Redevelopment plans for the old Malcolm X College campus on the city’s near West Side breezed through the Chicago Plan Commission yesterday, receiving unanimous support, while two proposed luxury-high rise developments faced significant pushback,  once again sparking a larger debate over the city’s affordable housing requirements.

“I just want to remind the Commission that one of our jobs as a commissioner is to vote the law. And the law right now is something different than what we might believe or morally want, and I think we have to remember that,” Comm. Linda Searle told her colleagues at the conclusion of yesterday’s meeting.

Her comments came after three members on the commission–Ald. Joe Moore (49),John Bryant and Juan Linares–announced they would be voting against a seven-story, 44-unit residential building planned for a busy intersection in Wicker Park because none of the units will be made affordable.

Vequity’s plans to build the seven-story residential building at a busy intersection on the corner of Milwaukee next to the Western Avenue Blue Line stop. According Kyle Glascott, one of the members on Vequity’s development team, most of the units will be 600-square-foot one-bedroom units. Their target audience is “young professionals” and they’re hoping to lease out the ground floor commercial space to a “transit oriented” retail operator, like a cafe or bike-repair shop, he explained.

It wasn’t until the team finished their presentation that the issue of affordable housing was brought up. When Commissioner Joe Moore asked Glascott why the team chose to to pay the in-lieu fee into the city’s affordable housing trust fund instead of providing affordable units on site, Glascott said it was an “equitable contribution.”

“So, no other reason than you didn’t want to do it?” Comm. Moore responded in an abrupt, sarcastic manner.

Comm. Walter Burnett (27) pressed on, asking if Glasscott would be more open to providing affordable housing off-site. It depends on the economics, Glasscott responded, adding that his team is working on another development in Lakeview that will have on-site affordable housing. That’s because it was something I insisted,Comm. Tom Tunney (44), who represents Lakeview, chimed in.

“This is a tragedy, this development,” Ald. Joe Moreno (1) later decried. Moreno isn’t a member on the commission but asked to speak on the project, because the street borders his ward, and, as he explained, “I am going to get blamed for this because everyone thinks this is my ward.”

“We need affordable units on the North Side desperately,” he started shouting, calling out local Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) for not doing his job and demanding the units. Waguespack was not in attendance.

Despite the concerns voiced, the project passed.

JDL Development’s plan to build a massive housing complex with more than 600 units at the site of the former Cuneo Hospital and Maryville Academy Shelter in the city’s Uptown neighborhood got a lot of pushback, too.

More than a dozen people signed up to testify against the redevelopment plan, many lamenting a TIF subsidy approved last week to help pay for the project.

New Commissioners' Discomfort

“My life has been speaking for the poor, marginalized, and oppressed,” Bryant began, “The unemployment rate is alarming. I’ve sat on this commission trusting those who invited me to serve, and I have acted on this committee with a great deal of trust from those who invited me.”

Department of Planning and Development Commissioner David Reifman stepped in at that and several other occasions to remind his colleagues that while he agrees more should be done to promote affordable housing across the city, all of the development plans before them yesterday went through an extensive review process by the department and follow the legal affordable housing requirements.

Comm. Bryant and Linares voted against the proposal. Comm. Tunney abstained.

Blackhawks, Rush Hospital Proposals

The Blackhawks Hockey Club’s proposal to build a community ice rink and training facility for its players on a portion of the old Malcolm X College campus was the least controversial plan before the committee yesterday, and most of their presentation focused on the community benefits that will come once the 127,00 square foot project is finished.

“This vision really will help children in the area…children of all income levels will be able to participate in ice hockey and also obtain guidance through our staff through nutrition, physical fitness and tutoring,” explained Peter Hassen, director of marketing for the Blackhawks.

In fact, the only concern raised about the project had to do with the logistics of busing students to the hockey rink and whether it was odd having their facility next door to Rush University.

“There seems to be, on the face of it, two disparate uses here. We have hospital facilities on one side and a hockey rink on the other… how do you reconcile those challenges?” Comm. Linares asked Hassen, who responded that there’s “opportunity” for collaboration.

Rush University will take a majority of the 11 acre site to build a 1.4 million square foot  “academic village” that’ll include three academic buildings and one dormitory for 300 students.

University President Peter Butler says while student enrollment has doubled over recent years, current facilities haven’t kept up. He says some of the facility’s technology is nearly half a century old.

Construction will be done in phases, Mara Georges, an attorney with Daley and Georges Law Firm, told the commission. Under the agreement with the city, Rush University has a six-year window to start phase one. Once that’s complete, they’ll have an additional three-to-five years to begin working on each of the following three phases of the project.

That leaves about a 21-year timeline for completion, Comm. Linares tallied up when asking Georges to explain the lengthy timeline. Financing the $500 million project will take time and is just one of a number of projects the university is working on, she explained.

A few other commissioners were unsettled with a provision in the application that gives Rush University the ability to amend future phases of the project administratively with the Department of Planning and Development, without the public review process they went through yesterday.

The Chicago Plan Commission will take up two development proposals today for the old Malcolm X College campus on the Near West Side.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel first announced the nearly $500 million investment for the City College’s old campus over the summer, and now that the new Malcolm X campus is up and running–the ribbon cutting was earlier this month–redevelopment plans for the old campus are ready for official review.

The Chicago Blackhawks want to establish a planned development to build a two-story hockey facility on four acres of land at the southwest corner of West Jackson Boulevard and South Wood Street. According to the application the team filed with the City, two regulation-sized ice rinks would be built, one to be used by the team, the other for the public. Each rink will have adjacent locker rooms and space for 300 spectators. The Wirtz Corporation will help with the development, and the company will work with the team’s charity arm to provide free hockey and off-ice development programs for local youth, the application notes.

The other application, from Rush University Medical Center, seeks an institutional planned development to build an academic campus with five multi-story buildings. Each building would be about 350,000-square-feet and all but one of those buildings would be used for educational, office, and conference space. The remaining building would be reserved for student housing. According to the application the school filed with the city, the project is expected to be constructed in phases over six years.

The City Council has already approved the land transfer from City Colleges of Chicago to the City’s Department of Planning and Development, in addition to approving a multi-million dollar intergovernmental agreement with the city’s Public Building Commission to demolish the existing school building, but the City has yet to sell parcels to either Rush or the Blackhawks.

JDL Development’s "Maryville Project” is also up for review today. Their application, filed under Montrose Clarendon Partners, LLC, requests an amendment to an existing planned development (No. 138) to build two new high-rise luxury condo buildings and one single-story retail structure in the city’s Uptown neighborhood (46th Ward) on the site of the former Maryville Children’s Healthcare Center.

Earlier this month, the Community Development Commission approved the developer's request for TIF assistance for the $125 million project. If and when the application advances to and is approved by the Council, approximately $15.8 million from the Montrose/Clarendon TIF, about 13% of the total project cost, would be made available.

The project is adjacent to Clarendon Park and would replace two buildings that were once part of Cuneo Hospital. Both structures have been vacant since 2005 and are in a “substantially deteriorated condition,” according to the CDC report. One of the buildings to be located at the northwest corner of West Montrose and North Clarendon Avenues would consist of 381 residential units, 30,000sq ft of commercial space, and 278 parking spaces.

The other high-rise building to be located at the northwest corner of West Agatite and North Clarendon would have 250 residential units and 160 parking spaces. The single-story, 6,000-square-foot retail building would be located across the street from the first building at the northeast corner. Only 20 units, or 5% of the total planned units, will be made affordable. City code requires 20%.

Another application, from Clark 800, LLC, seeks to an amend an existing planned development to build a 230-unit residential building at a site directly north of Bush Temple, a Chicago Landmark.

The Plan Commission will also take up an application from King Sykes to construct a three-story medical office building and accessory parking lot on the 2500 Block of South Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in the 4th Ward.

Medical marijuana dispensaries in Chicago would no longer be required to have a security guard present 24 hours a day, seven days a week, under a technical amendment the City Council’s Zoning Committee approved.

Members (10/17): Chairman Danny Solis (25), Vice Chairman Cappleman (46), Ed Burke (14), David Moore (17), Matt O’Shea (19), Walter Burnett (27), Deb Mell (33), Brendan Reilly (42), Tom Tunney (44), Ameya Pawar (47).

The committee advanced the amendment sponsored by Ald. Ed Burke (14) and Willie Cochran (20) despite objections from Ald. Tom Tunney (44), the sole “no” vote in committee. He was banking on an overnight security guard at a recently approved dispensary in his Lakeview ward, and said it was too early in the game to start changing the rules.

“I have spent a lot of time on this issue with my community,” Ald. Tunney told his colleagues that having perimeter security at the dispensary near Wrigley Field was a critical issue for his residents and one of the main reasons he was able to get their support.

“So I would be a little bit reluctant to at this early point, to start changing the rules when these things haven’t really been up in operation,” he added.

Ald. Burke admitted to his colleagues that the original provision he championed through the council in 2014, which required a licensed security guard present at all times, was premature, saying those restrictions were put in place at a time when the “medical marijuana issue was bubbling to the surface.”

“The industry, as you might expect, has not been as successful as originally anticipated, and this would hopefully reduce some of the burden on the operators without interfering with what our intent originally was,” which was to have security, Burke said.

Tom Murphy, an attorney who worked with state lawmakers to get the medical cannabis pilot program through the state legislature, agreed. He said having a security guard present at all times is counterintuitive.

In order to even be considered for a license, Murphy said, operators had to agree to install perimeter alarms, failure notification systems, duress panic and holdup alarms, and video surveillance, including 24-hour recordings. Several operators went beyond those requirements by adding motion detectors, armored doors and vaults, and other technical surveillance equipment, he said.

“There’s concern that having [a security guard] locked in the premise once the premise is closed to the public, defeats the purpose of the high tech equipment, because the alarms would have to be turned off with someone moving around,” Murphy explained.

Burke, who had walked into the chambers mid-meeting to request that his ordinance be heard out of the regular order of business, left before the vote. “[The] lawyers for the industry can lobby anyone that doesn’t have their mind made up,” he said before walking out.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42), who multiple times during the meeting claimed that the pilot program was designed to fail because of all the “ridiculous zoning provisions”, applauded the changes, saying,“I think this is appropriate, it will remove one more regulatory burden.”

