Mayor Rahm Emanuel promoted the Chicago Police Department’s Chief of Patrol, Eddie Johnson, to the role of interim Police Superintendent and subsequently asked the Police Board to initiate a new search for the top cop vacancy. Mayor Emanuel’s end-run around the Police Board also raised questions about the Board’s future relevancy, since Mayor Emanuel had directed the Board to conduct a nationwide search, only to choose a Chicago-based candidate who didn’t apply to the position.

Johnson will take over the role that until yesterday was held by Interim Superintendent John Escalante, who will resume his previous role as second in command, the First Deputy Chief of Police.

“I believe [Eddie Johnson] is the right person at the right time to serve as Interim Superintendent. He has the command, the character and the capability to lead the department at this critical juncture,” Mayor Emanuel said of his decision at a late afternoon press conference held at CPD headquarters yesterday.

Attending the press conference in the front row, but not on stage, was a smattering of aldermen, including Rules Committee Chair Michelle Harris (8), Public Safety Chair Ariel Reboyras (30), Zoning Committee Chair Danny Solis (25) and Latino Caucus Chair George Cardenas (12).

Emanuel said that while the Police Board was conducting its national search to fill the vacancy left by the firing of former Police Supt. Garry McCarthy, he met with community leaders, aldermen and police officers across the city to get a feel for who they wanted in the leadership role.

It was during those CAPS meetings, roll calls, and private lunches, the Mayor said, that he “kept hearing” about all the attributes that the next superintendent should have: “a proven crime fighter, someone who knows Chicago, someone who can mentor our officers, and someone with impeccable integrity.”

“Someone who has those attributes is Eddie Johnson,” he said.

But the question still remains as to how Johnson received consideration from the Mayor in the first place. The Police Board is mandated by city law, when a police superintendent vacancy occurs, to “nominate three candidates to fill the position and to submit those nominations to the mayor.” If none of the nominees are accepted by the mayor, the Board must come up with three more. The mayor appoints the Police Board members, who serve for five year terms and can be removed for “just cause”.

Asked by reporters about his process, Mayor Emanuel said that his conversation with Johnson started “a little over a week ago”, around the same time he was talking to those various stakeholders. “This name [Eddie Johnson] came up in different venues and different forms.”

Some sources suggested to Aldertrack yesterday that Fr. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Church offered up Johnson’s name, because of their close relationship dating back to when Johnson was commander of the 6th Police District, which includes Fr. Pfleger’s church.

But Fr. Pfleger told Aldertrack that he made no such recommendation, and that it wasn’t until the mayor called him Saturday night, before the news broke, that he first learned Johnson was under consideration.

“The Mayor called to keep me in the loop,” Pfleger told Aldertrack prior to Mayor Emanuel’s press conference, adding that he had no idea why the Mayor had chosen not to proceed with any of the three finalists recommended by the Police Board. “If [Johnson] had applied, he would have been one of the top three.”

Fr. Pfleger had nothing but praise for the 27-year veteran of the police department. “I have great respect for him,” he told Aldertrack, characterizing Johnson as a “quietly strong guy” with “good police sense”, and someone who has been very accessible and a strong track record of listening to the community.

“Do I think Eddie can to it? Yeah. But it will take a lot of cooperation [within the department] to restore trust,” he added.

Police Board Not Notified; Future Role Unclear

As of mid-day yesterday, the Police Board had not received official notification of the Johnson pick from the Mayor, according to Board executive director Max Caproni. Members had not been notified of the Mayor’s decision to restart the search either, according one member, Rev. Michael Eaddy, a senior pastor at the People’s Church of the Harvest Church of God in Christ.

“The Mayor hasn’t provided any written communication to us,” Rev. Eaddy told Aldertrack Monday afternoon, also ahead of the mayor’s announcement, adding that all he knew about the Johnson appointment is what he’d read in the news.

“We picked three ideal candidates,” Rev. Eaddy told Aldertrack, “The only thing I know, those three finalists were interviewed last weekend.”

Within an hour of the Mayor’s formal announcement Monday afternoon, the Police Board issued a statement saying they had received word their finalists were rejected. “We will convene as a Board as soon as we are able and decide appropriate next steps,” the statement read.

While the Police Board has an ex officio role by law, it is unclear what de facto role it now has in choosing the next superintendent, now that the Mayor has announced his ultimate choice.

“I am being consistent with the process, and it also has precedent,” said Mayor Emanuel yesterday. As we reported earlier this month, when the top three finalists were officially announced, Mayor Richard M. Daley, in 2007, rejected Police Board’s first round of nominations to replace Phil Cline. Daley sent them back to the drawing board, and the board submitted three new names. Eight months later, Daley appointed Jody Weis to take over.  

When asked in yesterday’s press conference in separate questions if the Police Board was relevant or an anachronism, because he brushed aside their recommendations and essentially directed them to nominate his choice, Mayor Emanuel refused to directly answer the question. “It’s an outgrowth of another problem the city had before,” he said.

Both Interim Supt. Johnson and Mayor Emanuel said that once that search begins, Johnson will formally apply to become the permanent superintendent. Asked why he didn’t apply during the first round, Johnson responded that interim Police Supt. John Escalante was vying for the position, “So out of support for him, I didn’t apply.”  

Support For A “Chicagoan”

Both also dismissed the characterization of Johnson as an “insider”, arguing his experience is more likely to help not hinder reform the department, especially at a time when morale amongst the rank and file is at an all-time low.  

“I think that because I am an insider, I can fix things from the inside out, as opposed to coming from the outside and having to fix it from the outside in,” Johnson said. “We have the Department of Justice review going on now, and the Mayor’s Task Force, and I welcome those things.”

Lori Lightfoot, the Police Board President, is also a member of the Mayor's Police Accountability Task Force, which is slated to release its findings in mid-April. 

“I would say he is a ‘Chicagoan,’” the Mayor added. “He grew up in the city and the department.”

Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30), Chairman of the City Council Committee on Public Safety told Aldertrack that he no longer plans to conduct a hearing on Thursday to interview the previous submitted superintendent candidates. “We’ll be supporting the Mayor’s choice,” he said.

Council’s Black and Latino Caucuses Plan to Press Agenda Further

Two Council Caucuses lent their full-throated support to the new interim superintendent choice, but also delivered a warning that the new coalition between Black and Latino aldermen wouldn’t dissolve any time soon.

At a joint press conference with Latino Caucus chair Ald. George Cardenas (12), Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6), Chair of the Black Caucus told reporters, “The gist of this is about, the Latino Caucus and the Black Caucus are continuing to work together towards transformative change in the City of Chicago.”

He continued, “Let’s be quite honest here. The city is comprised by a majority of Black and Latino members. We’re the majority. Between the two of us, our two caucuses, we’re the majority on the City Council.” Combined, the caucuses make up 28 members of the 50 member Council. They also take up majorities on two of Council’s most important committees, Finance (19 out of 34 members) and Budget (18 out of 34).

Sawyer went on to say that Chicago government, despite its rubber stamp reputation, was intended to be a strong council, weak mayor system. When asked what was next for the two caucuses to team up on, Sawyer had a short, nonspecific list: appointments, finance issues, and procurement. Cardenas was similarly short during the press conference, briefly mentioning economic and education issues.

Council recently passed higher procurement goals for the city to hire women and minorities for construction contracts, and incentives for contractors to hire apprentices, journey workers, and laborers from low-income, high-poverty and high-unemployment areas.

Both caucuses have shown they can successfully pressure the Mayor into bending on proposals. The Mayor’s office had a first round bout during the protracted showdown over the hike in the smoking age and prices for other tobacco product. The Mayor’s office issued a full court press at the time to appease South and West side Black and Latino aldermen’s concerns about loose cigarette sales and the burden on small retailers and border businesses.

The Latino Caucus is playing a long game, of sorts. At Monday’s press conference, Cardenas said the Latino Caucus is invested in promotions within the Chicago Police Department, so a Latino candidate rises to the top next time there’s an opening. “In order to have more Hispanics on that final count next time, we want to make sure that we address that now and not at that point.” Sources have said (and Caucus members have alluded to) elevating Latinos in leadership positions across the city.

The Chicago Police Department currently has vacancies for Chiefs of Detectives and Support Services. New Interim Superintendent Johnson would be responsible for making those appointments.

Saturday afternoon Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced his intention to install Chicago Police Chief of Patrol Eddie Johnson as Police Superintendent. While most of Chicago’s media and politicians were busy with family Easter celebrations, Sun Times’ Fran Speilman and Frank Main got the Mayor’s office leak while NBC5’s Mary Ann Ahern broke the most inflammatory news, that Police Board nominee Cedric Alexander was offered the job first after a stumbling interview with Emanuel.

A tick tock built from those must-read stories, plus a Chicago Tribune team reportreleased this morning follows:

Saturday, March 19 – Mayor Emanuel interviews Police Board nominees, including Cedric Alexander.

Sunday, March 20 – Emanuel meets with Alexander a second time, but Alexander claims Emanuel was “disrespectful” and subsequently asked Police Board to withdraw nomination.

Thursday, March 24 – Black Caucus holds press conference calling for local African-American choice, but is unspecific whom they prefer.

Emanuel asks for “reboot”,  meets with Cedric Alexander for third time in D.C., offers him superintendent job.

Friday, March 25 – Latino Caucus issues release calling for hearings.

Emanuel calls Alexander, tells him to wait before telling anyone.

Saturday, March 26 – Emanuel announces Eddie Johnson as pick.

Police Board announces “has not received formal communication” from Mayor.

Latino & Black Caucus issue joint release, welcoming Eddie Johnson as interim choice.

The City Council’s Black Caucus said the city’s next police superintendent should be an African American who knows the city and police department “inside and out, top to bottom,” and has the respect of the rank and file.

But the group stopped short of a full-throated endorsement of Eugene Williams, who fits that bill and is on the mayor’s short list to fill the superintendent slot, because they want the City Council, not just the Mayor, to have an opportunity to vet all the finalists. “We want to hear about all candidates right now before the decision is made,” Caucus Chairman Roderick Sawyer (6) said.

“The previous police chief was a total outsider without working knowledge of the people, the policies, and prevailing practices and traditions. His leadership style was not consultive, but unilateral,” Sawyer told reporters at a press conference at City Hall. He said two outsiders who previously ran the department didn't successfully break down “the blue wall”. Many black aldermen called for Supt. Garry McCarthy's ouster during budget hearings and in the wake of the Laquan McDonald video release. 

So, Eugene Williams?

Sawyer said first, the caucus wants a chance to publicly vet Williams and the other two candidates, Cedric Alexander and Anne Kirkpatrick, in a Public Safety committee meeting. Without that hearing, the group said, they may stall. “We may either not vote or we’re going to have an awfully long hearing that particular day.” Though after the press conference, Ald. Carrie Austin (34) said she'd told Mayor Emanuel she preferred Williams. 

“I would not go against it, I think the City Council should be able to vet the candidates before us,” Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30), told Aldertrack. But he also said that any call for a hearing would have to be introduced as a resolution, which could delay the selection of a finalist further.

The Latino Caucus, of which Reboyras is a member, criticized the superintendent picks the Police Board put forward last week, saying current Interim Superintendent John Escalante should be considered. They also said it was “insulting” a Latino candidate didn’t make the short list.

In response to the Chicago Teachers Union’s decision to strike on April 1st, Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool said the city will open more than 250 contingency sites where parents can drop off their kids, while warning teachers that since the strike is illegal, if they choose to walk out, they won’t get paid that day.

Noting that it’s unlikely there will be enough teachers to staff classrooms because of the strike, Claypool said the district will work with the city’s Park District and Public Libraries to make sure there are enough schools, parks, and libraries properly staffed on that day for students. A list with the exact locations will be sent out to parents next Tuesday.

