At a City Hall press conference Tuesday, Ald. Leslie Hairston (5) pitched not only the abolition of the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) but the creation of a new Independent Citizen Police Monitor with a new Chief Administrator at the helm.

Hairston’s ordinance, created in consultation with University of Chicago Law School’s Craig Futterman and research from the school’s Civil Rights and Police Accountability Clinic, would create a new regulatory body to review cases of alleged police misconduct. That new organization would have have a significant amount of power compared to IPRA. Specifically, it would amend how IPRA conducts its investigations by opening up police and misconduct data to the public, widening the scope of the Chief Administrator’s powers, and speeding up the release of information and the conclusion of investigations.

But Hairston was the only alderman at the podium Tuesday. “I have not talked to my other colleagues yet, but in the next coming weeks I will be doing so,” Hairston told reporters. She said she plans to speak to “all four caucuses."

The proposed ordinance borrows from cities that have undergone recent police reforms, such as New Orleans, Newark, Seattle, Cleveland, and Albuquerque. Hairston said she has been working with Futterman and Sheila Bedi, a Northwestern University law professor, for the past few months to craft the ordinance.

“By the time we hold our next City Council meeting, it’ll make one meeting from when the Corporation Counsel reached another $5 million settlement with the family of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald,” Hairston said Tuesday morning. “This ordinance is... a direct response to years of biased investigations, lack of transparency and accountability, and failure to address patterns and practices of abuse.”

While current IPRA Chief Administrator Sharon Fairley has done a “great job,” the name of IPRA has “been tainted just like [CPD’s Office of Professional Standards] was tainted several years ago,” Hairston said.

Fairley’s been in the post for just over 100 days, and recently announced an external audit of at least 20 of IPRA’s closed police-involved misconduct investigations.

“She’s smart. She wants to do the right thing, but she’s being placed in an impossible situation,” Futterman said of Fairley. “She inherits the exact same staff, a staff that’s been proven to be biased, resulting in whitewashed investigations that has just simply created the veneer of accountability… instead IPRA has been a critical part of the code of silence that’s protected police officers from abuse.”

The ordinance makes several definition changes to the section of the municipal code governing IPRA. It amends the word “coercion” to include all implied threats, not just violent ones. It adds disability and mental illness to the definition of “targets of verbal abuse,” in addition to changing the definition of “excessive force”, includes definitions of sexual misconduct and domestic violence, biased police practices, and suspicious injury.

If the ordinance were enacted, Fairley would serve as interim until a permanent monitor is selected, and 90 days from passage, IPRA would be dissolved.

The new chief administrator would be picked by a selection committee. Inspector General Joe Ferguson would appoint selection committee members, drawn from civil rights, immigrants’ rights, and LGBTQ rights communities, one person from the faith based community, and one representing the Chicago Plaintiffs’ Civil Rights Police Misconduct Bar. Mayor Emanuel (or his designee), Interim Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson (and his designee), and Ald. Ariel Reboyras, Public Safety Committee chair, would also serve on the selection committee. The group would pick three Chief Administrator finalists, who would all have to be vetted by at least two public hearings.

Within two weeks of those public hearings wrapping up, the selection committee would vote on a candidate, whose nomination would then sent straight to the full City Council for a vote, bypassing committee.

The Chief Administrator would also be granted subpoena powers, as well as the power to investigate rape, sexual assault, and sexual misconduct charges against officers; First Amendment violations; denial of access to an attorney and all deaths or suspicious injuries in police custody. Civilian plaintiffs in litigation against cops wouldn’t have to submit a sworn complaint before an investigation is launched. The Administrator can also “compel prompt statements from members of the Department and re-interview Department members,” and to “immediately submit to tests for substances, physical evidence, and DNA.”

The ordinance bans CPD and other city agencies like the Office of Emergency Management Communications (OEMC, which maintains the city’s 9-1-1 system) from destroying evidence that might be used in an investigation.

The new body would be paid for using 1.5% of the Chicago Police Department’s annual appropriation. CPD’s proposed appropriation for 2016 was $1.45 billion, while IPRA’s was $8.4 million. Under the ordinance, the new Monitor’s budget would more than double, totaling around $21.7 million.

The Monitor’s office would maintain at least one full-time investigator for every 100 sworn officers in the department. CPD has more than 12,000 sworn members, as of its 2010 annual report, but allocated for about 13,800 full time employees in its 2016 budget proposal.

Neither investigators nor the Chief Administrator could be former employees of CPD or the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.

Within 10 days of receiving the complaint, the Monitor would be required to publish information that triggered the investigation, CPD’s response to the complaint, and the public investigation history to “a live timestamped data feed… that conforms to open data standards.” CPD would also have to maintain a database with the complete complaint and disciplinary history for each officer, plus available video and 9-1-1 audio of the incident under investigation.

Her proposal comes just before Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s hand-picked Task Force on Police Accountability is expected to release their recommendations on reform. The six member task force includes Police Board president Lori Lightfoot, who led the national search for the Chicago Police Department’s new superintendent. The list was recently tossed out by the Mayor.

The ban on serving alcoholic drinks at nude strip clubs in Chicago would soon be done away with under an ordinance the Council’s Zoning Committee approved yesterday. The ordinance was technically introduced by Ald. Emma Mitts (37). Ald. Ed Burke (14), recently tried and failed to get a similar ordinance through the previous council.

Present: Chairman Danny Solis (25), Vice Chair James Cappleman (46), Joe Moreno (1), Michelle Harris (8), Ed Burke (14), David Moore (17), Walter Burnett (27), Deb Mell (33), Carrie Austin (34), Emma Mitts (37), Marge Laurino (39), Brendan Reilly (42), Tom Tunney (44), Ameya Pawar (47).

Ald. Burke, who rarely attends zoning meetings unless there is a matter affecting his ward or an item he drafted up for consideration, showed up in the middle of yesterday’s meeting with his entourage of staffers by his side. Shortly after he entered the chambers, Ald. Mitts, who had arrived just minutes prior to Burke, was called to testify on behalf of the ordinance loosening restrictions on adult entertainment venues.

“I am asking the City Council to look in favor of supporting this ordinance so that we can level the playing field and create a few more dollars, and make it safer for these adult entertainments in the city of Chicago,” Ald. Mitts testified. There was no debate and the item passed almost immediately. At the time of the vote, another Council heavyweight, Ald. Carrie Austin (34), noted that she had “extreme reservations on part of it,” but still joined in with Ald. Burke on the motion to call for a vote. Three aldermen present–Deb Mell (33), Brendan Reilly (42), and James Cappleman(46)–asked to be recorded as voting no.

