mara Georges, former City of Chicago Corporation Counsel who now represents the Illinois Transportation Trade Association (ITTA), a group comprised of taxicab drivers and medallion owners.

Chicago taxi drivers process an average of 13 million taxi fares a year, according to Georges. When you take into account that each trip costs an average of $25, the 3% service fee that will soon take effect adds up to a lost of over $6.5 million annually, she added. “So here we’ve got a partial solution to a problem that is costing the taxi industry millions of dollars annually. This is not a fix for the collapse of the taxi industry. This is a temporary band aid on a problem that is going to cause the taxi industry’s collapse. Without further action by this council to either regulate ride shares or to ease the regulations on taxi cabs, to level the playing field… the taxi industry will no longer exist in the city of Chicago.”  

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) and Ald. Michele Smith (43) joined Ald. Beale in approving the ordinance. Ald. John Arena (45), who isn’t a member on the committee but a strong proponent of creating more parity between taxi drivers and their ride-share competitors, was also present.

“We need to come up with a comprehensive solution, and we need to do it sooner rather than later. Continuing to put in front, to me personally, these nickel and dime ordinances to just chip away at some minor problems is not the approach I would like to see the administration take,” Ald. Arena opined.

He and Georges have both argued the only way to create true parity between the two competing industries is to require that ride-sharing drivers get the chauffeur licenses that taxi drivers are required to get.

Much of the public testimony at yesterday’s committee meeting consisted of recycled testimony heard at a Licence Committee meeting the day before, when cab drivers and taxi industry officials warned aldermen that they can no longer make a decent living due to the flood of Uber and Lyft drivers on city streets.

This morning the Council’s Aviation Committee will consider a plan by a freshman alderman who wants more Council oversight of runway construction at O’Hare Airport, despite concerns from Aviation Department officials who argue the ordinance would “stunt” O’Hare’s growth and “jeopardize” progress already made as part of a multi-billion dollar modernization plan.

But City Council sources tell Aldertrack it’s unlikely Ald. Anthony Napolitano’s (41) proposal will advance out of committee, because of the legal issues related to  federal aviation rules, outstanding agreements with airlines and unions, and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding already made available for the O’Hare Modernization Program.

“There’s a chance we might get sued because of what we’re asking here,” Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30), a member on the committee told Aldertrack. “I don’t know in all fairness if we can push this ordinance through.”

Another alderman on the committee, who spoke on background, suggested the hearing on the ordinance is only taking place because aldermanic offices were bombarded with emails from constituents demanding a hearing, following an email blast from Ald. Napolitano’s office last week telling them to do so. At the time, Ald. Napolitano told Aldertrack his lobbying effort wasn’t a ploy to force Committee Aviation Chairman Mike Zalewski’s hand, but to show his colleagues how pressing of an issue this in his community.

Ald. Napolitano, whose 41st Ward includes O’Hare, has argued that if the City Council has the authority to approve stop signs, they should also get to decide if O’Hare can build out its runways, especially at a time when airplane jet noise is a primary concern for North Side residents.

In a letter he sent his colleagues on the Aviation Committee, Napolitano wrote, “We all have requested a stop sign at some point in our Aldermanic career. Think of the steps required for this simple request. An introduction of an Ordinance, CDOT traffic study, approval from the Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee and finally approval from the full City Council. All of this for something as simple as a stop sign yet a $700 Million dollar runway that could have a tremendous impact on the quality of life of so many, we have no input.”

Napolitano’s ordinance would prevent Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans from completing or starting any new construction projects at O’Hare until the City Council has a chance to look over and vote on the plans. Specifically, Commissioner Evans wouldn’t have the authority to “manage and control all matters and things pertaining to the construction, reconfiguration, decommissioning, and destruction of runways and taxiways,” without first obtaining approval from the City Council’s Aviation Committee through a public hearing on the matter.

Officials with the Department of Aviation and Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce are expected to testify against the ordinance at today’s meeting.

Despite concerns from some aldermen that the program doesn’t go far enough, the Budget Committee passed an ordinance incentivizing hiring more minority and women contractors and workers from Chicago’s most economically disadvantaged areas on city-funded construction projects.

