Public testimony turned into a die-in and shouting match at Tuesday’s Cook County Board of Commissioners hearing on the proposed FY2016 budget, with an unusual heated exchange between Commissioners Robert Steele (2) and Deborah Sims(10), and a young woman advocating for $2 million in funding for restorative justice programs across the county. Roughly 20 activists, many in orange tees from Community Renewal Society, participated. The group also staged a vigil at a public hearing in Skokie.

At one point, in the midst of the City Council’s tense city budget debate, the whole chamber went quiet. Every aldermen held their breath, Clerk Susana Mendoza and Mayor Rahm Emanuel froze at the podium and every reporter in the press box stilled themselves to see what would happen next.

Aldermen David Moore (17) had voiced an objection to Finance Committee Chairman Ed Burke’s (14) motion to suspend the rules of the Council.

While as many as seventeen aldermen have been leaning against voting for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2016 budget and property tax increase this morning, following a series of intense negotiations over the last week, strong opposition has been whittled down to about half a dozen Council members. Another half dozen members have been holding on to make a decision until the last minute, mostly waiting to squeeze out some last concessions from the Mayor.

Speaking off the record to Aldertrack, aldermen expressed no doubt the Mayor’s budget will pass, despite a fever pitch of constituent calls to oppose the property tax increase and new garbage fee. Better to get some political goodies in return for a “yes” vote than to just register a protest vote, over a dozen aldermen told Aldertrack yesterday.

But freshman Ald. Derrick Curtis (18) spoke for many: aldermen don’t have much of a choice. “Right now, it’s the only option we have. It’s either be part of the problem or part of the solution, and I’d rather be part of the solution,” he said.

Two big concessions are expected in tomorrow’s budget vote: first, a resolution endorsed by the Mayor calling for passage of a city property tax rebate plan if Springfield does not pass an exemption by April, and second, to lump the vote for the property tax, corporate budget, management ordinance and revenue ordinance into a single motion with a roll call vote.

Typically, the budget is broken into a number of roll call votes, but by lumping the ordinances into a single motion, aldermen avoid scrutiny on each item and are provided a cover of, “I had to vote for it.”

Aldermen Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), Joe Moreno (1) and Michele Smith (43), all loud opponents of the property tax hike, have each introduced city property tax rebate ordinances, with dozens of co-sponsors.

Council members also told Aldertrack that votes were swayed from “no” to “yes” this past week by the creation of a senior exemption for the garbage fee, compromises on the ridesharing ordinance and what one aldermanic staffer called, “the most inclusive budget I’ve ever seen,” after noting how many amendments were allowed in the last week.

Indeed, in a sharp break from previous years, Mayor Emanuel has been practically obsequious with aldermen, soliciting their ideas at almost every step. While the budget plan is still very much Mayor Emanuel’s, old hands agree this budget process is unlike any they have ever experienced.

Still, as late as last night, aldermen were personally meeting with the Mayor to obtain more concessions, including promotion of development in their wards, capital spending on neighborhood high schools and assurances that Chicago Public Schools will not increase their property tax levy in the next year.

While the city budget is just about a done deal, CPS’ budget problems still loom in the background, since it passed with a $480 million hole that needs to be filled by a state government unable to even satisfy its own budget needs.

Many aldermen agreed CPS’ money problems will be the Council’s next crisis to address, either through an ordinance, or by just trying to calm an angry electorate.

The Council’s Zoning Committee approved the appointment of David Reifman as the new Commissioner for the Department of Planning and Development, in addition to approving zoning changes to permit a handful of large-scale development projects, such as a 47-story residential high rise in Streeterville and a 70-unit, family-oriented residence in the West Loop.

With few aldermen on hand at yesterday’s meeting, most of whom trickled in and out of the Chambers, the committee spent under five minutes for each application, finishing the 21-page agenda before lunch. All zoning applications, excluding those deferred at the request of the local alderman or lawyer, passed. Zoning Chairman Danny Solis (25) will recommend passage on all but two of the approved items at the City Council meeting today.

Attendance (members in bold): Chairman Danny Solis (25), Vice Chairman James Cappleman (46), George Cardenas (12), Toni Foulkes (16), David Moore(17), Walter Burnett (27), Marge Laurino (39), Brendan Reilly (42), Tom Tunney(44), Ameya Pawar (47), Harry Osterman (48)

Approved Appointments

David Reifman received a lot of praise from committee members. Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) said Reifman has a “breadth of experience” that DPD will benefit from, while Ald. Toni Foulkes (16) said she’s looking forward to working with him on two new development plans in Englewood.

After Reifman’s brief statement expressing excitement to work on the Mayor’s second term agenda, Ald. David Moore (17) went on offense. “How do you balance the Mayor’s agenda with what I call the people’s agenda?”

Reifman said those two things are synonymous, telling Ald. Moore the Mayor is looking to incentivize more transit oriented development, revitalize local retail corridors, and give tax incentives to businesses that commit to investing in underserved areas. But Moore continued to push Reifman, asking him to explain whether aldermen should have more local control over development projects and TIF funds. After Moore rephrased the question several different ways, Reifman expressed confusion, “Alderman, I’m not sure exactly what you’re asking me to say.” He said he sees the alderman’s role as very important, but there are a lot of stakeholders that need to be taken into account.

Moore ultimately voted in favor of Reifman’s appointment.

The committee also approved several appointments and reappointments to the Public Building Commission and the Building Board of Appeals. Albert Tyson, III and Hector Rico were the only two new appointments out of the bunch.

Tyson, an appointee to the Public Building Commission, is the presiding elder for the African Methodist Episcopal Church on Chicago’s West Side. Prior to that, he spent 26 years at another West Side church, St. Stephen African Episcopal Methodist Church. The PBC is an 11-member board tasked with maintaining, acquiring and building public facilities across the city, including schools, libraries, parks, and police and fire stations. Ald. Moore, who was worked with Tyson, vouched for him.

Rico is the executive director for the Latino Organization of the Southwest, a non-profit that helps immigrants and at-risk youth on the Southwest Side. Rico will serve on the Building Board of Appeals, a nine-member board that hears appeals from the Commissioner of the City’s Building Department.

Approved Applications (The Highlights)  

47-Story Residential Highrise in Streeterville (42nd Ward) - Jupiter Realty and Pappageorge Haymes are behind a plan to build a 513-foot residential tower that will house 444 residential units north of the Sheridan Hotel in downtown Chicago. There will be commercial retail and a residential lobby on the first floor, a parking lot for 181 cars on the second through fourth floors, and residential units on the subsequent floors.

“This is really the last undeveloped parcel on this block,” Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) said, adding he’s especially thrilled the developer has agreed to revamp the neighboring Ogden Plaza, which he called the “derelict open space in the heart of Streeterville.”  

“So we’re going to see a dramatic aesthetic improvement for the neighborhood, finally usable open space, where it is very much needed,” he added. According to the applicant’s attorney, John George, the developers increased the building’s height at the request of local community groups whose members wanted the units to be bigger. To start construction on the project site (465 N. Park Dr.), the applicants sought an amendment to the existing Residential Business Planned Development (No. 368). The project received Plan Commission approval earlier this month.

Family-Oriented Residential Building in West Loop (25th Ward) - A luxury condo developer received approval to up-zone a property in the West Loop for a new six-story, 70-unit residential building. Alan Lev, with the Belgravia Group, said all of the units will be “family-sized” with 2,000+ square-feet, three bedroom three bath units. “There is a real need in the West Loop community for primarily residents who live there already, and lived in one-and-two bedroom units, and who want to stay in the neighborhood,” he said. Belgravia had two other projects of similar size in the ward that sold out quickly, he added.

Residential Development Near Sheridan Red Line Stop (46th Ward):  Loukas Development got the green light to build an 8-story mixed-use development near the Sheridan Red Line stop. Loukas is affiliated with George Loukas, owner of the Cubby Bear and Sports Corner bars and rooftop buildings that overlook Wrigley Field. The developer wants to demolish the existing 3-story vintage building on the 3900 block of N. Sheridan Road and replace it with a 54 unit building with 3,100 square feet of commercial retail space and 27 parking spaces.

The original proposal called for 60 units and 24 parking spaces, but according to DNAinfo, members of East Lakeview Neighbors expressed concerns about density and traffic. Developers made significant changes to the architectural style of the building, changing the original design, a modern structure with floor to ceiling windows and thin, metal paneling, to a pared down stone and masonry vintage-inspired building. Vice Chairman James Cappleman (46) said he prefered the modernist design, but ultimately went with what the community wanted.  