Claypool also took yesterday’s announcement to warn the union that under state labor law, their “Day of Action” is an illegal one day strike, and therefore teachers won't be compensated unless they hand in a doctor's note. “Employees cannot use personal business days without a demonstrated need to be absent,” the district said in an emailed announcement.

Starting the day with a bang, the Illinois Supreme Court released their ruling on two Chicago pension reformation plans, finding them unconstitutional, saddling the city with increased pension payments and making another set of municipal tax increases a near certainty.

Link To Supreme Court Ruling

“Though disappointing, this ruling does not change my commitment to ensuring employees and retirees have a secure retirement without placing the full burden on Chicago taxpayers,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement.

While the decision was a unanimous 5-0 ruling, Justices Charles Freeman and Anne Burke did not participate in the decision. Their districts both entirely lie within the City of Chicago. Justice Burke is also married to City Council Finance Committee Chairman, Ald. Ed Burke (14). Ald. Burke did not respond to Aldertrack’s request for comment on the pension ruling.

The Mayor’s pension plan was to reduce annuity benefits for public employees, then ramp up pension payments and put both funds on a path toward financial stability.

But there was no guarantee state courts would find it constitutional, so the Mayor and City Council took a series of risky bets last October when they approved the FY2016 budget, and with it a record $543 million property tax increase.

The first risk was when the Mayor’s Office based projected Municipal Employees (MEABF) and Laborers (LABF) pension payments on the law being upheld. Second, Mayoral staff based projected Police and Fire pension payments on the bet that state government would enact a bill to amend that payment schedule. That hoped-for bill, SB777, has passed the legislature, but has languished in legislative purgatory for over a year, passed by the Assembly, but unsigned by Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Amanda Kass, of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, called it a “fundamental misstep” and said that both laws were “very much up in the air” when the budget passed last October. “The city was hedging its bets on long shots,” she told Aldertrack yesterday, and that the record property tax increase was nowhere near what city pension funds needed.

During October’s budget process, several aldermen asked for worst case scenario plans, and suggested a bigger property tax hike might have been better. But the Mayor’s financial team, led by Budget Director Alex Holt and Chief Finance Officer Carole Brown, urged that their budgeted pension payments were safe bets for the time being.

At the time, the City Council’s newly formed Office of Financial Analysis, led by Ben Winick, agreed, concluding that the Mayor had little time to assess other options. “A number of other alternatives have been suggested [like a financial transactions tax, service tax, or commuter tax], and many of them warrant further discussion. But given the timing of when these liabilities are coming due, and the legal impediments to enacting them, the feasibility of assuming those changes to make the legally required pension contributions for 2015 and 2016 would not be a responsible course of action for the City to take.”

In the short-term, the city will actually need to make smaller pension payments, putting roughly $100 million less than originally planned for the FY 2015 payment into the Municipal Employee and Laborer Funds. Yesterday’s ruling means the city has to only make its statutorily required payment, based on a fixed multiplier, not the ramped up funding plan it pushed for in the law just struck down.

So what happens to the extra cash?

“The increased funding is set aside, and the City will make a final decision on how to utilize the additional funds once we’ve determined the next steps for the municipal and laborers pension funds,” Molly Poppe, a spokesperson for the city’s Budget Office told Aldertrack.

Explanation of Supreme Court Case & Ruling

The law the state’s highest court struck down, P.A. 98-641, would have increased city funding and employee contribution rates, while reducing annual increases for current and future retirees for the MEABF and LABF. The attorneys representing the city’s pension funds had argued the changes provided a “net benefit” to the beneficiaries by preventing the two funds from going insolvent in the next decade, and that in the long run, beneficiaries would benefit from a healthier and more stable pension fund.

Members of the two funds, which represent 79,000 city employees and non-teacher employees of CPS, argued the cuts infringed on their right to receive a pension, because under the Illinois constitution, public pension benefits cannot be “diminished or impaired.”

In their decision, the state’s highest court ruled that the city’s “net benefit” argument started from a “flawed premise,” because benefits are already protected under the state’s constitution. “The fact that some of its provisions are directed at improved funding cannot overcome the fact that constitutional rights of employees and retirees would be violated.”

The court also agreed with a lower court ruling that said the city’s argument didn’t hold up, because it had been warned, for years, that the current formula it uses to calculate its contributions was not sufficient to cover benefits, yet “the method of funding remained static.”

For example, in 2014, the city made a $180 million payment to the MEABF, which was based on that fixed multiplier of 1 or 1.25 times the total annual employee contributions. The “actuarially required” amount determined by the pension fund–the amount it needed to pay out owed benefits–was $839 million, a $659 million gap.

“The pension protection clause does not guarantee any particular method of funding, but, rather, guarantees the right to be paid,” the court opinion explained. The drafters’ original intent was to protect benefits, while giving the General Assembly the authority to take the necessary steps to fund the pension obligation.

Ruling May Hurt City Bond Ratings

The Civic Federation said the decision wasn’t a victory for anyone, because it doesn’t address the funds’ projected insolvency and “adds additional financial pressures to an already distressed City government.”

“The ruling also limits the options available to financially strained local governments throughout the State,” the Civic Federation said in an emailed statement, “and points to the need for a constitutional amendment to clarify the State’s pension protection clause. This should be yet another wakeup call to every member of the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor.”

There will likely be an immediate impact on the city’s credit rating. Credit agencies Moody’s and Fitch warned last spring that if the law was struck down, the city’s credit rating could take another hit. In a statement released Thursday morning, Moody’s said it "will continue assessing Chicago's actions to address unfunded pension liabilities, including any initiatives specifically aimed at the plans affected by today's court decision."

Cook County Government Took Action To Avoid Pension Problems

In the 2016 budget, Cook County opted to contribute more to its employee pension fund (County Officers’ and Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Cook County) than what’s required by law. Commissioners approved a 1% sales tax hike in the summer of 2015. In addition to the $195 million pension payment required by law, the county will put an extra $270.5 million in revenue from that sales tax hike toward pensions to hit actuarially required targets.

