Behind closed City Hall doors, aldermen are meeting to put more regulations on home sharing sites like Airbnb–we talk about possible next steps. And a committee passes a new amendment to the city’s Human Rights Ordinance that aims to prevent discrimination against transgender people, even though some worry about “knuckleheads” abusing the new rules. Plus we dive into Cook County’s pension woes and a "stable" outlook from ratings agencies.

Since the passage of the city budget last October, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has promised to create a property tax relief program to alleviate last year’s record property tax increase. But the last program operated by the city encountered significant legal and bureaucratic barriers to success.

To better understand how a new property tax relief program could work, Aldertrack delved into documentation and news reports of Mayor Richard M. Daley’s 2010 program. This report reviews our findings.

Since draft legislation promoted by Mayor Emanuel in Springfield to doubling the homeowners exemption failed to pass the General Assembly, aldermen are expected to receive their first briefing from mayoral staff next Tuesday on options for a city-run property tax relief program.

The biggest barrier to any city-managed property tax relief program is the Illinois Constitution’s Article IX, which which states all “taxes upon real property shall be levied uniformly by valuation” and limits the power of providing tax exemptions to the General Assembly. This forces the city to contort the program into a “rebate” or grant program, which poses its own bureaucratic hoops to jump through.

Aldermen have proposed their own solutions–to protect older, long-term homeowners with high reassessments; owners within 400% of the poverty level; landlords who don’t raise rates on renters; or owners earning less than $100,000 a year– each one making calculating relief a bit more complicated for a city-run program.

“Any rebate plan will remain true to the Mayor’s goal of protecting low- and middle-income families that can least afford it,” city Budget spokesperson Molly Poppe told Aldertrack in April, saying the office would take aldermanic suggestions into consideration. Poppe’s office is hampered by the same problems that plagued the Daley administration when they instituted their own property tax relief plan–constitutional limits, administering and paying for promotion and rebates, and making sure residents have the right proof to support their payout.

Mayor Daley’s 2010 property tax relief program, aimed at offsetting impacts from the 2008 recession, has been remembered in recent weeks for its low participation rates. At its first application deadline, just 36,621 of 200,000 eligible homeowners put in an application. $35 million was set aside for the program, but ultimately the city paid out just $2.1 million. The program drew its funds from a portion of the city’s parking meter revenues and was administered by the Chicago Tax Assistance Center within the Office of Budget and Management.

The plan offered a small offset for property tax hits during the 2008 recession: relief between $25 and $200 for primary residences. The recession had hit homeowners hard. Making matters worse for low value homeowners was a phase-out of a state law capping the annual increase in a home’s taxable value at 7% and a drop in that year’s exemption (from $26,000 to $20,000).

When then-Mayor Daley announced the plan in October 2009, he pegged the average relief amount at about $150 and that half of Chicago’s 400,000 homeowners would be eligible. At the time, Ald. Joe Moore (49), a frequent mayoral critic, called the program a “gimmick” and later told the Tribune, “Most people didn't even see any value in taking the time to apply for it," because the relief was so low.

Moore joined four other aldermen in voting against the measure in the Finance Committee that year, and the plan was deferred and published a few weeks later. Seven aldermen submitted a substitute ordinance to give lower income homeowners more relief, but it failed.    

To work around the Illinois Constitution’s Article IX, Mayor Daley chose to implement his $35 million relief program as a series of individual grants. Government accounting rules made it even more complicated: the city was required to track every grant issued, meaning each of the estimated 200,000 eligible homeowners in the program would represent a grant line in the budget, and each grant would have to maintain a trackable account with city. Dodging an accounting nightmare, the city issued bank cards with Chase Bank.  

Under Daley’s plan, lower income homes with higher property tax increases were eligible for more money. For example, if someone's income was less than $25,000 a year, and their property tax increase was over $350, they'd receive a $200 grant from the city. The chart provided in the relief grant application:

Homeowners were required to complete a paper application, provide a copy of their Second Installment 2008 property tax bill (received in October 2009), a Certificate of Error Recommended (if one was received), a copy of a photo ID, and write in their income from their 2008 federal tax form. The application essentially relied on the honors system: applicants wouldn’t have to provide a copy of their tax form, but would have to sign an affidavit saying the income statement was true. The form reminded signers that lying on the form could lead to a city penalty between $500 and $1,000, and the city reserved the right to ask for proof of income and other information as part of its audit program.

Homeowners could drop off applications during business hours at City Hall, four revenue sites around the city (North Center, Gage Park, River North, or Calumet Heights) or mail them to City Hall.

The catches:

• The program was only for owner-occupied properties. No relief for renters.
• Anyone who owed debt to the city–parking tickets, drinking tickets, building code violations, or taxes–wasn’t eligible.
• Anyone who received it was “encouraged to seek advice from a tax advisor,” because the grants qualified as taxable income.
• It took staff between six and eight weeks to process requests and get bank cards out to recipients. A misspelling or improperly transcribed number could throw off the all-paper system between different revenue office locations and City Hall.