North Side Museum Gets Zoning Change (48th Ward): The Swedish American Museum Association of Chicago got approval to up-zone their museum in Andersonville, to obtain a Public Place of Amusement license to host receptions and events on site. In an unusual move for the committee, attorney Thomas Mooreasked Ald. Harry Osterman (48) speak on behalf of the applicant.

New Condos for Avondale (33rd Ward): Dorel Ardelean got the okay from the committee to build one of three condo buildings in Avondale. Intending to build the residential complex in phases, Ardelean filed an application for the first building, which he wants to construct on an irregularly shaped vacant lot on the corner of Belmont and Elston Avenues (2854 W. Belmont Ave). Plans call for a three-story condominium with 9 residential units and basement, and detached garages, at the back of the building, with enough space for 12 cars. According to the applicationArdelean filed with Ald. Deb Mell’s office, the full plan calls for two additional three-story, six-unit buildings. DNAinfo reported residents were disappointed none of the buildings will contain retail.

Deferred Items 

We previously highlighted three applications filed by Buffalo Grove-based real estate firm Svigos Asset Management to repurpose three shuttered CPS schools for residential development, but those and a dozen other applications were immediately deferred.

Two applications on the deferred agenda that were approved yesterday will be held in committee. An application for a 30-story mixed-use building next to the Cabrini Green row houses will be held, per request of the attorney. Chairman Solis is holding the other application for a proposed 354-unit residential highrise in his ward’s Near West Side community.

Ald. Joe Moore (49) asked to defer an application to rezone 6453-55 N Newgard Ave. from RS3 Residential Single-Unit (Detached House) District to RM4.5. The applicant, 6453 N Newgard Inc., is seeking to add two additional residences in addition to the six existing on site. The plan also calls for more parking spaces.

Ald. Patrick O’Connor (40) requested deferral for an application from Svigos Asset Management Inc. to rezone a former school building at 5200 N. Ashland from RS3 Residential Single-Unit District to B3-3 Community Shopping District. The plan calls for a complete renovation of the building’s interior, including the rehabilitation of the existing community theater on the first floor and the 49 residential units that will be added on the top floors.

O’Connor also held an application from AB Marathon Ltd., which is seeking a zoning change from RS3 Residential Single-Unit District to C1-1 Neighborhood Commercial District in order to add one story to an existing motor vehicle repair building.

John George, of law firm Scuyler, Roche & Crisham PC, representing Oakley Building LLC, requested a deferral on the proposed zoning change for 2817 N Oakley in the 32nd Ward. The requested change is from M2-3 Light Industry District to RM4.5 Residential Multi-Unit District, which would allow for the construction of 11 residential units with 13 parking spaces.

A proposed zoning change from C2-2 Motor Vehicle related Commercial District to C2-5 Motor Vehicle Related District and then to a Planned Development in the 32ndWard was deferred pending Planning Development Commission approval. The huge proposal calls for 240 apartment units and retail space at 2434-2436 N Sacramento Ave, 2456-2496 N Milwaukee Avenue, 2500-2544 Milwaukee Ave. and 2401-2467 N Linden Pl.

The Law Office of Samuel VP Banks, representing Svigos Asset Management Inc., requested a deferral on a proposed zoning change from RS3 Residential Single-Unit District to B2-3 Neighborhood Mixed-Use District for a former school property at 739 North Ada Street. The proposal calls for the conversion of the school property and into an all-residential building and construction of a new building on site for a total of 57 units. According to the application, the property is still owned by the Chicago Board of Education.

Attorney Thomas Moore, on behalf of VCP Opportunity Fund II, LLC Series III-917 W 18th St., requested a deferral on a zoning change at 917-925 W. 18th Street. The change, from M1-2 Limited Manufacturing/Business Park District to B2-3 Neighborhood Mixed-Use District, would allow for the renovation to a mixed-use retail space with 26 residential units on the top floor.

The Law Office of Mark Kupiec & Associates, representing Fox Chicago LLC, deferred an application for a zoning change at 1414-46 W. 21st St. and 2013-25 S. Laflin St. The change from M1-3 Limited Manufacturing/Business Park District and C1-2 Neighborhood Commercial District to B2-5 Neighborhood shopping district, would allow for the rehabbing of the building and the establishment of commercial units on the ground floor and 99 apartment units.

Kupiec also deferred an application from the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of Chicago to change the zoning at 246-250 W. 22nd Place from RT4 Residential Two-Flat, Townhouse and Multi-Unit District to RM-6.5 Residential Multi Unit District. The applicants are seeking to demolish an existing building in order to erect an eight-story building with commercial space on the first two floors and housing for the elderly above.

Ald. Brian Hopkins (2) deferred several applications to rezone properties within his ward. The first application from 56 W. Huron LLC is seeking a change from DX-5 Downtown Mixed-Use District to DX-7 Downtown Mixed-Use District. The proposal calls for an 11-story, 11-unit condominium development with parking on the first floor.

Hopkins also deferred action on a proposed change at 1728-1748 N. Clybourn Ave. from B1-2 Neighborhood Shopping District to B2-5 Neighborhood Shopping District. The proposal, from The Richden Company, calls for a six-story, 68 unit apartment building with 68 parking spaces, and a proposed change at 1011-1023 N Ashland Ave from B1-2 Neighborhood Shopping District to B2-3 Neighborhood Mixed-Use District. Applicant Virage LLC is seeking the change to construct a four-story building with retail at grade and 33 residential units above.

The alderman also deferred judgement on an application from Robert Picchietti for a zoning change at 1623 N. Milwaukee Avenue, from M1-2 Limited Manufacturing/Business Park District to C1-2 Neighborhood Commercial District. The building will be used as a restaurant.

Issuing a light reproof of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposal to privatize 311 services, The Council Office of Financial Analysis (COFA) released its first major report on city budgets to Aldermen last Thursday. While the private report contains the clearest analysis of city budget plans from any government agency, it mostly supports the Mayor’s budget plan, saying that, “The Mayor’s 2016 budget proposal is a strong step on the path towards fiscal stability.”

Download, “Review of Mayor’s 2016 Proposed Budget”

The most eye-catching part of the 65-page analysis is the Conclusions section near the end, of which COFA Director Ben Winick told Aldertrack, “The opinions are mine. I think the words speak for themselves.”

Winick reviews the mayor’s proposals for a dozen or so major city programs, providing an opinion on their feasibility and appropriateness. While the COFA review finds few faults with the Mayor’s budget proposal, the mere fact that an official city document with an analysis of the Mayor’s plans even exists, is a big change for City Hall.

The report also does not review the city’s revenue estimates for new city revenue items, like the Cloud Tax, which Mayoral budget analysts say will total $40 million, while businesses say could add up to as much as $100 million.

Winick discounts businesses’ complaints, however. “When something new is being taxed that that, there are typically pretty significant compliance issues in the first year,” he said.

The report puts all the city’s 2016 estimated revenue and expenses in a simple balance sheet format, adjacent to comparisons from 2015 projections. This simple comparison, is in stark contrast to Mayoral budget documents, which never put all the numbers in one place, forcing readers to do additional and subtraction on a separate scratch sheet. COFA’s report then presents a breakdown of every city agency and its major program areas, again with 2015 projections, side by side.

The COFA report also provides Aldermen with a property tax payment table, potentially valuable foresight into how much the increased property tax levies and exemption will impact homeowners. “Since we’re going through the triennial [property assessment review], I wanted to people to know what [taxes] will be since the Equalized Assessed Value is going up across the city,” said Winick.

Two critical, seemingly unrelated facts are bearing down as the Chicago City budget moves to a vote next Wednesday. First, nobody has offered an alternative to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to dig out of Chicago’s fiscal hole. And second, Governor Bruce Rauner made $53 million last year. The two items are more connected than you may think, and are the chief factors why Chicago remains in dire financial straits.

To recap, Chicago desperately needs Illinois government to enact three big ticket items. The Chicago Public School Board passed a budget that only adequately funds its system through December. $400 million more is needed from state government to make it to June 2016, officials say. The Chicago City Council is preparing to enact a budget that includes a phased-in $544 million a year property tax increase, but relies on state government to enact a pension reform that reduces payments by $220 million a year, and a doubling of the homeowners exemption that lifts the property tax burden off the majority of residential property owners.

While the state legislature is controlled by Democrats who are likely to support Chicago’s financial needs, Gov. Rauner, who is Republican, made it clear in a speech to City Council last July: “For Chicago to get what it wants, Illinois must get what it needs… We don’t have the money to bail out Chicago.”