The county pension fund is currently 57.5% funded, with a $6.5 billion unfunded liability.

There is a one year intergovernmental agreement with the County’s Pension Fund that allows those extra payments starting in April, but ratings agency Fitch said the move leaves “the county vulnerable to potential litigation from taxpayers challenging the increased payments."

The first increased payment will be made April 29. As to whether the additional pension payments might open the county up to a lawsuit, Frank Shuftan, Communications Director for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said, “it is speculative and responding at present would be equally speculative.”

“Our finance staff is reviewing today’s Supreme Court decision to determine how it impacts efforts to ensure long-term fiscal viability for the Pension Fund that serves County employees and retirees,” Shuftan said. “The Court’s decision appears to settle some elements of the law while leaving others open. We will continue our collaboration with all stakeholders to identify appropriate, constitutionally sound measures to restore and preserve the Fund’s long-term solvency.”

The city agency in charge of reviewing cases of alleged police misconduct plans to hire an outside law firm to audit as many as 40 closed officer-involved shooting cases to determine how investigations could be better managed.

Recently-appointed Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) Chief Administrator Sharon Fairley announced yesterday that her office will hire Chicago-based law firm McGuireWoods to head up the six month review to ensure it is conducted “objectively and independently.”

A project team, which will include various subject matter experts on policing issues and use of force procedures, could be put in place as soon as next week, Fairley said. Former US Department of Justice Deputy Attorney and Acting Attorney General George Terwilliger III and Former Deputy Chief Assistant Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois Chicago office, Christina Egan, will lead the team.

“We know that here the trust in the agencies that are responsible for our public safety has been eroded,” Fairley told reporters during a press conference at its headquarters attached to the West Town Library. “And trust in our agency in particular is at an all time low since the agency was formed in 2007. I recognize that in order to restore trust in IPRA, we must understand how we lost public confidence in the first place.”

The cost and the scope of the external audit have yet to be determined. Fairley said McGuireWoods will set the criteria for choosing which cases will be reviewed and in what manner. Any police-involved shooting case dating back to 2008, of which there are closeto 700, is fair game. She offered an estimate of about 20 to 40, saying, “It would be really expensive to go back and look at each and every case.”

The purpose of the audit is not to “reopen” old cases, Fairley explained, but to “assess the quality of the investigative process and the accuracy of the findings and outcomes.”

“We want to make sure that our police department has a use of deadly force policy that allows for these investigations to be resolved fairly and in the interest of justice for everyone involved,” Fairley said.

But it’s unclear if officers previously cleared through the IPRA review process could see new action taken against them. “That may or may not be the case, and that would have to be looked at on a case by case basis,” she said.

Fairley also used yesterday’s media briefing to highlight changes she’s made in her first 100 days, including “completely revamping the leadership” and implementing a performance review process to address conflicts in the chain of command for how a case should be disposed of.

In addition to hiring a new chief of staff, Annette Moore, and a new chief investigator, Jay Westensee, Fairley has since brought on another chief investigator, Mark Garba, and a new Public Information Officer, Mia Sissac.

Like Fairley, two of those new investigators were recruited from the Chicago Office of the Inspector General: Westensee, who has been with the IG since 2005, and Garba, who did a two and a half year stint there as a forensic audit investigator, a job he held in between his time as an investigator for the U.S. Department of Labor and Chicago Public Schools.

A relatively quick and quiet Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting saw passage of a county “tampon tax” exemption, and a new proposal to combat stark youth unemployment numbers presented to commissioners earlier this week. It was also the first day on the job for Brian Hamer, Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s new Chief of Staff.

Passed:

• An ordinance exempting feminine hygiene products from the county’s portion of the sales tax. The county’s 1.75% share in the sales tax will join the city’s recently-passed exemption (at 1.25%), but will not take effect until January 2017. The delay is meant to give state legislators time to vote on a similar measure that’s already been introduced to the General Assembly.

• Three appointments to various county boards:

  • Thomas Szromba to the Board of Ethics - Szromba is a former principal senior counsel at Boeing Company and at the Chicago branch of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). During his confirmation, Szromba told commissioners he has more than 20 years of experience with criminal, civil, government, and private sector investigations on fraud and employee wrongdoing. Commissioner Larry Suffredin told Szromba he hopes he’ll use his “vigor as a prosecutor” to hold elected officials accountable.

  • Amber Smock to the Commission on Human Rights - Smock is the current Director of Advocacy at Access Living, a non-profit organization that advocates for the disabled. She said her experience as a deaf woman has “transformed the advocacy work she’s done,” and the commission has “untapped potential” to serve residents with disability issues, specifically citing Laquan McDonald, who engaged with local disability services.

  • Lisa Stephens to the Justice Advisory Council - Stephens is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, an organization that aims to reduce gun violence in Chicago, and previously worked for more than 7 years in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office and for nearly six years as general counsel for the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. Commissioner John Daley told Stephens her “own personal knowledge will help tremendously” on the council.

• Tax breaks for two Cook County companies: one for a pallet company planning to move from South Holland to a vacant property in Chicago Heights, and another for a movie theater planned for Country Club Hills. Both are Class 8 property tax breaks, which are specially authorized by commissioners when a property has been abandoned for less than two years. Commercial real estate is normally assessed at 25% of its market value, but properties that qualify for a Class 8 are assessed at 10% of the market value for 10 years, 15% for the 11th year and 20% in the 12th year when construction is complete.  

Deferred:

• The creation of a Cook County Crane Operator’s License and a Board of Crane Operator Examiners: The ordinance would make it illegal to operate a crane without a license in the County, and is likely intended to beat the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s national deadline mandating all crane operators be certified by Nov. 10, 2017. The ordinance establishes a new, three member Board of Crane Operator Examiners made up of the Building and Zoning Commissioner, Timothy Bleuher, and two other experienced crane operators. A substitute was submitted that needs approval from the Cook County Building Commission.

