The Chicago Plan Commission deferred a proposal to build a new $44 million elementary school in the 23rd Ward–a project included in Chicago Public Schools’ Capital Budget for 2017. It was the only item on Thursday’s agenda not to go before the commission. All other items received unanimous approval and will advance to the City Council’s Zoning Committee scheduled to meet next week.

The Council’s License Committee approved modifications to the city’s Airbnb rules, a ban on street performers along two arterial downtown streets, and a new commissioner for the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. Only Samantha Fields’ BACP appointment, as well as several routine items, passed without dissent.

A 15-year contract that would renovate and expand the number of shops, restaurants, specialty retail and other concessions at Midway Airport is up for consideration today by the Council’s Aviation Committee.

A proposal to cap the number of honorary street signs and have the local aldermen foot the bill is getting another hearing and vote today in City Council’s Transportation Committee after several aldermen raised a fuss over the rules in December and demanded clarity.

(Podcast: Hear highlights of the testimony from that Transportation Meeting)

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As Chicago Public Schools continues its fight with the governor over a lack of state aid, the Chicago Plan Commission will consider zoning plans for three CPS-led construction projects totaling upwards of $70 million.

Cook County Commissioners and aldermen will gather in the Council Chamber this morning to hear testimony from experts on the potential local impact of a federal repeal of the Affordable Care Act. The meeting, organized by Comm. Bridget Gainer, will consist of a joint meeting of the city and county’s Workforce committees.

The Council’s License Committee has a packed agenda today, from appointing a new commissioner of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) to walking back parts of the city’s controversial Airbnb rules passed last summer.

The city's “Share Housing” Ordinance, aimed at regulating platforms like Airbnb in Chicago, has been the subject of two lawsuits since the regulations were approved in June: one filed in federal court in November by the nonprofit Keep Chicago Livable; another filed in Cook County Circuit Court a week later by the Liberty Justice Center, the legal arm of the conservative-leaning Illinois Policy Institute.

Updated Tuesday February 14 @ 4:40 p.m.: We incorrectly reported that investigators at IPRA’s replacement agency will continue to receive training at Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc. IPRA spokesperson Mia Sissac clarified that IPRA investigators have received training from that firm in the past, but they have not yet determined where future COPA lead investigators will receive their training, as is required under state law. 

Only one company submitted a bid to assist the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) with its transition to become the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) and the city has decided to accept the bid. The winner is a small, Chicago-based IT firm with experience working on various website and technology upgrades for Cook County.

Carminati Consulting, Inc., a software and IT management company that built the public websites for Cook County’s Trauma and Burn Unit and the Cook County Health and Hospitals’ System, will be paid up to $200,000 under the contract with the city. IPRA’s selection seems to be a curious one: nowhere in Carminati’s website does it detail experience in anything other than IT management.

Politicians often talk over each other, but this week it seemed to be in overdrive. CPS CEO Forrest Claypool and Gov. Bruce Rauner couldn’t agree on basic facts regarding Chicago Public Schools. Cook County commissioners spent over an hour arguing over two very similar resolutions asking for federal help from President Trump, then another hour talking about the finer points of FOIA. Plus, Mayor Rahm Emanuel pledged to get that longshot express train from O’Hare to the Loop–which had some budget watchers doing a double take.  

A joint Council committee unanimously approved a package of reforms aimed at consolidating various business licenses and fees for mobile food vendors and other smaller business enterprises, as well as strengthening the Building Commissioner’s authority to crack down on contractors and tradesmen who work without permits.

Plans to strengthen city Building Commissioner Judy Frydland’s control over the permitting process–by giving her the authority to suspend permits or bar contractors and tradesmen from applying for future permits–will be the subject of a joint hearing of the Council’s Zoning and License Committees. Changes to various licensing fees ranging from licenses for Uber and Lyft drivers to slashing the mobile food vendor license for senior citizens and veterans are on tap as well.  