The initial program was slated to have an open application period of two months, and though it was “heavily promoted”, it was extended to bring in more applicants.

Seven days after receiving a letter from former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holderdenouncing his plan mandating that Uber drivers in Chicago get fingerprinted, Ald. Anthony Beale (9), chair of the Council Transportation Committee, responded.

Holder, who left Obama Administration in 2015 and now works at law firm Covington & Burling, sent Ald. Beale a letter earlier this month telling him his efforts to strengthen background checks on drivers for ride-hailing services actually disenfranchises minorities.  

“Requiring fingerprint-based background checks for non-law enforcement purposes can have a discriminatory impact on communities of color,” Holder told Ald. Beale in the letter, first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Yesterday, Aldertrack obtained a copy of Ald. Beale’s response to the former Attorney General. In it, Ald. Beale maintains his efforts to require fingerprinting for all Uber, Lyft and other ride-share drivers is about equity. “There is no reason why Uber should be exempted from the rules that every cab driver, bus driver, business owner and city employee follow,” Ald. Beale writes, before accusing Holder of bias.

“I understand that your firm has a member serving on Uber’s Safety Advisory Board,” Ald. Beale says. “Perhaps, this is from where your opinion calling for Uber’s exceptionalism is derived.”

Holder had told Ald. Beale that when he served as U.S. Attorney General under the Obama Administration, he had asked Attorneys General in every state and Cabinet officials to “consider how they could eliminate policies and regulations that impose unnecessary burdens on individuals reentering society.”

Holder claimed Ald. Beale’s proposed regulations counter those goals. Holder also noted that the FBI’s database, which Ald. Beale hopes to tap into with the fingerprinting requirement, was designed to help law enforcement officials during investigations, not to “determine whether or not someone is eligible to work for a company.”

Noting that the database, referred to as the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS), is “incomplete and lacks information about the final outcomes of a significant percentage of cases”, Holder said a person could be flagged for an arrest, even if it never lead to charges.

But Beale counters that all taxi drivers and city employees are already required to get fingerprinted, so exempting Uber and Lyft drivers from the requirement gives them an unfair advantage.

City Council has held one subject matter hearing on Ald. Beale’s proposed ride-share regulations. Ald. Beale’s office told Aldertrack yesterday that he still plans to hold a joint Transportation and License committee vote and advance the plan out of committee in time for the June 22nd monthly City Council meeting.

Officials from Cook County’s Pension Fund presented an abbreviated version of their most recent actuarial findings to commissioners at Wednesday’s board meeting, and painted an unsurprisingly bleak picture. The fund faces similar problems to many other municipalities: fewer employees signing up and more retirees collecting benefits, lower than anticipated returns on investments, and the cannibalization of assets to pay beneficiaries. The pension fund currently has more than 40,000 members and is headed for insolvency by 2039.

Even though commissioners approved a one year agreement to contribute $270 million in sales tax revenue to the pension fund, that extra contribution is going straight to paying benefits, the fund’s Executive Director & Chief Investment Officer Nickol Hackett said. “Those proceeds are going right to work,” Hackett said. “It allows the fund to adhere to our long term investment strategy” rather than liquidating assets to make payments.  

Commissioner Bridget Gainer, the chair of the Pension Committee, pointed out Hackett’s statement assumes the sales tax contribution continues into the future, and suggested a longer-term IGA might give the fund more certainty for future investment moves.

During budget negotiations, Gainer pushed for a longer intergovernmental agreement between the county and the fund, so future boards couldn’t redirect sales tax revenue elsewhere and leave the fund in the lurch.

The FY16 county budget did project extra contributions of sales tax revenue for the next 30 years. A $340 million contribution is projected FY2017, with annual contributions projected to grow at no more than 2% per year until 100% funding is reached in 2046.

While actuarial assets have trended upward, the unfunded liability is growing. In 2015, its funded ratio fell from 57.51% to 55.39%.

“We have a fundamental problem: the investment return has not met the actuarial assumption for a really long time,” County Chief Financial Officer Ivan Samsteinsaid, which will affect funding required year to year. But Samstein did point out what he viewed as the good news–that the three major credit rating agencies recently revised the county’s general obligation bond outlook to stable, citing the county’s effort to address pension funding problems.

While true, ratings agencies warned that the County might have a difficult time building up strong enough reserves to weather another recession. Standard and Poor’s actually downgraded the County to AA- when issuing its “stable” forecast. S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Helen Samuelson said the fact that Cook County shares a tax base with the City of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools, which are both facing funding and pension problems, "could impose practical limitations to the county's revenue and expenditure flexibility.”

But Samstein still said the pension fund is on the upswing. “They are beating the median. They are above average for comparable pension funds,” he said, crediting Hackett’s leadership for the turnaround.