What Rauner means is that Illinois needs to follow his plan for eliminating government employee collective bargaining, a veritable death sentence for Democrats in state government and deeply unpopular in union-blue Chicago.

Democrats in the Illinois House and Senate have big enough majorities to override Rauner’s vetoes, but in the House the margin is razor-thin: No extra votes. However, at least four Democrats have suggested they would vote against additional state spending on behalf of Chicago.

And yet, only one plan has been proposed for Chicago: Mayor Emanuel’s. Unlike state, federal or even Cook County government, Chicago’s City Council has not engendered an alternative solution, like cutting city services or jacking up taxes even more. So aldermen are lining up behind the Mayor even as some doubt the long-term revenue will be enough to pay for the city's mountain of debt.

There’s no question the Mayor’s plan will pass City Council next Wednesday. This week, Aldertrack sifted through public statements, talked to aldermen and their staff, and reviewed each ward’s political viability. There are enough aldermen with a firm grip on their wards that the Mayor can depend on. And then there are a few nearing retirement that could take a few bad votes in return for a cushy job and help to pass on their seat to a chosen successor.

By our count there will be at least 16 “no” votes against the property tax and budget, maybe as many as 22, but the mayor certainly won’t lose the vote, or even have to break a tie of 25-25.

All this puts our city on a collision course with a governor who seems to enjoy a good game of chicken and has nothing personal to lose. After all, he’s already made his millions as a tremendously successful businessman. As proof, this month he released his 2014 tax return, showing that he made $53 million last year.

Past Illinois governors needed public support, or at least a modicum of popularity, to build on for a post-government career. Bruce Rauner needs none of that. Politics is a second act for him, and he’s come to office with a specific worldview and a plan to make it happen.

Someone who took a more traditional path, by climbing up the political ladder to the Governor’s mansion, might buckle under the political pressure. Give in today to fight another day. But if Rauner’s plan doesn’t work out, he’ll always live comfortably. If Illinois and Chicago suffers, Bruce Rauner won’t.

Under those circumstances, it would seem Chicago’s odds are not great. But there’s no other plan in the offing. So into the breach our city government goes.

For two weeks of budget hearings aldermen publicly grilled city commissioners and department officials on line items, programs, and overtime, often running from morning to night. Aldertrack monitored aldermanic attendance at each budget hearing, starting with the best attended meeting, the all-day overview with Budget Director Alexandra Holt, Chief Financial Officer Carol Brown, and City Comptroller Dan Widawsky, to the final hearing on Friday October 9.

These attendance totals are based on the amount of hearings alderman attended for each individual agency, not total days they were present. And since it is common for aldermen to walk in and out of the chambers during meetings, Aldertrack, which attended every meeting, marked aldermen present if they showed up at some point in the meeting, even if it only for a few minutes. Here's our spreadsheet for a breakdown of attendance by hearing.

As Budget Vice Chair, Jason Ervin (28) attended every meeting. He took over whenever Chairman Carrie Austin (34) took a break. While some Council watchers expected Austin to break early because of her lengthy hospitalization last month, she chaired a large chunk of hearings and often stayed until the end of the day.

Aldermen with the best attendance (Top 10)

• Ald. Leslie Hairston (5) - attended 28/32 meetings

• Ald. David Moore (17) - attended 27/32 meetings

• Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) attended 27/32 meetings

• Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41) attended 26/32 meetings

• Budget Chairman Carrie Austin (34) attended 26/32 meetings

• Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) attended 26/32 meetings

• Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11) attended 26/32 meetings

• Ald. Nick Sposato (38) attended 25/32 meetings

• Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30) attended 25/32 meetings

• Ald. Michael Scott, Jr. (24) attended 24/32 meetings

In addition to the first budget hearing, where 90% of the Council was present, the budget hearing for the Police Department and the Department of Streets and Sanitation had at least 40 aldermen present. The 9:00 a.m. morning meetings tended to have the lowest attendance rate and shortest meeting times.

We reached out to every alderman who had attendance on the lower end for comment. Most didn’t respond. Aldermen who did respond were quick to point out it’s common to send a staffer in their place, to have private conversations with commissioners offline, or in the case of committee chairs, to listen to a speaker that live broadcasts what happens in the chamber to their office. “Just because we aren’t down there doesn’t mean we aren’t listening,” Ald. Walter Burnett (27) told us. We noted him present at 15 of 32 meetings.

Christian Ficara, a staffer for Ald. Brian Hopkins (2), said he often sat in place for Hopkins, whose wife gave birth to a baby boy on Sep. 29. “While Alderman Hopkins was tending to the birth of his first child, myself, and at times a second member of our staff were present during the hearings. We would update the alderman on a daily basis, and he was in contact with commissioners by phone if he had questions regarding their testimony. Obviously, he did attend hearings when time permitted to be away from his wife and newborn son.”

Ald. Derrick Curtis (18), another new alderman, also missed hearings for family reasons. He was on his honeymoon for most of the budget hearings. Ald. Deb Silverstein (50) wasn’t present certain days due to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (Sep. 27-Oct. 4). “I’m a very observant Jew,” she told Aldertrack, “I don’t even drive during it.” She added that the Mayor knew and she had staff present every day.

Ald. Matt O’Shea (19) had one or two staffers at meetings in his place when he couldn’t attend. He also attended the International Council of Shopping Centers convention

Ald. Toni Foulkes (16) was affirmed 16th Ward Democratic Committeewoman, by a vote of the Cook County Democratic Party's Central Committee on Friday. She replaces the late Ald. JoAnn Thompson, who passed in February. Foulkes appointment means the process to replace the late State Rep. Esther Golar can go on. The deadline for an appointment is Wednesday, October 21. Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) who leads up the District Committee to select a replacement, reports he is still working to set a meeting date. Learn more about Ald. Foulkes on Clout.Wiki.

The full City Council meets today and Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to introduce the official revenue and levy ordinances for the FY 2016 budget. The ordinances will have specific language on the controversial cloud tax, the Mayor’s proposed monthly garbage fee and the phased-in property tax increase. There is also a public hearing scheduled for the end of tomorrow’s Council meeting. In years past, the hearing kicked off with testimony from Laurence Msall, of The Civic Federation, followed by public testimony from a few dozen public speakers.

The Director of the Council Office of Financial Analysis, Ben Winick, released a simple, but chocked-full of data 15-page PowerPoint slide on the city's budget numbers discussed thus far. It's probably the easiest way to get a handle on what's under discussion.

Black Caucus’ members demands to get rid of Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy are real, aldermen, Council staffers and members of the administration told Aldertrack last night. The pressure has been building up for some time now, as aldermen are frustrated that McCarthy and district commanders he has appointed don’t return aldermanic phone calls, fail to consult with them on staff changes, and tend not to communicate plans big and small to address crime.

Virtually the entire Black Caucus attended a press conference outside Council chambers yesterday afternoon calling for McCarthy’s outster. Only Walter Burnett Jr. (27) Howard Brookins Jr. (21), Derrick Curtis (18) and Will Burns (4) did not attend. Scott Waguespack (32), Raymond Lopez (15) and Carlos Ramirez-Rosa(35) also joined. Burns penned a response opposing the Caucus’ call for McCarthy’s ouster, but more significant was that staunch Mayor Rahm Emanuel supporter and Budget Chair Carrie Austin (34) came out against him, and even had some angry words to share in the press conference.

“My concern is that my constituents get sick and tired of hearing about statistics and no action. You read the Trib - why don’t we own it? We own it every day,” Austin said.

“That’s right,” Caucus members responded.

“Every time somebody is shot, every time somebody’s been killed, we’re the ones knocking on the door,” Austin said, banging on the podium. “Everybody’s that’s standing here today works diligently to try to combat some of these things going on in our community.”

The timing is auspicious, as McCarthy appears before the Budget Committee this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Expect a packed gallery and no light touch from Ald. Austin as she chairs the hearing.

But Mayor Emanuel is unlikely to dump McCarthy, say administration insiders, since the two of them are tied at the hip on crime policy. Some insiders even think Emanuel admires McCarthy’s my-way-or-the-highway attitude, one of the biggest problems cited by Caucus members we’ve spoken to, who’ve called McCarthy “disrespectful” and “condescending,” both to brass and aldermen.

Mayor Emanuel, who does not have a history of bending when threatened, issued a statement late Monday supporting McCarthy: “While the mayor shares the concerns about rising gun violence, our focus must remain on the public safety challenge we face–reducing access to the illegal guns that drive violence in our communities.”