The item was approved by voice vote, as were the following items:

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  3428-30 N. Elston Ave. (33rd Ward) - Ald. Deb Mell (33) got approval to downzone what she called, “an illegal body shop” at this location. Mell said she filed the application to rezone the property from a community shopping district (B3-2) to a residential, two-flat, townhouse district (RT3.5) after “getting a lot of complaints” from the community. (O2015-8546)

  
  


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  1244 W. Race Ave. (1st Ward) - The applicant Scott Kramer sought and got approval to rezone this property from a residential single-unit detached house district (RS3) to a multi-unit district (RM-5). According to his attorney, Thomas Moore, the zoning change was needed to “build anything on this [site].” Kramer wants to build a new 3-story, one family residential building with an attached two car garage. (O2015-8473)

  
  


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  1427 W Grand Ave; 1426 W. Ferdinand Ave. (1st Ward) - The applicant,EZMB, LLC, got approval to rezone the property from a limited manufacturing, business park district (M1-2) to a neighborhood mixed-use district to build a four-story buildings with four residential units and four parking spaces. (O2015-8488)

  
  


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  1331-41 W. Fullerton Ave. (2nd Ward)  - This is a commercial strip mall that has been in operation for the past 30 years, but, according to the applicant’s attorney,Tom Pikarski, a portion of the mall is zoned for residential use (RT4). Since commercial use is not allowed in an RT4 district, the property manager has had a hard time obtaining business licenses, Pikarski added, saying, “this will help to rectify an anomalous situation.” The only question on this application came from Ald. Brendan Reilly (42), who asked when the original residential zoning was put in place and how big of a portion of the mall is nonconforming. Pikarski wasn’t sure about the date, but said the commercial building on site has been there for 40 years. (O2015-8487)

  
  


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  5436-38 South Harper Ave. (5th Ward) - This is a five-unit residential building that was originally created as a six-unit building when two of the units were combined. The applicant and building owner, Jerome Ettinger, sought a rezone to return the building to its original six units. “This is a project that will provide additional housing to the community,” Ettinger’s attorney, Tom Pikarski, told the committee. No questions were asked, and the zoning change was approved. (02015-8483)

  
  


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  816-36 W. 38th Street/ 3755-3769 S. Lituanica Ave. (11th Ward) - This approved zoning change would help facilitate part of Lexington Homes’ proposed townhome community near Donovan Park in Bridgeport. The developer’s attorney, Barry Ash, said there’s currently a vacant building and lot on the land, which they plan to demolish to build eight-single family townhomes, each on a 26-foot wide lot with a two-car garage. Ash told the committee that local residents voiced support for the application at a recent community meeting, but Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11) can’t approve the rezone, “because of the conflict that he has with the owner.” Thompson is not on the zoning committee, as Chairman Solis pointed out, but he will abstain from voting when it is brought up to the full council. Their request down zones the property from a manufacturing district (M1-2) to a residential district (RM4.5). (O2015-8480) The other Lexington Homes’ application, a request to rezone an adjacent parcel of land to build 21 townhomes, was deferred in committee. Ald. Thompson made a last minute request to defer when the item was brought up for consideration.

  
  


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  1546-1558 W. 35th St./3449-3459 S. Ashland Ave. (12th Ward) - AttorneyRichard Toth with Daley and Georges told the committee that building was once home to a currency exchange business that had a grandfathered business license to operate in a residential zoned building. But since that business finished up its lease, the property owner, Daniel Kravitz, wants to bring the property up to conformity to allow for new commercial uses. Other than some rehabilitation work on the inside, no substantial changes will be made to the 3,000-square-foot building and 29 parking spaces will be added, he said. Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) said the number of parking spaces was unusually high for such a small building and asked what the planned use will be. Toth said Kravitz owns a line of consumer loan businesses and plans to add one there. There’s also a t-shirt making business renting out part of the building, he added. Local Ald. George Cardenas (12) provided a letter of support, but did not testify. The committee approved the rezone to a neighborhood commercial district (C1-1). (O2015-8478)

  
  


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  3914-3936 W. 111th St./ 11041-11059 S. Harding Ave. (19th Ward) - The applicant, 111th St. Storage LLC, sought and got approval to rezone a vacant one story building to build a two-story self storage facility. Ald. Matt O’Shea (19) said this is an $8 million investment in his community that will, “get rid of an eyesore.”

  
  


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  2332-2344 S. Princeton Ave; 301-307 W. 23rd Pl. (25th Ward) - The applicant,Shi Tan Zheng, got approval to rezone the subject property in order to build a 45,000 square-foot building that will include 12-office units and 24-residential units. According the applicant’s attorney, Mara Georges, two of those units will be affordable, as is required by the city’s zoning code. The project is in Chairman Solis’ ward, and he said there was “overwhelming” community support. (02015-8479)

  
  


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  2744 N. Southport Ave. (32nd Ward) - The committee approved Virage LLC’sapplication to downzone the subject property from a manufacturing district (M2-2) to a residential district (RT4). The zoning change was needed in order to demolish the existing building and build a new three-story, three-dwelling unit residential building. Plans include three parking spaces and no commercial uses.  (O2015-8474)

  
  


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  2611 N. Western Ave.; 2646 N. Jones St. (32nd Ward) - Red Cedar Partnersgot approval from the Zoning Committee to rezone a vacant lot so they can build an approximately 11,000-square-foot, two-story day care center with a rooftop playground and 8 parking spaces. The developers sought a downzone from a limited manufacturing district (M1-2) to a neighborhood commercial district (C1-3). (O2015-8477)

  
  


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  1023 W. Irving Park Road (46th Ward) -  The committee approved a zoning request to facilitate construction of a new four-story, five-unit residential building with five parking spaces. The application was filed by an LLC, and one of its members, Dan Popovich, was present but did not testify. His lawyer, Mark Kupiec, who spoke on his behalf said no commercial space is planned for the site, and the developer plans to demolish the existing building at the subject site. Ald. Cappleman said the community supports the project. (O2015-8475)

  
  


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  1465 W. Balmoral Ave (48th Ward) - The applicant, Shawn Joyce, got approval to slightly modify the zoning for the two-flat he owns on the site, so he can turn the second floor unit into a vacation rental. Dan Luna, Ald. Harry Osterman’schief of staff, testified in favor of the project, noting the local community and chamber of commerce support the plan. (O2015-8485)

  
  


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  6805 N. Greenview Ave - (49th Ward) - The Greenview Building Corporation, which operates the co-op building at the subject site, got approval from the Committee to modestly rezone the building, so they can continue using the existing closed porches as living space. According to the applicant’s attorney,Tyler Manic, the rezone was needed to increase the floor area ratio (FAR) and clean up a legal issue. The porches are about 40 years old, the building owner estimated, and the building was constructed a hundred years ago, Manic said.

  
  


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  2614-16 N. Milwaukee Ave - (35th Ward) - The Committee approved Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa’s application to modestly rezone this commercial strip in Logan Square from a community shopping district (B3-3) to a less dense community shopping district (B3-2). According to Rodrigo Anzures, a staff representative for the alderman, the downzone was needed to “align the street with its land use planning policy.”

  
  

Deferred Items (in agenda order):

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  3133-3137 N. Washtenaw Ave. (33rd Ward) - Testifying that “some issues came up”, Ald. Deb Mell (33) asked the committee to defer an application she filed to rezone a block in Avondale from a limited manufacturing district (M1-2) to a residential, two-flat, townhouse district (RT3.5). (O2015-8544)

  
  


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  2430 W Cortez St. (1st Ward)  - James Noonan’s application to rezone the property from a residential two-flat (RT4) to a residential multi-unit district (RM4.5), so it can be used as a three-unit residential building was deferred at the start of the meeting at the request of local Ald. Joe Moreno (1). (02015-8484)

  
  


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  3401-3453 S Dr. Martin Luther King Drive and 400-506 East 35th St. (4th Ward) - The applicant, Lake Meadows Associates, has yet to go before the Plan Commission to get approval to amend an existing Planned Development (No. 1169). They need the amendment in order to build two seven-story residential towers with commercial retail and hotel space. (02015-8489)

  
  


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  720 E. 111th Street - (9th Ward). The applicant, North Pullman 111th Inc., has yet to go before the Plan Commission (same reason as above). The amended PD would facilitate a massive redevelopment plan for the Historic Pullman District, which calls for a 10,000-square-foot shopping mall and multiple commercial buildings totaling 112,000-square feet.  (O2015-8496)

  
  


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  3607-3615 S. Morgan St. - (11th Ward) - This is one of two zoning applications Lexington Homes filed with the city to facilitate construction of their proposed townhome community near Donovan Park. As stated above, Ald. Thompson requested it be deferred. (O2015-8481)

  
  


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  2913-15 South Loomis St. - (11th Ward) - Deferred at the request of the applicant’s attorney, Tom Pikarski. (O2015-8482)

  
  


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  2833-2927 W. 47th St./4701-33 S. Richmond Ave. (14th Ward) - Noble Network of Charter Schools’ zoning application to build a new two-story high school and soccer field in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the city’s Southwest Side will need Plan Commission approval, too, because they’re seeking to establish a planned development prior to construction. (O2015-8498)

  
  


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  1801-1853 W Jackson Blvd (27th Ward) - This is the Blackhawks’ application. It will be heard by the Plan Commission today. (O2015-8468)

  
  


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  301-339 S. Damen Ave; 1853-1959 W. Jackson Blvd; 1840-1958 W. Van Buren St. (27th Ward) - This is Rush University’s application. It will be heard by the Plan Commission today. (O2015-8469).

  
  


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  820-850 W. Lake St. 200-208 N. Green St; 201-209 N. Green St (27th Ward) -  Another PD application from 200 Green Developer, LLC that can’t advance to Council until it gets approval from the Plan Commission.

  
  


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  1342 W Belmont Ave. (44th Ward) - Ald. Tom Tunney (44) asked the committee to defer this application filed by Hibernian Development. They sought a minor zoning change to add three stories to the existing building, so they could add six more residential units. (O2015-8472)

  
  


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  5653 N. Northwest Hwy (45th Ward) - This application needs PC approval, too. (02015-8486)

  
  


• 2134-46 S Ashland Ave; 1601-27 W 21st Place (25th Ward) - Chairman Solis deferred this application (he is the sponsor). The application he filed would upzone the property from a neighborhood commercial district (C1-2) to a limited manufacturing district (M1-1).

The City Council’s Zoning Committee will take up a proposal to scale back recently beefed up security requirements the Council approved last year for medical marijuana dispensaries that operate within city limits. The ordinance sponsored by Ald. Ed Burke(14) and Willie Cochran (20) amends the provision requiring around-the-clock security personnel at dispensaries. Under the amended rules, security would only be needed during business hours as is currently the case across the state. It also slightly amends the language detailing what kind of security should be hired, from an "Illinois licensed private security contractor" to “Illinois licensed private security agency or an Illinois licensed private security contractor.”

“Given the fact that we have all of the excellent security monitoring now, [we’re] trying to reduce the cost and the overhead [for dispensary operators]. We see that as an unnecessary expense,” Ald. Cochran told Aldertrack yesterday. The changes are in response to recent concerns from some suburban dispensaries where business is slow and costs are high, prompting some of these operations to consider closing up shop, Ald. Cochran explained.

Back in December 2014, the same year the state’s Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act took effect, the City Council approved new regulations for dispensaries seeking to set up shop in Chicago. Citing more than 300 burglaries and seven robberies at 700 dispensaries in Denver, Colorado and concerns that medical cannabis cultivation centers and dispensing facilities “pose serious public safety concerns”, the Council added the requirements.

The regulations, first introduced by Ald. Burke and Zoning Chairman Danny Solis(25), required around-the-clock security, mandated private security guards be present during the loading and unloading of cannabis and cannabis-infused products, and barred a dispensary from showcasing their products in a way that would be visible to the public. The ordinance before the Zoning Committee today, which is listed on thedeferred agenda, only amends the overnight security requirement. The other provisions the Council approved remain intact.

The ordinance was on the Jan. 5th agenda, but a legislative aide for the committee told Aldertrack it was held because Ald. Burke was working on a substitute. Yet, Aldertrack was notified yesterday afternoon that no substitute will be introduced and the original plan will move forward.

Many of the applications on today’s Zoning agenda, including one from the Chicago Blackhawks (#O2015-8468) and Rush University Medical Center (#O2015-8469), have yet to go before the Plan Commission and will be deferred at the start of the meeting. Rush University and the Blackhawks are both working on a large scale development plan for the old Malcolm X Community College building on the city’s Near West Side. The Blackhawks want to build a training center on part of the site. Rush University plans to expand its medical school on the other part. Both applications are scheduled to be heard by the Plan Commission at their monthly meeting this Thursday.