Commissioner Gainer deferred the item, saying there would be another discussion once commissioners had a chance to assess the 14 page presentation and return with questions.

The pension fund hasn’t yet released its full audited financial statements or actuarial valuations for FY2015, which were presented to pension fund board members on June 2. A broader picture of the county’s fiscal position, the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), was released at about this time last year.

Pat Carey, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s Special Assistant for Government Affairs, is leaving his role for a new position at McGuireWoods LLP. His final day was June 1. Carey was Preckwinkle’s go-between with commissioners, and yesterday they took turns thanking him for his tireless work.

Commissioner Robert Steele joked he hoped Carey wasn’t getting poached by Airbnb, who recently hired 4th Ward Ald. Will Burns to head up midwest lobbying efforts. “They’re a client,” Carey responded, smiling.

His replacement wasn’t announced at Wednesday’s meeting, but is rumored to be Vasyl Markus, an experienced political hand who has worked on hospital organizing for SEIU, as legal counsel to House Speaker Mike Madigan, and more recently as a legislative liaison with the Illinois Department of Revenue and Director of Special Projects at the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability.

Brian Hamer, Preckwinkle’s current Chief of Staff, also hails from the Illinois Department of Revenue, where he served as director for 12 years. He joined Preckwinkle’s team at the end of March after another another high profile exit: Preckwinkle’s Chief of Staff, Tasha Green Cruzat. She announced in February she’d leave her county post to become president of the education advocacy group Voices for Illinois Children.

Carey started his public service career as an intern in Mayor Richard M. Daley’s office, where he moved up to Assistant to the Mayor. He shifted to the county side in 2011 as Assistant to the Chief of the Bureau of Economic Development, and was promoted to Preckwinkle’s team in 2013, where he was responsible for carrying out the president’s legislative agenda with commissioners.

“He’s a major loss for them,” one Cook County staffer told Aldertrack. “This loss may be more difficult than they even realize.”



Another said, “Whether our offices agreed or disagreed, we always knew Pat Carey would be honest with us and would work toward a common solution. Everyone is going to miss him because he, more than anyone in the administration, demonstrated a willingness to hear out board members’ concerns and ideas and take them seriously. There's a concern that might change.”

The ongoing saga over regulating Airbnb rentals in Chicago may not be over, according to City Council Housing Chairman Joe Moore (49), who tells Aldertrack that there is a “50/50” chance there could be another committee hearing to consider yet another revision to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposed regulations.

“I think there are some changes as we continue to make sure that people are comfortable with the ordinance and have an opportunity to have their concerns aired and addressed,” Ald. Moore said Wednesday of the ongoing talks.

Any additional changes won’t be favorable for Airbnb, aldermen tell Aldertrack. One pointed to Airbnb’s recent tv ad blitz against the Mayor, mayoral staff’s criticism over the ads, and concerns from neighborhood aldermen about rentals of single family homes to signal the majority of aldermen want more, not less regulations.

A joint meeting of the Council’s License and Housing Committees approved the Mayor’s proposed regulations minutes before the May 18 City Council meeting, after conducting a lengthy hearing the day before. Since introducing an outline of regulations in January, the Mayor has received stiff criticism from downtown and North Side aldermen who represent wards with the most bookings, and from Airbnb proponents who don’t want to see the service’s growth stifled.

The language has since gone through multiple revisions–it underwent three re-writes before a committee vote on the plan was called. Even then, the vote to consider the proposal passed committee in a tight 12-8 vote. The actual vote to approve the measure passed 17-9. At the time, Ald. Moore, citing ongoing concerns about the ordinance, chose not to report out the ordinance to the full Council for a vote that day.

Yesterday, Moore told Aldertrack that downtown and North Side aldermen who represent areas of the city with the highest concentration of Airbnb rentals still don’t think the regulations go far enough. He cited concerns over reporting requirements, whether the city has the ability to effectively regulate Airbnb, and whether owners of single family homes should be required to remain on the premises when they rent out a room.

A working group of aldermen have been meeting regularly since that May 18 committee meeting to discuss how the ordinance could be improved. They’ve already held two meetings and have another scheduled for this Friday, Aldertrack has learned. One alderman who has attended those meetings tells Aldertrack that while no new language has been drafted yet, Airbnb has “the most to lose” from the ongoing talks. That source said several aldermen who represent wards zoned mostly for single family homes want more local control, not less, an argument that seems to contradict Airbnb’s ad campaign against the Mayor.

As the law currently stands, it is illegal for anyone in a residentially zoned district to rent through Airbnb without first obtaining a special use permit from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals. That allows the local alderman and neighbors to have a say in the matter. Those controls, which are rarely enforced, are done away with in the Mayor’s plan, the chief reason Ald. Marty Quinn (13) voted against it last May in committee. After the vote, Quinn told Aldertrack that 95% of his Southwest Side ward is made up of single-family homes. “I have some real concerns about turning single family home blocks in the 13th Ward into areas that have a lot of transition,” he said.

