A five-year-old partnership between Chicago and Cook County created to leverage private and public dollars to support job training and placement centers was the subject of a lengthy hearing by the Council’s Workforce Committee. The objective, it seemed, was to determine if it’s in the city’s best interest to dissolve the partnership and put the city back in control of its own funds.  

Aldermen on the Council’s Workforce Committee will meet Tuesday morning to discuss ways the city could take back federal funds earmarked for a special job training partnership the city has with Cook County.

A resolution Workforce Committee Chair Pat O’Connor (40) introduced in April prompted the subject matter hearing. It suggests the funds be redirected from the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership to the city’s Department of Family and Support Services (DFFS) in order to expand existing job training and placement programs the city offers for city youth, the formerly incarcerated, the homeless, and other vulnerable populations of the city.

Every year, the city receives federal dollars as part of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), a law President Obama signed in 2014 to help job seekers access employment, education, training and support services. It’s specifically designed to match the chronically unemployed or the unskilled with opportunities in burgeoning sectors of the global economy.  

Since 2012, a significant portion of those dollars have been earmarked for an initiative Chicago set up with Cook County. Established by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and President Toni Preckwinkle, the partnership was developed as a way for the city and county to combine resources and broaden outreach for employers and job seekers. It’s one of the biggest workforce development entities in the country and is mostly funded through federal grants from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Since its launch, the partnership has raised about $32 million from private entities and has connected nearly 40,000 people with a job. Last year, Workforce Partnership Executive Director Karin Norington-Reaves told county commissioners in 2016 her organization helped place 8,726 people placed in jobs, enroll 19,502 in services, and 5,400 people in educational and vocational training. It operates 12 workforce centers around the city and county.

Yet, six months ago, aldermen expressed confusion about the partnership–for some it was the first time hearing of the program–and suggested it wasn’t living up to its mandate. At that meeting, the concerns voiced by aldermen were best summed up by Ald. Jason Ervin (28) who said, “It’s like this entity that’s out there, taking in a damn good chunk of money that came to the city, entrusting it, and it’s operating as it sees fit, without any consultation with the bodies that have ceded that authority to you. That’s a challenge. I want the best in service for my residents, at the same time we don’t want to be disconnected from the services our residents are receiving. I think that’s the crux… There does not appear to be that collaboration.”

The job training component of the partnership overlaps with resources provided by DFFS, especially as it relates to employment opportunities for city youth and ex-offenders, resolution sponsors claim. In the preamble of the resolution, sponsors say DFFS is in a “unique position to offer Chicagoans direct assistance” with job training resources and other social service programs through its network of delegate agencies and support centers.

It calls on the committee to explore using money explore the possibility of using existing federal grant funds to increase capacity at the city’s Community Re-Entry Support Centers, Second Chance apprentice programs, and other existing initiatives catered toward connecting Chicagoans to job opportunities.

The Executive Director of Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, Karin Norington-Reaves, DFSS Commissioner Lisa Morrison Butler, and representatives from several delegate agencies that provide job training opportunities to residents on behalf of the city are expected to testify.  A representative from Cook County is also expected to testify.

For the first three months of 2017, aldermen received nearly $1 million dollars in contributions according to the first quarter reports for 2017 filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections. However, after counting donations made to Democratic ward organizations or independent expenditure accounts controlled by aldermen, the number jumps to about $2 million. Most of funds were collected by a select few aldermen–the average quarterly take was $32k, the maximum, $380k.

The Council’s Committee on Human Relations held a subject matter hearing Wednesday to enquire about the recent spike in hate crimes in Chicago and to learn how the Chicago Police Department tracks reported incidents.

]Since the start of 2017, there have been five more reported hate crimes year to date compared to 2016–bringing the total to 30 reported incidents, according to Sergeant Lori Cooper of the Chicago Police Department’s Civil Rights Unit.

The Council’s Human Relations Committee is holding a subject matter hearing Wednesday morning to discuss recent data finding hate crimes in Chicago rose 20 percent in 2016–the highest in five years.

In an email, Human Relations Chair Pat Dowell (3) confirmed that there’s no corresponding resolution for the hearing–rather, the hearing is based on an article published in the Daily Southtown last month. It detailed a spike in the number of incidents categorized as hate crimes and noted Chicago’s uptick reflects national trends.



Neither the Chicago Police Department’s website nor the city’s data portal provide current statistics on hate crimes. But DNAinfo recently created a map of alleged hate crimes based on information gained through the Freedom of Information Act.