An application from Noble Network of Charter Schools (#O2015-8498) to build a new two-story high school and soccer field in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the city’s Southwest Side will need Plan Commission approval, too, because they’re seeking to establish a planned development prior to construction.

The same issue applies to the applicaticant behind the massive redevelopment of the Pullman District (#O2015-8496), which includes a 10,000-square-foot shopping mall and multiple commercial buildings totalling 112,000-square feet. The applicant, North Pullman 111th Inc., whose list of involved parties is pages long, would need to amend the original PD for their proposed “111th Street neighborhood retail district.”

None of these plans can advance through the City Council without prior approval from the Plan Commission.

Notable Applications Before Zoning

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  Town Homes for Bridgeport (11th Ward) Lexington Homes filed two zoning applications for their two new townhome communities being built near Donovan Park in Bridgeport. One of their planned townhome communities, Lexington Place 3, will consist of eight three- to six- bedroom homes, each with a backyard and and two-car garage. All of the roughly 3,000- to 3,600-square-foot-homes have already been sold. Sale prices started at about $525,000. The company still needs to rezone the property from a light industry district (M2-3) to a residential single-unit district (RS3). The other application seeks a similar rezone for their planned Lexington Square 3 community, which will consist of 21 similarly styled townhomes. (#O2015-8480); (#O2015-8481)

  
  


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  Proposed Mixed Use Office-Residential Building in Chinatown (25th Ward) Developers Shai Tan Zheng and Shi Cai Zheng want to build a new mixed-use building with 12 office units and 24-residential units next to Haines Elementary School at 2332-2344 S. Princeton Ave; 301-307 W. 23rd Place. According to their zoning application, the developers plan to demolish this two existing buildings on the site. The developers need to upzone the property from a residential multi-unit district (RM-5) to a neighborhood shopping district (B2-15), and their application triggers the city’s affordable housing requirements, which means they’ll have to either make 20% of their units affordable or provide an in-lieu fee to the city’s affordable housing trust fund. (#O2015-8479)

  
  


• 
  

  New Daycare Center in Logan Square/Avondale (32nd Ward) Red Cedar Partners, LLC filed an application to rezone a vacant lot at 2611 N. Western Ave to build an approximately 11,000-square-foot, two-story day-care center with a rooftop playground and 8 parking spaces. The developers need to downzone the property from a limited manufacturing district (M1-2) to a neighborhood commercial district (C1-3). (#O2015-8477)

  
  

Aldermanic Rezones

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  3133-3137 N. Washtenaw Ave.- Ald. Deb Mell (33) filed an application to rezone a block in Avondale from a limited manufacturing district (M1-2) to a residential, two-flat, townhouse district (RT3.5). Since there are single-family homes already located on the block, it’s likely that Ald. Mell is amending the zoning designation to bring the street up to conformity. (O2015-8544)

  
  


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  3428-30 N. Elston Ave. - Ald. Mell also filed an application to rezone an old, “one story non-fireproof public garage” according to the property details on the Cook County Assessor’s Office. The garage is next to a large residential building. Ald. Mell seeks a rezone from a community shopping district (B3-2) to a residential, two-flat, townhouse district (RT3.5). (O2015-8546)

  
  


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  2134-46 S. Ashland Ave; 1601-27 W. 21st Place - Zoning Chairman Danny Solis wants to rezone this vacant lot across the street from Benito Juarez High School in the Pilsen Historic District. He filed an application in November to upzone the lot from a neighborhood commercial district (C1-2) to a limited manufacturing district (M1-1). The application is on the deferred agenda.

  
  


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  2614-16 N. Milwaukee Ave - Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) filed an application in November to modestly rezone this commercial strip in Logan Square from a community shopping district (B3-3) to a less dense community shopping district (B3-2).

  
  

Chicago Public Schools is running out of money and expects to end the 2016 school year with only $33.15 million in the bank, according to the offering documents on the school district’s sale later this month for $857 million in general obligation bonds. The offering documents contain extensive details on CPS finances to satisfy federal Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) financial disclosure laws.

Download offering document PDF.

The Board of Education’s operating fund balance has declined significantly over the past three years. At the start of 2013, the Board had $1.07 billion in the bank. At the end of 2015, it only had $360 million.

The documents also show the Board will use the timing of this month’s bond offering to get through a major cash crunch. CPS reports it will have a low of $89.9 million cash on hand in January, a number that would be negative except for $347.4 million it plans to take in from the bond offering. On February 15, the school system will make $261 million in debt payments. Semi-annual property tax revenues begin to arrive from the Cook County Treasurer on February 20.

“With its operating reserve depleted, the Board projects spending the majority of FY 2016 in a negative cash flow position,” the offering document forecasts.

But the money from the new bond sale will barely cover CPS’ cash flow problems, and it won’t go toward any new expenditures for capital improvements. Instead, the lion's share of the money raised will cover debt service payments due annually on February 15th. Besides the February debt payments, the Board plans to make a $661 million payment in June to the pension fund and $15 million in dispersed pension payments throughout the year, for a total of $937 million.

Anticipated proceeds* of the $857 million in GO bonds to be raised:
*Note: these amounts are subject to change when the bonds are sold

• $206M - for debt restructuring (principal & interest)


• $134.5M - to convert variable rate debt to a fixed rate


• $86.4M - in swap termination fees


• $55.3M - for capitalized interest, pay cost of issuance (i.e. to pay the cost of borrowing)


• $392.6M - to reimburse the BOE’s General Operating Fund for capital expenses made in FY 2013-2015. (note that this will pay for projects already committed)

CPS has $4.17 billion in outstanding revenue bond debt and $1.4 billion in outstanding long-term debt, according to the offering documents. The Board had operating deficits in FY 2013, 2014, 2014, and projects another deficit for 2016.

If CPS fails to get the state aid it needs or lower its pension obligations through action in Springfield, the district anticipates a $1 billion operating deficit through 2020. Over that same period, the Board expects a greater portion of the its annual budget will be diverted from operational costs–money that goes into the classrooms–to funding debt service and pension obligations.

CPS Spending and Revenues Limited By External Factors

The offering document mentioned multiple times that most of how CPS directs its spending is out of its control. The Board, the document says, will be forced to make cuts to “expenditures under its control.”

CPS can’t increase property taxes without state approval under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL), nor can it file for bankruptcy. There is a bill pending in Springfield to do the latter. Any movement by the city to further increase property taxes to fund its fire and police pensions (which the document says is likely) could hurt CPS’ levy in future years.

CPS can’t control a substantial portion of its operating expenses. To put that in perspective, in FY 2015, $1.953 billion, or 34% of their operating budget, went to wages and benefits; $634.4 million, or 11%, went towards pension payments; and $533.5M, or 9.5%, went toward long-term debt payments. This point is especially concerning for CPS as it renegotiates its contract with the Chicago Teachers’ Union.

CPS also projects a decline in state aid over FY 2017-2021 and is still waiting on $480 million from the state. That money is already included in this year’s budget.

Plans For Cuts Detailed

To mitigate the growing budget hole over the next few years, CPS plans a mixture of cuts and borrowing. One of the more drastic cuts would be to the student-based budgeting formula the district uses to disperse funds to schools across the city. The formula, which ties a dollar amount to enrollment in each school, could see a 5% reduction as soon as 2017. For every 5% CPS cuts from that formula, the district could save $100 million, the document estimates. To mitigate those cuts, the district points to schools that have already implemented online courses and increased class sizes and suggests a greater reliance on those two options in future budgets.

Additional cuts to administrative services are also planned. More cuts to the central office could save the district an additional $50 million for 2017, the document estimates. It also details plans to reduce vendor spending by issuing more competitive bids and renegotiating existing contracts; cut personnel costs by permanently eliminating vacant positions and promoting early retirement of certain employees; and increase state aid by improving Medicaid reimbursements and poverty grants by enrolling more kids in programs covered by that aid.

CPS has already eliminated the so-called “pension pick-up” for non-union employees. That move is saving about $11 million a year. CPS argues if they could do the same for unionized workers, as it has proposed in ongoing negotiations, the district could save an additional $170 million annually.

As for new revenue, the Board floated the idea of reinstating a dedicated property tax levy for its pension fund. A 0.26% property tax levy could generate an additional $170 million for the district in 2017, but requires state approval. The original levy for the pension fund was eliminated in 1996.

The Zoning Board of Appeals held their first 2016 meeting on Friday with a new leader at the helm, Blake Sercye, and a relaxed schedule of mostly routine items which made for a quicker than usual meeting. All applications on the agenda, excluding those that requested continuances, were approved. With a 12-page agenda filled mostly with special use requests to open salons and allow for single- and multi-family home expansions, the board adjourned by 4:30 p.m., a stark contrast from the preceding months, when controversial medical marijuana proposals pushed the monthly meetings well into the evening.

There was one medical marijuana application on the agenda, which was approved without public or aldermanic opposition. Illinois Grown Medicine, LLC, (IGM) an Illinois-based marijuana cultivation company, got a special use permit to open a dispensary at a vacant laundromat at 8554 S. Commercial Ave. in the 10th Ward. Approval is based on the condition that a representative from their outside consultant, Denver-based Natural Remedies, remain in Chicago for at least two months while the dispensary gets off the ground.

IGM is the same company that tried for months, but failed, to open a dispensary in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side. Every time representatives with then-calledHarborside Illinois Grown Medicine showed up to ZBA to plead their case, which was about four times since last spring, dozens of Chatham residents, shuttled to City Hall by a vocal neighborhood coalition, made their opposition known, frequently heckling in the gallery, holding press conferences against the dispensary, and accusing local Ald. Michelle Harris (8) of wavering on the issue.

The company eventually withdrew that application, a decision they announced in November, found a new location, and fired their original operator, California-based Harborside, the biggest dispensary operation in the country. One of the repeated complaints lodged against the dispensary was the owner’s brother’s criminal ties.

“We have brought in a new operator...this is because, frankly, all of our different regulatory bodies, including this body, were having issues and concerns with our last operator,” Paul Rosenfeld, a minority stakeholder in Illinois Grown Medicine, testified, naming former ZBA Chairman Jonathan Swain, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Finance and Professional Regulations as those who expressed concern.

Brett Framson, with their new operator, Denver-based Natural Remedies, will help get the dispensary off the ground. “We set the standard for the industry,” Framson told the zoning board, explaining that since the company started six years ago, there haven’t been any issues. As a consultant, Natural Remedies will have someone work with the dispensary to set up “standard operating procedures”, including hiring new staff, about 10-15 employees, and implementing security plans with Silver Star Protection Group, a private security firm hired to provide around-the-clock security guards at the dispensary.

“It will be me part time, but there will be others,” he added. But Sercye and Sam Toia, another member of the Zoning Board, took issue with him being an out-of state consultant, especially after he described his job as part time.

“We’re trying to go to from the rhetoric to the substance,” Toia pressed, before asking, “Is [Framson] going to be a consultant from Colorado or a consultant from right here in the 10th Ward?”

It was because of this confusion, and later promise from Illinois Grown Medicine (IGM) to have someone from Denver stay for at least two months while the dispensary gets off the ground, that ZBA added that approval would be dependent on having someone from Natural Remedies stay in Chicago for at least two months.

Local 10th Ward Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza later testified that she and the rest of the local community supports the dispensary, especially because it will be located in an area “long forgotten” and the owners have promised to hire locally and use union labor for construction. Local residents and businesses are especially happy that the dispensary comes with beefed up security, bringing a “sense of safeness to a corner where security is needed,” she added. Noting that “there are some naysayers”, Ald. Garza dismissed the opposition to a “ problem with education.”