“In a perfect world, they’d like to have a hearing and a vote, but I don’t know yet,” said Ald. Moore. If any changes are made to the current ordinance, Ald. Moore and License Chairman Emma Mitts (37) would have to hold another joint committee hearing and vote.

Despite the recent flood of TV ads funded by the Internet Association criticizing the Mayor’s proposed regulations for being unduly burdensome for lower income homeowners–the ads argue the Mayor sided with the Gold Coast and the “1%” in drafting the measure–Ald. Moore said he hasn’t heard any concerns from aldermen saying the ordinance is too strict.

“I think Airbnb folks, who seem to be pretty tone deaf, need to realize that,” Ald. Moore said of the commercials, which he said he hasn’t seen personally.

“If the Mayor was looking for the easy, most politically expedient way out, he would listen to the concerns expressed by Ald. [Brendan] Reilly and Ald. [Michele] Smith,” Ald. Moore explained, suggesting they’re the ones who want to “kill all Airbnbs.”

Ald. Smith’s office confirmed with Aldertrack yesterday they are continuing to negotiate with the Mayor's office for stronger regulations and protections for their ward to be included in further revisions. The Mayor’s Office and the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection declined to comment.

Yesterday morning, a group of 13 advocates for policing reform, led by Police Board President Lori Lightfoot, announced an open letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel and leading aldermen calling for increased transparency on efforts to reform city police policy and to invite the public into Mayor Emanuel’s plans to replace the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), and to create a citizen’s oversight board and a public safety inspector general.

In a follow up interview with Aldertrack, Lightfoot made pointed remarks about the need for increased transparency and possible plans for the Police Board to make its own reform policies.

“The bar has been raised for public engagement,” Lightfoot told Aldertrack. “The status quo and old way of doing things has failed and has to be abandoned. Let people in, show transparency, show people what’s going on and invite people into the conversation.”

“We’re talking about fundamentally reshaping the entire local law enforcement structure,” she continued. “That is not something that can be done with a few people in the Mayor’s office. People are really interested in this topic. They are willing to give their time and talent to this issue. But you know, this is Chicago, so nothing is simple.”

Asked if the Police Board will use its statutory powers “to adopt rules and regulations for the governance of the police department”, to further press police reform, Lightfoot said, “I think there’s some interest on the current Police Board to craft responses to that provision. That is a discussion we are having. I expect us to come out with some thoughts on that relatively soon.”

Police Board members are appointed by the mayor for five year terms, and may only be removed for “just cause” such as “incompetence, neglect of duty, gross misconduct or criminal conduct.” The Mayor also appoints the president of the board for a two year term from among members of the board.

Aldermen are expected to hold a confirmation hearing for a new appointee, Eva-Dina Delgado, at a Public Safety Committee meeting June 14. If approved, Delgado, a registered lobbyist for People’s Gas, would replace Claudia Valenzuela, who resigned.

Lightfoot strongly endorsed Chief Administrator Sharon Fairley’s management of IPRA, saying she, “has done a really good job by righting the ship there.” She also had strong words of approval for one-time police superintendent candidate Anne Kirkpatrick, who was recently announced as the head of a new, reformulated Bureau of Professional Standards in the police department. “Anne Kirkpatrick is the real deal, no question about it. I can’t imagine she would leave the comfort of her home in Seattle if there was not an opportunity to do some real good.”

Kirkpatrick has served as the Chief of Police in Spokane, Washington and as Chief Deputy in the King’s County Sheriff’s Department.

Aldermen will schedule a hearing “in the upcoming months” on two competing ordinances to dissolve and replace the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), the agency in charge of investigating allegations of police misconduct.

Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30), Chairman of the Council’s Public Safety Committee, and Ald. Carrie Austin (34), Chairman of the Council’s Budget Committee, sent out a vaguely worded press release yesterday to explain a hearing will be held, eventually. No date was mentioned. "We believe that we are at an incredibly important moment in our city's history as we work to revamp Chicago's police accountability structure," the press release states before referencing Ald. Leslie Hairston’s (5) proposed ordinance to abolish IPRA and replace it with a stronger agency run by a new Independent Citizen Police Monitor, and Ald. Jason Ervin’s (28) plan to put IPRA under the control of the city’s Inspector General.

Noting that those ordinances have "started the conversations for structural reforms", Reboyras and Austin add the two ordinances will "become part of the larger framework for the final ordinance."

“Building on that, we will continue to work with our colleagues and members of the public in order to ensure the ordinance reflects the input of a wide range of stakeholders," the release said.