The ordinance, which was replaced with a substitute in committee, distinguishes between live and non-live adult entertainment, allowing venues with live shows, like strip clubs and cabarets, to serve alcohol and allow partially nude dancers. (The ordinance goes into explicit detail as to which body parts can be shown.)

Owners of non-live adult establishments, like bookstores and adult theaters, would be barred from changing their zoning designation to a live-use without first obtaining a special use permit. That change evidently closes a “loophole” in the municipal code, according to Ald. Mitts. She also testified the ordinance, “clarifies ambiguous language that resulted in two decades of litigation and it cost the city millions of dollars.”

Ald. Mitts noted that “out of the four licensed adult entertainments in the city, one has many issues with crime.” That establishment, said Mitts, is located in Ald. Anthony Beale’s 9th Ward on the city’s far South Side, and most of the crime occurred because of the owner’s BYOB policy, which she said made it hard to control patrons’ level of drinking.

According to the Chicago Tribune, almost a year to this day, Ald. Burke told reportershe didn’t bring up a similar ordinance he drafted last year because he didn’t think he had the votes. That meeting in question would have been the last time Burke could have brought up the item for a vote, because it was the last monthly meeting before the new council was sworn in, clearing all pending legislative items from the docket.

Burke maintained distance from this ordinance, verifying with Chairman Solis only that the city’s Law Department and Zoning Administrator looked over the language of the ordinance and were in agreement.

Highlights 

• Some aldermen pushed back on a series of applications Ald. Matt O’Shea(19) introduced to downzone commercial strips in his ward to the lowest density allowable: B1-1 (Neighborhood Shopping District). An aide for Ald. O’Shea testified that the aldermen filed the applications to “keep consistent our business district,” and that most of the ward’s commercial streets already conform to that zoning designation. Ald. Reilly asked if there was a development plan for the area coming down the pipeline, to which Ald. O’Shea’s aide said no. Ald. Tom Tunney (44), who said that while he understood this was a “planning tool” aldermen use, agreed to support the zoning change, after he was assured the local chamber of commerce approved of it. As a business owner, Tunney said he knew the issues that businesses have to deal with when their zoning is changed and their establishment is subsequently found nonconforming. Ald. Austin (34) voted no.

• At the very beginning of the meeting, when the committee was approving billboard signs, Ald. Tunney suggested that Chairman Solis do something to address illuminated billboards, because “the [zoning] code really doesn’t address this issue” and it is a “quality of life” issue for most residents. Tunney expressed worry that the city was opening itself up to a lawsuit because it was approving these type of signs so close to residential buildings. Chairman Solis suggested they create a sub-committee to look at it. Zoning Administrator Patti Scudiero said there is already a sub-committee on signs, but it’s possible that sub-committee, could be broken down to another sub-committee focused just on illuminated signs.

The mayor’s appointment of Andrea Yao to the Board of Local Improvements is the only non-routine item on the agenda for today’s Transportation Committee meeting. Yao, lead counsel to Feeding America, a national charity the operates food banks across the country, is the mayor’s fourth appointment to the board this year.

The five-member Board of Local Improvements oversees street infrastructure improvements necessitated by private development. Before a private developer can build anything along the public way, the board must approve the plans and financing. The appointment is directed to the Transportation Committee because the board serves under the capacity of the Department of Transportation.

Three other appointments to the Board were Christopher M. Michalek, Edward T. McKinnie, Sr., and Paul Connolly. Michalek is a partner at consulting firm McGuire Woods, LLP, McKinnie, Sr. is the President of the Board of Directors for Black Contractors United, and Connolly is the recording secretary for Laborers Local Number 4.

Pedestrian and Traffic Safety

City Clerk Susana Mendoza is making good on a promise she made to aldermen during the budget hearings by letting pickup trucks park on residential streets. The Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety will meet at noon to consider an ordinance that would make it official. But so-called “junk vehicles”- any car with an unenclosed cargo bed that has been modified to increase the car’s capacity to transport of carry items - are still barred from city-streets. If the ordinance passes in committee and later by the full City Council, trucks with a curb weight of less than 8,000 pounds and not considered a commercial vehicle will be offered a spot on the curb should the owner pay for a city sticker. Ald. Brian Hopkins (2), Raymond Lopez (15), and Deb Mell (33) are listed as co-sponsors.

The other parking-related matter, also sponsored by Clerk Mendoza, would amend a recently-approved pilot program in the City Clerk’s Office that lets Realtors apply for a universal parking pass to park their cars in residentially-zoned streets. The change has to do with the transfer of the universal pass. The owner still needs to fill out an application with the City Clerk, but the ordinance removes the details of what is needed in that application.

Aviation

A month after the Council’s Aviation Committee overwhelmingly voted against a plan to halt construction at O’Hare Airport, its members will meet again this afternoon to consider a ground lease agreement with American Airlines. The airliner is interested in leasing parts of the airport for the purposes of “developing, constructing, and operating five airline gates.” Those gates are referred to as the L Stringer Gates. American will pay a base rent of $369,000 a year, or $30,750 a month

Ald. Leslie Hairston (5) wants to replace the Independent Police Review Board, the city agency in charge of investigating cases of police misconduct, with a citizen-run panel. She will be detailing those plans at a press conference at 11:00 a.m. today on the second floor of City Hall.

“The proposed ordinance abolishes the Independent Police Review Authority and replaces it with the Independent Citizen Police Monitor—a credible civilian agency to investigate police shootings, use of force, domestic violence, bias, and coercion,” a release from Hairston reads, “because you can’t keep shuffling the deck with the same people and call that accountability.”

Similar to the zoning opportunity bonus announcement Mayor Rahm Emanuel made in February, which was big on goals and light on details, the Mayor announced yesterday that the Department of Planning and Development will review and improve the city’s zoning code as it relates to another major zoning issue: what to do with its large, and in some cases underutilized, industrial corridors.

The Mayor’s office announced the city will launch a review process with public input “focused on modernizing restrictive zoning in these corridors.” The city currently has 26 industrial corridors, 12 of which have 15 sub-areas designated as Planned Manufacturing Districts, or PMDs.

These areas were put in a strict zoning boundary to promote and protect manufacturing businesses in the city by preventing developers from buying up old and vacant industrial sites and converting them into office, residential, or other uses. In fact, residential and commercial uses are prohibited in PMDs.