“I welcome them to the 10th Ward and I look forward to, you know, cutting the ribbon as they say...I’m fine with this,” Ald. Garza concluded.

Only one person signed up to testify. Andrew DeAngelo, the president of Harborside, the operator IGM cut ties with when they scrapped the Chatham plan. He argued that since the state awarded a medical marijuana license to the previous partnership, this new partnership shouldn’t get a special use permit, because they’re not officially registered with the state.

But the attorney for IGM argued that IGM owns a majority share of the company and is in the process of buying out their minority investors. Adding that ZBA, “doesn’t deal with that, you deal with property,” the attorney said they would deal with the licensing issue if and when it comes up with other regulatory bodies.

Sercye agreed, concluding the hearing on that application.

This was Sercye’s first time heading a ZBA meeting, after only having a seat on the board for less than half a year. “This is only my fifth meeting,” he noted at one point. He was joined by Sheila O’Grady and Toia, who occasionally took over the reins to grill applicants in the same fashion as the former chairman, Jonathan Swain. Swain vacated his position as chairman of the board, a job he’s had since 2010, to accept a commissioner seat on the Chicago Board of Elections.

Notable Continuances

• [38-16-S] An attorney for the Mark Twain Hotel, Sarah Barnes, with Sam Banks Law Offices, requested a continuance to March. The decision to delay the hearing, Barnes told ZBA, is at the request of local Ald. Walter Burnett, Jr.(27) He wants the the operators of the hotel to meet with one local resident to address some concerns they have over the project, Barnes said. There aren’t any major changes planned for the historic single-room occupancy hotel in the Gold Coast neighborhood and it will stay under its current use, Barnes told Aldertrack after the meeting. The hotel operators are just upgrading the doors to some of its rooms, and need a special use permit because it’s considered new construction, she explained.


• [397-15-S] Zoning Attorney, Mark Kupiec, said his client, Chinese-based Sheng Man De Investment Company, needs a continuance because they are still working with the city’s Department of Transportation on an “issue”. The company is building a new, five-story, 60-room hotel at 2010-20 S. Archer Ave. in Chinatown.


• [354-15-S] This is an application for a special use permit to establish a religious facility at Northside College Preparatory. Christ Center of Hope, Assemblies of God is the applicant. Tom Picarsic, their attorney, asked for a continuance to May. The Department of Planning and Development said parking was an issue, he told the board. The parking they found is across the street in a planned development, he added, saying they found a second location, and will have to amend or update the application.

The Emanuel Administration got the approval it needs to borrow an additional $2.45 billion to pay off old debt and fund new capital projects in 2016. In a series of difficult-to-follow roll call votes at yesterday’s City Council meeting, aldermen signed off on all but one of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s bond packages after last minute concessions were made from members of his administration.

Divided Roll Call Vote on Bonds

After chipping away parts of Mayor Emanuel’s multi-billion dollar borrowing plan in committee earlier this week, aldermen that were still dissatisfied with what they called an expensive and bad deal for the city demanded and received further concessions from the mayor’s office ahead of yesterday’s meeting.

Following an agreement made Monday to slash administration's plan to issue $1.25 billion in general obligation bonds in half, and add provision to the authorizing ordinance requiring regular briefings from the city’s Chief Financial Officer and Comptroller on how the money is spent, the Mayor’s finance team agreed to hold one of the more controversial borrowing plans for at least a month.

A plan to issue $200 million in water revenue bonds (O2015-8873) was taken off the table temporarily. Half of the borrowed money would pay the Royal Bank of Canadaan approximately $100 million penalty fee to switch older variable rate water bonds to a fixed rate. The other half would pay off the cost of borrowing that money.

According to comments Chief Financial Officer Carole Brown made to aldermen, those variable rate bonds are the last remaining variable rate bonds the city needs to convert to a fixed rate in order to complete a financial plan Mayor Emanuel announced in May. His announcement came shortly after the city’s credit rating was downgraded to junk status. So far, the city has paid out more than $250 million in termination fees to realize that plan, Brown said.

But members of the Progressive Caucus didn’t buy Brown’s argument that it was the city’s only option to address its liquidity crisis. In addition to speaking out at the committee meeting, they held a press conference the next day to voice their frustration.

According to one member of the group, Ald. Scott Waguespack (32), the night before the vote, the Caucus made a flurry of calls to their colleagues urging them to look at other less costly options, like taking the banks to court.

Authorization for the other debt packages were passed by Council, but none received unanimous support. As was the case in the bond vote last fall, one alderman, this timeCarlos Ramirez Rosa (35), asked to suspend the rules to call for a roll call vote. But with all the commotion in Council chambers, and Ald. Ed Burke’s preference to identify the each item by agenda number rather than ordinance name, some aldermen had yet to cast their vote by the time Burke finished his committee recommendations.

Despite the confusion, Aldertrack verified the following vote counts with the City Clerk’s Office:

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  Authority to issue up to $200 million in bonds backed by sales tax revenue (Passed: 43-2) Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) and Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41) were the two sole no votes on this bond offering, which would partially pay for the 2016 Aldermanic Menu Program. Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6) invoked Rule 14.

  
  


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  Authority to issue up to $650 million in general obligation bonds (Passed: 40-4)Aldermen Chris Taliaferro (29), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), Gilbert Villegas(36), and Anthony Napolitano (41) voted against the plan. Sawyer again invoked Rule 14 and Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) wasn’t in the chambers when it was called for a vote.

  
  


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  Authority to issue up to $1 billion in Midway Airport revenue bonds (Passed: 42-2) Ald. Taliaferro and Napolitano voted no. Aldermen Ed Burke (14) and Patrick Daley Thompson (11) invoked Rule 14.

  
  


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  Authority to issue up to $400 million in wastewater bonds (Passed: 43-2) Aldermen Taliaferro and Napolitano voted no. Ald. Villegas invoked Rule 14.

  
  


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  Authority to issue up to $200 million in water revenue bonds (Passed 42-2) Aldermen Taliaferro and Napolitano voted no, while Aldermen Burke and Villegas invoked Rule 14.

  
  

Ethics Reform Blocked Temporarily

Two of the City Council’s most powerful aldermen, Finance Chairman Ed Burke (14) and Budget Chairman Carrie Austin (34), blocked a vote on a long-stalled effort to put the City’s Inspector General in charge of investigating aldermen and their staff. Burke and Austin “deferred and published” the ordinance, giving themselves an extra month to either amend the plan or propose an alternative.

Shortly after Burke blocked the vote, Ald. Pat O’Connor (40), chairman of the Council committee that has been holding on to the ordinance since it was introduced eight months ago, announced plans to create a working group to “clean up” the ordinance. To expedite the process, O’Connor asked that the rules be suspended for the immediate consideration of the working group, so it could start immediately, and, “utilize the time that we have in this hiatus during the defer and publish period to ensure that if there are any concerns or anything that needs to be done, that we will be finished and prepared to move forward on this at the next Council meeting.”

The working group will consist of six aldermen: the two co-sponsors of the IG ordinance, Ald. Smith and Pawar; Ald. Will Burns (4), who sponsored, but raised concerns about the ordinance; Ald. Joe Moore (49), a vocal supporter; Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6), Chairman of the Council’s Black Caucus and a member of the Council’s Progressive Caucus; and Ald. Rick Munoz (22), another supporter and Progressive Caucus member.

Speaking to reporters after the vote, O’Connor said in addition to “cleaning up” the language of the ordinance, the working group will have the opportunity to work out any changes with the Inspector General’s office. Should the ordinance be amended in any way, it would be introduced directly in his Workforce Committee, voted on, and reported out at the next meeting of the full Council.

But one provision in the ordinance, the ability for the IG to investigate anonymous complaints, was a non-starter for a handful of aldermen who feared it would open the floodgates to a flurry of unfounded allegations. It was a particularly sticky issue for Ald. Austin, who after the meeting said she wants a provision added requiring signed affidavits for all complaints. “If you gonna tell on me, how come you don’t want to swear to it?” she asked rhetorically, before adding, “That don’t mean that everybody needs to know you are the one who said it, but you need to stand behind what you say.”

Before the plan was tabled, it had 27 co-sponsors. Following Burke’s action, it gained 12 more sponsors, according to Ald. Smith.

Other Highlights, Introductions from Yesterday’s Meeting

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  Sharon Fairley’s appointment as Administrator of Independent Police Review Authority passed with little fanfare. It is common for aldermen to spend a significant amount of time praising the Mayor and congratulating his appointee, especially those being placed in executive roles. But after her fumbled four hour first encounter with aldermen during a Council hearing on police accountability last month, and her subsequent confirmation hearing earlier this week, aldermen had little interest in expounding. When Ald. Ariel Reboyras (31), Chair of the Council’s Public Safety Committee, brought Fairley’s appointment up for consideration, he gave a brief overview and opened up the floor for discussion. Only one alderman, Willie Cochran (20), stood up to speak. Giving more of a warning than praise, he reminded Fairley the stakes couldn’t be higher. “You will be playing a major role in how we turn this trust issue for the Independent Police Review Authority and the public around.”

  
  


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  Aldermen carved out some time to give an emotional tribute to Ald. Roberto Maldonado's (26) late wife. The meeting opened on a somber note with a reading of a Council resolution honoring Nancy Maldonado, who died over the the Christmas holiday, less than a month after Maldonado’s mother passed away. Yesterday would have been her 46th birthday. Rehashing painful memories of their own losses and recalling Nancy's history of community activism, aldermen stood up one by one to pay their respects to Ald. Maldonado and his sons, who joined him at the front of the room. “I lost my mother at the age of 15. It was the most profoundly painful experience I went through,” an emotionalJoe Moore (49) recalled. “I cannot imagine when the two most important women in our lives, our mother and our wife, pass away, the type of hurt that can be,”Ald. Danny Solis (25) said. After nearly a dozen aldermen offered their condolences, Maldonado, unable to fight back his tears, had the last word, before Mayor Emanuel called for a moment of silence, hugged Maldonado and his family and escorted them out of the Council chambers.

  
  


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  Among three other introductions aimed at criminal justice reform, Ald. Jason Ervin (28) introduced an item pushing Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Julie Morita to make swift changes in staffing, managed care, and outreach from the city’s “underutilized” mental health clinics. The ordinance has 29 co-sponsors. [Early draft here] It calls for Morita to "take whatever steps are necessary to ensure adequate staffing of psychiatrists at city mental health centers within four months,” begin managed care contracts to provide services to Medicaid patients within six months, and increase awareness of the city's mental health resources in communities disproportionately impacted by violence. Morita would also be required to update aldermen monthly on the status of changes.

  
  


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  Mayor Emanuel introduced a resolution yesterday appointing Blake Sercye as the new Chairman of the City’s Zoning Board of Appeals. Sercye was just appointed to the board over the summer. Sercye, a litigator for corporate law firmJenner & Block, also runs a pro-bono practice in the Austin neighborhood that focuses on fair housing, prisoner rights and criminal defense. He was appointed to ZBA shortly after his unsuccessful run in 2014 for a seat on the Cook County Board of Commissioners. He lost the race despite high profile endorsements from Mayor Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. He has served on the Illinois Medical District Commission and Chicago’sCommunity Development Commission. ZBA’s current Chairman, Jonathan Swain, has held the position since 2010, but will leave the post to take a job at the Board of Elections. He’ll replace Langdon Neal on the three-member board tasked with running, monitoring, and authenticating election results. Mayor Emanuel is asking the council to appoint Amanda Williams to fill the vacancy left by Swain. Williams is an Auburn-Gresham native and adjunct professor of architecture at the Illinois Institute of Design.