Last month, the Mayor’s staff held private briefings with aldermen to discuss a replacement for IPRA. But those conversations have somewhat waned, according to Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29). He told Aldertrack yesterday that he hasn’t heard of any meetings since, while also raising doubts that IPRA will even be replaced. He expects the changes will be superficial, and that most of the staff, including new IPRA Chief Administrator Sharon Fairley, will stay on the payroll.

The City Council’s Human Relations Committee approved an amendment to the city’s Human Rights Ordinance that would make it possible for transgender individuals to use public restrooms associated with the gender they identify with without the threat of having to show a government issued ID. While the ordinance introduced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Council’s recently created LGBT Caucus, and Ald. Ed Burke (14) received a significant amount of public support yesterday, a few aldermen on the Council raised concerns about abuse, or what Ald. Nick Sposato (36) dubbed the “knucklehead effect.”

Attendance: Chair Pat Dowell (3), Brian Hopkins (2), Patrick Daley Thompson (11), Toni Foulkes (16), David Moore (17), Willie Cochran (20), Danny Solis (25), Chris Taliaferro (29), Scott Waguespack (32), Deb Mell (33), Nick Sposato (38), Anthony Napolitano (41), Michele Smith (43), Tom Tunney (44), James Cappleman (46), Joe Moore (49)

“I grew up with a lot of knuckleheads. I was a knucklehead, so I did stupid things. I see knuckleheads being knuckleheads. Guys saying now they want to go into the girl’s bathroom,” Ald. Sposato said, giving the example of a hypothetical boy named “Johnny” who everyone knows identifies as a guy and has a girlfriend. “And now he wants to be a funny guy...go into the girl’s bathroom.”

Like Sposato, Ald. David Moore (17), Ald. Willie Cochran (20), Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41) and Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11) expressed confusion over how the ordinance would be enforced, bringing up hypothetical situations of people taking advantage of the law. Ald. Napolitano asked what would happen to a man who went to the locker room of a health club to watch women shower. In another hypothetical situation, Ald. Thompson referenced long lines at public restrooms at White Sox games, inquiring what would prevent a non-transgender person from picking which bathroom to use based on wait times.

When administrative and legal officials with Chicago Public Schools testified in support of the ordinance–yesterday’s item was mirrored after recently announced CPS guidelines–Ald. Cochran questioned how CPS deals with students who abuse the rules.

What if I am a student “feeling like a girl” one day, Ald. Cochran asked, echoing Ald. Sposato. “If I want to be funny or offensive that day [...] how is this going to be balanced?” An official with CPS said the school would take disciplinary action only if “there was misbehavior in the bathroom.” Ald. Napolitano said it was concerning that regulations seemed to be enforced through “an honor system.”

Ald. Sposato requested that officials from the police department, who were present in the chambers in case their testimony was needed, clarify CPD policy on dealing with complaints made by people who see someone of the opposite sex in a public bathroom.

Police Commander Sean Joyce responded that, “depending on the circumstances”, an officer would respond to the scene and “conduct an investigation.”

“As you know, we don’t police comfort and uncomfort of people...” Commander Joyce began to respond, “If a crime has taken place–”

“I’m not talking about a crime,” Ald. Sposato interrupted. “A woman says a man is in the woman’s bathroom, they call the police. Let’s say we’re here at City Hall, police are all over the place. One of these ladies says–I’ll just use myself as an example–Nick Sposato is in the bathroom, [the police] come to me. What are they supposed to tell me? ‘Why were you in there?’”

Joyce responded that it’s not police policy to arrest someone for using the wrong bathroom unless a crime has been committed, but that an officer could stay on the scene if the complainant requested it.

Only Ald. Napolitano and Ald. Moore (17) voted against the measure. Sposato gave a vocal “no” when the voice vote was taken, but he’s not on the committee.

Prior to the vote, Ald. Moore wondered aloud if the item should be held until someone could properly address the mechanism for penalizing predators and those who falsely identify as transgender. But he was quickly shot down by Chairman Pat Dowell (3) and Ald. Joe Moore (49), who in echoing a famous quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. on the arch of progress, told his colleagues that it would be a shame for them to look back at this vote and see they were on the wrong side of history.

A majority of those present at yesterday’s meeting praised the ordinance. One of the sponsors, Ald. Tom Tunney (44), the first openly gay person to get elected to the Chicago City Council, noted the amendment was an “evolution of where we’re going as a culture.” Ald. James Cappleman (46) recalled the bigotry he faced when he first came out, adding that to this day he’s still the recipient of homophobic epithets. Public witnesses included representatives from the local chapter of the ACLU, Lambda Legal, and Howard Brown, a network of affordable health clinics geared toward LGBT Chicagoans.

Chicago filmmaker Lilly Wachowski, who is best known for directing The Matrix series, showed up to testify in support of the ordinance. She recently came out as transgender. “When I go about my daily life, I get snickered at, ogled, given the stink eye, or even am the subject of the odd, not so surreptitious phone snaps,” Wachowski testified. “It’s a sensitivity that all trans people share in our majority enforced, binary gendered society.”