Ald. Anthony Beale (9) dismissed the idea the timing of the announcement was calculated to overshadow a vote on a hike in the property tax and garbage fees. “Spin it however you want to. We’re fed up, and we’re looking for change. We are demanding a better quality of life for our community.”  

Ald. Lopez said the timing might seem calculated, but the fatal shooting in his ward last week cemented his stance, “I was having these feelings last week when the grandmother and pregnant mother were both shot and killed in Back of the Yards. That kind of crystallized it for me, and whatever the timing, I think the end result is the same: we need change.”

So, what comes next?

Caucus members are well aware Emanuel won’t fire McCarthy anytime soon, we’re told off the record. There was talk of a meeting of Caucus members with Emanuel set for tomorrow morning, but we’re told no meeting has been scheduled. However, there is an expectation that at some point, some pound of flesh will be extracted by the Black Caucus.

“One thing is for sure,” one old administration hand told us, “Mayor Daley would never have let a press conference like that happen. He would have talked to people first.”

And that’s probably the biggest problem Mayor Emanuel has. His credibility as someone to take your problems to has suffered enough that aldermen feel they have to take it to the media instead.

THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

The Budget Committee blazed through hearings for the Office of Disabilities in an amazing seven minutes. Short of a couple comments from aldermen thanking Comm. Karen Tamley for her work stretching out Community Development Block Grants, there were few questions. 

Submitted written testimony. 

Attendance: Chair Carrie Austin (34), Leslie Hairston (5), Ricardo Munoz (22), Michael Scott (24), Jason Ervin (28), Chris Taliaferro (29), Ariel Reboyras (30), Anthony Napolitano (40). 

INDEPENDENT POLICE REVIEW AUTHORITY

Administrator Scott Ando trumpeted his organization’s ability to get out from IPRA’s case backlog, reducing pending cases from 2,200 in 2011 to 410 this year. Safer Report standards have called for 90% of cases to be resolved within 18 months, IPRA is at about 80% within 18 months.

Attendance: Chair Carrie Austin (34), Pat Dowell (3), Leslie Hairston (5), Roderick Sawyer (6), David Moore (17), Ricardo Munoz (22), Michael Zalewski (23), Michael Scott (24), Jason Ervin (28), Chris Taliaferro (29), Scott Waguespack (32), Emma Mitts (37), Anthony Napolitano (40), Brendan Reilly (42), Michele Smith (43), John Arena (45), Joe Moore (49), Ameya Pawar (47).

Submitted written testimony. 

Ando was asked in a number of different ways from aldermen about the status of the case with former IPRA investigator Lorenzo Davis and the merits of his charges that he was asked to make changes to reports. Answering Ald. Jason Ervin (28) he said, “I firmly believe that every allegation put forth in that lawsuit and put in the media is absolutely without merit.”

In an hour of questioning, aldermen were generally supportive of IPRA and Ando’s work during the Q&A session, focusing their questions on procedure.

Some other facts and figures from the Q&A session:

• In 2015 IRPA recommended 8 officers be separated and recommended 6 others for criminal prosecution.

• In 2015, IPRA attempted 76 mediations, it was accepted in 68 cases - 89.5%.

• Since 2012, around 450 cases have gone to mediation for a penalty.

• The city averages about 50 incidents where an officer shoots at someone each year.

• Before cases are allowed to go to mediation, all four top IPRA officials review it.

• The number of allegations this year are down about two-thirds than this time last year.

CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND SPECIAL EVENTS 

Breaking a trend, Chair Austin asked Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) Comm. Michelle Boone to read her whole testimony, adding ten minutes to the hearing. Most of the aldermen focused on ways to promote events and to manage permitting in their wards. 

Attendance: Chair Carrie Austin (34), Leslie Hairston (5), Anthony Beale (9), Patrick Daley Thompson (11), David Moore (17), Ricardo Munoz (22), Michael Zalewski (23), Michael Scott (24), Jason Ervin (28), Milly Santiago (31), Scott Waguespack (32), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), Gilbert Villegas (36), Emma Mitts (37), Nicholas Sposato (38), Marge Laurino (39), Anthony Napolitano (40), Brendan Reilly (42), Tom Tunney (44), John Arena (45), Ameya Pawar (47), Harry Osterman (48), Joe Moore (49)

Submitted written testimony.

  Some facts and figures revealed during the Q&A session:

• The Chicago Fire Festival - initial commitment was to support the festival for three years, this is the third and final year. The new location on Northerly Island worked well - and this year the houses burned. But there is no allocation in 2016.

• The Taste of Chicago had a $320,000 profit this year. First profit since 2013, which made just over $200,000. Boone believes it’s because there are more dining options offered.

• Special Events is working with CDOT to brand the various rapid transit stops drawing attention to city art. For instance the one on south side of Washington Ave. by Daley Plaza might be labeled the “Miro Stop”.

• DCASE is seeking a city-wide sponsor for the city’s Jumping Jack inflatables.

• Street festivals are not allowed by law to charge for access to the public way.

AVIATION 
by A.D. Quig - [email protected]

A lengthy Department of Aviation hearing with new Commissioner Ginger Evansfocused on a popular topic at budget hearings and constituent meetings–minority hiring and airport noise, with many aldermen complaining Evans wasn’t communicating proactively.

The proposed budget for CDA at O'Hare and Midway are $1.14 billion (up 8.3%) and $258.8 million (down 5.29%), respectively. 

Attendance: Joe Moreno (1), Pat Dowell (3), Leslie Hairston (5), Roderick Sawyer (6), Michelle Harris (8), Anthony Beale (9), Sue Sadlowski Garza (10), Patrick Daley Thompson (11), George Cardenas (12), Raymond Lopez (15), David Moore (17), Matt O’Shea (19), Willie Cochran (20), Ald. Howard Brookins (21), Ricardo Munoz (22), Michael Zalewski (23), Michael Scott Jr. (24), Jason Ervin (28), Ariel Reboyras (30), Milly Santiago (31), Scott Waguespack (32), Carrie Austin (34), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), Gilbert Villegas (36), Emma Mitts (37), Nicholas Sposato (38), Marge Laurino (39) Anthony Napolitano (41), Brendan Reilly (42), Tom Tunney (44), John Arena (45), Ameya Pawar (47), Joe Moore (49)

Submitted written testimony. 

The roughly 3 hour meeting focused mostly on the intricacies of the RFP process for O’Hare’s modernization program, and on changes to flight patterns and how that would affect noise.

Ald. Marge Laurino (39), a northwest side alderman, echoed a popular refrain from airport noise complainers, “I didn’t move next to O’Hare airport, O’Hare airport moved next to me,” she said, asking what steps Evans was taking to give simple, clear answers about the airport’s new runway configuration.

“I am personally meeting with ONCC [the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission]... we have also increased the amount of data we’re disclosing,” Evans said, “but we’re almost burying people in numbers.” She says CDA should distill, analyse, and simplify that data, including expanding the use of single page white papers to explain existing and upcoming changes. A night time noise pattern agreement is also in the works with surrounding communities, she says. 

Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41), whose ward encompasses O’Hare, backed Laurino up, as would be expected. But Evans seemed caught off guard by Ald. Leslie Hairston (5) and Ald. Willie Cochran (20), who said their South Side wards were also being impacted by airplane noise, and weren’t getting the kind of attention from CDA that North Siders were. “You’re the commissioner! All I know is when I’m impacted… I should not have to sit up here and guess,” which airport the noise is coming from, Hairston said.

Aldermen had several questions about whether CDA was reaching out to minority aldermen about upcoming requests for proposals during multi-million dollar upgrades at both airports. Evans said there have been briefings with all aldermen before and during the development of recent RFP, and held a “speed dating” networking event for contractors. Evans also singled out Tiffany Green as a contact. Green is Deputy Commissioner of Concession for CDA, and is responsible for the accounting, auditing, and contract compliance for concessionaires, including the O'Hare Modernization program.

Ald. Pat Dowell (3) called minority hiring in top management dismal. “You can do a better job than that, commissioner.”

Evans agreed, “It’s something that I’ve held as a high core value throughout my career… We really need minority and women in leadership positions in order to attract that young talent that we need to be successful--”

Dowell interrupted, “I will be here next year, and I’m going to be looking at this next year.”

Black aldermen in particular expressed disappointment that minority and women owned businesses were getting “crumbs” in the bid processes at both airports. Minorities make up 35% of the contract spend at both airports, according to CDA numbers. Ald. Beale called for the unbundling of big contracts, and Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) reiterated that an ordinance regulating a minimum for W/MBEs, “the goals that are set in the ordinance are the floor, not the ceiling. We should encourage vendors... that they should be more reflective of constituents.”