Attendance: Chairman Carrie Austin (34), Brian Hopkins (2), Roderick Sawyer (6), Anthony Beale (9), Marty Quinn (13), David Moore (17), Michael Scott Jr. (24), Walter Burnett Jr. (27), Jason Ervin (28), Ariel Reboyras (30), Emma Mitts (37), Tom Tunney (44), James Cappleman (46)

Budget Chair Carrie Austin, often a champion for M/WBE hiring, called the proposal “outstanding” and “very exciting.” She recently secured a four year renewal of the M/WBE Enterprise Construction Program, which included a two percent increase in minority-owned and women-owned business goals for city programs.

Yesterday, the committee approved extra incentives, both introduced by the Mayor, that would change Equal Employment Opportunity Regulations for Minorities and Women. The changes would apply to city-funded projects, not federal, and would be included in every bid contract.

There’s an economic and geographical component to the introduction, meant to drive employment opportunities for apprentices, journeyworkers and laborers in areas with low income, high poverty and unemployment. The city would credit companies that use workers from those disadvantaged areas 150% per hour.

“Right now for every hour you work you get an hour credit. For every hour that someone works that’s in these target areas, they get 1.5 hours of credit,” Chief Procurement Officer Jamie Rhee explained. “When a bidder elects to do this commitment, they get an artificial reduction of their bid. So it really gives them a competitive advantage.”

Rhee says the city didn’t want contractors who were trying to take advantage of that 150% credit to bump up against maximum limits for women and minority hiring, so they’re increasing those from 50 percent to 70 percent for minorities and from 10 percent to 15 percent for women. .

She provided a map to aldermen of disadvantaged areas that qualify for the incentive, which are largely on the South Side. She said it was calculated using the city’s hardship index.

“Oh, that’s all me,” said North Lawndale Alderman Michael Scott Jr. (24) when he saw the map, excited that his residents would benefit.

But he and some other aldermen, including Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27), and Ald. Jason Ervin (28) worried the incentive area–20% of the city–might not be big enough, that the city wasn’t doing enough to promote training for more skilled labor, and that companies could take advantage of the program only to let workers go shortly after hiring them.

“How are we setting people up so they don’t fail? How are we preparing people to be able to work with these contractors? A lot of these contractors love the incentives, a lot of contractors love of us to give them people to work, and they know that they’re not going to be able to hang, right?” Ald. Burnett said. “They hire them for a week and say that they met their obligation, and then they let them go.” He suggested using TIF money for training.

“You can probably put in red every area from Western south of Chicago Avenue to Cermak,” Ald. Ervin told Rhee, saying he’d like to see hardship areas expanded, but “this is a step in the right direction.”

Rhee said contractors will only get the incentive based on the number of hours worked, “So [developers] don’t get any credit for just hiring someone, it’s hours worked over the life of the contract, which we track with certified payrolls.” She says Karin Norington-Reaves, the CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, is working closely with local unions to get more people properly trained for construction jobs.

“I think you’re going to see, hopefully, a greater partnership between the city and its union partners going forward,” Rhee said. DPS’ upcoming Vendor Fair on May 25 will have union reps in attendance “for the first time ever.”

CPS Playground Intergovernmental Agreement Approved

The Committee also approved an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) and the Board of Education for the second phase of the “Space to Grow” program, which “transforms schoolyards into vibrant outdoor spaces that benefit students, the community, and the environment,” by preventing stormwater runoff with permeable, landscaped playgrounds instead of paved lots.

The first phase of the program included green stormwater infrastructure projects at four CPS schools, all on the city’s South and West Sides. The next phase will expand the program to 30 CPS sites over the next five years. Those sites haven’t been picked yet.

Each stakeholder in the IGA will front a third of the cost. The city will use pay-go funds (revenue from the sewer system) to reimburse the Board of Education for up to $500,000 for each new site. The maximum reimbursement would be $15 million over five years. MWRD will reimburse for the same amount.

Irene Caminer, Director of Legal Services for the Department of Water Management (DWM), said the pilot program at the four schools was “incredibly successful.” Schoolyards that qualified for the pilot programs were in “deplorable” condition before the changes, she said. Aaron Cook, Deputy Commissioner for Green Infrastructure at DWM, says schools are picked based on flood risk in the area, whether that area has deficient playgrounds, whether there are parks and open spaces in the neighborhood, as well as poverty and obesity rates.

Those four new sites have features like turf fields, rain gardens, and porous asphalt basketball courts designed to ease basement flooding and stressing the city’s sewer systems.