  
  


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  Aldermen introduced a handful of police-related ordinances aimed at reforming the embattled department. Ald. Jason Ervin (28) sponsored three of those plans, including a proposal to create a section in the municipal code detailing how video recordings should be released, guidelines for how to train officers to use tasers, and a change to the mandatory retirement age. A resolution introduced by Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6) calls on CPD to “adopt a policy to establish research and institute procedures on [the] department's over-reliance of use of lethal force.” 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 to co-sponsor.

  
  


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  The twin, 60-story, corncob-shaped Marina City residential Loop high rises could soon become landmarks under an ordinance the Mayor introduced yesterday on behalf of the Department of Planning and Development. The Commission on Chicago Landmarks made their preliminary recommendation in November to designate the two buildings as official landmarks. The issue has been referred to the Zoning Committee.

  
  

Ald. Tom Tunney’s (44) proposal to create a two-year pilot program that would let restaurants put outside seating along parking lanes instead of sidewalks got the approval from the Council’s License Committee.

Committee Members Present (13/18): Vice Chairman Deborah Silverstein (50), Gregory Mitchell (7), Marty Quinn (13), David Moore (17), Matt O’Shea (19), Willie Cochran (20), Michael Scott, Jr. (24), Walter Burnett (27), Scott Waguespack (32), Michele Smith (43), Tom Tunney (44), John Arena (45), James Cappleman (46).

The $600 permit is geared towards restaurants that want outside seating but don’t have room for a traditional sidewalk cafe because they’re located on “really old and narrow” sidewalks with a lot of foot traffic, co-sponsor Ald. Michele Smith (43) explained.

Unlike the sidewalk cafe season, which runs from March 1st through December 1st., the curbside cafe permit would run for five months, from May 1st to September 31st. The shorter time frame, according to Ald. Tunney, keeps the program affordable, because restaurants would have to pay for anticipated lost parking meter revenue.

The only concerns aldermen raised in committee had to do with safety, or more specifically, how to protect patrons from oncoming car traffic. Rose Kelly, with the city’s Law Department, and Tony Bertuca, with the City’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, addressed those concerns in their testimony, noting restaurants would have to construct a removable, physical boundary shielding the cafe from traffic lanes, as well as a removable, raised platform that would be even with the curb. But the exact measurements, required building materials, and other specific details have yet to be drafted, they said.

In order for a restaurant to qualify for the program, it can’t already have a permit for a sidewalk cafe or be located in the central business district (i.e. downtown). Curbside cafes are also barred from locating along a protected bike lane, 30 feet from a stop sign, 30 feet of a controlled intersection, or 1,200 feet (about 2 city blocks) from Wrigley Field. The restaurant must be located on a pedestrian designated street, which, according to the city’s zoning code, is defined as any street that meets the following criteria: a sidewalk width of less than 8 feet, a high concentration of existing stores and restaurants and a mostly continuous pattern of buildings that are built abutting or very close to the sidewalk.

While no one from the Illinois Retail Merchants Association testified at yesterday’s meeting, the group issued a statement supporting the plan when it was first introduced in July.

The Council’s Budget Committee met for less than five minutes yesterday morning, which was just enough time to pass two ordinances, one of which establishes new procurement reforms, without any departmental briefings or debate.

Members Present: Chairman Carrie Austin (34), Brian Hopkins (2), Ariel Reboyras (30) [Note: we recorded the meeting but were not present, those three aldermen were the only ones mentioned in the recording of the meeting.]

The intergovernmental agreement the Committee approved implements recommendations from a Procurement Reform Task Force the Mayor formed in 2015 to better coordinate, streamline and increase transparency in how the city and its sister agencies award contracts. Noting that the city and its various sister agencies–the Chicago Park District, Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Transit Authority, City Colleges of Chicago, and Public Building Commission–award approximately $6 billion in contracts a year, the taskforce sought ways to reduce redundancies by creating a more centralized website to announce bids, take economic disclosure statements, in addition to creating a more uniform system to cut administrative costs. The 52-page report the task force released in November compares in exhaustive detail the procurement process for all city agencies.

The other proposal the committee approved transfers $10,000 to the City Council’s Committee on Education and Childhood Development, Chaired by Ald. Will Burns (4). Since no one testified and no corresponding record number for the ordinance is listed on the agenda, it’s unclear where that money came from or why the transfer was needed.

A plan Mayor Rahm Emanuel unveiled over the summer to sell the old Malcolm X Community College campus to the Chicago Blackhawks and Rush University Medical Center for a massive redevelopment project is one step closer to reality.

Members Present (11/16): Chairman Joe Moore (49), Ald. Pat Dowell (3), Gregory Mitchell (7), Sue Sadlowski-Garza (10), Raymond Lopez (15), David Moore (17), Michael Scott, Jr. (24), Walter Burnett (27) Ariel Reboyras (30), Deb Mell (33).

Yesterday, the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Real Estate approved an intergovernmental agreement that would transfer City College’s Malcolm X College campus to the Department of Planning and Development and the Department of Fleet and Facilities Management. Once the City Council approves the transfer of the 11.15 acre site at 1900 W. Van Buren St., the City will demolish the academic building and remediate the land before selling part of it to the Chicago Blackhawks for a new training facility and youth hockey center, and part of it to Rush University for the expansion of their west side campus.

Last month, the City Council approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Public Buildings’ Commission for the $10 million demolition of the school’s only building. Once that’s complete, DPD will need council approval to sell the property. Asked yesterday if the demolition cost will be added to the sale price, Mary Benone with Department of Planning and Development said yes.

An amended plan to transform the historic 20th District Police Station in the 40th Ward into a performing arts center, an agreement to transfer city-owned lakefront property on the far South Side to a private developer for the construction of a mini-park, and various ordinances authorizing routine land sales also got the greenlight from the Housing Committee.

The Griffin Theater Company bought the century-old police station from the city in 2011 with plans to construct a 55-seat black box theater and another 100-120 seat performing arts space. The building located on the corner of California and Pershing was designed by architect C.F. Hermann, built in 1908, and appraised at $1.2 million. When Griffin bought the property from the city for $1, it agreed to finish the $2.1 million redevelopment plan by 2016. But due to the “financial crisis and ensuing recession”, according to the amended agreement, the developer failed to raise the capital necessary to complete the project and now needs an extension.

Sarah Wilson, with the Department of Planning and Development, says the new agreement expands seating for the planned blackbox theater and designates a new construction timetable. Phase 1 one the project, consisting of interior and exterior demolitions, must be complete by September 2016. From then, developers will have 11 months, or until August 2017, to complete the final stages.

Another ordinance sponsored by the City’s Department of Transportation authorizes the exchange of two parcels of lakefront property the city acquired during construction over the summer on Lake Shore Drive’s outbound ramps to the Stevenson Expressway. The agreement the Council Committee approved transfers the land to Chicago Lakeside Development, LLC (McCaffery Interests) for the development of a public park on the city’s lakefront. Under the agreement, the developers will have to maintain the pocket park for the next 20 years.

Of the 13 mostly routine items on the agenda, only one got deferred: an ordinance authorizing a lease renewal with the Chicago Transit Authority for the use of vacant city-owned land in the 39th Ward. Ald. Marge Laurino asked her colleagues to hold off on approving the lease agreement for the property at 5975 N. Pulaski because she isn’t thrilled that bus drivers use the stop for bathroom breaks.

“Currently at this particular location, which is a lovely turnaround for the CTA with trees and grass, and is really, very nice…[but] right smack dab in the middle of it is a porta potty,” she explained, adding that she’s working out an agreement with the neighboring fire house to let bus drivers do their business there.

Items Awaiting Council Approval

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  Mayor Emanuel’s nearly $3 billion bond offering, including $650 million in general obligation bonds (down from the originally proposed $1.25 billion), $1 billion in Midway Airport revenue bonds, $200 in sales tax revenue bonds ($70 million of which will pay for the 2016 Aldermanic Menu Program), and three separate water and sewer bonds totaling $800 million. (Short powerpoint presented to aldermen from CFO Carole Brown)

  
  


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  Inducement authority to issue up to $98.4 million in tax-exempt special assessment bonds for the massive, 3,000-unit Franklin Point Development Project in the South Loop.

  
  


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  Ethics reform that would eliminate the Office of the Legislative Inspector General, which is currently vacant, and put the task of investigating aldermen and their staff in the hands of the City’s Inspector General. Ald. Michele Smith (43), andAmeya Pawar (47), are the lead sponsors.

  
  


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  Appointment of former Chicago Board of Education Vice President Jesse Ruizto the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners

  
  


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  Appointment of Sharon Fairley to the Independent Police Review Authority

  
  


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  Appointment of Christopher M. Michalek, a partner at McGuire Woods, LLP, and Edward T. McKinnie, Sr., the President of the Board of Directors for Black Contractors United, to the Board of Local Improvements, the body that oversees infrastructure improvements prompted by new development projects.

  
  


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  Creation of a two-year curbside cafe pilot program. Permits would cost $600 and the season would last from Sept. 1st through December 31st, four months shorter than the sidewalk cafe season.

  
  


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  Expansion of a pilot program in the 1st Ward that lets nonprofits near residential streets buy daily parking permits (up to 150 stickers a month) for its employees. The ordinance introduced by Clerk Susana Mendoza would add the 43rd Ward (Lincoln Park) and 44th Ward (Lakeview/Wrigley) to the plan.

  
  


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  An intergovernmental agreement between the city and its sister agencies aimed at implementing recommendations of a Procurement Reform Task Force the mayor created last year. (Here is their full report)

  
  


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  An agreement with City Colleges of Chicago that transfers the old Malcolm X College campus to the City, so it can demolish the school building and sell the land to the Blackhawks and Rush University.

  
  


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  A land transfer deal with the charter bus company Megabus, so it can build a new bus stop under the Congress Parkway.

  
  


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  A transfer of $500,000 from the Canal/Congress TIF to Amtrak to help pay for construction costs associated with the Union Station Master Plan, a multi-year, multi-phase plan to increase capacity, modernize, and improve Union Station’s connectivity to other public transit. The City is paying for 8% of the $6 million plan.

  
  


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  A transfer of $4.6 million from the 24th/Michigan TIF to reimburse CPS for a new athletic field it built for Williams Jones College Preparatory High School andNational Teachers Academy, a public elementary school.

  
  


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  Two Class 6(b) property tax incentives that will save two South Side Companies a combined $2 million in property taxes over the next 12 years. Balton Corporation, a paper, plastic and dairy product distributor, and Takis Royal Foods, a wholesale foodservice supplier to restaurants, applied for the tax break.

  
  

Scheduled Pressers Ahead of Today’s Council Meeting

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  Immigrant Rights @ 9:30 a.m – The City Council’s Latino Caucus is holding a press conference this morning to highlight a resolution they plan to introduce at today’s full City Council meeting condemning the Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) raids on immigrants from Central America. The resolution sponsored by Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) condemns the federal agency’s practice of detaining immigrants, reaffirms that the City welcomes immigrants and offers refuge, and urges the Chicago Police Department to not cooperate with the raids. Ald. Rosa joined Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who is introducing a similar resolution on the County side, and theIllinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), a statewide coalition of more than 130 organizations committed to immigrants’ rights, against the raids at a press conference yesterday.