Aldermen also asked about how security will be handled when rideshare vehicles will be allowed to pick up from airports on January 1. “We will provide a separate staging facility for the rideshare drivers, separate from our taxicab staging facility, and then basically we will manage the curbside so those two services are basically physically separate.”   

Some facts and figures from CDA:

• The much-hyped airport rapid transit solution could come from CDA in 8-10 months. Evans says it requires significant coordination with Metra and CTA.

• CDA insulated more than 19,000 homes and 164 schools to protect against airport noise.

• The Midway Terminal Modernization touted by Evans and Mayor Emanuel will cost $248 million and create 1,700 new jobs. The bid will be proposed to City Council in 2016.

• While many aldermen said CDA should focus on minority hiring, few mentioned the domination of male employees department-wide, which CDA estimates is 79%. There are similar numbers among upper management and new hires (81 and 82% respectively). 6 out of 7 interns, however, are female.

The biggest news from yesterday’s education hearing was not what the committee did, but what it didn’t: Exercising the chair’s prerogative, Education Chair Will Burns(4) chose not to advance two resolutions from committee expressing a sense of the Council to the Board of Education and the Chicago City Colleges.

Attendance (committee members bolded): Chair Will Burns (4), Vice Chair Michele Smith (43), Pat Dowell (3), Roderick Sawyer (6), Anthony Beale (9), Sue Sadlowski Garza (10), Matt O'Shea (19), Jason Ervin (28), Scott Waguespack (32), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), Nicholas Sposato (38), Harry Osterman (48), Joe Moore (49)

The first resolution, co-sponsored by 42 aldermen, calls upon the Board of Educationand the Illinois State Board of Education to halt creation of new charter schools in Chicago for the 2015-2016 school year. Because the Chicago City Council has no regulatory or budget oversight over the Board of Education, the resolution would be non-binding and would not require any action or response from the board.

Asked by DNA Info for comment, Chair Burns would only say, “he has been a ‘consistent’ supporter of ‘school choice.’”

The second resolution to be bottled up in committee was an effort by an organization of adjunct professors, the City Colleges Contingent Labor Organizing Committee, for Council to express support for adjunct professors in Chicago City Colleges to receive pay equitable with full-time professors. After hearing about a half hour of testimony, Burns indicated, “We’re going to hold this resolution here but I think your testimony was very powerful.” No vote.

When asked by Aldertrack if he had any plans to call it for a vote, Burns said, “Not at this point, they’re in the middle of their contract negotiations, I think it’s important for them to get their story out. That’s the first step.”

Testimony on another resolution, similar to the City Colleges adjuncts, but in support of private school adjunct professors, was also heard yesterday and voted out of committee. That effort, led by SEIU Local 73, is part of an effort to organize adjunct professors at a number of Chicago’s private colleges and universities.

Drawing the most energized crowd yet, yesterday morning’s budget hearings focused on changes to taxi and rideshare regulations, while the afternoon’s Police Board, Fire Department and Animal Control hearings moved swiftly with considerably less aldermanic attendance and questioning.

Morning Attendance: Joe Moreno (1), Pat Dowell (3), Will Burns (4), Leslie Hairston (5), Roderick Sawyer (6), Gregory Mitchell (7), Michelle Harris (8), Anthony Beale (9), Sue Sadlowski Garza (10), Patrick Daley Thompson (11), Marty Quinn (13), David Moore (17), Howard Brookins (21), Ricardo Munoz (22), Michael Scott Jr. (24), Walter Burnett Jr. (27), Chris Taliaferro (29), Ariel Reboyras (30), Milly Santiago (31), Scott Waguespack (32), Deb Mell (33), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), Gilbert Villegas (36), Emma Mitts (37), Nicholas Sposato (38), Marge Laurino (39), Anthony Napolitano (41), Brendan Reilly (42), Michele Smith (43), John Arena (45), James Cappleman (46), Harry Osterman (48), Joe Moore (49). VIce Chair Jason Ervin (28) chairing.

BUSINESS AFFAIRS

In a raucous hearing marked by cheers and catcalls from the gallery, proposed regulatory changes for rideshare companies took the majority of the morning, with calls for more strict enforcement of Airbnb regulations running as a secondary theme. But everything ground to a screeching halt shortly before the lunch break, when Budget Committee Chair Carrie Austin gave a pointed speech excoriating aldermen for asking “silly questions” and to the overflow gallery audience for rowdy behavior.

Speaking after television cameras had left and there were few reporters present, Austin’s speech praised Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Comm. Maria Guerra Lapacek for her work, and took just about everyone else in the room to task. Austin, who arrived around 11:00 a.m. and had let Vice Chair Jason Ervinconduct business for the morning, took the microphone for two minutes around noon.

“But if they was having any other problems, why didn’t they come to us before today? But to use this chambers as place for them to have some...oops, calm down Carrie,” the chamber was blanketed in silence as she seemed to compose herself before launching again.

“All of this handclapping like, in my community the taxicabs didn’t come and Uber don’t either! So I don’t know why everybody’s so gung ho on either one. Cause anything on the far South Side Alderman Beale and I haven’t see them. Be it a taxi cab or be it an Uber driver.”

Austin continued for another minute defending Commissioner Lapacek, “Everybody want to showboat!...The next time you come into this chambers to attack you, they’re going to have to deal with me.” Then she slammed down the microphone.

Comm. Lapacek’s written testimony.

Rideshare

Nonetheless, the morning was filled with clapping, cheers and boos, as a group of aldermen (Anthony Beale (9), Scott Waguespack (32), Antonio Munoz (22), Susan Sadlowski Garza (10), Harry Osterman (48), Nick Sposato (38), Pat Dowell (3), John Arena (45), David Moore(17)) pressed Comm. Lapacek on the state of taxicab regulations. As the questioning continued, the administration’s position on rideshare became clear: Industry evolution can’t be stopped and the administration is taking a hands-off attitude.

In one back-and-forth between Ald. Anthony Beale (9) and Comm. Lapacek, Beale was attempting to make the point that unregulated rideshare companies have decimated the value of regulated taxi medallions. In her answers, Comm. Lapacek revealed that in 2014, there were 100 private party medallion sales. In 2015, only 12.

Beale said, “Doesn’t that tell you that we have a problem?”

Lapacek responded, “That WE have a problem?”

Her comment was followed by derisive laughter and applause from large gallery section of taxi drivers.

Despite the charged atmosphere, most of the discussion focused on requiring rideshare drivers to have the same licensing as taxi drivers, for both safety and city revenue reasons. Assuming 30,000 drivers and $200 annual fee, many aldermen focused on a $60 million annual revenue estimation. Comm. Lapacek retorted that the revenue would likely be significantly less and the number of new staff required to manage rideshare licenses would mean “not a net gain” in city revenue.

Ald. Joe Moreno (1), Joe Moore (49) and Howard Brookins (21) took the side of the rideshare companies, with Moreno giving a fiery speech: “These Uber drivers, mainly Hispanic and African American, are earning money they couldn’t do before Uber and rideshare came here… The taxicab industry didn’t innovate because they didn’t have to… I got your back on rideshare,” said Moreno, followed by battling catcalls and cheers from the gallery.

Some other facts from Comm. Lapacek and her staff from the Q&A session on rideshare:

• There are about 20,000 Uber drivers and another 10,000 Lyft drivers in Chicago. It’s unclear how much is overlap.

• 60-80% of rideshare cars are within five years of age.

• Taxicab industry fees brought in $4.6 million last year, while rideshare companies brought in $3.1 million last year.

• It costs $200 to obtain a taxi driver license, of which the city only keeps $15. The rest goes to City Colleges for training expenses.

• About 6,000 taxi rider complaints are registered with the city a year. Last year, only 13 rideshare complaints were registered, but most rideshare complaints likely go to the rideshare companies, not the city, according to Lapacek.

Vacation Rentals/Airbnb

On another topic, Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) and Michele Smith (43) pressed Comm. Lapacek to increase enforcement of Airbnb regulations passed earlier this year. Ald. Reilly asked why there are, “about 3,000 nightly vacation rental units advertised in the city of Chicago, yet only about 200 of them are licensed?”

Comm. Lapacek claimed that she does not have the manpower to enforce the law. Reilly suggested requiring a permit number for anyone advertising a location. Those advertisements could just be checked using an internet search, resulting in approximately $1.5M in missed revenue.