Budget Chair Austin told them both to consider a site at Langston Hughes Elementary School at 104th and Wentworth, and other neighborhoods lacking parks on the South and West sides. “Make sure that those areas are included, cause I’ma ride on this one,” she said.

Ald. Emma Mitts (37) departed from the official script a bit, saying DWM and MWRD should also focus on lead testing in those same neighborhoods, pointing to a Chicago Tribune investigation suggesting the city doesn’t test in areas most at risk. Mitts, Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin, Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29), and officials from city departments hosted a Lead Abatement Town Hall meeting last night.

Aldermen temporarily tabled an ordinance that would “simplify” the city’s licensing fees and application requirements for taxis, ride-share cars, horse-drawn carriages, and pedicabs, after taxi drivers warned they can no longer make a decent living due to the “flood” of competing ride-hailing drivers on city streets.

After a roughly two-hour long hearing that focused more on concerns that the city’s taxi industry is on the verge of bankruptcy than the ordinance at hand, Chairman Emma Mitts (37) announced she would hold on to the ordinance and have the committee reconvene next Monday, after those concerns were addressed.

The ordinance that sparked outrage from the city’s taxi industry sought to modernize and simplify licensing requirements and reduce certain fees and penalties, according to Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Maria Lapacek. Specifically, it makes the following changes:

• Adds new definitions: A “public chauffeur license” now refers to a restricted chauffeur license or a taxi chauffer license. The former license pertains to divers employed by ride-share companies, the latter to taxi drivers. A licensed restricted chauffeur cannot operate taxicabs. The new definitions were added to “clarify” the different licenses offered by BACP, Commissioner Lapacek said.

• Increases fines for unlicensed activity: Those operating a taxi without a public chauffeur license will have to pay $500 to $1,000 for each offense. Currently, the fine range is $75 to $400.

• “Simplify licensing requirements”: Those interested in applying for a public chauffeur's license only need to have had a driver's license for one year, instead of three. They are also no longer required to have an Illinois driver’s license. This change was made to accommodate drivers from ride-hailing companies who have out-of-state plates but want to pick up customers in Chicago, Lapacek explained.If an applicant had their driver's license revoked within the past three years, they will be rejected. The current moratorium is five years.The number of traffic violations an applicant may have in a 12-month period increases from two to three. It decreases the background check period for a suspended driver’s license from five years to three years. These changes were made to “level the playing field” for taxi drivers and those employed by ride-hailing companies, although several who testified said it didn’t go far enough.

• Investigations: The BACP commissioner can investigate applications for new or renewed licenses, including reviewing the applicant’s criminal record, driving record, complaint history, and “any other information that may be reasonably relied upon to issue a license.”

• “Outdated or burdensome laws” eliminated: This includes the prohibition against loitering, courteous behavior, and the surrendering of chauffeur's licensing, among others. The minimum fine for violations imposed on taxi drivers who violate the city’s licensing rules was lowered to $50 from $75.  

• Changes to Horse-Drawn Carriage Licenses: The ordinance lowers the licensing and renewal fee from $25 to $5, removes the provision requiring applicants speak, read, and write English, and adds “cannabis or other illegal drugs” to the list of substances tested. These licenses would be valid for two years from date of issuance. Currently, it’s one year. The city has 30 horse-drawn carriage licences, so the decrease is minimal and aimed at creating consistency among all the licenses to prevent an equal protection lawsuit, Commissioner Lapacek explained.

• Changes to Pedicab Licenses: Fee for license reduced from $25 to $5. It also adds a section clarifying the definition of a pedicab license: “A person engages in a pedicab business by seeking or accepting a fee, an economic benefit of a donation or gratuity, or any form of compensation (goods or services) for providing transportation to passengers in a pedicab.”

The ordinance was drafted in consultation with a task force Mayor Rahm Emanuel put together in 2014 to “strengthen the taxi industry and create a fairer environment for taxicab drivers.” But several members of that Taxicab Driver Fairness Task Force testified the ordinance barely addressed their concerns.

Over the course of public testimony, divers and industry stakeholders argued since the Mayor allowed ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft to operate in the city, medallion cab drivers have spent hours waiting in taxi lines at city airports and driving around the city for hours without customers. As a result, they say they can barely afford to pay their regular lease payments to their employers.