• A pharmaceutical disposal ordinance aimed at protecting the County’s waterways from “improperly disposed of prescription drugs passing through [the County’s] wastewater and treatment centers.” The ordinance would establish a stewardship plan for the collection, paid for by pharmaceutical companies, to cover the transportation and disposal of covered pharmaceutical drugs. The sponsor, Commissioner Suffredin, “is working with a variety of interested groups, including pharmaceutical companies, on an amendment” ahead of next month’s meeting.

Introduced:

• Youth Employment Fund: After a marathon hearing on stark youth unemployment statistics in Chicago and Cook County on Tuesday, Workforce Development Chair Bridget Gainer, alongside Comms. Richard Boykin and Larry Suffredin, introduced an ordinance calling for the establishment of a special "youth employment" fund. The fund would be financed by businesses who have received property tax breaks (from Class 6b all the way to Class 9) from the county. Details on the calculation here. 

• An amendment from Comm. Suffredin mandating “All electronic communication by officials, board or commission appointees and employees regarding official government business shall be by and through official government email accounts.” No personal use of email, texts, or social media would be permitted for official government communication, but “Separately elected officials and their staffs may use separate email accounts associated with their own offices or personal email accounts if they notify the Secretary to the Board.” Suffredin explained, “We’re trying to just comply with recent cases and matters relating to freedom of information."

• A resolution supporting a bill in the Illinois Assembly that would make it illegal for any firearm dealer to operate without a dealer license from the state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, and requires all dealers and their employees to have a Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card and a background check.

• In keeping with his crusade to address lead poisoning concerns following the crisis in Flint, Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin introduced a resolutionurging the City of Chicago to eliminate its $0.05 tax on bottled water. The preamble to the resolution states: “recent analysis indicates that while the lead pipes that supply water to most of the City of Chicago and Cook County generally pose only a slight health risk, recent construction projects which disturb the water lines around the County have caused the risk to increase; and, WHEREAS, many informed residents of the City of Chicago and Cook County, in the light of the aforementioned risks, choose to drink bottled water rather than tap water.”

• The Board also moved forward on a $1 per month lease agreement with the City of Chicago for the Cook County Health and Hospital System’s planned Community Triage Center. The triage center is planned for a roughly 10,000 square foot space at the Chicago Department of Public Health’s Roseland Clinic (200 E. 115th Street). The lease agreement has also been submitted to the City Council for approval. Dr. Jay Shannon, CEO of CCHHS, testified the triage centers are intended to “reduce costs in correctional health and reduce the human misery index” for arrestees with mental health issues. Shannon says this will reduce costs for patients who would otherwise be sent to emergency rooms or the Cook County Jail. If this pilot program is successful, CCHHS plans to open as many as five additional centers.

Today the Illinois Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of a 2014 state law that overhauled two of the city’s pension funds which cover most city employees and non-teacher employees of Chicago Public Schools. It’s a decision that could not only significantly impact the city’s annual contributions to the funds, but also its ability to borrow in the future.

When Moody’s and Fitch downgraded the city’s credit rating on its outstanding debt last year, both credit agencies indicated that if the IL Supreme Court ruled P.A. 98-641 unconstitutional, additional downgrades would be likely.

That’s because the law modified required contribution and benefit amounts for the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago (MEABF) and the Laborers Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago (LABF). Without the changes, the city  projected both funds will become insolvent in 11 to 14 years.

The law was promoted as a way to address the underfunding and projected insolvency of the two funds by increasing the city’s and employees’ annual share into both funds, while decreasing (and skipping altogether in some years) the automatic annual increases, or AAIs, to beneficiaries.

When then-Gov. Pat Quinn signed the law, MEABF was 36.9% funded and expected to become insolvent by 2026. LABF was 56.7% funded and projected to be insolvent by 2029.

To mitigate those concerns, the law provides for annual 0.5% increases to employees’ required contribution (currently at 8.5%) until their portion reached 11% in 2019. Once the pensions reach a 90% funded ratio, the rate would go down to 9.75%.

It also amends the multiplier the city uses to calculate its annual contributions, by ramping up the formula, so payments are based on getting both pension funds to a 90% funded ratio by 2055. Under the funding ramp, the city’s portion to MEABF and LABF will grow by an average of 22% each year until reaching an estimated contribution of $622.9 million in 2020.

In December 2014, shortly before the law was to take effect, two lawsuits were filed in Cook County Circuit Court by participants in the two funds. They sought an injunction, arguing the AAI changes violate the pension clause of the state’s constitution, which states, “Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government [...], shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.”

On July 24, 2015, a Cook County judge ruled the law unconstitutional, and the city appealed the decision to the state’s highest court.

The city has argued that the law doesn’t violate the Pension Clause of the state constitution because it provides a “net benefit” to the funds’ members, because without it, both funds could become insolvent in the near future.

If the court rules that the law is unconstitutional, the city’s annual payments to fund MEABF and LABF could revert to the prior, lower levels based on the old multiplier formula, which the city has argued is insufficient to cover payouts to retirees.  

Today’s expected ruling comes eight months after the state’s high court ruled a seperate 2013 state pension reform bill was unconstitutional.

The Chicago Teachers Union will hold a vote tonight on whether to cancel classes and organize a city-wide strike on April 1st. Members of CTU’s House of Delegates will meet at the International Operating Engineers Hall at 6:30 tonight to determine if CTU should hold a so-called “Day of Action.”

The union said it wants to shed light on the growing financial problems plaguing the district and put pressure on City Hall and Springfield to find “progressive revenue” ideas to fill the budget hole. One of those ideas, of which there is legislation pending in the State Legislature and City Council, asks that the city use surplus property tax revenue, like TIF funds, to reverse a recent round of budget cuts the district said it needed to finish the school year.