One of those sites, the Clybourn PMD, which includes the decommissioned Finkl Steel Plant, is the subject of a lot of development interest for its central location in Lincoln Park, and size: the 115 acre site is bounded by Clybourn Avenue, the Chicago River, North Avenue, and Southport Avenue.

The Mayor’s announcement comes as one local alderman, Brian Hopkins (2), is in the process of getting DPD to eliminate the Clybourn PMD to facilitate a broader range of development for the neighborhood.

Ald. Hopkins told Aldertrack that he already has a community meeting on the books for May 3rd at DePaul University for residents and “community stakeholders” to discuss what kinds of development they’d like to see replace the old steel plant. “It’s a significant amount of acreage...ideas run the gamut,” Hopkins said.

But Hopkins stressed that he did not want to use Clybourn as a test case for the city to eliminate the city’s 14 other PMDs, four of which are partially located within his ward, as part of the North Branch Industrial Corridor.

The Clybourn PMD is the oldest in the city, created in 1988 as a way to halt residential development from encroaching on the industrial site. But since the plant’s owners decision to move to the city’s South Side, the area has remained vacant, and prohibitive zoning has prevented development on the site.

Any effort to the rezone the Clybourn PMD would have to be introduced in the form of a zoning amendment, likely by the Mayor on behalf of the Department of Planning and Development. The timetable on that ordinance is unknown, as is the zoning designation. Ald. Hopkins said he didn’t know if the city would choose one underlying zoning designation for the entire property, or if it would be zoned in sections. And the mayor’s office, when asked about the Clybourn downzone,  said yesterday’s announcement just “starts the process of looking at Chicago’s industrial areas.”

So, it's unclear if the Clybourn plan will move forward on its own path, or if the city will hold off until it conducts its review of all industrial sites across the city. Either way, no formal plan has been made.

Still, Hopkins said he wants to “proceed without delay...before the city gets caught in another economic downturn.”

According to the mayor’s press release, the review process will lead to formal zoning changes that will have to be approved by the City Council. Those changes, the release notes, aim to accomplish three goals:

• Determine which industrial corridors have the “potential for new or continued manufacturing growth” through market research.

• “Reform some industrial corridors to unlock new economic growth where industry is no longer the main driver.” Under this point, the Finkl Steel Plant is mentioned: “In areas such as the North Branch, where traditional industry is no longer the main economic driver and properties like the former A. Finkl & Sons Co. site are stagnant, the city will review existing and potential land uses to accommodate market demand for potential technology, commercial, residential or retail development.”

• A proposed fee on non-industrial developments in industrial corridors. The fee structure would factor the impact the development would have on the city’s overall industrial landscape. Money generated from the new fee would pay for industrial and manufacturing jobs in nearby neighborhoods and the cost of infrastructure improvements to industrial corridors transitioning to other uses.

The Council’s Zoning Committee will consider an ordinance from Ald. Emma Mitts(37) that would change the zoning code for adult establishments by standardizing the definitions of prohibited entertainment activities, while allowing some venues to serve alcohol.

The ordinance would amend the city’s zoning code by distinguishing between “live-use” and “non-live” use venues. Non-live places, like bookstores and video shops, would be barred from serving alcohol or having employees or patrons show their private parts. Live-use places, like cabarets and strip clubs, would be allowed to serve alcohol and have dancers show of a specified list of body parts, which are listed in the ordinance.

All items on the regular agenda are aldermanic-backed applications, including four from Ald. Matt O’Shea (19) to downzone sections of 111st and Western Avenue to the same zoning: B1-1 Neighborhood Shopping District, which allows for small-scale retail and services uses, in addition to residential dwelling uses located above the ground floor.

Two aldermen, Zoning Chairman Danny Solis (25) and Carrie Austin (34), filed applications to rezone expired planned developments in their wards. Ald. Austin wants to end a planned development (no. 901) in the Victory Heights/West Pullman area. The PD was created in 2004 for the construction of a 85-home community called Renaissance Estates, although Ald. Austin chose not to vote on the application, because, at the time, she was considering buying one of the homes. JTA Development built the suburban-style homes located near Marshfield Plaza.

Solis’ application would end a business planned development (no. 1245) in Pilsen that was created in 2014 for the Redmoon Theater. The theater officially closed its doors in December of 2015. According to the Chicago Tribune, the operator could no longer afford its $30,000 monthly rent, and went over budget for its Great Chicago Fire Festival.

Other Big Ticket Zoning Items (all of which are listed on the deferred agenda and received Plan Commission Approval in March):

• Proposed 38-Story Residential High-Rise for West Loop (42nd Ward) Gray Cardiff, from California-based Gray Cardiff & Co., wants to build a 38-story residential high-rise building with 373 dwelling units, 145 parking spaces (41% of dwelling units), and 77 bike spaces at the site of an old train car storage field located between Union Avenue and Green Street. Cardiff received preliminary approval for the zoning change by the Plan Commission in March. Cardiff plans to take advantage of the city’s affordable housing bonus, which allows for a greater floor-area-ratio by paying into the city’s affordable housing trust fund. It’s a move that’s allowed under the affordable housing requirements ordinance, and what Ald. Walter Burnett (27), a member of the Plan Commission, described as taking advantage of a “loophole” in the zoning code. The building would be located near the K2 Apartments and a newly-opened half-acre dog park, which is currently the biggest in the city, according to DNAinfo. Ald. Brendan Reilly and the Neighbors of the West Loop (NOWL) held a community meeting on this project in November. According to the slideshow presentation he provided to residents, a typical residential floor plan would include 13 units per floor: three studios, seven one-bedroom apartments, and two two-bedroom apartments.

• Proposed Hotel Near Fulton Market (27th Ward): Jeffrey Shapack, manager of 200 Green Developer, LLC, filed an application with the city to build an 11-story-story plus penthouse hotel with ground floor retail, restaurant and accessory parking on the corner of Green and Lake Streets. The site Shapack wants to develop at 820-850 W. Lake Street is a block north of the Soho House Hotel that he helped develop in partnership with Chicago-based A.J. Capital Partners. According to the Chicago Architecture Blog, the hotel would include between 167 and 171 guest rooms, a fitness center, and a rooftop pool overlooking the city’s downtown.