DNAinfo and the Daily Southtown note that historically a majority of the hate crimes committed in Chicago are against gay or black individuals. That trend has been reversed since 2016 with a majority of the victims identifying as Jewish or Muslim.



Aldermen on the committee are expected to hear testimony from representatives with:

Commission on Human Relations

Chicago Police Department

Illinois State Police

Anti-Defamation League

Cook County Sheriff Dart’s Office

Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office

Office of New Americans

Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights

Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago

Members of the Chicago Plan Commission are attempting to address deep-seated criticisms about large-scale development projects in Chicago: low rates of minority participation on lucrative construction projects and a disinterest from developers to go beyond mandatory affordable housing requirements.  

These criticisms are often voiced at the commission’s monthly meetings by a few dedicated members of the public. Oftentimes, their complaints go unaddressed.

But that wasn’t the case Thursday, when some of the more senior members of the mayor-appointed land use body openly discussed their own frustrations with developers they accuse of doing the bare minimum when it comes to minority participation and affordable housing. Even Chairman Martin Cabrera expressed annoyance. “You know, it has gotten to that point where we’re not going to just allow some of these developers to come and continue to develop, but not look at what’s taking place in our city.”

April has been a fairly uneventful month for zoning applications–no map amendments made it on the last two agendas for the Council’s Zoning Committee. Today’s Plan Commission agenda lists only two planned developments: one amended TIF plan and routine land sales and transfers.

Bronzeville TIF

A resolution recommending an amendment to the Bronzeville Tax Increment Financing Redevelopment Project Area is slated for review. The TIF spans across the 3rd and 4th Wards and includes one crucial piece of city-owned land: The Michael Reese Hospital Site.

Aldermen answer roll call at the start of Wednesday's Council Meeting.

A rambunctious meeting of the full City Council Wednesday featured passionate debate on the city’s Municipal ID program, the demise of an ethics amendment, a recrimination of the police department’s press office (dubbed a “fake news team”), and an unprecedented request to change meeting procedure.

Companies seeking property tax relief in exchange for rehabbing existing vacant, dilapidated manufacturing properties in certain parts of the city would no longer need approval from the Council’s Committee on Economic, Capital, and Technology Development.

A resolution designating the Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development as the authorizing authority for such applications advanced out of that committee Tuesday. It sought to bring the city into compliance with new rules adopted by the Cook County Board of Commissioners last month.

Aldermen urged Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s handpicked appointee to the Board of Trustees for City Colleges to address district-wide curriculum changes they say have made access to education less attainable for high school seniors and low income residents. 

The Council’s Education Committee met Tuesday to approve the appointment of Deborah H. Telman to the eight-member board that serves as the governing body for Chicago City Colleges.

Today is the monthly City Council meeting with some big ticket items slated for approval: authorization language for Chicago’s new Municipal ID program and the appointment of a new Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety.

The Council’s License Committee is also scheduled to meet an hour before the meeting to consider updated regulations for party bus operators. Though the mayor’s office sent out a synopsis of the changes (detailed in below), no language was provided by publication.

Notable Appointments

• Laura L. Kunard, Ph.D as the city’s new Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety. With an annual salary of $137,000, Kunard would oversee a division of about 20 people within the Inspector General’s Office focused exclusively on analyzing trends, training, and policies at the Chicago Police Department. (Coverage)

• Deborah H. Telman, a Vice President and General Counsel at Johnson Controls, to the Board of Trustees for Chicago City Colleges (A2017-16) and the re-appointment of D. Darrell Griffin and Karen Kent to the board (A2016-91)

• Olga Camargo, a managing partner at TOROSO Investments, LLC, to the Public Building Commission, an 11 member board that oversees all construction and renovation projects at city-owned buildings. Camargo would finish the remainder of Martin Cabrera’s term, which expires September 30, 2020. Cabrera will continue to serve as the Chair of the city’s Plan Commission. (A2017-8) (Coverage)

Items Up For Vote - Highlights

• An ordinance giving City Clerk Anna Valencia the authority to establish a new Municipal ID program for Chicago. A $1 million appropriation was included in the 2017 budget approved last year. Eligible recipients for the ID include: undocumented residents, city youth, the homeless, and possibly ex-offenders. (O2017-1950) (Coverage)