“Myself and every other member on the task force has told the commissioner, the deputy commissioner, and the mayor’s office, over and over again, that the city needs to level the playing field with ride-share, or the taxi industry will be destroyed,” said Ezzedin Abdelmagid, with Cab Drivers United. “And when I say destroyed, I mean my job will be destroyed. Thousands of full time, family supporting jobs will be gone. Transportation access for disabled people in the city will not exist. Millions in city revenue the city collects from taxis will disappear.”

“The assets and retirements and dreams of many small medallion holders have already been destroyed in the last couple of years. If you think this ordinance is going to do anything to level the playing field, you are mistaken,” he added, saying many are going into debt.  

According to Meg Lewis, a researcher with AFSCME, there were no medallion foreclosures two years ago. Now, there are 97 foreclosures, with 28 in the first month of 2016 alone. In 2013, only five taxi companies surrendered their medallions. This year that number is 524. And only one medallion has been transferred since October 2015, at a measly $95,000. That’s a significant drop from the roughly $300,000 price tag on some medallions three years ago.

Since the city opened up the airports to ride-share drivers, a month-to-month comparison of January 2014 and January 2016, the number of taxi rides has gone down by 40,000, Lewis added.

“Although [this ordinance] does address pedicabs and it does address horse-drawn carriages, [it’s] completely silent on the issue that every single member of the task force said was a number one pressing issue for taxi drivers and for fairness in this city,” Lewis argued.   

Other members of the task force who testified against the ordinance reaffirmed their demand to have the city require ride-share drivers be held to the same licensing requirements as cabbies and that the City Council hold hearings on the impact ride-hailing companies have had on the industry.  

Their pleas struck a nerve with several on the committee, like Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29), who, towards the end of the meeting, expressed concern the city was creating a monopoly that could end up being very costly, not only in terms of the legal ramifications but also the number of jobs lost.

But most of the outrage over the ordinance came from Ald. John Arena (45), who accused Commissioner Lapacek of “misleading” aldermen, because her office “completely failed” to properly regulate ride-hailing vehicles or hand over “specific data.”

“You continue to come before us with not good information, and, I feel, misled us into what we’re doing here and continue to say we’re fixing this problem. But what we keep hearing is the one thing that would fix the problem is to really regulate TNPs (the license for ride-hailing drivers). That’s what the core problem is. So I’m not going to support another change at all. I’m going to continue to block this, because we’re being lied to. Your department is not doing its job,” Ald. Arena charged.

Before Comm. Lapacek has a chance to fully respond to Arena’s accusations, Chairman Mitts stepped to tell him to speak with her after the meeting and announced she would hold the item and recess the meeting until Monday.

“I understand the problem from the taxi industry, I understand the problem from the ride-share industry, it’s the way we have to come together as a whole to fix this problem,” Mitts interjected. “Because we’re taking jobs and people need jobs… we’re here to fix a problem.

The committee also approved a proposal by Ald. Deb Silverstein (50) to legalize certain “cat cafés” in Chicago. Ald. Silverstein’s application would let animal shelters serve non-alcoholic drinks, but beverages could only be sold in a designated cafe area and to prospective adopters. The two-year permit would cost $250, and only applicants with a valid animal care license, or a member of a humane society “whose mission is to rescue animals” would be eligible. The city’s health department would enforce the rules and violators could face up to $1,000 in fines.

A proposal to add a 50-cent surcharge on credit and debit card payments for taxi rides is up for consideration today by the Council’s Transportation Committee. The ordinanceTransportation Committee Chair Ald. Anthony Beale (9) drafted comes on the heels of a 15% taxi fare hike the Council passed in the 2016 budget. It’s aimed at helping cabbies struggling to compete with Uber, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Speaking during yesterday’s License Committee on a separate taxi-related ordinance, Fayez Khozindar, Chairman of the United Taxi Drivers Community Council, says credit card payments have become a burdensome issue for cab drivers. Khozindar argued that since the city mandated each taxi have a credit card machine 12 years ago, drivers have had to eat the cost of the “expensive equipment” needed to protect customers’ credit card information. Cab drivers have also had to pay a significant portion of the 5% credit card transaction fee: $50 for every $1,000 made. “The 50-cents are not going for the driver, the 50-cents is to help pay the expensive equipment and the source credit card data and other related expenses,” he explained.

In the last quarter of 2015, October through December, the Illinois Transportation Trade Association PAC, a fund to support the Illinois taxicab industry, donated $3,000 to Ald. Beale, in addition to giving $10,000 to the Chicago Progressive Reform Caucus and $2,000 to Ald. John Arena, another progressive caucus alderman.  