• Irving Park Six-Corners Development (45th Ward): CSD Six Corners, LLC, an entity with close to twenty stakeholders listed on the economic disclosure statement, filed a planned development application to build a retail center for the site of the former Bank of America building in Irving Park’s Six-Corners. The four-story “vertical retail center,” would have retail stores on the first and second floor, and parking on the third and fourth. The applicants include Bixby Bridge Fund II, LLC, managed by David Colburn, and Blackfriars Corporation, owned by Keith Colburn, Richard Colburn, and Carol Grigor. Collins Family Limited Partnership is also listed as a stakeholder. The center will contain about 196,000-square-feet of retail and 473 parking spaces.  At the March Plan Commission meeting, it was mentioned that a Ross Dress for Less and Aldi’s Supermarket are planned for the site.

• Sinai Health System, in the 28th Ward, is seeking to amend the boundary of their existing planned development (No. 49) to include two additional city-owned parcels of property (1341 and 1345 S. Fairfield Avenue) the hospital is purchasing. The Mount Sinai Hospital campus is located in North Lawndale on the city’s West Side and is undergoing a $100 million investment: the Sinai Tomorrow Project. The hospital intends to use the satellite property for the health care related uses that were previously approved with the original PD: hospital, day care, government-operated health center, and wireless communications facilities. The amended PD adds new uses, including retail. The property is two blocks from the hospital campus, in a predominantly residential area.

• The National Museum of Mexican Art, in the city’s 25th Ward, is seeking to amend an existing planned development (No. 639) to construct a surface parking lot for 50 cars. According to the application the museum filed with the city, in January, the lot will also serve as an outdoor exhibit space. Representatives with the museum told the Plan Commission that they couldn’t afford to build a parking lot when the museum was built, which is why it is being added on at a later date. They also referenced a lack of street parking due to the influx of new residents to the neighborhood.

The long-awaited recommendations of the Working Families Task Force (WFTF) were finally released Saturday, immediately drawing rebukes from a pair of business groups against proposed city-wide mandatory sick, family, and medical leave, and praise from labor groups. Most notable, the report recommends all employers provide five days of sick leave per year for full time employees, and omits specific recommendations on scheduling practices.

[Link to WFTF Report – Link to Dissenting Report]

Mayor Rahm Emanuel quietly formed the WFTF in mid-June of 2015, co-chaired by Ald. Ameya Pawar (47) and Anne Ladky, the executive director of Women Employed, and 24 other members, including eight current and former aldermen, five employers, four employee advocates, three business group representatives, and two state legislators. It was modeled after the Mayor’s Minimum Wage Working Group, and tasked with gathering information and issuing recommendations–but not drafting legislation–on things like paid sick leave for workers, protections for shift workers and pregnant employees, and expanding access to paid leave for new parents.

Ald. Pawar is already geared up to get an ordinance through City Council. After the release, Pawar tweeted “proud of the recommendations we made,” and “pro employee policy=pro business.” Labor group the Restaurant Opportunities Center tagged others like UFCW Local 881, Arise Chicago, Chicago Jobs with Justice, and the The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law in a tweet: “Time to pass #EarnedSickTime in Chicago!!!”

The Dissenting Report
The WFTF report says 42 percent of private-sector workers in Chicago (about 460,000 people) don’t have access to paid sick days. Those workers are mostly low wage and “routinely confronted with difficult choices, such as going to work sick or foregoing a day’s compensation; which, for low-wage and part time workers, represents a significant – and often indispensable – portion of their income.” Leave proponents argue it reduces turnover, the spread of disease, and healthcare costs in the long run.

Though the group met regularly since mid-June, members stayed tight-lipped throughout the process about recommendations and when they might be released. The list of committee members was not even publicized until days after the task force first met. In addition to the full committee, there were three sub-committees that met regularly over the summer on paid earned sick time, fair scheduling, and family support, which included paid family leave.

The following are the task force’s recommendations on leave, in sum:

1. An employee that completes 80 hours of work within 120 days of employment should be eligible to accrue earned sick days from the employer.

2. Eligible employees should begin to accrue benefits from the commencement of employment, but should not be eligible to use earned sick leave until sometime ranging from 120-180 days after the commencement of employment.

3. Employees should earn one hour of paid sick leave per every 40 hours worked.

4. At minimum, employees should be able to earn and use up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year, five full work days, with no differing tiers based on employer size.

5. Employees should, at minimum, be allowed to rollover up to 20 hours of unused sick days at the end of the year for use in the immediate following year.

6. Employees should be allowed to rollover, bank, and use at minimum up to 40 hours of unused sick days at the end of the year for future (but within a specified duration) FMLA-eligible uses, which include: childbirth and newborn care, care of a newly adopted child, care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition (spouse, child, or parent, but not in-law), or an employee’s serious health condition.

7. Employers should not be obligated to pay out any hours for accrued unused or banked sick leave.

8. Employers that offer employees equivalent paid sick time benefits through paid time off (PTO) policies should not be mandated to make adjustments to their policies.

According to WFTF’s estimates, the cost of offering leave would add 0.7 to 1.5 percent in labor costs for most employers.

Significant chunks of the report lay out various concerns about cost and implementation from task force members, and stakeholders who chimed in during 14 different focus groups. The report’s authors concede, “on certain issues, the Task Force could not reach a uniformly shared consensus.”

That became apparent Saturday, when the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerceand the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) released a point-by-point dissent against the recommendations. Both groups had representation on the task force: Theresa Mintle, president and CEO of the Chamber, and Tanya Triche, general counsel for the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, were members.

The Illinois Restaurant Association did not sign on to the dissent. Sam Toia, the group’s president is a member of WFTF. His members and their employees could see a major shakeup should a paid sick ordinance pass: in Chicago, the report says, between 70-80% of employees in service sector occupations (including food preparation and service) do not have access to paid sick days. Toia is also an Emanuel appointee to the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

The Chamber and IRMA argue the city has been trying to right its fiscal ship on the backs of businesses. The two groups cite the $13 minimum wage that will take full effect in 2019, the plastic bag ban, the upcoming $588 million property tax hike (that could be soon raised again), Cook County’s sales tax hike, Affordable Care Act requirements, and the recent tobacco tax increases–all which kicked in or passed within the last 14 months–as unduly burdensome on local business. The dissent also disputes on some of the biggest arguments in favor of paid sick leave: that it ultimately saves businesses money by reducing turnover and healthcare costs, and preventing the spread of disease, calling the claims “weak at best.”

“One of the most effective ways supported by the Chicagoland Chamber and IRMA to increase employee wages and benefits and assist the unemployed is a focus on workforce development and employee skills training. Instead of setting the floor with ill-conceived labor policies, focusing and investing in training workers and the unemployed to compete for the higher paying jobs of today and the future is the single best way to achieve the goals of this task force,” the dissent says.