“We do not trust the Board [of Education] and we intend to organize a showdown on April 1st over the question of school funding and educational justice,” CTU President Karen Lewis wrote in a letter sent to union members March 14. Other public service unions and minimum wage workers are expected to participate, she said.

CTU’s call for a day-long strike is also in response to stalled negotiations over the union's new contract, and the Board’s refusal to continue paying members’ share of their pensions. CPS has agreed to continue paying for the 7% “pension pickup” until a deal is reached. CPS CEO Forrest Claypool has said the old contract sunsetted the pension pickup. His office referenced Article 36-4.3, which states: “This pension pick up will not constitute a continuing element of compensation or benefit beyond Fiscal Year 2015 or 2016 should this Agreement be extended for one year.”

The union also wants guaranteed limits on class sizes and caseloads for supportive staff, for CPS to continue the pension pickup, and a moratorium on charter school expansion and school closings.

CTU and CPS have been bargaining over a new contract since November 2014. On February 1 of this year, a CTU bargaining committee voted to reject the tentative agreement for a four-year contract that would have eliminated the pension pick up and provided net pay raises in the third and fourth years of the contract.

The following day, CPS CEO Claypool announced plans to make $100 million in annual cuts to school budgets and recommitted to ending the pickup, which the Board said would save the district $170 million annually.

Any organized strike by the union before May 17 is considered illegal under state labor law. During collective bargaining agreements, unions are prohibited from striking until a third party mediator concludes fact-finding, which in this case, doesn’t end until May 17, about five weeks before the district’s last day of classes. The union has argued this action day is on the basis of unfair labor practices, not on contract negotiations.  

This Friday is the first of three unpaid furlough days for teachers announced at the start of the month. CPS said the move is expected to save $30 million. 

There’s no set plan to hold hearings on any of the aldermanic-backed plans to reform the police department in the wake of the Laquan McDonald dashcam video release. Ald. Ariel Reboyras, Chairman of the Council’s Public Safety Committee told Aldertrack yesterday that he has yet to discuss or determine whether to hold a hearing on any of the aldermanic proposals on things like mandating new use-of-force training, recruitment procedures, and the types of weapons officers should be equipped with.  

There are six police-related items pending in the Public Safety Committee, including one co-sponsored by Chairman Reboyras, which asks the department to reevaluate its entrance exam into the police academy.

The resolution Reboyras co-sponsored with Aldermen Ed Burke (14) and Patrick O'Connor (40) calls for a hearing on the police and fire entrance exam to determine if any of those tests–which include a psychological evaluation–unnecessarily exclude veterans.

Ald. Jason Ervin (28) wants every active duty police officer to be equipped with a taser, “which will become part of their uniform,” and have police department require mandatory taser training. He also wants to change the mandatory retirement age for sworn officers.

Another resolution, introduced by Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6), and supported by more than half the City Council, urges the department to research and institute procedures that promote alternative methods of force.

“Recent proliferation of high profile fatalities due to the use of deadly force by officers of the Chicago Police Department could have been avoided if an alternative to a lethal weapon had been readily available to them,” the preamble of the resolution states.

Noting that using non-lethal weapons will “drastically reduce the likelihood of serious bodily injury or death in conflict situations that police officers are often called upon to resolve,” Sawyer suggests the department consider various munitions options, such as solid or liquid filled rounds, foam baton rounds, rubber pellets, or bean bag rounds.

A similar ordinance, from Ald. Burke, would establish annual use-of-force and crisis intervention training for all Chicago police officers. Ald. Burke’s plan would amend the Municipal Code to require quarterly firearms training, no less than four hours of use-of-force training, and at least one hour of crisis intervention training annually. Burke directly introduced that ordinance at an 11-hour joint committee hearing on police accountability Ald. Reboyras and Ald. Proco Joe Moreno (1) held in December.

A shorter and more pointedly worded order Ald. Rick Munoz (22) introduced makes one request, “ORDERED, that no documents currently in the possession of or hereafter created by and/or maintained by any office within the Chicago Police Department be destroyed for any purpose or under color of any statute between the introduction of this Order and December 31.” More than half the council signed on as a co-sponsor.

Reboyras Discusses Police Supt. Search

Whomever Mayor Rahm Emanuel picks to be the city’s next police superintendent will have to be confirmed by the council’s Public Safety Committee chaired by Ald. Reboyras, who, along with 11 of his colleagues on the City Council’s Latino Caucus, criticized the Police Board’s short list for excluding a Latino candidate. The group sent a letter to the Mayor last Friday demanding that he consider Interim Police Supt. John Escalante for the job.

But speaking to Aldertrack yesterday, Ald. Reboyras demurred as to whether he plans to use his position to put pressure on those demands, only reaffirming his position that a Latino should have been picked for the post.

For more than three hours yesterday, Cook County Commissioners were given stark statistics on Chicago’s high youth unemployment numbers, but few apparent solutions, as organizations like the Chicago Cook Workforce and One Summer Chicago have limited funds and shrinking resources from state and federal coffers.

“Sadly, we lead the nation in every category when it comes to unemployment,” Board President Toni Preckwinkle said at the opening of the meeting. “Far too many of our young people are cast adrift with little or no hope.”

Commissioner Bridget Gainer called for the hearing, intended for commissioners to hear results from a report out of the the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Great Cities Institute: “Lost: The Crisis Of Jobless and Out Of School Teens and Young Adults In Chicago, Illinois and the U.S.” The report said across the board, joblessness increased over the past decade for every race and age group. In Chicago, 88.5% of Black males 16-19 were unemployed, and Hispanic males were close behind at 87.4% in 2014.

Father Michael Pfleger, Senior Pastor at Saint Sabina Church, gave some of the day’s most impassioned testimony, calling for more state funding and for private companies to open their doors to former offenders. He blamed Republican Governor Bruce Raunerfor cutting a thriving summer jobs program for at-risk youth at his church, saying St. Sabina’s program employed more than 1150 at-risk youth in the summer of 2014, but just 350 in 2015. “If we do not offer our young people something positive to do, then in fact, we become the promoters of gangs and drugs in our city. We will have a bloody summer come ahead of us if we don’t offer options for young people to get involved in,” Pfleger said. “The blood’s going to be on our hands.”