The city’s Community Development Commission approved the acquisition of the former Old Main Post Office building through eminent domain, as well as a request from the Department of Planning and Development to find a new developer to take over the site, despite significant pushback from attorneys representing the building’s current owner.

DPD Staff Report on Old Post Office Acquisition Authority

DPD Staff Report on Old Post Office Request for Proposals   

The U.S. Post Office sold the historic building in 2009 to International Property Developers North America, Inc. (IPD) for $25 million dollars. In 2013, the same developer bought the neighboring annex property for an additional $14 million.

IPD had planned a $3.5 billion mixed-use development to be completed in phases, including three towers and 16-million-square-feet of residential, retail, entertainment and office spaces. In July 2013, the City Council approved an amendment to the planned development for an additional 2,100 residential units in the old post office building. Plans for a hotel and commercial retail space on adjacent land were also approved.

The first phase of the project was scheduled to get underway in early 2015, but according to DPD, no significant redevelopment work has been completed to date.  

“The site is one of the city’s most prominent riverfront redevelopment sites. The lack of development, progress, and need to safely secure the buildings have prompted the department to take action,” Mary Bonome with the Department of Planning and Development explained in her opening testimony to the mayor-appointed panel.

John George, an attorney representing British developer Bill Davies, voiced his annoyance in a Sun-Times article yesterday morning that detailed the city’s decision to take over the project, saying “it didn’t give consideration to why the man who owns the property didn’t go through with the deal.”

He argued that Davies really only had two years to work on the project, since the amended planned development for the site wasn’t approved until three years ago. “And as all of you know, in terms of obtaining the financing to do the work, you cannot get financing through any reputable financial institution until you have proper zoning. So we couldn’t start going to the financial people until July of 2013.”

Between 2010 and 2013, Georges said, they spent “enormous time and enormous sums of money” trying to get this project approved by various delegate agencies.

“I really think it’s unfair what’s being proposed here. I think we should be entitled to continue on with our efforts… maybe we have been remiss in bringing to the attention of the city all of the things we are doing on this property,” he pleaded.

In 2012, the city filed a complaint in the Cook County Circuit Court alleging 18 building violations. The case is still open. From the initial filing date through today, the developer has “struggled to maintain the building in a safe condition,” Bonome explained.

Local Ald. Danny Solis (25) testified in favor of the proposal, noting various building fires and ventilation issues that he’s had to deal with at the site and the trouble he’s had communicating with the developer.

While DPD has no specific proposals for how to develop the site, the RFP authorization gives the department the ability to find new development team and pay the city’s share of acquiring the property. The city will officially issue the RFP next week and hold a pre-bid conference in April. Based on questions and comments that may arise at that April meeting, the June 10th deadline for submissions may be extended.  

Mayor Emanuel plans to seek final approval of the acquisition from the City Council in the next two months.

Hailing it as a “significant step in rolling back 30 years of failed tough-on-crime policies that have torn apart communities of color and failed to improve public safety,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and state lawmakers unveiled Preckwinkle’s legislative agenda on criminal justice at a press conference Tuesday.

The agenda consists of four bills introduced in the Illinois General Assembly, sponsored by State Sen. Kwame Raoul, Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, and Rep. Elaine Nekritz. Per the President’s office: 

• SB 3292 (Raoul) - Once amended, will:

  • Make residential burglary, second and subsequent Class 2 felonies, and certain drug violations probationable (per the recommendation of the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform).

  • Create misdemeanor-level possession of a controlled substance offense for 1 gram or under.

  • Narrow the scope of the Class X sentence enhancement for repeat offenders to focus primarily on violent crimes.

• HB 6290 (Nekritz) - Would ban commitment of juveniles to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice for any offense under the Illinois Controlled Substances Act.

• HB 6291 (Nekritz) - Would end mandatory 5-year probation for juveniles for Class X and Forcible Felonies.

• HB 2470 (Currie) - Would provide periodic judicial review of sentences for anyone sentenced to 40 years or more as a juvenile in adult court.

Preckwinkle said these changes will help to reduce the state prison population, improve public safety, and bring juvenile justice laws in line with research and best practices. Commissioners Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Stanley Moore, Luis Arroyo, Jr. and State Rep. Elgie Sims were also in attendance. Preckwinkle thanked the ACLU, the Cook County Public Defender and Restore Justice Illinois “for their partnership.”