POLICE BOARD

The first official meeting between new Police Board Chair Lori Lightfoot and the full City Council was sparsely attended Friday afternoon, as Vice Chair Jason Ervincontinued to conduct hearings while a handful of aldermen and staffers stayed in the cloakroom after lunch instead of sitting for Lightfoot’s testimony, which lasted under an hour.

Afternoon Attendance: Pat Dowell (3), Leslie Hairston (5), Anthony Beale (9), Raymond Lopez (15), David Moore (17), Chris Taliaferro (29), Ariel Reboyras (30), Milly Santiago (31), Scott Waguespack (32), Carrie Austin (34), Gilbert Villegas (36), Nicholas Sposato (38), Marge Laurino (39), Anthony Napolitano (41), Michele Smith (43), John Arena (45), James Cappleman (46)

Vice-Chair: Jason Ervin (28)

The Police Board is one of several law-enforcement related budget hearings this month (the Police Department and the Independent Police Review Authority also have their own budget hearings). The Police Board is a civilian body that decides disciplinary cases about allegations of police misconduct, nominates candidates for Superintendent of Police to the Mayor, and adopts rules and regulations for the governance of the Chicago Police Department.

Lightfoot’s submitted written testimony.

Lightfoot’s July appointment hearing in the Committee on Public Safety was markedly testier than Friday’s Q&A with aldermen. At July’s committee meeting, new aldermen Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41), Ald. Chris Taliaferro (both former officers), and Ald. David Moore (17), pressed Lightfoot on improving police/community relations, increasing diversity within the CPD, and how the board would handle a police officer caught lying under oath.

Ald. Pat Dowell (3) was one of six aldermen who had questions for Lightfoot, admitted she doesn’t follow the board, but asked whether police were being adequately punished for misconduct.  

Lightfoot said that impression is one she’s working to correct, and the Police Board is a unique model for civilian oversight in the country. “I can tell you in the two months that I’ve been Police Board President, we’ve had three cases that have come before us that have been fully litigated, if you will. And of those 3 cases, involved a total of 4 officers, we’ve recommended termination in every single one of those instances.”

Those officers have a chance to appeal to Circuit Court. Lightfoot says part of her new role is to publicize the Board’s work and, “disabuse the misnomer that police officers can do whatever they want with reckless abandon.” She says police haven’t gotten away with much in any of her various roles with CPD and law enforcement.

Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30) asked about Dante Servin, an officer recommended for termination by IPRA for shooting into a crowd, killing Rekia Boyd. Superintendent Garry McCarthy could send the case to the Police Board. “It’s not to us [sic], but I can pledge if that case does come to us with a termination recommendation, we’re going to treat it very very seriously. The commitment I made to [Rekia Boyd’s] family is that we make sure we give them information at every step of the process.”

In her prepared testimony, and in response to questioning from Ald. Scott Waguespack (32), Lightfoot said she’s focused on getting cases wrapped up sooner, and says since she started in her role, the average time from filing charges until a decision has dropped, to seven months.

She also pushed back against the Chicago Justice Project’s comparison between the Superintendent’s recommended disciplinary action versus the Police Board’s decision. CJP’s numbers suggest the two rarely agree. Lightfoot says those estimates don’t paint an accurate picture, because the Superintendent and the Police Board work off different information, often from different points in an investigation. “The number’s low, it’s not accurate.”  

ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL

Attendance was bigger and questioning was more spirited during Animal Care and Control Executive Director Sandra Alfred’s hearing than during the Police Board’s moments before. Aldermen complained about raccoons, thanked Alfred for removing snake eggs, praised dog and cat adoption events, and asked the Commissioner whether she’d heard of the now-famous missing rare parrot.

Attendance: Pat Dowell (3) Leslie Hairston (5), Michelle Harris (8), Patrick Daley Thompson (11), George Cardenas (12), Raymond Lopez (15), Willie Cochran (20), Howard Brookins (21), Walter Burnett Jr. (27), Ariel Reboyras (30), Milly Santiago (31), Scott Waguespack (32), Carrie Austin (34), Gilbert Villegas (36), Emma Mitts (37), Nicholas Sposato (38), Anthony Napolitano (41), Brendan Reilly (42), John Arena (45), Vice Chair Jason Ervin (28)

“I have some special issues on the Northwest Side,” namely deer, Ald. Marge Laurino (39) told Alfred. She responded, “Yes, we had one ward that was leaving Whole Foods type of food out for deer… First of all it’s illegal to feed deer in Illinois.”

“Well that’s good to know,” Laurino said.

“I’m seeing more raccoons, possums, I’ve even seen a coyote in my ward,” Ald. Dowell (3) said, “They’re having babies, so we need to have some kind of response. I raise this every year, we do this every year.” Alfred said increased construction is likely leading to more wildlife sightings, and wants to work with aldermen to identify wildlife hotspots.

CACC has received more than 36,000 service requests so far in 2015. Their budget is $5.7 million in FY2016.

Other figures:

• 1,385 animal bite reports submitted to CACC in 2015

• 2,504 Municipal Code violations issued by CACC in 2015

• $75,677 in revenue from dog licensing since 2011

• 453 specimens submitted to CDPH for rabies testing

Of all the wildlife stories about roosters, “more raccoons than I can mention,” and bats, Ald. Brendan Reilly’s (42) questioning provided the most amusing bit of the hearing: “Are you familiar with this parrot that went missing in Lincoln Park?”

“This what now?” Alfred asked.

“A parrot. A pet parrot.”

“A pet parrot?”

“Parrot. A bird.”

“A bird.”

“Yeah.”

Reilly asked whether CACC dealt with lost pets. Alfred said yes, but mostly cats and dogs, and said people are free to inquire whether the department had found lost pets.

“Keep an eye out for the parrot,” Reilly told aldermen before asking about, and praising a conversion of several full-time positions to part time positions. Alfred said the shift helped with students and part-time applicants who wanted more flexibility. Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) also brought up an issue from his Clerk’s testimony about pet licensing through veterinarian’s offices.

FIRE DEPARTMENT

A quick and mostly laudatory hearing for the Chicago Fire Department closed out the day, with a few aldermen asking about overtime pay for CFD firefighters, which the Office of Inspector General says has increased “significantly.” “While some use of overtime is expected, excessive overtime or inequitable distribution of overtime may indicate that personnel assignments have not been optimized.” Fire Comm. José Santiago told aldermen overtime has actually gone down.

Attendance: Joe Moreno (1), Pat Dowell (3), Leslie Hairston (5), Gregory Mitchell (7), Michelle Harris (8), Patrick Daley Thompson (11), Raymond Lopez (15), David Moore (17), Willie Cochran (20), Howard Brookins (21), Ricardo Munoz (22), Michael Scott Jr (24), Walter Burnett Jr. (27), Ariel Reboyras (30), Milly Santiago (31), Scott Waguespack (32), Carrie Austin (34),

The Fire Department has exactly $30 million budgeted for overtime in 2016, up from exactly $20 million in 2015. Santiago says overtime is actually down by a third from last year, when the Department spent over $57 million.

“We had some litigation in the past that prevented us from hiring, but now we’re catching up and we’re continuing to hire.” Santiago told Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30).

Santiago told Ald. David Moore (17) vacancies and a collective bargaining agreement that says a minimum amount of people have to man a truck are driving those costs. “When we have a position that’s open, we have to put someone in that.”

16% of expenditures from the City’s corporate fund go toward Fire–the third biggest expense after Police and the Finance General Fund. It’s budgeted personnel costs for this year are more than $592 million, and its overall budget is up by roughly $29 million.

Other figures from Santiago’s testimony:

• The entire Chicago Fire Department ambulance fleet is now rated and certified for advanced life support, with 2 licensed paramedics on every ambulance

• CFD responds to roughly 700,000 calls for service each year

• The Department’s Public Education Unit has reached out to 55,000 for drills, training, and education on fire safety

• Fire deaths in Chicago are among the lowest in major cities, which it says is from a robust smoke detector program entirely funded through corporate donations and grants. The majority of deaths are in homes with no smoke detectors

Ald. Willie Cochran (20) pushed Santiago on salary raises and upcoming lieutenant promotions. There are nearly 20 lieutenant promotions planned that will open up vacancies at the firefighter and engineer level. “We are going to hire in November at the firefighter level, so we can fill those vacancies, thus reducing overtime.”