Statistics suggesting youth employment combats violence were backed up by Kelly Hallberg, scientific director at the University of Chicago Crime Lab. She testified that participation in One Summer Chicago, the city’s jobs program, significantly cut criminal activity in youth. “We found a 43% reduction in violent crime arrests for the young people who participated in the One Summer Chicago program,” compared to youth who didn’t participate, Hallberg said. “The difference got larger as you got further away from the summer… there seems to be something bigger going on here.”

Commissioners Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Deborah Sims each pushed Karin Norington-Reaves, CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, to call for funding for summer programs (rather than year-round), and for the city and county to voice support for national legislation proposed by U.S. Rep. John Conyears and Sen. Bernie Sanders to provide billions for youth employment. Garcia has campaigned for Sanders nationally.

Norington-Reaves emphasized the Partnership is non-partisan, focuses on year-round emplyoment, and was required to follow grant funding guidelines. “I understand your desire for summer jobs,” she told Commissioner Sims. “We’re hamstrung in our ability to have a large scale summer job program that just employs people for 6 or 8 weeks. That’s not what federal program is designed to do.” She said more than 4,000 young people are served by the partnership.

Following Norington-Reave’s testimony, dozens of pastors and county residents testified about the impact of youth employment on themselves or their communities, imploring commissioners for investment and empowerment.

Both the Mikva Challenge and One Summer Chicago are accepting applications.

Business and Economic Development Committee

Tax breaks for two Cook County companies are up in committee this morning - one for a pallet company planning to move from South Holland to a vacant property in Chicago Heights, and another for a movie theater planned for Country Club Hills.

Both are Class 8 property tax breaks, which are specially authorized by commissioners when a property has been abandoned for less than two years. Commercial real estate is normally assessed at 25% of its market value, but properties that qualify for a Class 8 are assessed at 10% of the market value for 10 years, 15% for the 11th year and 20% in the 12th year when construction is complete.

J&A Pallet Inc., an industrial-remanufacturing and recycling facility, is interested in moving south and adding two full-time positions. The property it plans to move to at 1321 Arnold Street is in Chicago Heights, and has been abandoned for 13 months. After the move, the company would have a total of 29 full time jobs.

Country Club Hills Plaza, LLC also plans to open up a movie theater at 4201 W. 167th Street. The plot has been empty for just a month. The project would create 50 construction jobs, and add 10 full-time and 165 part-time positions. The local AMC Loew’s theater shut down abruptly in January, citing an unaffordable hike in rent.

Health and Hospitals Committee

There’s just one item on the agenda - the Cook County Department of Public Health’s Quarterly presentation. You can view the materials here.

Finance Committee

An ordinance mirroring the so-called “tampon tax” exemption that successfully passed through Chicago City Council is up in Cook County’s Finance Committee today. Commissioners Richard Boykin and Deborah Sims introduced an ordinance March 2 that would exempt feminine hygiene products from the Cook County Retailers’ Occupation Tax. “Feminine products, like many medicines, are a necessity and not a luxury. Given this fact, these products should not be over taxed,” Commissioner Sims said in a press release. The county sales tax rate currently applied to tampons and other feminine hygiene products is 1.75%.

The committee, as usual, will also consider approval of a number of court costs and settlements, including:

• Pang Chong v. Cook County et. al.,: The $400,000 settlement over race discrimination and wrongful termination was approved by the Litigation Subcommittee back in October. Chong is represented by Avila Law Group.

• David Nardi v. Thomas Dart in his official capacity as Sheriff: Nardi, a Deputy, sued Dart for sexual harassment in 2012, alleging Dart’s office did nothing when fellow officers verbally abused him for being gay. Nardi is represented by Andreou & Casson Ltd. The settlement request is $100,000.

• Moutry v. Cook County, et al.: A $180,000 car accident settlement between Deborah Moutry and the county is up for a vote. The accident involved a highway department snowplow sliding due to snow and ice and rear-ending Moutry’s vehicle in 2012. A payout for self-insurance claims was on this finance agenda in 2012.

The committee has approved more than $15 million in claims, settlements, and cases so far this fiscal year. A breakdown of some select payments:

• Proposed Settlements approved FY16-Present: $9,339,465.52
• Injury Compensation Claims approved FY16-Present: $2,683,849.35
• Workers Compensation Claims approved FY16-Present: $2,180,665.28 
• Special Court Cases approved FY16-Present:  $696,957.85
• Criminal Division Cases approved FY16-Present: $445,597

Zoning and Building Committee

The creation of a Cook County Crane Operator’s License and a Board of Crane Operator Examiners is up for committee consideration today. The ordinance would make it illegal to operate a crane without a license in the County, and is likely intended to beat the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s national deadlinemandating all crane operators be certified by Nov. 10, 2017.

Chicago’s City Council worked with the City’s Department of Buildings on more stringent safety standards for licensed Chicago crane operators, amending its existing licensing requirements this past summer. Representatives from the Department of Buildings at the time said they were also working on an OSHA compliance plan.

The ordinance establishes a new, three member Board of Crane Operator Examiners made up of the Building and Zoning Commissioner, Timothy Bleuher, and two other experienced crane operators. Written tests administered by the County's Buildings Department would cost $150, and practical exams would cost $250. A one year license would cost $100, and a five year would cost $300. Apprentice permits would cost $50. Fines for not being licensed range from $1,000 to $10,000. The ordinance was deferred last month.

Items of Interest on the Board of Commissioners Agenda up for committee referral:

• An amendment from Comm. Larry Suffredin mandating “All electronic communication by officials, board or commission appointees and employees regarding official government business shall be by and through official government email accounts.” No personal use of email, texts, or social media would be permitted, but “Separately elected officials and their staffs may use separate email accounts associated with their own offices or personal email accounts if they notify the Secretary to the Board.”