It’s the second initiative Preckwinkle has announced in as many weeks to reduce prison populations. On Feb 29, she and officials from the Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS) announced a series of behavioral health initiatives aimed at reducing costs and the headcount at Cook County Jail. Those proposals include a planned early intervention triage center on the city’s South Side, a behavioral health partnership with groups like C4 and Metropolitan Family Services, expanded substance abuse treatment, and integrating behavioral health services with primary care at CCHHS’ 16 community health centers.

In a statement, Dr. Jay Shannon, CEO of CCHHS said, “Waiting until an at-risk individual is arrested and detained is both costly and a failure of our societal systems. If we can employ strategies to link individuals with the needed services before they commit a crime related to untreated or undertreated behavioral health disorders, then we can reduce the jail population, emergency room visits and improve the health and safety of our communities.”

Ald. Anthony Napolitano’s (41) ordinance giving City Council greater oversight over the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) will get its day in Committee tomorrow, despite Napolitano’s contention that the Emanuel administration told him to “make [the ordinance] go away.” Owen Kilmer with the CDA confirmed Aviation officials will be in attendance. It’s the only agenda item listed, and has eight co-sponsors.

CDA has argued the ordinance would endanger federal funding, violate Illinois law and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, and bump up against intergovernmental agreements with DuPage County. CDA reiterated a statement they gave Aldertrack earlier this month: “This ordinance is a step in the wrong direction for the city of Chicago and the residents who live near O’Hare International Airport. Specifically, the ordinance would result in severe economic implications for the city, stunt O’Hare’s growth as a world-class airport, and jeopardize the important progress the city is making in providing noise relief for residents.”

Ald. Napolitano sent an e-blast to subscribers announcing the ordinance would be heard and encouraging all residents to “attend the hearing and show support for this Ordinance.” He told Aldertrack his ward office gets tens of thousands of O’Hare noise complaints every month.

A week ago, he shared email addresses for members of the City Council’s Aviation Committee, asking subscribers and Facebook followers to lobby members to support the ordinance, as did the FAiR Allocation in Runways Coalition.

After Aviation Chairman Michael Zalewski (23) held a briefing on the ordinance last week, Napolitano followed up with Aviation Committee members in an email, saying “Our focus should be on building more gates and expanding western access,” at O’Hare, and that his ordinance simply does two things: “puts an immediate halt on runway changes and requires [Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans] to obtain Council approval prior to moving forward on any changes” and “asks for the immediate reopening of diagonal runway 14L/32R,” which closed this summer.

Comm. Evans has said that runway was unsafe because it cuts across others and reduces efficiency, but proponents have said the diagonal runways help cut down on noise from planes arriving and departing over the North Side of Chicago, which Napolitano represents.

FAiR has written, “The diagonal runways are a vital component of FAiR’s solutions to the noise and pollution crisis, bringing some relief to the surrounding communities,” and called for coalition members to lobby committee members. “We need all hands on deck. The time is now!!”

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce voiced its concerns in a letter sent to Napolitano and committee members. Michael Reever, Vice President of Government Relations with the Chamber, called the ordinance “shortsighted and irresponsible,” and said it puts the $1.3 billion O’Hare Modernization Program investment at risk. “This ordinance, if passed, would grind to a halt the recent financial investments announced by our airline partners totaling over $1.3 billion, and the estimated 5,000-6,000 full and part time jobs along with it. Investments that do not involve taxpayer funds. It threatens the ability of the airport to function at all.”

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Office would not release a list of people who applied to replace 4th Ward Ald. Will Burns on the Council to Aldertrack, but instead responded in an email, “Like vacancies that have happened in the past few years, we won't be releasing a list of applicants' names.”

The application deadline for those interested in applying to fill Ald. Will Burn’s vacancy on the City Council was last Friday. Mayor Rahm Emanuel would appoint the interim Alderman to fill a term until the Illinois municipal elections in March 2017, when a special election would be held for a two-year term.

Aldertrack has learned some names discussed by community leaders include:

• Rev. Dr. L. Bernard Jakes, senior pastor of the West Point Ministry Baptist Church.

• Ghian Foreman, Executive Director of the Greater Southwest Development Corporation, a community development agency, and a member of the city’s Police Board. Foreman was appointed to the Police Board in 2010 by then-Mayor Richard M. Daley.