Ald. Carrie Austin (34) closed testimony by thanking the first responders who, “I could almost say saved my life…It was for their fast action that I sit here today, along with the prayers that people prayed for me.” She also said, along with other aldermen, she’d be interested in a round of fire training, though she admitted, laughing, she couldn’t carry equipment up three stairs.

Yesterday’s morning hearings moved quickly under the sharp tongue of Budget Chair Carrie Austin, although at one point Board of Ethics Director Steve Berlinsaid Aldermanic ethics were “doing OK.” The afternoon hearings were focused on three hours of questions for Public Health Commissioner Julie Morita on the city's mental health services and HIV clinics. Keeping things moving, Austin waived the testimony of department heads and went straight to aldermanic questions and answers.

Morning Attendance: Budget Chair Carrie Austin (34), Joe Moreno (1), Pat Dowell (3), Leslie Hairston (5), Roderick Sawyer (6), Gregory Mitchell (7), Michelle Harris (8), Sue Sadlowski Garza (10), Patrick Daley Thompson (11), Marty Quinn (14), Raymond Lopez (15), Toni Foulkes (16), David Moore (17), Matt O’Shea (19), Willie Cochran (20), Howard Brookins (21), Ricardo Munoz (22), Michael Scott Jr. (24), Roberto Maldonado (26), Walter Burnett Jr. (27), Jason Ervin (28), Chris Taliaferro (29), Milly Santiago (30), Ariel Reboyras (31), Scott Waguespack (32), Deb Mell (33), Gilbert Villegas (36), Emma Mitts (37), Nicholas Sposato (38), Marge Laurino (39), Anthony Napolitano (40), Brendan Reilly (42), Michele Smith (43), Tom Tunney (44), James Cappleman (46), Ameya Pawar (47), Harry Osterman (48), Joe Moore (49), Deb Silverstein (50)

BUILDINGS

Comm. Judy Frydland announced in her written testimony that city building permits issued increased by 2.2% in 2015, the highest number of permits in the last five years. As a response, the city will be adding 21 new inspectors before the end of the year. To help pay for growing department needs, permit fees are proposed to go up in the coming budget, the first building permit fee increase since 1999.

Her submitted written testimony.

The majority of aldermanic questions were either praise for the Commissioner and her staff or questions about how the department can assist their ward in one way or another. Although there were a few nuggets of information that came out during the Q&A.

Asking about the building registration program created in 2011 the Emanuel administration, Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30) asked if banks are being compliant with registration.

Frydland responded, “We have over 7,000 buildings that are currently registered this year. The banks seem to be very responsive when we hear something has been broken into… We’ve been focusing our efforts on buildings that don’t have a lender involved. A lot of times you have a building where an owner passed away and you don’t have someone who has inherited or there’s no probate involved... We’re putting those buildings into court.”

“Banks are no longer the primary problem. It’s now about getting people to stay current on their mortgages,” she said.

Ald. Sue Sadlowski Garza (10) asked about vacant buildings with large outstanding water bills, and whether there’s a way water bills could be waived so they could be sold and back on tax rolls.

Frydland responded, “We do have a plan to try to help find new developers and buildings that have demolition orders. In the next couple of weeks, we’ll be posting a list of all the demo orders on our website and we’ll be posting a procedure if someone is interested in [vacant property] so we can do a forfeiture in circuit court.”

FLEET AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

Interrupting a 41-minute light speed question and answer session, Comm. David Reynolds turned somber to apologize to aldermen for problems with landscaping.

“Our kickoff for the landscape season this year is one of the most embarrassing things I have overseen since I’ve been in this department… This was an aberration, I will not let it happen next year,” he said. Reynolds blamed contract transitions and claimed personal responsibility.

Reynolds’ submitted, written testimony.

Most of the aldermanic questions focused on what properties the city plans to sell or if there are ways to sell certain properties. But at one point, Ald. Marty Quinn (13) broke his long Council meeting silence when he asked how city properties are selected for sale for proceeds. Reynolds replied that the lots sold near 740 N. Sedgwick was “opportunistic” and unusual. For the most part, the city will continue to liquidate former fire and police stations and ward yards.

Finally, answering a question from Ald. Matt O’Shea (19) about how many police cars are in the entire police fleet, Reynolds listed:

• 424 marked sedans

• 692 unmarked sedans

• 852 marked SUVs

• 301 unmarked SUVs

Regarding Ford Interceptors, produced in the 10th Ward, the city has received 744 new vehicles, 132 on order.
 

BOARD OF ETHICS

Another brisk question and answer session, mostly focused on explaining city procedures, was marked by a brief exchange between Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) and Ethics Director Steve Berlin.

“How we doing ethically, we doing OK?” asked Ald. Reilly.

“Ethically, yes, I think we’re doing OK,” responded Berlin cheerily. “Yes we are. I am very happy to say that.”

As Ald. Walter Burnett (27) later called it, the Board of Ethics Q&A session was a “lovefest.”

Berlin’s submitted, written testimony.

Ald. Joe Moore (49), who requested extra time from the Chair to ask additional questions about Board procedure, received a sharp look from Chair Austin and, “You want a round two?”

Moore in particular drilled in on the results of investigations from the now-expired Office of the Legislative Inspector General. According to city ordinance, OLIG investigations needed to be forwarded to the Board of Ethics for review. Responding to questions from Moore, Berlin revealed that:

• 47 petitions were made by OLIG to the Board of Ethics

• 26 investigations are still underway

• 21 resulted in completed investigations

  • 8 were dismissed by the OLIG

  • 4 were dismissed by Board of Ethics for lack of probable cause

  • 2 cases were referred and are still pending

  • 7 have been completed

Berlin referred aldermen to the tally of OLIG reports on the Board’s website for more information.
 

PUBLIC HEALTH

Hammering away at the 2012 shutdown of six city-operated mental health clinics, aldermen questioned Department of Public Health Commissioner Julie Morita for more than three hours Thursday about a possible privatization of the City’s HIV care clinics and the state of CDPH’s role in city mental health.

Afternoon Attendance: Joe Moreno (1), Pat Dowell (3), Leslie Hairston (5), Roderick Sawyer (6), Gregory Mitchell (7), Sue Sadlowski Garza (10), Patrick Daley Thompson (11), Raymond Lopez (15), Toni Foulkes (16), David Moore (17), Willie Cochran (20), Michael Scott Jr. (24), Walter Burnett Jr. (27), Jason Ervin (28), Chris Taliaferro (29), Ariel Reboyras (30), Milly Santiago (31), Deb Mell (33), Gilbert Villegas (36), Emma Mitts (37), Nicholas Sposato (38), Anthony Napolitano (41), Brendan Reilly (42), Tom Tunney (44), John Arena (45) James Cappleman (46), Ameya Pawar (47), Harry Osterman (48), Joe Moore (49)

Morita, hoarse after her testimony, told Aldertrack the changes are less about privatization and more of a partnership. “I think we’re exploring an opportunity to actually partner with community service providers who provide care already,” she said after the hearing. “There’s $21.5 million that already goes to community providers to provide primary care for HIV. What we’re considering whether or not we’d take the $1.5 million that we’re using for our own primary care clinics and making it available to providers to provide care in our locations.”

Morita's full testimony.

Morita says services will continue at the city’s Englewood Clinic location, and would stay in the Uptown community, but not necessarily at the same clinic location because there are a variety of providers in the area already.

AFSCME Council 31, who WBEZ reported represents at least 17 employees at those clinics, did not respond to requests for comment after the hearing.

Through the transition, Morita says, the City can achieve a broader spectrum of care, including help with housing, case management, and substance abuse for more people than they would running clinics by themselves, and ultimately prevent the spread of HIV. She says this would increase care for 2,000 patients, 1,500 more than they’re currently serving. HIV care stakeholders have been advocating for this partnership, Morita says.

Several aldermen, including some who voted for the 2012 closures, asked what measures CDPH would take to prevent people “slipping through the cracks.” CDPH is committed to making the transition seamless, she says. Morita says during the mental health clinic transition there were no funded agencies like the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and Chicago House to specifically help with the transition.

Ald. Joe Moore (49) asked, “What are we going to do to try to address this continuing issue that besets us with respect to the mentally ill? I know we’re not being helped by state cuts,” he asked.

Morita says the city is focusing its mental health efforts on at-risk communities, including work with the Cook County Jail, homeless and undocumented populations, and school children. “We know we have limited resources, we’re looking to foundations and philanthropy…we don’t want to be duplicative, we don’t want to be redundant.”

Ald. John Arena (45) asked for more information on case managers through the chair, and Ald. Moore asked for data on the transition from CDPH clinics to private providers in 2012. Aldermen were also referred to a June 2014 Mental Services Report from CDPH.