• Relaxed zoning regulations for shooting ranges to bring the city in compliance with a recent ruling by a federal appeals court. He ruling said the city’s current zoning regulations on ranges violate the Second Amendment. The zoning code currently limits shooting ranges to Manufacturing (M) Districts. This ordinance would allow them in any Business (B) or Commercial (C) District, subject to a special use permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). O2017-1949

• Clean up language consolidating Public Place of Amusement, Tobacco, and various liquor licenses (SO2017-1951)

• An ordinance authorizing a contract with Ameresco, Inc. for the city’s Smart Lighting Project, $160 million, a four-year plan to upgrade 85% of the city’s light fixtures. (O2017-2034)(Coverage)

• Intergovernmental agreements between the Chicago Police Department and two sister agencies. The CTA agreement is part of CPD’s Voluntary Special Employment Program (VSEP), which allows sworn officers to volunteer their off-duty hours to sister agencies. The Park District agreement expands existing “baseline services” CPD provides through routine patrols of public green space. (O2017-1953, O2017-1956) (Coverage)

• A lease agreement that’d let the Chicago Police Department rent out classroom space at Kennedy-King College and Dawson Technical Institute for the training of new recruits. This is one of several lease agreements the Council has approved to alleviate overcrowding at the training academy as the city embarks on its two-year hiring plan (O2017-2218)

• Authorization for the city to disperse the first round of Neighborhood Opportunity Bonus Funds. About $3 million in grants would be made available to eligible businesses. (O2017-914) (Coverage) (MAP of eligible areas)

• Amended hours of operation rules for outdoor patios (O2017-2011)

• An ordinance allowing food trucks at O’Hare Airport. These trucks would be located in the taxi staging area and won’t be open to the general public. The ordinance gives BACP and the Department of Aviation the authority to designate additional locations at O’Hare. It also authorizes trucks at Midway, but none are planned at the moment ( O2017-1952)

• A grant change for Millennium Park workouts. The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events was awarded a $25,000 grant from the Millennium Park Foundation to support the city’s free summer workout program at the downtown park.(O2017-1947 )

• An ordinance fixing a “mistake” in the city’s Ethics Ordinance that included “independent contractors” under the definition of “City Council Employee.” This meant those contractors, most of whom are paid through campaign or ward funds, are subject to ethics rules governing city council staff who receive their paycheck from the city. The change has been lambasted by the chair of the city’s Ethics Board. (O2017-2027)

• Four police-related settlements totaling just under $1 million, including for an arrestee who died from a drug overdose in custody, a motorcycle crash involving a CPD vehicle, an arrestee injured while not wearing a seatbelt in a squad car, and the wrongful arrest of a 67 year-old man with cerebral palsy. (More below)

• Four sales and loan agreements for affordable housing developments. (Coverage)

• $48 million in TIF for construction of a new elementary school in the South Loop (O2017-2785). TIF will cover the entire cost of the new South Loop Elementary, built to address overcrowding at the existing school.  

Two property tax incentives and a resolution clarifying how recent changes to the Class 6(b) application at the County level impacts Chicago are up for consideration by the Council’s Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development. The resolution introduced by Ald. Emma Mitts (37) last June defines new requirements for aldermen who issue resolutions of support for Class 6(b) property tax incentives–including prior approval from the Department of Planning and Development.



The program, which is operated by the Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios’ Office, gives local businesses the opportunity to waive a portion of their property taxes if they commit to covering the cost of rehabbing existing vacant and dilapidated industrial property within the county. Cook County recently updated its rules for considering such applications. The changes require recipients to enter into an agreement with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership over the life of the incentive with the goal of boosting employment rates by advertising job vacancies through the workforce partnership. (A synopsis on the County changes can be found here. A copy of the measure with the red line changes noted can be found here)

Under the new rules, an alderman would need prior approval from the city’s Department of Planning and Development. In making their determination, DPD would review how the incentive would increase employment opportunities for the applicant and how much revenue the property would generate. The resolution has a built in sunset date of August 1, 2019.

• Bridgewater Studios Inc. (1713 W. 35th St. - 12th Ward) – A class 6(b) incentive that would support the $800,000 acquisition and renovation of a vacant industrial building in McKinley Park. The custom design and fabric business is seeking a reduction in property taxes to renovate the 60-year-old, 13,000-square-foot structure. Once complete, Bridgewater Studios will relocate from their existing location on the Near West Side with plans to double the number of its employees to 20. The company would save $193,000 in property taxes over 12 years.