The amendment now heads to the full City Council for a vote.

Lead sponsor Cook County Comm. Larry Suffredin deferred his ordinance clarifying that all electronic communication by government officials, board or commission appointees and employees regarding government business must be through official government email accounts. Separately, elected officials and their staff (like commissioners) may use separate email accounts associated with their own offices, or personal email accounts, but must tell Board Secretary Matthew DeLeon those accounts are being used for government purposes.

During yesterday’s Committee on Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations, Suffredin implied some were confused about what the ordinance required. “This is a serious ordinance change, but it is not one that is tying our hands or changing state law,” he told fellow commissioners, citing Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s and former Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy’s court battles over Freedom of Information Act requests.

Commissioners were also briefed on county legislative priorities in Springfield by chief lobbyist for Cook County, Scott Cisek. “I bring news of Springfield and it is not necessarily all good news. I personally do not see a balanced budget until after the election in November,” he said, anticipating budgeting will continue via court order or piecemeal. “To say the situation is dire is an understatement.”

Pending legislative priorities:

• SB2923 - Extending the tax sale deadline
• SB2605 - Forest Preserve tax abatement bill
• SB3292 - Changing probation for young drug offenders
• HB2470 - Changing law regarding life without parole for juveniles
• SB2925 - Allows other agencies to withhold licenses if the applicant owes the county money

Legislative priorities passed:

• HB5598 - Codifies intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Department of Revenue, including information sharing
• SB384 - an exemption to the Open Meetings Act to allow discussion of topics that might fall under the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (HIPAA)
• SB 2767 - any tax or fee unpaid after an administrative hearing are considered debt due to the county
• HB6291 - the county’s juvenile justice reform package preventing juveniles from being sent for certain drug crimes until their third offense and scales back mandatory probation for juveniles for certain drug crimes.

Successfully killed bills:

• HB4348 - says a unit of local government may not impose any tax, fee, or other assessment other than the normal sales tax rate on guns, attachments, or ammunition
• SB3332 - ends the exemption for concealed carry in the Forest Preserves

The committee also approved three appointments: Judith Hamill as the first female member of the Cook County Zoning Board of Appeals, Dale Niewiardowski as a Trustee of the Northwest Mosquito Abatement District, and Michael Sullivan as Commissioner of the Weller Creek Drainage District Board of Commissioners.

The Council’s Committee on Human Relations meets today to consider an appointment to a city-run board on human rights and a proposal from Mayor Rahm Emanuel that aims to prevent discrimination against transgender individuals in public restrooms.

This will be the committee’s first meeting under Chairman Pat Dowell (3), who was selected to replace Ald. Proco Joe Moreno (1) as committee chairman during the leadership shuffle prompted by 4th Ward Ald. Will Burns’ resignation. Moreno now oversees the Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development.

Under Mayor Emanuel’s anti-discrimination measure, which he introduced with the sponsorship of City Council’s recently-formed LGBT Caucus, public accommodations like hotels, restaurants or grocery stores would be barred from requiring that patrons show a government ID when that person requests to use the restroom. It’s a response to the national attention over transgender rights in public restrooms, first initiated by a controversial law passed in North Carolina.

The ordinance amends the definition of “sex” within the city’s Human Rights Ordinance to include “both biological category and gender identity” and states that “Each person determines his or her own gender identity; no proof shall be required except his or her expression of his or her gender.” The measure follows new guidelines recently issued by Chicago Public Schools.

The members of the LGBT Caucus are Ald. Tom Tunney (44), Ald. James Cappleman (46), Ald. Deb Mell (33), Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), and Ald. Raymond Lopez (15).

Mayor Emanuel has also requested that the committee appoint Ryan Dunigan, a litigation associate at the Chicago law firm Winston & Strawn, to the city’s Commission on Human Relations.

The Mayor created the 19-member board in 2012 to enforce the city’s Human Rights and Fair Housing ordinances. Under city law, the Mayor is allowed to appoint 14 of those 19 members. They serve without compensation but can be reimbursed for their “reasonable expenses” incurred while on the job.

Dunigan will serve out the remainder of Curtis J. Tarver, Jr.’s term. Tarver, the co-owner and brewer for the Vice District TapRoom, was appointed to the board in 2014 and has since resigned.

Ahead of today’s full Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting, scheduled for 11:00 a.m., committees will meet to consider a $4.1 million contract with Pepsi for County and Forest Preserve facilities, the status of the county’s pension fund, and a report on the county’s M/WBE contracts.

Contract Compliance Committee

An annual report on Cook County’s Minority and Women Owned Business (M/WBE) participation is the only agenda item for the Contract Compliance Committee today. Last fiscal year, roughly 30% of county contracts and contract payments were made to minority and women-owned businesses, totaling more than $86 million.