An intergovernmental agreement between the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) and the Regional Transportation Authority is up for consideration today by the Council’s Human Relations Committee.

City and Cook County elected officials raised more than $4.3 million between October 1 and December 31, 2016, according to the most recent quarterly expense reports filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections. The total includes all money fundraised through individual campaign funds, political party funds collected by Democratic Ward Committees, and independent expenditure groups or PACs created by or in support of electeds. City officials, which includes all fifty aldermen, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and City Treasurer Kurt Summers, significantly outraised County officials by about $2.9 million.

Responding to last year’s surge in gun violence–there were more than 4,300 shootings in Chicago by year's end–several measures introduced at this month’s City Council meeting aim to address the toll of violence on residents. One resolution calls on the city to declare the surge in violence as a public health crisis; another warns of the long-term mental health implications of those caught in the crosshairs of shootouts and demands a city-sponsored counseling program. Another introduction questions the impact of a federal effort to deregulate the purchase of gun silencers on the city’s crime reduction efforts.

As the Chicago City Council officially welcomed a new City Clerk, they bid farewell to its top lawyer, who will be stepping down from the position he’s held for the past six years. The swearing in of Anna Valencia as City Clerk and a reading of a resolution honoring Corporation Counsel Steve Patton bookended three-hour City Council meeting, the first of 2017. All items outlined in our rundown from Wednesday were approved with no pushback and minimal debate.

But a contest may be brewing on another issue in the upcoming weeks: how to spend $14.7 million in unused funds from last year’s vastly underutilized property tax rebate program. Only 16% of eligible homeowners, or 25,300 people, applied for the rebate checks, according to numbers provided by the Mayor’s Office, leaving $14.7 million on the table.

Today is the first City Council meeting of 2017. It will also be the first meeting with Anna Valencia as the new City Clerk. Aldermen are expected to suspend the rules at the beginning of the meeting to allow Ald. Michelle Harris (8), chair of the Council’s Rules Committee, to report out Valencia’s appointment and request an affirmative vote by the full City Council. Once approved, Valencia will be officially sworn into office and will stand at the front podium the rest of the meeting.  

The Rules Committee met earlier this month to approve Valencia’s appointment. Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s former Director of Legislative Affairs is replacing new Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza. At that meeting, Valencia detailed plans to hold a “listening tour” across the city, with the help of aldermen, to get a better sense of how she can improve the City Clerk’s office and roll out a new Municipal ID program.

Today is also the first meeting of the Council since the Department of Justice released its findings from its yearlong investigation into the Chicago Police Department. But it’s unclear if the mayor will use this opportunity to address the report to the Council. The mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment by publication.  

Likely Introductions:

• Ald. George Cardenas (12) is expected to introduce a resolution calling on the Emanuel administration to address the city’s surging violence and declare a “public health crisis.” The resolution will call for a joint hearing by the Council’s Public Safety and Health Committees to discuss a plan of action and requests that the city’s Public Health Department develop and fund a prevention plan.


• Several Council sources have said that an SEIU-backed ordinance is expected to be introduced, requiring higher wages for some 8,000 cabin cleaners, janitors, security officers, wheelchair attendants and other passenger service workers at O’Hare Airport be included in a new lease agreement the city is currently negotiating with United Airlines. Last November, several aldermen joined airport workers when they went on strike demanding a pay increase of $15/hour.


• Ald. Tom Tunney (44), The Daily Line has learned, has an initiative he plans to introduce today to address youth unemployment. His Chief of Staff, Bennett Lawson, confirmed the ordinance “does pertain to the employment of those 18-20,” but said additional details won’t be made public until the meeting.


• The Department of Planning and Development is expected to formally introduce a recommendation that the Essex Inn (800 S. Michigan Avenue) be designated as a city landmark. That item will be referred to the Zoning Committee for consideration.