But it seems public opinion and the will of aldermen and the Mayor might be working against the two groups. 82 percent of Chicagoans said they’d be in favor of a policy requiring employers to provide paid leave for illness and emergencies in response a referendum question on the 2015 municipal ballot. And more than half the council co-sponsored an earned sick time ordinance in 2014. The ordinance failed to come to a vote in the Committee on Workforce Development and Audit and died at the start of the 2015 session.

Ald. Proco Joe Moreno (1) the lead sponsor of the 2014 ordinance, wrote on Facebook yesterday: "Currently, over 200k workers can't earn a sick day off from work and it's about time we change that! I'm committed to passing this ordinance in City Council as soon as possible."

Other cities have set precedent on sick leave as well, including Jersey City, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland.

The recommendations came just after the state of New York passed a budget that included a $15 minimum wage hike plan and up to 12 weeks paid leave for state residents starting in 2018. The City of New York has had paid sick leave rules since June 2014. Hillary Clinton’s campaign platform includes a promise of up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave and a two-thirds wage replacement rate for workers. Bernie Sanders has also campaigned for 12 weeks of leave, but the two differ on funding.

Ald. Michelle Harris (8) may have suffered an embarrassing loss to incumbent Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, who is currently the subject of a federal investigation, but she did manage to raise more than $122k in contributions from area business leaders, unions, and other local politicians.

[Our Full Spreadsheet for March]

Grosvenor Capital gave Harris’ campaign $25k, and its CEO, Michael Sacks, a close friend and big financial supporter of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, gave an additional $25k. That’s in addition to a $25k check the company gave her the previous month.

Ald. Harris reported sizable checks from online ticket retailer Classic Tickets ($10k), former Chairman and CEO of the A. Finkl & Sons Steel Plant Bruce Liimatainen($7k), Lincoln Park Ald. Michele Smith (43), and Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s 13th Ward Democratic Organization ($10k). She also received a $1,000 check from Citizens to Elect Lona Lane, the personal campaign fund for the former 18th Ward alderman, who is no longer in politics after losing in a runoff to Derrick Curtis, the ward superintendent at the time.

Harris’ impressive fundraising efforts still didn’t overtake downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42), who brought in more than $133k in donations between his personal campaign fund and the 42nd Ward Democratic Organization fund he controls as the ward committeeman. That total does not include a $35k transfer he made between both funds.

Other Highlights

• Former Chicago Board of Elections Commissioner Langdon Neal donated $1,000 to Ald. Brendan Reilly (42). Neal vacated his seat on the three-member board on December 31. The seat was quickly filled by Jonathan Swain, the former Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals, who was appointed by Chief Cook County Circuit Court Judge Timothy C. Evans.

• Ujamaa Construction, a Chicago-based minority-owned business that frequently receives praise from Ald. Walter Burnett (27), made $1,000 contributions to three Aldermen: Leslie Hairston (5), David Moore (17), and Michelle Harris (8).

• Former mayoral candidate and current presidential candidate Willie Wilson donated $2k to the 47th Democratic Ward Organization controlled by Paul Rosenfield.

• Ald. Joe Moreno (1) loaned himself $25k on March 21st, six days after the too-close-to-call Election Day for Democratic Ward Committeeman. Moreno narrowly won with a tight 199 vote lead over his opponent, Maria Theresa Gonzales, an Assistant Cook County public defender. He also received a $1,500 contribution from the Tunney Group, a real estate firm managed by Ald. Tom Tunney’s (44) brother Ed.

• J.B. Pritzker of the Pritzker Group gave a $10k check to the 43rd Ward Democratic Organization, which is, as of this most recent election, now controlled by committeeman-elect Lucy Moog, a Lincoln Park resident and former congressional aide who was a one-time neighbor of Mayor Emanuel in Washington D.C.

• Reyes Kurson, a law firm led by former long-time aide to Mayor Richard M. Daley, Victor Reyes, and the one-time chairman of the now-defunct Hispanic Democratic Organization, donated $1k to Ald. Moreno (1) and $1.5k to Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29).  

• Zoning law firm and former employer of Department of Planning and Development Commissioner David Reifman, DLA Piper, contributed to the 11th, 44th, and 43rd Democratic Ward Organizations. The checks are in the $1k-$1.5k range.

• The Burnham Committee, a PAC controlled by Ald. Ed Burke (14), wrote a $2.5k check to Ald. Will Burns (4), who retired his Council seat this month. But before he left, Ald. Burns helped Burke champion a diluted version of an ethics oversight ordinance that put the Inspector General in charge of auditing the aldermen and their staff. Under the amended version, workers compensation, controlled by Ald. Burke as Chairman of the Finance Committee, was excluded from such oversight.

• Fred Eychaner, the owner of Newsweb Corporation, a Chicago-based company that owns several ethnic and alternative newspapers, donated money to Ald. Michele Smith (43), Ald. Brendan Reilly (42), and Ald. Toni Foulkes (16), as well as the 43rd Ward Democratic Organization. Last month he gave money to two aldermen, Deb Mell (33) and Scott Waguespack (32). His $1K and $1.5K contribution to each, respectively, dwarfed in comparison to the the $400K he gave to Cook County State’s Attorney candidate Kim Foxx that same month.

• State Rep. Luis Arroyo made two $1k transfers to two freshman aldermen: Chris Taliaferro (29) and Milly Santiago (31). Rep. Arroyo helped Ald. Santiago in her contested campaign against her predecessor, Ray Suarez, who held the post for two decades.

• Old Veteran Construction, Inc, a minority-owned Chicago-based general contractor that worked on the new Malcolm X College campus and the Chicago Housing Authority’s Lake Parc Apartments, gave $1.5k to both Ald. Jason Ervin (28) and Ald. John Arena (45).

• The Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters PAC donated $1k each to Ald. Leslie Hairston (5), John Arena (45), and Toni Foulkes (16). The group, which represents “tens of thousands” of members of local construction and maintenance unions, also gave made two separate contributions ($2.5k and $1k) to Ald. Michelle Harris (8). Another building industry group, Construction and General Laborers, which is affiliated with the Laborers’ International Union of America, donated $1.5k to Ald. Carrie Austin (34), $1.9k to the 11th Ward Democratic Organization controlled by Cook County Commissioner John P. Daley, and $1.5k to Ald. Scott Waguespack (32).

• Classic Tickets, Inc., an online ticket seller for major league sports, concert and theater events in Chicago, made two large $10k donations: one to Ald. Harris (8), another to Ald. Reilly’s 42nd Democratic Ward Organization. The company regularly writes $10k donation checks, and records show Reilly received two $10k checks from the company, one in February and one in April 2015.