Overall, the report says, M/WBE participation increased by approximately four percent, to 29% in contracts awarded and by six percent (to 31%) in actual payments in FY15 from FY14.

Most MBE contract spending, $30 million, went to African American-owned businesses in FY15, followed by Hispanic Americans ($24 million) and Asian Americans ($14 million). Total MBE contract spending was $68 million. The bulk of total dollars spent on WBE businesses went to Caucasian-owned companies ($8 million), with African American woman-owned businesses trailing at $1 million, Hispanic businesses even further down at $300,000, and Asian Americans at $50,000.

Pension Committee

An ordinance from Cook Co. Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Finance Chair John P. Daley, and Gregg Goslin amends the pension reporting requirements to reflect recent guidelines from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB 67 and GASB 68). Taxing districts will have to submit financial data to Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas within 30 days of audits being issued, instead of the old deadline: the last Tuesday in December.

By July 29, 2016, districts will also have to electronically provide the most recent actuarial reports prepared for their pension plans in accordance with reporting requirements in GASB 67 and 68 (The County’s pension fund started following requirements for GASB 67 in 2014 and GASB 68 for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2015.) The accounting changes keep governments from overestimating investment returns, require a shorter amortization schedule, and different reported numbers for funding and accounting.

In short, the reporting requirements don’t change how much needs to be paid into a pension fund, but can paint a bleaker picture for pensions that have been historically underfunded. For example, Bloomberg reported New Jersey’s unfunded liability amount nearly doubled under the new accounting standard, from $43.8 billion to $78.8 billion.

A briefing for Commissioners is scheduled from the Cook County and Forest Preserve employee pension funds, including an update on the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions on pension reform and to discuss the estimated payment from the recent sales tax hike to the Cook County pension fund. The County currently has a one year agreement with its employee pension fund to contribute $270.5 million in sales tax revenue to the retirement fund (in addition to property taxes) to chip away at the unfunded liability. The first installment of sales tax revenue was due in April. The fund has a roughly $6.5 billion shortfall.

Asset Management Committee

Three items are up for committee consideration today: a two year $400,000 contract with Graybar Electric Company for electrical supplies, a $200,000 contract extension with Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. for industrial maintenance, repair and operating commodities and services. The last is a request from the Department of Real Estate and the Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS) to discuss in executive session the possible acquisition of property to be utilized by the Cook County Ambulatory & Community Health Network (ACHN) for a primary health care clinic.

Labor Committee

A substitute ordinance mandating construction on properties that receive a Class 8 property tax incentives “shall only be performed by a contractor or subcontractor who participates in an active apprenticeship and training program approved and registered with the US Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship” is one of just three Labor Committee agenda items today. The ordinance is sponsored by Commissioners Joan Patricia Murphy, Bridget Gainer, Jeffrey Tobolski, andSean Morrison.

Failure to file proof of participation in the apprenticeship program would result in "the loss of the incentive for the period relating to the non-filing," and properties already receiving the break would be subject to the same rules on any future construction at the site. Properties that receive a Class 8 break are assessed at a lower rate: 10% of the market value for 10 years, 15% for the 11th year and 20% in the 12th year (instead of 25%). The break is meant to spur industrial and commercial development.

The Labor Committee will also consider wage increases and healthcare for Sheriff's Telecommunications, Vehicle Service and Electronic Monitoring Supervisors (negotiated by the Metropolitan Alliance of Police Chapter 507), and a corrected collective bargaining agreement for support staff in the Office of the Public Defender (AFSCME 3696); assistant public defenders (AFSCME 3315); caseworkers, interpreters and investigative personnel in the Offices of the Public Defender, Medical Examiner and Adoption and Child Custody Advocacy (AFSCME 1767); and Cook County Assessor’s staff (AFSCME 3835).

 

Zoning and Building Committee

In addition to eight recommendations from the county Zoning Board of Appeals, the Zoning Committee will consider whether to add new zoning inspection fees to the county code for land not involving buildings (for creation of floodplains, drainage, grading, soil erosion control, streambank stabilization, and trail improvements). The fees range from $1,500 for less than five acres, and $50 per acre for projects over 100 acres. Areas with impermeable surfaces have higher fees. The change is sponsored by Board President Toni Preckwinkle, and was deferred last month.  

Finance Committee

A $4.1 million Pepsi contract is the only non-settlement or legal payment on today’s finance agenda. Per the 10 year deal, “Pepsi will receive exclusive pouring rights for all beverages served on all Cook County and Forest Preserve properties, in exchange for certain rebates, commissions and other one-time and annual revenues as specified.” The total $4,141,985 contract includes both Cook County Government’s and the Forest Preserve District’s share of projected revenues from the deal.

