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OCT 24, 2017
With a light attendance, and committee members slipping out of the hearing room to attend the first day of budget hearings in the Council Chamber, the star of Monday’s Zoning Committee hearing was Council gadfly George Blakemore. Like a broken clock that’s right twice a day, Blakemore testified on every one of the hearing’s 25 items, repeatedly pointing out that with only three Aldermen in attendance for most of the hearing, there was no quorum, and the validity of the hearing’s proceedings was in question. -
At the first budget hearing on next year’s budget, Chicago aldermen had few questions about the city’s long-term liabilities, choosing instead to stress how their constituents are fed up with taxes and long waits for garbage cans.
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Comm. Dennis Deer (D-2), the newest member on the Cook County Board, has hired 16th Ward Democratic Committeewoman Stephanie Coleman as an aide, county disclosures of Shakman-exempt hires show. Coleman was also present at budget hearings Monday.
According to the county, “An exempt position is one that involves policy making to an extent or is confidential in such a way that political affiliation is an appropriate consideration for the effective performance of the job.” The Shakman decree was instituted to end patronage hiring in Cook County and Chicago government. Coleman was one of a large group of committeemen who voted to appoint Deer to his county board seat to replace the late Comm. Robert Steele. Steele’s aide, Melva Brownlee, is still the most senior member of the office. Coleman defeated Ald. Toni Foulkes (16) for the committeeman seat in 2015. She is the daughter of Ald. Shirley Coleman, who represented the ward from 1991 until 2007. -
Cook County commissioners kicked off the first of at least two weeks of budget hearings Monday, beginning with the Bureau of Finance and smaller Offices Under the President. President Toni Preckwinkle’s budget and finance officials stressed that the offices she directly controls represent 8% of the budget, and have put forward their proposed $14 million cut.
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On Oct. 13, Finance Chair John Daley (D-11) gave all county elected officials and departments one week to submit budgets reflecting 10% cuts. Many started to take the process up during the temporary restraining order against the sweetened beverage tax. While a few departments proposed revenue to help fill the projected $200 million gap or cut even more than the 10% requested, some flatly refused to cut at all, arguing it would undermine their mandates. Some cut part of the way, and others gave vague suggestions without hard numbers. The Daily Line has linked to each department’s response below.
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Despite City Council’s first budget hearing beginning at the same time, the Zoning Committee is keeping a full agenda for its 10:00 a.m. Monday meeting. The committee’s agenda includes a West Loop mixed-use tower, a new Fulton Market hotel, and a new Uptown residential tower. Zoning Committee members may shuttle back and forth to Budget Committee hearings throughout the meeting.
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The Cook County Board kicks off two weeks of budget hearings with departments and separately elected officials beginning at 9:00 a.m. today. Unlike the county’s most recent budgets, departments will have to defend against a drastic 10% cut across the board, which could include layoffs, possible consolidation, and elimination of programs as commissioners seek to fill a gap of at least $200 million.
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OCT 20, 2017
Renderings of the Department of Fleet and Facilities Management’s new Englewood Headquarters, courtesy of the City of Chicago.
The Chicago Plan Commission approved zoning and site plans for two major capital projects Mayor Rahm Emanuel touted in his budget address this week.
One application concerns a planned development designation for a new Department of Fleet and Facilities Management (2FM) headquarters at the former Kennedy-King College campus in Englewood. According to the zoning application, a portion of the campus reserved for a Sterling Bay commercial development will be removed from the planned development boundaries that cover the former City College campus. -
OCT 20, 2017
Progressive aldermen are demanding hearings over Chicago Public Schools’ special education practices, seizing on a long-held complaint about their lack of oversight of the city’s education board, and their position as the first stop for parents who want answers. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability released its first report since its launch in September, a day before the three year anniversary of the agency’s catalyst: Laquan McDonald’s death.
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Mayor Rahm Emanuel unveiled his $10 billion budget plan for next year on Wednesday, a plan absent of any new major revenue source but heavy on big ticket investments, particularly for the Chicago Police Department.
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- Jesse Ruiz, the president of the Chicago Park District Board and a partner at Drinker, Biddle and Reath announced his intention to run for Illinois Attorney General Wednesday and launched a campaign website with a web ad commercial in English and Spanish. He is the second Chicago leadership defection in the AG race, as Civilian Office of Police Accountability Administrator Sharon Fairley announced her AG campaign earlier this month. Her exit leaves a gap at the brand new agency. Its interim Chief Administrator, retired Cook County Circuit Judge Patricia Banks, will likely testify on the department’s 2018 budget on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
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The city’s watchdog released a report detailing firings and needed reforms at the city’s aviation and water departments on the eve of the mayor’s budget address, while Cook County’s lead prosecutor released data on 30,000 felony cases that passed through her office.
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OCT 18, 2017
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2018 budget set to be released today will include a two-year increase in the surcharge imposed on pickups by Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing platforms. The plan, leaked early Tuesday and later confirmed by Emanuel, is one of a few incremental fee increases to be built in next year’s spending plan.
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If Chicago imposed a flat income tax on commuters working within city limits, the city could generate an additional $420 million a year. If imposed only on non-Chicago commuters, $170 million could be generated. That is according to tax projections the Emanuel administration sent aldermen this week ahead of his 2018 budget release Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.
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With Cook County struggling to find $200 million in additional revenues to fill its 2018 budget gap, the mayor and governor worked together to submit an application for Amazon’s second headquarters three days early, hoping to bring $341 billion in total spending to the Chicago area.