• John Doerrer, a registered lobbyist with the city and former director of IGA for Mayor Richard M. Daley, donated the maximum contribution allowed under state law, $1.5k to Ald. Ed Burke (14) and $1k to Ald. Michelle Harris (8). Doerrer works for Kaizen, Inc., and represents a variety of clients, including the Chicago Retail Merchants Association, McDonald's Corporation, and Shoreline Sightseeing.

• Aberdeen Development, Inc, a Chicago-based real estate firm that specializes in industrial building conversions, contributed to the personal campaign funds of Ald. George Cardenas (12) and Ald. Joe Moreno (1). They got $5.4k and $1k, respectively.

Notable New (Non-Candidate) D-1s

• Citizens United for a Better West Side - Anthony Embry and Angelina Brigoglio filed the paperwork to establish this PAC on March 3rd, with the purpose of supporting “the progress, policy & ? [sic] candidates to the betterment of the west side.” The group has so far received two donations, each for $5k. Both of the donors, J.R. Davis and Dawn Davis, share the same P.O. box in Barrington, Illinois, it’s the same address shared by Armored Davis Bancorp, Inc. The Davises have in the past contributed to Ald. Reilly, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, and former alderman, and failed mayoral and State Rep. candidate Bob Fioretti.

• Illinois Alliance - Former West Side alderman Isaac (Ike) Carothers, who resigned from his post after pleading guilty to federal corruption charges, is starting his own PAC. (Being found guilty of improperly using campaign funds does not prohibit you from running your own PAC). The Alliance has a simple mission: “to support various candidate [sic].”  So far, the committee has raised about $15k, including a $10k check from Citizens to Elect Pat Spratt, the personal campaign fund for 7th Subcircuit Judge, who was appointed by the state Supreme Court in August to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge Anita Rivkin-Carothers, the former alderman’s aunt.

• 36th Ward PAC - This group, founded by Melissa Angelucci with the Synnov Group, Inc., a construction firm that specializes in major transportation infrastructure projects, including the the new underground World Trade Center Transportation Hub and various other CTA and METRA projects, was created to support candidates “aligned with the committee and to educate voters of the 36th Ward.” 36th Ward Ald. Gilbert Villegas has a deep infrastructure and construction background.

We give you the tick tock on the lead up to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s decision to appoint Eddie Johnson to the position of interim Police Superintendent. Black and Latino aldermen form an alliance, and the infamous “Pirates of Lincoln Park” are put on the hot seat at a City Council hearing regarding illegal towing. And the week ends with a day-long strike organized by the Chicago Teachers’ Union.

A for-profit drug rehabilitation center that was denied a special use permit to continue operating a group home in West Town filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of Chicago for “discriminatory” zoning practices, asking the court to reverse the Zoning Board of Appeals’ decision, which they claim was improperly influenced by Ald. Joe Moreno (1).

In May 2015, the Zoning Board of Appeals denied A Fresh Start Sober Living’s request for a special use permit to establish a “community home” in a single family home the company leased in August 2013. The home at 530 N. Marshfield Ave. is located in Ald. Moreno’s ward and is zoned for residential use. The suit claims ZBA’s decision to deny the permit violated the federal Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, because it prevented housing for individual residents of the program who are recovering from alcoholism and substance abuse.

According to the lawsuit filed in Federal Court on Thursday, the plaintiffs allege that once neighbors became aware of the rehabilitation center in 2013, they began a “campaign of harassing behavior” against tenants. For two years, the lawsuit claims, neighbors would “hurl insults, call the residents names, often of a vile nature, make racially charged comments, and threaten the residents with bodily harm.”

Two years later, A Fresh Start Sober Living applied for a special use permit with ZBA, the lawsuit notes, after being told by Buildings Commissioner Judith Frydland, with the city’s Law Department at the time, that only eight residents, plus staff, would be allowed to live in the home. Any effort to increase the bed count would require a special use permit establishing a community group home. Zoning Administrator Patti Scudiero is also named in the lawsuit.

The company applied for the permit, and at that May 28, 2015 ZBA meeting, the Board spent nearly four hours hearing testimony on the proposed expansion of the group home. The company’s president, Leonid Goldfarb, testified that his company operates eleven group homes in Chicago for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. The homes don’t accept insurance or offer on-site treatment, none of the staff are trained medical professionals, and the weekly cost of renting a room ranges from $175 to $300, Goldfarb said.

The expansion was necessary to help their mission of “saving people’s lives” because recovering addicts who live in a communal setting are less likely to relapse, Goldfarb continued. He was represented by former Zoning Committee Chairman William J.P. Banks and received support from Robin Belleau, the Executive Director of the Illinois Lawyer’s Assistant Program, which houses many of its law students, lawyers, and judges recovering from alcohol and drug addiction at Fresh Start sites.

But during the lengthy cross-examination and public comment portion of the meeting, a coalition of neighborhood residents, who had created their own legal defense fund, raised safety and legal concerns. They accused the applicant of running the facility like a hostel, underreporting the number of occupants living in the building, and lying about safety measures that had been put in place. The resident group submitted evidence alleging rampant drug use by tenants, police reports that had been filed against residents over the year, and pictures of abandoned cars they believe were left by former tenants.

Ald. Moreno also spoke in opposition. He said while he is usually a proponent of these kinds of facilities, he could not support the applicant because they did not proactively seek his support when they first opened their doors. Part of Moreno’s testimony is mentioned in the lawsuit, as is a letter supporting Moreno’s opposition from neighboring Ald. Scott Waguespack (32). The plaintiff's attorneys argue that it was this unfavorable testimony that led the Zoning Board to reject the permit.

“On the basis of denying the special use permit application was the opposition to it by Alderman Moreno. The reliance on whether an Alderman approves or opposes an application is part of the BZA’s [sic] unwritten de facto policy of denying applications that are opposed by the Aldermen for that particular ward,” the lawsuit claims, in addition to adding other reasons the board rejected the permit, including neighborhood opposition, and that the entity “was putting profits before helping the recovering alcoholics and substance abuser residents.”

Because of this denial, the West Town location closed, and the company is seeking damages. The company has asked for a declaratory judgement to reverse ZBA’s ruling, and pay for all associated attorney fees.

The Chicago Teachers Union is holding a day-long strike today with events planned across the city organized not only by CTU but various other union groups.