• 1455 Willow Adventures LLC (1455 W. Willow St.) – A joint venture of Local Foods, HandCut Foods and Carbon Green companies is seeking a renewal of a Class 6(b) for a 28,000-square-foot facility in the North Branch Industrial Corridor. The LLC purchased the property in 2013 and has already invested $5 million in structural repairs and mechanical upgrades. The projected tax savings over the 12-year period are estimated at $387,000. An original tax incentive on the property was issued in 1996 and renewed in 2006 by a previous owner. It’s unclear how the city’s ongoing efforts to overhaul the corridor’s manufacturing designation would impact this business or the Class 6(b).
  
  
  
  

On Tuesday morning the Council’s Education Committee will revisit last week’s agenda following the Chairman’s decision to recess that meeting to deter a quorum call threatened by one member unhappy with a last-minute agenda change.

A joint Committee of License and Zoning unanimously approved an ordinance consolidating various business licences as recommended by a mayoral task force, but urged the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection to find ways to increase local control to deter bad actors from gaming the system. A second ordinance removing barriers for where gun ranges are allowed to locate also advanced out of committee despite overwhelming objection from aldermen present.

A joint committee of the Council’s Zoning and License Committees meets today to consider numerous code changes and consolidations. This includes one ordinance that’d allow those under 18-years-old to enter a shooting range facilities if they’re accompanied by and under the direct supervision of the a guardian or instructor.

Plans to boost police presence at Chicago train stations and parks will be under consideration Monday by the City Council Committee on Public Safety. The plans are in the form of two ordinances that’d renew intergovernmental agreements with the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Transit Authority.

The CTA agreement is part of CPD’s Voluntary Special Employment Program (VSEP), which allows sworn officers to volunteer their off-duty hours to sister agencies. The Park District agreement expands existing “baseline services” CPD provides through routine patrols of public green space. The agreements detail the salary reimbursements, maximum number officers allowed, and other standard IGA language.

• IGA WITH CTA O2017-1953 - CPD would provide up to 11 dedicated full time supervisors to CPD’s Public Transportation Section with CTA, reimbursing the city for “the actual salaries and benefits associated with those supervisors”. CTA would have the authority to request up to 60 police officers to patrol train and bus stations or along transit routes. The limit on officers does not include those who are part of CPD’s transit division, whose normal full-time duties include patrolling CTA area.

• IGA WITH PARK DISTRICT O2017-1956 - Similar the agreement with the CTA, additional police officers would be offered to the Park District, “through dedicated police patrol watches primarily at mutually determined Chicago park locations along the lakefront as deemed necessary and for other law enforcement purposes including, but not limited to, eliminating violent crimes and drug-related crimes, and improving safety and security for Chicago residents.” Under the agreement, the Chicago Park District would reimburse CPD up to $2 million for 2016, $4 million for 2017 and 2018, and $2 million for 2019.

The committee will also take up an ordinance (O2017-1968) introduced by Committee Chair Ariel Reboyras (30) on behalf of the Department of Fleet and Facilities Management that donates an “outdated Department of Aviation / Chicago Fire Department Triage Unit” to the 5-11 Club, Inc., a nonprofit that provides food and beverages to first responders on the scene of an emergency. (The organization’s website further details these “canteen services.”)

For roughly two hours Thursday, Chicago aldermen grilled officials from United Airlines and the Department of Aviation to determine who was at fault when a man was dragged off a plane and bloodied by airport security for refusing to leave his seat.

Aviation Committee Chair Mike Zalewski (23) wants officials at United Airlines and the Department of Aviation to come before his committee to explain why a passenger was dragged off one of its flights by police at O’Hare Airport over the weekend. The Committee will also consider a plan to lift the restriction on mobile food trucks at city airports.

Two big ticket items are slated for the Budget Committee Thursday: an ordinance establishing a new municipal ID for Chicago and the first disbursement of funds from the city’s recently created Neighborhood Opportunity Bonus (NOB) fund. A long-stalled initiative to upgrade 85% of the city’s street lights with new energy efficient LED bulbs is also moving forward, as is a contract with a Chicago-area biotech firm.

A routine ordinance requesting the city fix a subdivision error for a privately owned collection of parcels in the city’s Galewood neighborhood barely made it out of Transportation Committee Tuesday because of a series of confusing title transfers that involves the UNO Charter School Network.