  
  


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  Campaign Finance Reform @ 9:30 a.m. – Another group of aldermen will convene to announce a so-called Fair Elections Ordinance that would create a small donor match campaign finance system, similar to New York City’s. The ordinance would establish a special election fund to provide candidates running for mayor, aldermen, city clerk, and city treasurer with $6 of public matching funds for every dollar raised up to $175. In order to qualify for the money, a candidate can’t accept any donations more than $500 from one individual source. Common Cause Illinois and the Reclaim Campaign helped draft the ordinance that Ald. John Arena (45), Michelle Harris (8), and Joe Moore (49) plan to introduce at the full City Council meeting today, according to a joint release from the two government watchdog groups

  
  

Following a marathon six hour meeting, the Council’s Finance Committee approved a reduced borrowing plan that calls for the issuance of $650 million in general obligation bonds to pay off old debt come due, as well as $200 million in new sales tax revenue bonds to refinance old debt and pay for the 2016 Aldermanic Menu program, $1 billion in bonds to refinance old debt and pay for capital improvements at Midway Airport, and $800 million in water and sewer bonds. The new borrowing plan for 2016 comes as the city prepares to sell half a billion dollars today in previously approved general obligation bonds.

Committee Members Present: Chairman Ed Burke (14), Joe Moreno (1), Pat Dowell (3), Will Burns (4), Leslie Hairston (5), Roderick Sawyer (6), Gregory Mitchell (7), Michelle Harris (8), Patrick Daley Thompson (11), George Cardenas (12), Marty Quinn (13), Toni Foulkes (16), Matt O’Shea (19), Willie Cochran (20), Howard Brookins, Jr. (21), Rick Munoz (22), Michael Zalewski (23), Danny Solis (25), Walter Burnett (27), Jason Ervin (28), Ariel Reboyras (30), Scott Waguespack (32), Marge Laurino (39), Pat O’Connor (40), Brendan Reilly (42), Tom Tunney (44), John Arena (45), Harry Osterman (48), Joe Moore (49)

The Bonds

The original borrowing plan proposed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration included up to $1.25 billion in general obligation bonds funded by property tax receipts with $700 million in new money to pay for capital improvements for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.  But following vocal concerns from aldermen, the city’s Chief Financial Officer Carole Brown reduced the authorization request to $650 million in general obligation bonds, all of which will go towards restructure existing debt, with $400 to $450 million to pay for “scoop and toss” and $50 to $250 million for savings.

“We will come back to the Council when we have more details around the capital projects with a proposal to do general obligation new money capital later in the year,” Brown explained.

In his 2016 budget, Mayor Emanuel promised to phase out by 2019 the practice of issuing long-term debt to pay down short-term debt payments come due. This new bond offering would expedite that plan by paying off that debt this year instead of dividing the payments by issuing new debt over the next three years.

The decision to phase out scoop and toss earlier than planned is based on three factors, according to an analysis of the bond deal conducted by Ben Winick of the Council’s new Office of Financial Analysis. In his report sent to aldermen last Friday, Winick argued it’s in the city’s best interest to phase out scoop and toss earlier than planned because: (1) the Federal Reserve’s decision in December to increase interest rates could make it costlier down the line; (2) issuing the debt now rather than over the next two years would reduce the payment schedule from 17 to 15 years; and (3) “unforeseen budgetary pressures” could make it harder to phase out the practice in stages.

[Download the COFA Analysis of the proposed bond issuances.]

While there was no dissent on the general obligation bond authorization–it was approved unanimously by voice vote–three aldermen asked to be recorded as “no” votes on a sales tax revenue bond package worth $200 million. The sales tax bonds would raise $70 million in new money to pay for the Aldermanic Menu Program, which gives each alderman $1.3 million a year to spend local improvement projects of their choosing, in addition to another $130 million to refund outstanding payments on existing sales tax revenue bonds. Aldermen Scott Waguespack (32), John Arena (45), andMike Zalewski asked to be recorded as the sole “no” votes. Ald. Roderick Sawyer(6) abstained from the vote under provisions of Rule 14.

While this would not be the first time the city has borrowed money to pay for the annual aldermanic menu program–which costs the city an annual $6 million in administrative fees alone–this is the first time the city would be using sales tax receipts to pay for the program, according to CFO Brown and Budget Director Alex Holt. Historically, sales taxes have been used for city operations, while property taxes have been used for capital spending, and pension and debt payments.

“One of the concerns we had heard from the rating agencies and from investors is they would like to see the city diversify more the sources of support for our debt,” CFO Brown told aldermen. She said even after the Council approved a historic property tax increase last year, the city’s current property tax levy is maxed out and the junk rating on the city’s general obligation bonds would have made it too costly to borrow.

When pressed to explain how this bond offering would impact the city’s general fund, since sales tax revenue supports 18% of city operations, CFO Brown said yesterday’s package would be a test run to determine if sales tax revenue in place of property tax revenue for future debt payments is more cost-effective.

“So, we have to continue to make sure that we protect the sales tax for our corporate fund, and so this is not something that we would do…move wholesale to. But it’s something we are definitely exploring,” Brown explained.

This bond sale was the only offering that concerned Winick, who noted in his report that the deal could, “place an additional strain on the corporate fund budget.”

And CFO Brown revealed the city is looking for other revenue options to back future borrowing plans, but wouldn’t detail those plans publicly.

Ordinances authorizing the sale of $1 billion in Midway Airport Revenue Bonds and three separate water and wastewater bonds totalling $800 million quickly passed without dissent towards the end of the meeting. The former would raise $500 million in new money to pay for capital improvements for parking, concessions, noise mitigation and other general infrastructure repairs, $200 million to pay for outstanding debt, and $200 million to convert outstanding Midway Airport Revenue Bonds to so-called “Customer Facility Charge Bonds”. The proceeds from the new water and sewer bonds would terminate swap agreements with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) transferring existing wastewater bonds from a variable to a fixed rate. That change will cost the city about $100 million, an amount that is based on today’s market. The full cost won’t be known until the deal is finalized.

This past summer, around the time the rating agencies downgraded the city’s general obligation bonds to junk status, the city converted its existing general obligation, sales tax, and wastewater bonds to fixed rate. “And so this water conversion is the last conversion we need to do to totally de-risk the city’s balance sheet,” CFO Brown explained to aldermen when asked why the city is opting to pay such a high cost to convert the water bonds.

When asked by Ald. Rick Munoz (22) if the city could sue the banks to reduce the costs associated with the swap termination, CFO Brown said while nothing precludes the city from litigating the matter in court, the city is voluntarily choosing to pay the termination fee.

That comment didn’t sit well with Ald. Sue Sadlowski Garza (10) who is not a member of the Finance Committee but still complained about the “astronomical amounts of money in termination fees,” and asked why the City doesn’t just threaten to stop doing business with banks that refuse to forgive termination fees.

“We can’t keep paying these astronomical termination fees, especially in the fiscal state that the city is in,” Garza warned. The city has paid $250 million in swap termination fees since Mayor Emanuel took office, according to CFO Brown.

Jim McDonald, Deputy Corporation Counsel with the City’s Law Department, stepped in to testify that his department sought outside counsel in 2014 to determine if the city had a legal basis under federal or state law to sue banks and overturn the swap agreements. The report found that the city has no legal grounds to do so, McDonald said.

The $100 million termination fee on the water bonds will be borrowed through the bond issuance and paid back with revenue collected on water fees.

“So we’re borrowing money from another entity to pay for money we already borrowed,” Ald. Garza asked, sarcastically noting, “That doesn’t make any sense. That’s like me taking out a credit card to pay off another credit card.”

But Holt said that wasn’t an accurate portrayal of the deal, saying, “I recognize [these swap agreements] aren’t the most transparent thing in the world, but it’s not like we’re borrowing money to pay borrowed money. In this case there is a termination fee that we owe [...] The city has actually been receiving money all of this period of time, and now, in order to get out of the agreement, we have to essentially pay back the money.”

Aldermen Pushback on Other “Routine” Items

Every item on the Finance Committee agenda, save for a series of Special Service Area appointments, faced heavy scrutiny by aldermen who wanted to make sure they weren’t approving money transfers for projects that shouldn’t receive city subsidies.
That’s why, after nearly 40 minutes of debate, Chairman Burke decided to hold two proposals that would have waived building and permit fees for the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, as well as a proposal that would authorize $7 million in TIF funds to pay for a new public park next to the Marriott Marquis Hotel currently being built.

Ald. Pat Dowell’s ordinance would have saved McPier roughly $2.6 million in construction fees associated with the McCormick Place expansion plan through 2017. But after having already approved a $55 million dollar TIF subsidy for the construction of the Marriott Hotel, Ald. John Arena (45) argued the city shouldn’t be giving private developers additional subsidies when it’s already strapped for cash.

Mike Merchant with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, argued the Authority brings in $8 billion in economic activity and the new hotel will be an “important catalyst” that will bring hundreds of millions in additional revenue.

“We know we’re getting returns on a hotel wherever it’s placed [...] but if we’re subsidizing the cost of building it for a private company, that company should be giving us hard returns. I’m not understanding why this is a good deal for the city,” Arena countered.

Chairman Burke tabled the items and said they would be brought up for consideration after McPier provides a breakdown of pending capital projects that would benefit from the fee waivers.

Aldermen were less than thrilled with another plan that would refund CPS for a nearly $5 million athletic field it just built for Williams Jones College Preparatory High School and National Teachers Academy, a public elementary school. The ordinance the committee ultimately approved would reimburse CPS for the construction costs with $4.6 million from the 24th/Michigan TIF.

A proposal that would give the city the authority to reimburse the developers behind a massive redevelopment project in the South Loop for any costs incurred in the public way received some pushback but eventually advanced in committee, too.

The ordinance approves inducement language for the city to issue up to $98.4 million in tax-exempt special assessment bonds for the proposed 3,000-unit Franklin Pointproject in the South Loop. The Plan Commission approved the joint venture from Chicago developer CMK and Australian firm Lend Lease Group in November, but it has yet to advance to the full Council. Should the city choose to issue the bonds, another ordinance authorizing the sale would have to be approved by the full Council. The money would reimburse the developer for costs associated with their plans to improve the Chicago Riverwalk through local property taxes.

Aldermen will be asked to approve Mayor Emanuel’s appointment of former Board of Education Vice President Jesse Ruiz to the Chicago Park District’s Board of Commissioners, where he will be likely elected President of the Board by fellow Board members.

Ruiz served as the Education Board’s vice president for five years before taking over as Interim CEO for Chicago Public Schools last year when the former CEO, Barbara Byrd-Bennett was removed from the post after a federal investigation found she steered millions of dollars in school contracts to her former employer.

Ruiz will replace the Park District board’s outgoing President, Dr. Bryan Traubert, who has led the Board since 2010 and stepped down at the end of last year. The Mayor wants Ruiz to take his place at the helm. Last November, when the Mayor first announced plans to put Ruiz in charge of the Park District, he said the appointment would set the stage for a major parks initiative he’d be rolling out in December. But no announcement has been made, a likely consequence of the political fallout of the release of the Laquan McDonald video. Four days after the Mayor announced Ruiz’s appointment, Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with murdering Laquan McDonald.

Proposals to provide two South Side companies with approximately $2 million in property tax relief over the next twelve years are up for consideration.

Balton Corporation, a paper, plastic and dairy product distributor, is seeking a Class 6(b) property tax incentive to relocate from New City to an old industrial facility in Burnside previously occupied by Jay’s Potato Chips. The company plans to spend $4.6 million to renovate the building and expand operations. If the property tax break is approved, the company would save an estimated $1.2 million over the next 12 years.