• Establishment of a Commission on Social Innovation aimed at creating solutions to economic problems in “inner city” and “Southland Chicago.” The commission would be tasked with creating “novel solutions to social problems which are more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just compared to current solutions,” and “ideas that promote public, private, and philanthropic collaboration in order to create positive effects on areas with economic challenges.” It could have as many as 27 members, with Comm. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia as chair.

• A $4.1 million appropriation for the Department of Highways and Transportation for “contract maintenance and operation services of traffic signals and flashers at 460 locations, 30 roadway lighting and 5 interior lighting installations, 5 navigational lighting installations, 7 pumping stations and 5 cathodic protection locations.” The contract for those services will be introduced at a later date. The appropriation would come from the Motor Fuel Tax Fund.

• The renewal of the final year option for the Countywide Job Order Contract (JOC) Program contract, which has a current contract authority of $59 million. JOC is a procurement process that allows county facility owners complete repair, maintenance, and construction projects with one competitively bid contract, the item says, though no cost for the renewal is listed. The Departments of Transportation and Highways, Facilities Management, and Capital Planning and Policy currently use JOC Program contracts.

• A nearly $9 million contract with Southwest Industries, Inc. d/b/a Anderson Elevator Company to replace elevators, escalators, dumbwaiters, and wheelchair lifts at Stroger, Provident, and Oak Forest Hospitals and the Department of Facilities Management.

• A $3.5 million contract for a new comprehensive case management system to track probation, pretrial operations, cashier and contract monitoring. The current case management system, PROMIS, lives on the Cook County mainframe, was designed in the 70s, “and is antiquated, limited in its functionality, and cumbersome to use. Also, it is no longer supported by the company that designed it.”

Two appointments to the city’s Emergency Telephone System Board are up for review today by the Council’s Public Safety Committee.

The five-member, mayor-appointed board helps oversees the city’s 911 emergency call system, which receives approximately 5 million calls a year. The board coordinates and supervises any planned upgrades or maintenance to the call system, in addition to depositing revenue generated from a $3.90 per month surcharge on landlines to a fund that supports the call system. In 2015, when the city raised the surcharge from $2.50, it generated $123 million, a $25.8 million increase over 2014, according to the city’s 2015 Annual Financial Report.

Mayor Emanuel has asked the committee to appoint First Deputy Fire Commissioner Richard C. Ford II to the board. Ford, a 30-year veteran of the city’s Fire Department and a native of the city’s Chatham neighborhood on the South Side, was promoted to the post last month, according to the Chicago Tribune. Ford will fill a vacancy on the board for a term expiring on July 1, 2020.

The reappointment of Benjamin Dieterich, an assistant budget director for the city, to the board is also up for consideration. Dieterich was first appointed to the seat in 2013. Pending Council approval, his term will extend to 2020, as well.

Other than the appointment of Daniel Casey, a deputy director for the city’s Office of Emergency Management, to the board in May 2015, there haven’t been new appointments to the Emergency Telephone system board since 2013.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has made quick work of appointing a new Chief of Staff. In a press release Monday morning, Preckwinkle announced former Illinois Department of Revenue Director Brian Hamer would be joining her team. Hamer has served as Revenue Director from his appointment to the slot by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2003 until January of 2015.

Since exiting his state role at the start of the Rauner administration, Hamer has been a columnist with State Tax Notes.

Hamer will take over for Tasha Green Cruzat, who announced her resignation February 24 to head up the education advocacy group Voices for Illinois Children. Cruzat served an eight month stint to replace Kim Foxx, who recently won the Democratic primary for Cook County State’s Attorney.

Hamer’s salary as state Revenue Director was $142,339 a year.

Prior to his long stretch at the Revenue Department, Hamer served as First Deputy in Chicago’s Department of Revenue from 1998 to 2003, where, according to his appointment from Gov. Blagojevich, he “oversaw policy for settling tax disputes and modernized the city’s tax code.”  From 1990 to 1997 Hamer was Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Tax Division of Chicago’s Law Department.

Hamer is a graduate of Yale (B.A.) and Columbia Law School. He also worked at Chicago mega-firm Mayer Brown.

It’ll be at least another month before the City Council takes up any of the plans that have been introduced to regulate room-sharing businesses like Airbnb in Chicago.

Two competing plans have been referred to a joint committee of the Council’s License and Housing Committees. Yesterday, Bob Fuller, a legislative aide for the Housing Committee, told Aldertrack it’s unlikely that meeting will be scheduled before April’s City Council meeting.

In January, Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced an ordinance on behalf of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection that would regulate the industry by imposing a 2% surcharge on vacation rentals and shared housing units. It’s expected to bring in an estimated $1 million in revenue, which would go towards affordable housing and reducing homelessness. North Side Aldermen Ameya Pawar (47) and Joe Moore (49), chairman of the council’s Housing Committee, are co-sponsors.

The following month, Aldermen Anthony Napolitano (41), Pat O’Connor (40) and Marge Laurino (39), all of which represent heavily residential neighborhoods on the North West Side near O’Hare Airport, co-sponsored a similar ordinance. The main difference: Chicagoans living in residentially zoned areas would be prohibited from putting their homes or flats on Airbnb for rental.

Five other aldermen signed onto a third proposal introduced in March that is focused more on bed-and-breakfasts. Under the ordinance, anyone who knowingly operated this type of establishment in the last two years without a proper license would be prohibited from applying for the license in the future. The city defines bed-and-breakfast establishments as, “any owner-occupied single family residential building, an owner occupied, multiple-family dwelling building, or an owner-occupied condominium, townhouse or cooperative, in which 11 or fewer sleeping rooms are available for rent or for hire for transient occupancy by registered guests.” That ordinance is co-sponsored by Ald. Brian Hopkins (2), Ald. Proco Joe Moreno (1), Ald. Pat Dowell (3), Ald. Michele Smith (43), and Ald. Tom Tunney (44).