• Bernita Johnson-Gabriel, Executive Director of the Quad Communities Development Corporation (QCDC), “a non-profit organization focused on economic development, education, and employment in the south lakefront communities of North Kenwood, Oakland, Douglas, and Grand Boulevard.” QCDC oversees two Special Service Areas in the 4th Ward: SSA #54 Bronzeville and SSA #47 Cottage Grove/47th St.

• Tracey Bey, who founded her own mortgage brokerage firm, Bey Financial Corporation, and ran for alderman against Burns in the most recent election, garnering 25% of the vote.

A five-member task force appointed by the Mayor will review the applications submitted and interview candidates. Following their review, the task force will submit the names of three finalists to the Mayor. Emanuel will announce his final pick on April 29, and the new alderman will be sworn in at the May 18th City Council meeting.

At 1:00 p.m. the Committee on Economic, Capital, and Technology Development will take up one property tax incentive application the Mayor introduced to help support a new boutique hotel near Midway Airport.

Parth 13, Inc., a corporation owned by Amit Patel, is applying for a Class 7(c) tax incentive for a new Best Western Hotel planned at the site of the former Alamo Car Rental building at 6501-6549 S. Cicero Ave. Part of Best Western's new upscale lifestyle brand “Vib,” the 31,000-square-foot, three-story, 74-room hotel will cater to business travelers. Other amenities include a cafe lounge, fitness center, and a 2,500-square-foot restaurant.

“With a design intended to reflect the newly-launched brand, along with modern tech amenities, the hotel would be the first to be built in Chicago near Midway in decades, ” according to a press release from the Mayor’s office.

The Class 7(c) incentive reduces the Cook County property tax assessment to 10% for the first three years, 15% in the fourth year, and 20% in the fifth year. Best Western is estimated to save $466,000 in property taxes if the Council approves the designation.

This isn’t the first time this hotel has been brought up at City Hall. In November, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a special use permit for the hotel. Earlier in 2015, Patel received approval from the Council's Zoning Committee to build the three-story franchise hotel with 69 rooms.

The Council’s License Committee won’t take up any of the shared-housing plans that seek to regulate business like Airbnb, but they will take up an ordinance from Mayor Rahm Emanuel that would amend regulations for horse-drawn carriage and pedicab licenses, in addition to a proposal by Ald. Deb Silverstein (50) to legalize certain “cat cafés” in Chicago.

As previously reported, the competing Airbnb ordinances will be immediately referred to a joint committee of the Council’s License and Housing Committee. The decision to hold a special joint meeting is due to the fact that the plans address licensing and housing concerns, a legislative aide for the License Committee told Aldertrack last week. A date for that hearing is still unknown.   

The ordinance from Mayor Emanuel regarding horse-drawn carriage chauffeur and pedicab licenses was introduced in February on behalf of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP).

It removes the provision requiring operators of horse-drawn carriages, “speak, read and write the English language,” when applying for the license, and adds a requirement that applicants can’t have been found guilty of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a “controlled substance or cannabis.” Before, it was just alcohol.

As for changes to the pedicab license, it adds a section clarifying the definition of a pedicab license: “A person engages in a pedicab business by seeking or accepting a fee, an economic benefit of a donation or gratuity, or any form of compensation (goods or services) for providing transportation to passengers in a pedicab.”

According to the Sun Times, the change is aimed at “removing ambiguity,” as to who is required to get a pedicab license, after reports of pedicab drivers circumventing the license requirement by giving rides for free while encouraging tips.

The ordinance also removed the provision requiring that each taxicab licensee submit an affidavit when they renew their license, detailing all lease rates, fees, and charges associated with the leasing of the taxicab.

Ald. Silverstein’s application would let animal shelters serve non-alcoholic drinks, but beverages could only be sold in a designated cafe area and to prospective adopters.

The two-year permit would cost $250, and only applicants with a valid animal care license, or a member of a human society “whose mission is to rescue animals” would be eligible. The city’s health department would enforce the rules and violators could face up to $1,000 in fines.

So far, only one organization in Chicago, Uptown’s Tree House Humane Society, is getting into the cat cafe business. The group plans to open a $7 million, 15,000-square-foot care facility called Cat’fe at 7225 N. Western Avenue this Spring. The state-of-the-art adoption center will house approximately 200 cats, and will include a veterinary clinic, an education center, and a pet food pantry and supply store, according to their website.  