Takis Royal Foods, a wholesale foodservice supplier to restaurants, is applying for the same property tax incentive to support the recent acquisition and rehabilitation of a 48,000-square-foot industrial building in Archer Heights. The company recently relocated from the Near West Side and has budgeted $2.3 million for renovations and upgrades. If the property tax break is approved, the company would save an estimated $532,000 over the next 12 years.

Aldermen will be urged to approve Mayor Emanuel’s plan to issues billions of new bonds, including $1.25 billion in General Obligation bonds after reluctantly approving a $1.1 billion borrowing plan less than a year ago. At the time, Chief Financial Officer Carole Brown warned the city would default on its debt payments and ruin its credit if they failed to act.

This new borrowing package would pay down or restructure existing debt, including a continuation of “scoop and toss” through 2019; fund the Aldermanic Menu Program, which gives each alderman $1.3 million to pay for local infrastructure projects of their choosing; pay for capital improvements at the city’s airports as well as to the city’s water and sewer system; and commit $700 million to the city’s capital program over the next two years.

The bond initiatives up for a vote include:

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  $1.25 billion in General Obligation bonds – with $700 million going towards capital improvement projects over the next two years and a planned continuation of “scoop and toss” until 2019, according to the Mayor’s office. The remaining proceeds are to retire old debt.

  
  


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  $1 billion in Chicago Midway Airport Revenue Bonds – The bond issuance includes $500 million in new money to pay for capital improvements at the airport for parking, concessions, noise mitigation and other general infrastructure repairs, $200 million to refund bonds for savings, and $200 million to convert outstanding bonds to Customer Facility Charge bonds. The conversion gives rental car companies operating at the airport greater financial flexibility and mirrors the financing structure used at O’Hare, according to draft documents. Barclays will manage the bond sale.

  
  


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  $200 million in Sales Tax Revenue Bonds – This bond issue would raise $70 million in new money to fund the Aldermanic Menu Program, which gives each alderman $1.3 million a year to spend on local infrastructure projects of their choosing. The rest will be used to pay off existing debt. Called an “experiment” by CFO Brown, for the first time the city would use sales taxes to finance the Aldermanic Menu Money program. Historically, sales tax revenues have been used for operations, while property taxes were for capital programs, debt and pensions. However, most of the city’s existing property tax levy has been committed to pensions and debt already, forcing the city to begin to use other revenue sources for capital programs. Siebert will manage the bond sale scheduled for the third quarter of 2016.

  
  


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  $400 million in Second Lien Wastewater Transmission Bonds - The new money will pay for flood abatement, sewer replacement, and other infrastructure improvements to the city’s sewer system. The bonds are backed by sewer fees and will be issued in either the second or third quarter of 2016. Chicago-basedMesirow is handling the sale.

  
  


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  $400 million in two separate Second Lien Water Revenue Bonds - Half of the new money will pay for swap terminations, the other half will pay for capital improvements.

  
  


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  $98.4 million in Special Assessment Bonds for Franklin Point - This is an inducement ordinance that gives the city the option to issue tax-exempt bonds in the future to pay down existing project costs. Should the city decide to issue the bonds, a separate ordinance would have to be introduced and approved by the City Council.

  
  

Tax-Increment Financing (TIF)-related Ordinances Before Finance Committee

Aldermen will consider a proposal to allocate $500,000 in TIF money to help pay for construction costs associated with the Union Station Master Plan, multi-year, multi-phase plan to increase capacity, modernize, and improve Union Station’s connectivity to other public transit. Amtrak owns the downtown train station and will foot the bill for half of the the $6 million plan and the city will reimburse up to $500,000 of the cost with money from the Canal Congress TIF.

Plans call for approximately $1.3 million to renovate and expand the lobby entrance off Canal Street to allow for greater pedestrian flow and “increased natural light into the Concourse”; $1.3 million to widen METRA train platforms to minimize congestion during peak hours; and approximately $1 million to repurpose an existing unused corridor into an underground, weather protected pedestrian passageway connecting the Union Station concourse with the Ogilvie Transportation Center.

Another ordinance allocates $4.6 million in TIF funds to pay for a new athletic field to be shared by Williams Jones College Preparatory High School and National Teachers Academy, a public elementary school. Chicago Public Schools is building the new athletic field at 2300 South Dearborn Avenue, and the 24th/Michigan TIF, which spans the 3rd, 4th, and 25th Wards, will pay for it.

Two Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority-related Ordinances

Ald. Pat Dowell (3) has introduced an ordinance requesting all construction permit and zoning fees incurred after November 5, 2015 associated with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority be waived. Under the agreement, the MPEA will be required to submit quarterly reports to the city’s Office of Budget and Management detailing the fees waived. [O2015-8533]. Another MPEA related ordinance from the Mayor’s office is an intergovernmental agreement with the Chicago Park District for the redevelopment of Prairie Park.

A blue ribbon panel Rules Committee Chairman Michelle Harris (8) assembled to find a new Legislative Inspector General is expected to make its recommendations in “the next few days”, one member on the selection team told Aldertrack yesterday. The news came the same day Ald. Michele Smith (43) announced she has the votes needed to eliminate that office and put the responsibility of investigating aldermen under the jurisdiction of Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson.

Alejandra Garza, one of the five members of the selection committee, confirmed with Aldertrack last night that, “the search process is coming to an end and [they] will be making their recommendation in the next few days.” Harris created the panel in November to find a replacement for the Council’s former LIG Faisal Khan after his term expired. But Garza wouldn’t confirm how many applicants applied or remain for consideration.

That candidate could be announced as early as Monday, according to a memo Ald. Pat O’Connor’s office sent to aldermen yesterday afternoon. The memo says his Workforce Development Committee will meet Monday afternoon to consider Ald. Smith’s merger ordinance, in addition to potentially “accept[ing] and consider[ing] a substitute ordinance that retains the Office of the Legislative Inspector General and enhances the powers and duties of that Office in place of the above ordinance.”

While neither O’Connor’s nor Harris’ office could confirm that a candidate would be announced at that meeting by our publication deadline, O’Connor said in December–when he held a subject hearing on the two ordinances–that he would not allow a vote on either until an LIG candidate was found. He reasoned that all 50 aldermen should have the opportunity to decide and that decision shouldn’t be made until then.

“You will not be making that choice in a vacuum, because you will also have an opportunity to understand who this selection committee has picked and have an understanding of what that person’s thought process is,” O’Connor told aldermen at the meeting.

When asked multiple times by Council colleges and reporters why the city needed to find a new LIG when a majority of the Council seemed to favor eliminating the office, O’Connor said the ordinance that created the office legally requires a search for a replacement take place should the office become vacant.

“By January we will be voting on one or the other,” he promised his colleagues.

But Ald. Smith thinks the Council has waited long enough. She held a press conference at City Hall yesterday morning announcing she has the votes to discharge her merger ordinance from Ald. O’Connor’s committee at the full City Council meeting next Wednesday. The procedural move, known as a Rule 41, would need a majority of the full Council to bring the ordinance to the floor for consideration. Another alderman could object the motion, but if the item makes it to the floor, the full Council can vote to amend or pass it. 27 aldermen signed the Rule 41 notice Smith filed with the City Clerk’s Office.

“Our numbers in support of this effort reflect the cries of Chicagoans who demand accountability of their lawmakers, particularly at this significant time in our city’s history. There have never been this many Aldermen to co-sponsor a ‘Rule 41’ to bring about true, lasting change,” Smith said at the press conference, with ten of her council colleagues echoing her call to put the issue to rest.

Hours later, after O’Connor sent out the memo, Ald. Smith told Aldertrack, “Considering a substitute ordinance and a [LIG] candidate on such short notice would be a huge mistake for the City Council.”

“None of us know if there is a new LIG and if so, who it is,” she added.

While this debate over who should investigate aldermen has been going on for more than a year, support for the merger ordinance “surged” this past fall, according to Smith, when former LIG Khan’s term expired. Before he left the post, he claimed his office was designed to fail because his $354,000 budget barely covered expenses, and his inability to investigate anonymous complaints made him powerless.

And when Harris announced in November she had created a selection committee to find Khan’s replacement, Ald. Smith expressed concern that the city would hire a new LIG before the Council had an opportunity to consider her merger plan.

She and Ald. Ameya Pawar (47) introduced a second ordinance to strengthen the LIG’s office. That ordinance, which Smith described as a parliamentary “plan b”, would increase the OLIG’s annual budget to at least $500,000 and authorizes the LIG to initiate its own investigations without prior approval from the BOE and a signed and sworn complaint. The possible substitute O’Connor referred to in his memo could further amend that plan, but neither Smith nor Pawar know who is drafting it.

A pilot program in the 1st Ward that lets nonprofits near residential streets buy daily parking permits for its employees could be expanded through 2016 with two additional lakefront wards, under a proposal before the Council’s Pedestrian & Traffic Safety Committee today.

The ordinance introduced by Clerk Susana Mendoza would expand the pilot program to Ald. Tom Tunney’s 44th Ward (Lakeview) and Michele Smith’s 43rd Ward (Lincoln Park). Under the program, not-for-profits can buy up to 150 daily parking permits a month for its employees, or 30 stickers a month for each of up to five employees.

The rest of the committee’s agenda consists of routine parking matters. The meeting originally scheduled for noon was pushed to 1:30 pm and will now be held in the Council Chambers.

A former Chicago Public Schools official who now serves on the Illinois State Charter School Commission is joining the Chicago Board of Education. Mayor Rahm Emanuelannounced yesterday Jaime Guzman will replace Jesse Ruiz, who stepped down from the Board last year to become the new Chair of the Chicago Park District Board. Emanuel is also recommending the Board of Education elect Guzman to fill Ruiz’s old job of Board Vice President.

Guzman currently serves as the Taproot Foundation’s Executive Director for the Midwest. The national nonprofit connects business professionals with nonprofits in need of pro-bono services. Guzman will vacate his spot on the state charter school commission once his appointment to the BOE is finalized.

During Mayor Richard M. Daley’s administration, Guzman led CPS’ Office of New Schools (ONS), the department in charge of authorizing all district charter schools and new schools. Before that, he taught at Kanoon Magnet School, a public elementary school in the city’s Little Village neighborhood. According to his LinkedIn, Guzman got his first teaching job as a Teach for America teacher in Paterson, New Jersey.

The Chicago Teacher’s Union called the appointment “unfortunate” and Guzman a charter school ally, saying, “With the mayor’s selection of Guzman, more than half of the Board of Ed’s members are now unabashed charter supporters.”

Streets and sidewalks around Union Station will get a little less crowded under a new deal the Committee on Transportation and Public Way approved with Megabus. It transfers a street under the Congress Parkway to the charter bus company to build a stop to pick up and drop off passengers.

Members Present: Chairman Anthony Beale (9), Pat Dowell (3), Marty Quinn (13), Matt O’Shea (19), Willie Cochran (21), Chris Taliaferro (29),  Milly Santiago (31), Deb Mell (33), Gilbert Villegas (36), Anthony Napolitano (41) Michele Smith (43

The city has been working for years to address the growing congestion around the West Loop train station, which sees an average of 120,000 passengers a week. And according to Jeff Sriver with the Chicago Department of Transportation, the mix of those commuter passengers, cars, taxies, CTA buses has made it difficult for Megabus to pick up passengers curbside at their current location a block away from the station on the corner of West Van Buren and South Canal Street.

