Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to announce his the appointment of his Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Anna Valencia as City Clerk Wednesday, possibly during the City Council meeting. Word spread late last night that Mayor Emanuel was calling City Clerk contenders to inform them of his appointment decision. Multiple sources confirmed Valencia’s appointment. Valencia would replace Susana Mendoza who was sworn in last week as State Comptroller.

CPS CEO Forrest Claypool characterized Gov. Bruce Rauner's December 1, 2016 veto of $215 million devoted to teacher pensions as "reckless and put Chicago's public school children at risk." Credit: A.Q. Quig

On Thursday, Gov. Bruce Rauner blew a potentially massive hole in Chicago Public Schools’ budget by vetoing a $215 million payment to CPS, which passed by a bipartisan State House budget agreement last June. That money would have covered a portion of its FY 2017 payment to the Chicago Teacher’s Pension Fund (CTPF), due next summer. Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the action “reckless and irresponsible,” and “no way to run a state.” CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said the move might violate civil rights laws.

4th Ward special election candidates file petitions Monday, November 21, 2016 at the Chicago Board of Elections. (Credit: A.D. Quig]

Five candidates have submitted their petitions for the special election to fill the Fourth Ward aldermanic seat so far, less than 100 days shy of Election Day on February 28. Three challengers to incumbent interim Ald. Sophia King, who was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel this past spring, lined up outside the door of the Chicago Board of Elections just before 9:00 a.m. Monday to turn in thousands of signatures gathered since August: Marcellus Moore Jr., Ebony Lucas, and Gregory Seal Livingston. One other, Jack Taylor, filed just after the morning rush. All noted their own independence and a perception that Ald. King, a mayoral appointee, is lacking it.

Aldermen and Cook County commissioners stared down their second week of budget hearings, while still handling regular business this week–but the two biggest issues on lawmakers’ minds couldn’t have been further apart in substance.

For aldermen, it was disagreement over a long-standing perk–face value tickets offered by the Chicago Cubs, who are making a historic play for the World Series, but who also come to aldermen regularly asking for zoning variations and permits. An Ethics Board ruling rubbed many aldermen the wrong way, and the Cubs (and White Sox) had more than one mention in committee.  

For commissioners, it was raising the minimum wage for the 200,000 suburban workers who make $8.25 per hour–far less than city workers, who make $10.25. Business groups cried foul, saying they’re already burdened by a slew of recent mandates. Republican commissioners called the move illegal, saying only the state had power to raise wages. Workers said wages don’t come close to covering the cost of living, and that a hike was long overdue.  

Chicago aldermen are about to take a vote on a total overhaul of the city’s police accountability structure. It will establish a new agency to investigate police misconduct and establish a new auditing position that can diagnose law enforcement trends. It has been in the works for months, and from what we can tell, it’s a done deal with aldermen–it’s unlikely there will be be much of a fuss.

In a sit-down with the Aldercast this week, Tracy Siska, a criminologist and mayoral critic who has contributed to the drafting of the ordinance up for a vote, says even with this vote, the city is far from fixing the relationship between police and the community, and that both bodies have fatal flaws that damage their credibility. We’ll talk to Siska, the Executive Director of the Chicago Justice Project, about the remaining recommendations from the Police Accountability Task Force, the looming Department of Justice investigation, and the Mayor’s PR problem.

Questions, comments, or corrections? Email us: [email protected]

Aldermen are in for likely another lengthy subject matter hearing today, as they consider Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s ordinance establishing the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) and a new Public Safety Deputy position within the Chicago Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The main bones of contention: COPA’s budget, whether it or the new auditor could hire outside counsel, and how much power the mayor would have over appointing leadership positions. Council is expected to vote on the measure at a special meeting on September 29.

Public Safety Chairman Ariel Reboyras (30) confirmed that no vote will be taken at today’s meeting, only testimony and debate. He also said that two expert witnesses will be flown in to testify: Philip K. Eure, the Inspector General for the New York City Police Department, and Walter Katz, the Independent Auditor for the San Jose, California Police Department. Both have ties with the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE), a non-profit national organization based in Maryland that’s focused on improving police oversight.

Corporation Counsel Steve Patton and Katie Hill, an attorney with the city’s Law Department, are also scheduled to testify, along with IPRA Chief Administrator Sharon Fairley, Police Board President Lori Lightfoot, and Adam Gross with BPI (Business and Professional People for the Public Interest).

The Mayor’s staff is holding a briefing for aldermen this afternoon to discuss the next steps on a comprehensive police reform ordinance to replace the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) and to establish a Public Safety Auditor, City Hall sources say. The heads of the City Council’s Black and Progressive Caucuses, Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6), and Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) will both attend, as will Police Accountability Subcommittee Chairs Ald. Rick Munoz (22), Ald. John Arena (45), Ald. Joe Moore (49), and Public Safety Chair Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30). Yesterday, Emanuel spokesperson Shannon Breymaier reaffirmed the Mayor’s intention to pass a comprehensive ordinance reforming police oversight bodies in September, but wouldn’t elaborate on the contents of the ordinance.  

While City Council’s police reform hearings have continued to grind on, exactly what Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to introduce in September remains a mystery. Other than the non-profit Community Renewal Society, The Daily Line has not been able to identify any other thought leaders or aldermen that have been briefed on the Mayor’s plans or seen draft language. Yet, keeping pressure on the system, Mayor Emanuel has said he wants reform passed in September before the October budget process begins.

At a Council hearing on police reform at City Hall yesterday, the fifth of seven meetings, Mayor Emanuel and aldermen were urged to make the process–including possible ordinance language and how it’s being drafted–more transparent.

Nearly eight months after the death of Laquan McDonald and few structural reforms to show for it, police reform advocates call back-to-back City Council hearings on police reform a “sham”. Meanwhile, another Council Committee approves a plan from the Human Resources Department that would eliminate the $30 fee for the police and fire exam as a way to increase minority participation. 

State lawmakers and Governor Bruce Rauner get their act together to pass a budget... even if it’s only a stopgap to get through the rest of 2016. And for the first time in a while, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools’ CEO Forrest Claypool sound fairly upbeat, as they received pension relief and the okay to increase property taxes for CPS. Plus: a new transit TIF has some state legislators up in arms, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle releases a budget forecast, and the issue of race takes center stage as commissioners decide on a ballot referendum to combine the Offices of County Clerk and Recorder of Deeds.