Following inaction in Springfield on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s property tax relief plan and a looming April 30th deadline to consider a city-run program, Ald. Proco Joe Moreno (1) and co-sponsors will hold a press conference at 10:00 a.m. today to call on the Finance Committee to hold a hearing on a Property Tax Relief Program he introduced in September. The Finance Committee meets this Friday at 10:00 a.m.

“We can not wait for Springfield to act on this important issue–our city must take action now and pass this important rebate program!” Moreno wrote in a recent Facebook post. Ald. Pat Dowell (3), Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6), Ald. Michael Scott Jr. (24), Ald. Danny Solis (25), Ald. Milly Santiago (31), Ald. James Cappleman (46), Ald. Ameya Pawar(47), and Ald. Joe Moore (49) are co-sponsors and have been invited to attend the press conference. “Families impacted by the property tax increase” will also be in attendance, according to a Moreno staffer.

Since Mayor Emanuel announced a historic property tax hike last fall to shore up funds for the city’s Police and Fire pensions, aldermen have proposed three different relief plans to mitigate the stress on homeowners.

Expressing worry that Springfield wouldn’t get their act together in time to approve Mayor Emanuel’s plan to double the Homestead exemption from $7,000 to $14,000 by this spring, the City Council adopted a resolution that set an April 30th deadline for the City to adopt a property tax relief plan of its own.

Officials with the City’s Budget Office, who spoke on background, told Aldertrack they’re looking at the various proposals and will meet with aldermen over the next few weeks to come up with an official city-run plan. It’s likely that plan won’t base rebates on home value, which they called “regressive.” The city is more interested in a “progressive” and simple plan focused on low income residents, they told Aldertrack.

The various plans on the table:

• Homestead exemption from Mayor Emanuel: A doubling of the homestead exemption from $7,000 to $14,000 in Springfield was painted as a home run by the Emanuel administration, since it didn’t cost the state anything and would give homeowners across the board some property tax relief. In a statement in October, the Mayor’s office said “any resident whose home is valued at $250,000 or less will be held nearly harmless over the four year phase in of the property tax increase, with many seeing a decrease in their bill.” But like most things in Springfield lately, the amendment hasn’t moved in months.

• Ald. Moreno’s Plan: Moreno’s ordinance is intended for homeowners with income under $100,000, with a higher rebate rate for those earning less. The rebate rate is multiplied by the difference in the City’s real estate tax assessment rate from last year to this year, then multiplied by the assessed value of the house. Moreno’s office said 57% of the occupied household population in Chicago would potentially be eligible to apply for relief under his ordinance.

• Ald. Smith’s Plan: It was included in the same resolution that set the April 30th deadline, which passed as part of the consent calendar on the day of the budget vote. Ald. Michele Smith (43) and Ald. John Arena’s (45) resolution urges Springfield to pass the Mayor’s Homestead Exemption in Springfield, but if the exemption isn’t passed into law by April 30, 2016, the City Council would “consider an ordinance creating a City-administered Property Tax Rebate Program…” by June 1 “taking into account the numbers of years that such homeowners have resided in their homes, their age, their income, and the disproportionate impact upon them of the increased property tax levies and the 2016 reassessment of property values in Cook County.”
  
  The text of the resolution draws from Ald. Smith’s ordinance. Ald. Arena told Aldertrack at the time the rebate deal is why none of the Progressive Caucus’ revenue amendments introduced the week before the budget succeeded. Since a rebate plan is estimated to cost between $20 and $40 million dollars, depending on how many people apply, and since the city doesn’t currently have a dedicated revenue source to pay for it, some of the Progressive Caucus ordinances, like closing amusement tax loopholes, are being held back as potential ways to pay for the rebate, Arena said.

• Ald. Rosa’s Plan: Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), partnering with other Progressive Caucus members, introduced an ordinance that “makes use of fund set aside from the City's underutilized 2010 Property Tax Rebate program. In 2010 the City allocated $35,000,000 for a rebate, of which only $2.1 million was distributed,” according to a release from Rosa’s office. Rather than calculate a rebate based on the value of a home, the rebate would target income within 400% of the federal poverty level. “This would include single homeowners earning $47,080 (roughly the median income of the City of Chicago), and couples earning a combined income of $63,720,” the release says.