Within the pages of legal settlements on the agenda, here are the largest:

• Hinojosa v. Sheriff of Cook County et al. Hinojosa sued the Sheriff’s department on behalf of her husband, Arturas Kolgovas, who was killed in 2010. Kolgovas’ daughter called the police one afternoon in January, believing he would hurt her in a drunken rage. Officers had encountered Kolgovas twice before, when he threatened suicide. He was reportedly combative with police. In January, 2010 Kolgovas barricaded himself inside his apartment, at times threatening officers with a samurai sword. In an attempt to make an arrest, officers convinced Kolgovas to open the door. He was killed after one officer used a taser on him, and the other shot him once in the chest, possibly at the same time. He died a few hours later. The settlement amount is slightly under $100,000.

• Rogers v. Dart et. al. - Ray Rogers is expected to receive a $55,000 settlement in a case regarding the jail system’s handling of religious meals for inmates returning from court. Rogers, a pretrial detainee, requested halal foods without dairy. He says he was sometimes denied those meals when returning from court, and that the halal meals the jail provided were not as varied or nutritious as others.

• Troy Rush v. Cook County, et al. - Troy Rush, a Deputy Sheriff at the Juvenile Court facility, alleged she was sexually assaulted by a co-worker, and subject to “ongoing physical and sexual assault, battery, harassment and intimidation in the Plaintiff’s workplace”. As a result of her harassment, Rush said, she changed her schedule to avoid that co-worker. The County denied Rush’s version of events.

On Friday, Moody’s Investors Service revised its rating for Cook County, upgrading its general obligation bond rating outlook to stable, making it the third ratings agency to revise the County's outlook positively in the last week.

"We welcome Moody's, Fitch and Standard and Poor's upgrading the County's bond rating outlook to stable and their recognition of our work creating financial stability and confronting our legacy liabilities," Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said in a release on Tuesday. "This is an important acknowledgment by these three agencies of Cook County's willingness to tackle its fiscal challenges and not kick the can down the road."

In a statement on their ratings upgrade, Fitch said their A+ rating “incorporates the county's broad revenue raising capacity, limited expenditure flexibility and moderate long-term liabilities.” The agency pointed to recent efforts to make higher pension contributions, aggressive efforts to tamp down on expenditures, and improved operations and self-sufficiency at the Cook County Health and Hospitals System as reasons for the stable rating. The outlook generally cushions against downgrades for two years.

Both S&P and Moody's, the release said, recognized the County’s efforts to address unfunded pension liabilities, currently hovering around $6.5 billion. Representatives from pension funds, as detailed in the next story, are expected to present commissioners with updates on its audited financial statements and actuarial valuations.

Health Committee Chairman George Cardenas (12) tells Aldertrack that he’ll be scheduling a second committee meeting ahead of the June 22nd monthly City Council meeting so aldermen can vote on an ordinance calling for more humane handling of wild coyotes in Chicago.

Ald. Brian Hopkins (2) introduced the measure calling on the city’s Department of Animal Care and Control to “utiliz[e] education and humane hazing methods as primary methods and using lethal force only in the event of an accident or attack” when dealing with coyotes in the city.

The Health Committee already held a hearing on the ordinance last month. And Ald. Hopkins brought in two subject matter experts–Stan Gehrt of Ohio State University and Chris Anchor with the Cook County Forest Preserve–to elaborate on Cook County’s growing coyote population. But Chairman Cardenas held the measure. At the time, Hopkins’ office said the hold was to ensure there was no conflict with the state’s Animal Welfare Commission.

Prior to yesterday’s meeting, Cardenas made a request with the Clerk’s office to amend yesterday’s agenda to include the item, but the notice was filed too late. After yesterday’s meeting, which was a lengthy two-hour briefing on ComEd’s annual progress with only four aldermen present, Cardenas told Aldertrack that he’ll schedule a second meeting to hold a vote on the coyote item before the June monthly City Council meeting.

The heads of City Council's three biggest caucuses: Ald. Scott Waguespack (32), Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6), and Ald. George Cardenas (12) will join Ald. Harry Osterman (48) and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis at an "emergency State Of Chicago Public Schools Summit" this weekend.

"With millions of dollars in destabilizing cuts threatened, the mayor and CEO of the Chicago Public Schools want to pin all our hopes on a gridlocked Springfield," the invite reads, saying short- and long-term solutions to school challenges will be discussed. "City Hall needs to hear the voices of parents, educators and community. Our children’s future is in jeopardy."

The three caucus heads met for the first time to reportedly discuss revenue options and a more powerful role for aldermen in mid-May, shortly after a New York Times poll showed Mayor Rahm Emanuel's approval rating at a record low. CTU, meanwhile, has been tussling with CPS CEO Forrest Claypool over contract negotiations and funding, with Mayor Emanuel over CTU proposals for more city revenue, and with Gov. Bruce Rauner over school funding.

The event will be held at the National Teachers Academy near McCormick Place from noon until 2pm and is co-sponsored by the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM), International Union of Operating Engineers Local 143, the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff Local 4343, and Chicago Jobs with Justice.