Highlights of items up for a vote today

• $5 million in legal settlements. The largest payout, $4 million, is related to a false confession and torture allegations lodged against an officer serving under CPD Commander Jon Burge


• Waiver of building and facility-related permit and license fees for the Public Building Commission


• Dozens of zoning changes, most are in Fulton Market (highlights are detailed here)


• A $1 million North Lawndale land sale (about 21 acres) to Clarius Partners, a development firm known for its large-scale suburban office complexes. The site was once an illegal dumping ground part of the federal Silver Shovel investigation.


• A $4 land sale ($1 per parcel) of city-owned parcels in Woodlawn to Greenline Development, Inc. for the construction of eight eco-friendly single family homes


• A $450,000 land sale in Pilsen that would support the construction of a new 75,000-square-foot wholesale food warehouse


• A $12,500 land sale in Pullman to North Carolina-based telecommunications infrastructure company, Eco Site


• A $1 lease agreement with the Salvation Army for homeless services. The agency is renting space at the Garfield Center, a Department of Family and Support Services-run community center.


• An amended resolution affirming the city’s support to “honor and protect rights of all residents regardless of race, ethnicity, country of origin, religion, age, immigration status, criminal record, sexual orientation and gender identity.”


• An ordinance from Ald. Jason Ervin (28) that would lift the ban on food trucks within the Illinois Medical District


• An ordinance from Ald. John Arena (45) to ban future tavern licenses at the Six Corners shopping district in Portage Park.


• Appointment of John P. O’Malley, a Director of Corporate Security for private investment banking firm William Blair and Company, to the Chicago Police Board (Meeting Details)


• Reappointment of Daniel Casey, the deputy director for the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, to the Chicago Emergency Telephone System Board


• Appointment of Dominique Jordan Turner, the President & CEO of Chicago Scholars, to the Chicago Library Board


• Reallocation of the city’s bond volume cap to finance a Chicago Housing Authority development in North Lawndale


• A technical amendment to a refinancing agreement for the Michael Reese Hospital Site (projected to save the city $4.2 million)


• Intent to issue up to $6.5 million in multi-family housing revenue bonds for the Mayfair Commons Apartments Project, a 97-unit low-income housing project


• Intent to issue up to $12 million in multi-family housing revenue bonds for the 5525 W. Diversey Manor Apartments Project, a 98-unit building in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood.


• Waiver of a demolition permit fee for the Jobs for the Future Training Center at 3837 S. Wabash in Bronzeville


• Selection of Deloitte & Touche, LLP “and a consortium of minority and women-owned accounting firms” to perform the city’s FY2016 audit.


• Technical amendment to the city’s MBE/WBE contract goals and apprentice program clarifies that the minority requirements will be considered fulfilled when a primary contractor uses “good faith efforts” to meet the applicable requirements of finding a secondary minority-owned contractor.

At its nearly three hour meeting, the Council’s Zoning Committee approved several large scale office and residential projects for the city’s burgeoning Fulton Market District, a new 12-story condo for River North, a new community center and elderly home for Chinatown, a 34 townhouse development for Pilsen, and two new performing art spaces in Wicker Park and Rogers Park. A majority of the large scale items, most of which are listed on the Deferred Agenda, had received preliminary approval from the city’s Plan Commission last week or in December. Meanwhile, Ald. Brian Hopkin’s (2) city-wide ordinance to allow for rooftop features to exceed maximum building heights was deferred.

The Council’s Budget Committee meets at 10:00 a.m. today to consider a new mayoral appointment to the city’s Library Board and a technical amendment to a new minority hiring apprentice program.

The City Council’s Zoning Committee meets today to consider several planned development applications in Fulton Market, along with numerous map amendments for properties on the Northwest Side, Pilsen and the South Loop.

The release of the Department of Justice’s 161-page Findings Report into the Chicago Police Department continues to cast a shadow over City Hall. A City Council Committee appoints a new member to the Chicago Police Board. And as last year’s surge in violence spills over into the new year, officials ask the Emanuel and new Trump administrations to invest in anti-crime efforts

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