Picket lines outside schools will start as early as 6:30 in the morning, and according to CTU’s count, more than 50 union and community organizations are expected to take part in the so-called “Day of Action.” The day will conclude with an afternoon rally at 4:00 p.m. outside the Thompson Center.

Ahead of today’s events, the union released a tentative schedule of schools CTU President Karen Lewis will visit, including:

• King High School (4445 S. Drexel Blvd.)

• Beasley Elementary School (5255 S. State Street)

• Chicago State University Rally for Higher Education (9501 S. King Drive)

• Fund Our Futures Rally (Thompson Center)

In addition to these stops, Lewis will visit other schools along the route. The demonstration at Chicago State University, which is running out of money due to the state budget impasse, is an effort by students and the administration to call on the state to fund higher education. CSU President Thomas Calhoun is scheduled to attend.

The University Professionals of Illinois (Local 1400), which represents more than 3,000 faculty and staff at the state’s public universities, is planning several “Fund our Future” events at campuses around the state. Black Youth Project 100 will also have members organizing an event at Chicago State University’s Student Union.

Other Labor Groups taking part in today’s events: Northeastern University Illinois Faculty Union, Chicago State University Faculty Union, Fight for $15, United Electrical Workers Western Region, Alliance of Charter School Teachers and Staff 4343, SEIU Healthcare Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, Cook County College Teachers Union Local 1600, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, Jobs With Justice, Illinois Association of Retired Americans, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, and SEIU Local 73. Close to 30 community groups have also signed up to support CTU.

CPS Outlines Contingency Plans

Citing concern that there will be an unknown number of faculty absences, Chicago Public Schools said it will open more than 250 contingency sites where parents can drop off their kids. The Board of Education is teaming up with the city’s public libraries and Park District to help staff sites around the city, each will provide students with breakfast and lunch.

All afternoon programs will be canceled and CPS-operated buses won’t provide transportation. Instead, CTA will provide free transportation for all students who present a CPS ID.  

• CPS schools and Chicago Park District sites will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

• Chicago Public Library sites will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Safe Haven hours, which are 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

CTU & CPS Still Bargaining; Claypool Calls Strike “Illegal”

CTU called for the “unfair labor practice” strike today to show support for increased state revenue and to protest stalled contract negotiations with the Board of Education and “union busting” efforts by Gov. Bruce Rauner.

On Wednesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said that while he understands and “shares those concerns” raised by CTU, he didn’t think the union should “take it out on our students.”

“I appreciate the stand with teachers in opposition to what our state’s doing. I ask you not to take it out on our children and their education. You have a political call to action, it is a correct political call, but...the call to action should not lead you to walking out of the classroom,” the mayor said during a media briefing. Asked what course of action he thought the union should take instead of a strike, Emanuel said that’s up to the members. “I’ll join hands with them in trying to get Springfield to change.”

Officials with the Board of Education have called the strike illegal, citing state labor law that says unions are prohibited from picketing in the middle of contract negotiations. CTU and CPS have been bargaining over a new contract since November 2014. Early last month, a CTU bargaining committee voted to reject the tentative agreement for a four-year contract that would have eliminated the Board of Education’s pension pick up and provided net pay raises in the third and fourth years of the contract.

A third party arbitrator is still in the fact finding process required under collective bargaining agreements. That 105 day fact finding period concludes on May 17, about a month before the end of the school year. The union has argued this strike is based on unfair labor practices, not on contract negotiations. CPS Chief Executive Officer Forrest Claypool said any teacher who walks out won’t get paid.

Citing the need to address the root causes of disease and racial inequity, Chicago’s public health department unveiled Healthy Chicago 2.0, a four year public health policy vision for the city at a Chicago Cultural Center event Tuesday morning. Mayor Rahm Emanuel was not present at the event, though he had an empty public schedule. The 86-page document takes square aim at addressing health, housing, education, and transportation inequalities disproportionately affecting Chicagoans of color. Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Julie Morita, who introduced the plan, told the assembled crowd when it comes to health in Chicago, zip code matters more than genetics.

Morita was joined onstage by Dr. Mindy Fullilove, a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, who spoke of the impact of the city’s racial “fracturing”, redlining, and the need to restore joy and equity in cities. “We must have a more holistic view of what it means to address health disparities, including an understanding that social conditions are the fundamental causes of disease,” Fullilove said in a press release. “The fractured city causes trauma and destroys joy,” she told the crowd Tuesday. “If you live in a high rise downtown, your life expectancy is 81 or 89 or 100 years, and if you live in the Cabrini Green area, your life expectancy is more like 69 or 50 or 14 years.”

“Data show that health inequities are wide and we must do more to eliminate the unjust differences in health that exist among Chicago communities and across the lines of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, gender identity and sexual orientation,” Mayor Emanuel said in the opening statement in the report.

The following key data points can be viewed in the report, or in interactive maps at the Chicago Health Atlas:

• 1 in 2 African American and Hispanic children live in low child opportunity areas compared to 1 in 50 white children.

• African Americans are 2.6 times more likely to be unemployed than whites.

• Nearly a third of Chicagoans were living in high economic hardship in 2014.

• 3.5% of Chicago children under three years old have elevated blood lead levels - many of whom live in areas with very low child opportunity on the South, Southwest and South sides.

• 1 in 3 Hispanic adults does not have a primary care provider.

• Washington Heights, Chatham, and West Garfield Park have infant mortality rates that are more than double the citywide rate.

The Department plans to tackle these, and a lofty 82 objectives by leveraging partnerships with more than 130 city and public partners over the next four years. There’s a resolution pending in City Council introduced by the Mayor that establishes a “Health in All Policies” initiative where officials would be encouraged to apply a health filter when making policy. The resolution also calls for establishment of a health task force.

A two hour hearing Tuesday by the Council’s License and Public Safety Committees on alleged widespread illegal car seizures by Lincoln Towing was short on substance. There were no official plans introduced to address towing issues, but the meeting was long on grievances as residents testified about their own personal horror stories of dealing with the operator.

At one point, Ald. Ameya Pawar (47), who had called for the hearing following numerous complaints about alleged towing by the company, got into a heated exchange with Lincoln Towing’s attorney, Allen Perl, who accused the aldermen of citing unsubstantiated statistics and dodging his phone calls ahead of yesterday’s meeting.

Present: Chair Ariel Reboyras (30), Gregory Mitchell (7), Ed Burke (14), David Moore (17), Matt O’Shea (19), Willie Cochran (20), Chris Taliaferro (29), Scott Waguespack (32), Deb Mell (33), Anthony Napolitano (41), Michele Smith (43), Tom Tunney (44), John Arena (45), Ameya Pawar (47), Harry Osterman (48).