Sriver said that’s why CDOT sought City Council approval to vacate property owned by the State Department of Transportation at 432-498 South Clinton Street and permit Megabus to use the off-street location as a bus stop. Under the 25-year agreement, Megabus will have to aesthetically improve the land and add new lighting, pavement, and signs.

But aldermen were less concerned about the traffic. They wanted to know what was in it for the city and who Megabus would hire as a contractor.

Ald. Pat Dowell (3) asked more questions than anyone else on the committee, inquiring if the city would make money on the permit (answer: no); if the city makes money every time Megabus sells a ticket to or from Chicago (answer: no); and if it’s common for cities to vacate public streets for private transportation companies (answer: Yes, charter buses are considered common carriers like taxis which are allowed to pick up passengers curbside).

MegaBus plans to spend $350,000 to $500,000 on construction, according Jim Schwartz, who testified on behalf of the company. Their request for proposals will be private and their architect has already given them a short list of potential contractors.Chairman Anthony Beale (9) and Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) found this disappointing, and suggested the company consider opening up the bid to make it easier for minority-owned companies to enter the applicant pool.

Chairman Beale even went as far as to request that the Law Department “explore” how the city could expand its minority and women-owned business procurement requirements to private companies that hire contractors to work on public way improvements. The city’s current M/WBE program is set to expire in March. BudgetChairman Carrie Austin allowed for a temporary extension of the program last month so she could hold “in depth hearings” on how the city can strengthen it.

Two mayoral appointments to the city’s Board of Local Improvements, the body that oversees infrastructure improvements prompted by new development projects, also advanced in committee. Christopher M. Michalek, a partner at McGuire Woods, LLP, and Edward T. McKinnie, Sr., the President of the Board of Directors for Black Contractors United, will fill two of the three vacancies on the board. Neither will get paid, as Mayor Emanuel eliminated the stipend in 2011 as a way to save money.

Despite having several contentious applications on the agenda, hardly anyone from the public spoke at yesterday’s three hour City Council Zoning meeting awkwardly led by Vice Chairman James Cappleman (46) and committee staffers who guided him by regularly whispering his cues and correcting his motions.

Save for Council fixture George Blakemore, who testified on almost every application, and another Council regular from Lincoln Park, Allan Mellis, who spoke in support of a new modern-style hotel in his neighborhood, several large scale projects that received a sizable amount of public opposition at the December Plan Commission meeting breezed through yesterday’s meeting without much detail or debate.

Committee Members Present (7/17): Vice Chairman James Cappleman (46), Joe Moreno (1), Toni Foulkes (16), Matt O’Shea (19), Walter Burnett (27), Tom Tunney (44), Ameya Pawar (47).
Other Aldermen Present: Will Burns (4), Deb Mell (33), Michele Smith (43)

Spending an average of five minutes per application, the committee advanced zoning changes to allow construction of a new 24-story luxury high-rise and office building in River North, updated plans for an 11-story luxury condo building next to the landmark Village Theater in Old Town, and a proposal to transform the landmark Colvin House in Edgewater into office space, among several others.

Only one project garnered aldermanic opposition, and it was over the issue of affordable housing units. Ald. Joe Moreno (1) tried to block Marc Realty’s plan to build two identical mixed-use, luxury condo buildings with 220-units at the site of the former Discount Mega Mall in Logan Square. Moreno, whose ward neighbors the project, was concerned the developers would fall back on their promise to provide affordable housing, prompting a technical debate about codifying the law in zoning applications.

When the project was brought up for consideration at yesterday’s meeting, the applicant’s attorney, Carol Stubblefield with the law firm Neal & Leroy, testified that 10 percent, or 22 units, will be made affordable as required under the city’s old Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO).

Noting the 220-unit count did not match the 240 unit count listed on the agenda, Moreno asked for a point of clarification to make sure the promised affordable units were codified in the planned development statements.

Zoning Administrator Patti Scudiero noted that when the developer filed the application in September, the last month before beefed up ARO requirements took effect, the developer initially listed 240-units, but later scaled the number down to appease local residents. The change was noted at the Plan Commission meeting, she added.

But Ald. Moreno pressed on, taking issue with the language in the PD statement, which says the developer must provide the 22 affordable units “or” make an in lieu cash payment to the city. Since the cash payment is required when building permits are issued, not when the zoning change is approved, the standard PD language regarding affordable housing is usually written as an option, Scudiero noted.

An exhibit in the application states the developer will add affordable units on site, and meeting records further codify the requirements, Stubblefield added. But Moreno said that wasn’t good enough, saying he was worried the contradictory statements would lead to a legal battle over which document supersedes the other.

“You can’t come up here and say it’s codified in the agreement that they have to do it on site when there is legal language that says they can buy out of it,” Moreno argued. “Mr. Chairman, you’re in charge, but I don’t see how the committee can move forward on this when such an important issue of the project is in limbo.”

By this point the attorney was annoyed, noticeably raising her voice to again argue the issue is codified. Ald. Ameya Pawar (47) suggested the committee strike the word “or” so the committee could move on. But Vice Chairman Cappleman fumbled on the motion, accidently asking the committee to strike the language that would require the affordable units instead. Several yelled “no” and Scudiero had to step in to say the department would strike the language after “or”. The committee approved the motion, finally putting the issue to rest.

Updates on Proposed Medical Marijuana Security Changes, New Event Liquor License

The committee deferred a proposal to amend security requirements for medical marijuana dispensaries that operate in Chicago. The ordinance co-sponsored by Ald. Ed Burke (14) and Ald. Willie Cochran (20) would reverse a city requirement Burke pushed for and ultimately got approved in 2014 that requires  around-the-clock security guards at dispensaries. The change would loosen the restrictions to require security only when the dispensary is open for business. That item was deferred because Ald. Burke is amending his proposal, and a substitute is expected to be introduced at the next zoning meeting on January 20th, according to a legislative aide for the committee.

The aide also noted that Chairman Danny Solis (25) is amending his proposal to create a new liquor license for large-scale private parties. The ordinance Solis introduced in July would eliminate Class A and B licenses and create a new license with a fee structure based on the number of attendees, starting at $700 for an event with at least 350 attendees and capped at $4,000 for an event with 4,000 patrons. The committee will take up a substitute on that ordinance at the January 20th meeting, too.

Highlights of Approved Items

Co-Working Space Planned for Edgewater Landmark (48th Ward): A proposal to turn Edgewater’s historic Colvin House at 5940 N. Sheridan Road into a co-working space for young professionals advanced in committee. Built in 1901 and designed by Architect George W. Maher, the yellow, three-story mansion on the the corner of Thorndale Avenue and Sheridan Road is one of the last remaining lakefront mansions from the turn of the 20th century. Citing its “[d]ominant central entries, broad hipped roofs, bold rectangular massing, and complementary landscaping,” the city designated the home a Chicago landmark in 1994.

Angela Valavanis, the applicant behind the zoning change, owns a Creative Co-Working space in downtown Evanston and wants to open a similar facility in the 77,000-square-foot home. “This particular building is gorgeous, seems perfect and gives me an opportunity to also restore a historic landmark and open it up to the community to be a shared resource,” she testified. Zoning Administrator Patti Scudiero says she lives across the street from the home and spoke in support, saying, “This [home] has sat empty for quite a long time, and in the summertime the parcel is so beautiful, but the weeds prevent anyone from seeing the beauty on this corner.” According to Curbed Chicago, the property was listed in April for $1.2 million dollars.

Chicago Police Officer to Open Art Gallery for Kids on West Side (27th Ward): The Zoning Committee approved Chicago Police Officer Corry Williams’ application to remodel a vacant, one-story building in the East Garfield neighborhood on the city’s West Side and transform it into an art gallery for neighborhood youth.

According to his attorney, Rolando Acosta, Officer Williams bought the approximately 1,500-square-foot building at 345 N. Kedzie Ave. as a way to, “engage the community and bringing other activities that children can engage in, other than those that we wish they did not.”

Testifying in support of the project, local 27th Ward Ald. Walter Burnett noted the neighborhood was once a heavily industrial area but most of the surrounding buildings have since been converted to live-work lofts or live-work art spaces, “This is pretty much an artistical [sic] area.”

Williams had sought a zoning change from a manufacturing district (M1-2) to a neighborhood commercial district (C1-2) to facilitate the remodel, but his attorney corrected the record to reflect a mistake: they’re seeking a business district (B1-2) per request of the local community.

The subject site includes a detached, two-car garage (approx. 630-square-feet) and according to the application, plans also call for “workspace or retail or office uses”. The city issued a construction permit for the property in October 2015 for $60,000 in expected renovations that will include a “build-out for new general contractor's office and new construction of rear masonry garage.”

Lofts for Former East Village Polish Center (1st Ward): The Ashland Church of God, the historic and distinctly orange Polish community center at 1062-1100 N. Ashland Ave. will be turned into residential lofts. Developer Mark Sutherland’s so-called East Village Lofts will house 34-residential units divided among the building’s five floors. A breakdown of the planned residential units was not provided at the meeting, but according to the East Village Association, the building will have four studio apartments, 16 one-bedroom units, and 13 two-bedroom units.

Sutherland sought a rezone to demolish part of the building. The existing orange facade will remain, per community request, according to Sutherland’s attorney.

Since the development is 700 feet from the CTA’s Blue Line, it was filed as a Transit Oriented Development (TOD). The developer agreed to provide the required 10 percent ratio of affordable units. But those units, according to 1st Ward Ald. Joe Moreno, will be built off-site, as allowed in the new “linkage” provision added to the updated 2015 ARO requirements.

Aldermanic Applications (Highlights)

Several aldermanic applications were deferred in committee, mostly because none of them showed up to testify at yesterday’s meeting.

11th Ward Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson’s proposed downzone of the landmarked Spiegel Administration Building in Bridgeport and 8th Ward Ald. Michelle Harris’ downzone of the iconic Sears store in Grand Crossing.

A staff assistant for Ald. Harris, Michelle Evans, did, however, come down to testify on behalf of Harris’ other application: a downzone of a jerk chicken shop and adjacent parking lot at 1652-56 E. 79th Street in the South Shore neighborhood. After Vice Chairman Cappleman read the application and motioned for Evans to speak, she did not provide any details, saying, “The alderman is in support of this zone change.” As Cappleman opened the floor up for questions–(no one had any)–a zoning committee staff assistant whispered to Evans, whose mic was still on, “No, she introduced it, she is probably doing it for land use planning.”

“Okay,” Evans said before going back on mic to add, “for land use planning.”

In fact, 19th Ward Ald. Matt O’Shea was the only alderman to speak on behalf of his zoning applications. He had three in all: two rezone requests, which the committee approved, modestly rezone portions of Kedzie Avenue to make the commercial strip more uniform. The other application, listed on the deferred agenda, downzones a portion of the 1100 block of South Ridge Avenue from a community shopping district to a residential single-unit district. The change was needed because the surrounding properties are already zoned for residential use, according to Ald. O’Shea.

Ald. Deb Silverstein’s (50) proposed downzone of a building across from Warren Park, where a medical marijuana dispensary wanted to locate, was deferred to February. The dispensary, 420 Capital Management, failed to secure the special use permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals, a week after their attorney accused Silverstein of making an illegal zoning change as an attempt to block his client from moving to the location. The property, 6501-11 N. Western Avenue, is zoned for motor vehicle and commercial uses, but Silverstein wants it reclassified for single family homes. According to a legislative aide for the Zoning Committee, Ald. Silverstein is now seeking a larger designation, so the item has to be re-published and re-noticed.