The company’s infamy in Chicago is so ingrained in popular culture and the city’s history, that Ald. Ed Burke (14), the longest serving alderman on the Council, noted that yesterday’s meeting “seem[ed] like deja vu.”

“You are too young to remember when these were issues here in this building in 1987 and 1988,” Ald. Burke told Ald. Pawar, recalling Mike Royko columns about Lincoln Towing when the company was owned by Ross Cascio. Burke then proceeded to recite the chorus of Steve Goodman’s song, “The Lincoln Park Pirates.”

Perl refused to name the company’s new owner in testimony, but said that he has represented the towing company for the past 20 years. He then claimed that during his tenure as attorney he has never received a phone call complaining about illegal tows. He also took issue with the recitation of Goodman’s song. “When the song was written in the 70’s, [the company’s current owner] was about ten years old. I know that we consistently hear that song about Lincoln Towing, I don’t know what relevance it has today unless you want to indict someone from the 1970s.”

Perl was the last person to testify and spent a significant portion of his time arguing that none of the testimony preceding him was factual. “Everyone in this room so far–and it’s really the vocal minority that’s indicting Lincoln Towing–no one really has the numbers,” Perl argued. He said that there are only about 90 complaints against his client currently pending with the Illinois State Commerce Commission, not the 3,891 cited in previous testimony. Given that Lincoln Towing tows an average of 20,000 cars a year, Perl said, that number works out to be four-tenths of one-percent. “And most complaints have nothing to do with the tow,” he added.

Perl went on to say that he made numerous attempts to speak to Ald. Pawar ahead of yesterday’s hearing, but never got a call back. Lincoln Towing is based in Pawar’s ward. Perl said he later learned from a reporter that Pawar had no plans to call him back.

“Meeting with you prior to this hearing didn’t make sense to me,” Pawar responded, saying that he had no interest in making any “back room deals” because he wanted Perl to show up at the hearing. Pawar said he would only meet with Perl and his client if they agreed to sit down and and provide data and documentation of past tows. “Until that happens, I’m not going to sit in some back room with you prior to a hearing over 40 years of issues.”

The City Council’s Licence and Public Safety Committees scheduled the joint meeting at the request of Public Safety Chairman Ariel Reboyras (30) and Ald. Pawar (47), both of whom filed a resolution calling for a hearing on how the city could enforce or draft new regulations to rein in what they described as “a pattern of illegal towing and abuse of customers by Lincoln Towing.”

“It’s about not just the people who are towed, it’s about the amount of man hours the police department spends on complaints related to towing companies,” said Ald. Pawar, who noted that his local police district spent nearly 600 hours addressing phone calls about people’s cars allegedly getting towed.

There was some talk about potentially drafting up a “bill of rights” to protect vehicle owners, determining ways the city could enforce laws already on the books, and the possibility of improving regulations regarding another headache for car owners: booting. At multiple times during the hearing, Ald. Pawar called on representatives of the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) to audit Lincoln Towing and release their findings to aldermen. Due to an ongoing investigation into the company, the Illinois Commerce Commission declined an invitation from Chair Reboyras to testify.  

Ald. Willie Cochran (20) reminded fellow aldermen that last year he moved through Council an ordinance requiring private tow companies to document every car towed by taking pictures of their warning signs posted in parking lots, the car towed, and the address where the car was parked. “I am being told that that isn’t being followed, it is not being conformed to. So every tow that has been towed by these companies are in violation of the law, and so they should be fined for that,” Cochran argued.

Most of yesterday’s meeting was more of an opportunity for residents to air their grievances, and for other tow operators to distance themselves from Lincoln Towing.

William Rankin, a building owner from the city’s North Side who told a story about his neighbors’ cars getting towed in his lot without his consent, turned around to Ald. Burke to say, “And we can pass all the damn ordinances we want, and Lincoln Towing is going to ignore them because that has been their record for how many years Ald. Burke? How many years have they ignored anything that you passed? They don’t give a damn about anything that you passed.”

Ed Forsythe, President of the Professional Towing and Recovering Operators of Illinois, an association that represents the business and legislative interests of several towing operators across the state, agreed. “You can pass any law you want and a bad guy is not going to pay attention. He may get locked up in the end, but he’s not going to pay attention.”

Forsythe said the Illinois Commerce Commission is the only regulatory body with teeth to enforce punishment for allegations of widespread towing. When he was asked by Chairman Reboyras if he thought that Lincoln Towing made the rest of the association look bad, Forsythe said yes.

“Absolutely, but there is nothing we can do until a ruling is given,” Forsythe said, adding that the association is in a “pickle” because they can’t remove Lincoln Towing from their organization without just cause.

The Chicago Board of Elections released final unofficial results, yesterday, the last step before certification on April 5. The final unofficial results are declared after all counts are completed.

PDF of Results Summary – PDF of Summary by Congressional District

As expected, 33rd Ward incumbent Democratic Committeeman Dick Mell has lost to challenger Aaron Goldstein by a narrow 50 votes, 5,457 to 5,407. In the 1st Ward, incumbent Democratic Committeeman Proco "Joe" Moreno defeated challenger Maria Theresa Gonzalez 6,604 to 6,405.

According to the Board, "At 53.52% turnout, Chicago will likely finish at or near first [in turnout] in the state, in a year when many suburban and downstate counties reported that they had set records.

However, Chicago itself previously has had higher Presidential Primary turnouts:
(1) 1984 - 58.54%
(2) 1980 - 56.74%
(3) 1988 - 56.03%
(4) 1976 - 54.59%

Lincoln Towing, a company Ald. Ameya Pawar (47) says has had “allegations of abuse and illegal towing leveled against them over the last forty years,” will be called face a joint Public Safety and License Committee meeting this afternoon. The only agenda item: a resolution introduced by Pawar and Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30), which sites reported and anecdotal stories of illegal service and reckless driving from Lincoln Towing (and this song, “The Pirates of Lincoln Park”, comprehensive wiki on Lincoln here).

Representatives from the Illinois Commerce Commission, Chicago Police Department, Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, and towing operators from Chicago and Cook County, including Lincoln, have been invited to tell aldermen about the current regulatory landscape. Pawar told DNA Info he’s interested in developing a “towing bill of rights.” One of Pawar’s constituents has started a petition asking him and the City Council to suspend Lincoln’s license. The petition has garnered about 3,200 signatures.