Out of 6 clinical sites left after the closings in 2012, CDPH only has one full time psychiatrist, an issue aldermen revisited several times. The Department has been using temporary psychiatrists to fill the gaps.

“We have a job posting out,” Morita says, “It’s not just a problem specific to Chicago, it’s a national shortage.” 

Ald. Leslie Hairston (5) pushed back. “You’re nowhere near competitive,” saying state psychiatrists make $50 more per hour than in Chicago. “You all are so far below the bar that you’re not going to get anybody.”

Morita says the department is already starting to interview candidates, after several changes to make positions more appealing, including a salary increase and a new designation for Chicago health centers as Health Shortage Service Areas. This allows applicants with outstanding medical school loans to be repaid by the federal government in exchange for working in underserved areas. Morita says CDPH is also considering loosening residency requirements to get more candidates.

Aldermen also asked about whether additional tobacco taxes were on the way.

“As far as I know, there have been no fatalities linked to the use of e-cigarettes, yet, it’s real easy to get cancer from chewing tobacco. Why have we not touched that?” Ald. Brendan Reilly asked, saying the UK has recognized e-cigarettes as a way to quit smoking.

Ald. Joe Moreno (1), currently championing an ordinance taxing e-cigarette containers and liquid that’s currently included in the FY2016 budget said laws in Springfield prohibited the city from taxing smokeless tobacco. But he says now the Law Department seems to have found a way to make it happen. “I have an ordinance ready to go,” he said.  

Morita defended the e-cigarette tax, saying CDPH is focused on cutting down tobacco use by youth overall. Reilly asked whether the tax, currently set at $1.25 per cartridge and $0.25 per milliliter of liquid, is enough. Morita says yes, because “youth are more price sensitive,” but says she is open to other measures to reduce all tobacco use.

We asked several Chicago influencers their reaction to the Mayor’s budget. Here are their comments:

Jesus “Chuy” Garcia
Cook County Commissioner, former mayoral candidate

“Though the mayor tried to downplay a property tax increase during the campaign; striving to make it more progressive is the way to go. The real measure of whether the budget turns the corner in addressing the long-term budget issues is the level of structural change in how we deliver essential services. We need to see changes that result in savings between the various "governments" within the city and between the city and the county. We won't know what changes have been proposed until we see more details. Then we will see if this is just a major stopgap or a real solution.”

Ralph Martire
Center for Tax and Budget Accountability

"It’s probably the most responsible budget we have in the entire state of Illinois between city of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools and the state... At least Rahm Emanuel stepped up to the plate and said if you have recurring services, you need recurring revenue." The bigger picture, Martire says, "For decades, taxpayers in Illinois have consumed public services and have not had to pay the full cost of those services in taxes. The reason for that is the significant borrowing against public employee pensions. We still have to pay it back. The only way to pay it back is to raise revenue to pay service delivery and debt. The longer we wait to do that, the higher the cost for taxpayers becomes. Maybe people thought it was a great deal to live in low-tax Illinois, but the free lunch always had to end. You have to repay your debts."   

Julie Dworkin
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless

“I think our overall reaction is that unlike the governor, [Mayor Emanuel] has made the unpopular decision to do a significant tax increase in order to generate revenue that’s needed so that we don’t have to cut important human services in the city, or cut back on pension benefits. I think it’s a positive step in the right direction. We feel like the governor and the legislature should be doing the same thing in taking the courageous move to [do the same]...The $250,000 homeowner exemption is an attempt to make it progressive, but in reality that’s going to need approval from Springfield and it might not help people who are in a fixed income but in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.”

Anders Lindall
AFSCME Council 31

On the outsourcing of 311: “We heard the one sentence in the mayor’s speech just like everyone else today. 311 is in effect the front doorstep for millions of Chicagoans. It’s where people call for basic city services, for information to resolve problems, or even to report crimes, and the men and women who answer those calls need to be trained, skilled, and experienced. It’s especially disturbing that the mayor would push privatization with no oversight at the same time that the privatization ordinance we worked with the administration to develop has not yet been heard, passed, or implemented. So we have all those concerns about the potential to privatize 311, we’re going to be working with aldermen and reaching out to the public to make sure this doesn’t happen.”

David Hatch
The Reclaim Campaign, formerly Reclaim Chicago

“The city needs to raise revenue by taxing those who can afford to pay–the wealthy and corporations–rather than by nickle and diming average Chicagoans with red light cameras, garbage fees and the like. The Reclaim Campaign supports tax increases to the wealthy and corporations to fund pensions, schools and other investments in the common good. It appears that the property tax increase the mayor is proposing could be progressive, only so long as there are protections for working people via an exemption approved by state legislature and signed by the governor or via the rebate program proposed by the Progressive Caucus. We also urge Mayor Emanuel, all City Council members and every state legislator with constituents in Chicago to work with all urgency to pass the LaSalle Street financial transaction tax in Springfield."

Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35)
From Press Release

“Instead of delivering the ‘progressive’ budget we were promised, Mayor Emanuel unveiled more of the same with a budget proposal that continues to nickel and dime regular Chicagoans via a garbage fee, a massive property tax hike, and rideshare surcharges that amount to a giveaway to his brother–Uber investor Ari Emanuel. Mayor Emanuel’s 2016 budget proposal shows that he will continue to govern in the interest of the rich and big corporations, and not in the interest of Chicago’s working families and our neighborhoods. Emanuel's budget shows us he lacks the political courage to ask his rich campaign contributors to pay their fair share."

Dave Kreisman
Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Local 2500

On allowing Uber and Lyft to make pickups at O’Hare and Midway airports: “The Mayor’s proposal is a sweetheart deal for Uber, a $50 billion enterprise that doesn’t need another giveaway, but a job-killer for hard-working Chicago cab drivers. When corporations like Uber provide the same service as licensed cabs but don’t play by the same rules, they undercut public safety and jobs. Last week, our union released a plan to raise $65 million a year by requiring Uber to follow all the same rules as hard-working cab drivers.”

City Council Progressive Caucus
From Press release

“The nearly $600 million property tax increase will have a disproportionate impact on low-income homeowners and seniors. That is why we support the administration’s efforts to expand the Homestead Exemption in Springfield. But with no end in sight to the gridlock in Springfield, passage of the expanded exemption is not assured. That is why we are offering a meaningful rebate program for working families who own their homes. Our ordinance will be introduced at Thursday’s City Council meeting.”

Ald. Harry Osterman (48)
From Newsletter

“I'm very concerned about the magnitude of the proposed property tax and the effect it would have on renters, homeowners and small businesses in our community. My City Council colleagues and I will be spending the next month going through the budget process, and we will be working together to look for alternative ways to increase revenue to fund city government and provide important city services. I welcome your ideas and feedback.”

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32)
Sun Times Op-Ed

"Yes, the city’s fiscal crisis is real. Unfortunately, the solutions the mayor proposes–including a new garbage collection fee and a huge projected property tax increase–rely on taxes that will most heavily burden the working poor and middle class as well as small businesses. The mayor has taken some steps for which the City Council Progressive Caucus has long advocated, such as ending the risky and costly practice of “scoop and toss” bonding. But the mayor’s plan offers little to correct the imbalance which allows the ultra-wealthy and the giant corporate interests to reap huge rewards from doing business in our city, without paying their fair share. The onus for generating new revenue remains on the backs of the people who can least afford it."

Rep. Will Guzzardi
Twitter: @willguzzardi

“Here's my worry with the prop tax increase, even with exemptions: renters. Landlords could just pass increase on to tenants #chibudget2016”

We’ve confirmed that the Latino Caucus, Black Caucus, and Paul Douglas Alliance are each huddling Thursday to discuss their respective budget responses. We’ll report back with their comments in Friday’s newsletter.

Coming out of yesterday’s Council meeting, aldermen and their staff expressed concern about three things: The property tax hike is a fiscal necessity, but how will they justify it to voters? An exemption or rebate is politically necessary, but how will it be enacted? And finally, almost nobody likes the proposed garbage fee.

There’s another issue, surprisingly not on most people’s minds, which is that SB777, Springfield’s bill to extend police and fire pension payments, and the Mayor’s proposed property tax exemptions require either Gov. Bruce Rauner’s signature or a veto override by the state legislature; two things that have not been forthcoming lately.

While SB777 has passed both the State House and Senate, it has not been transmitted to Gov. Rauner, since he has not expressed whether or not he will sign or veto it. While the state legislature has until the end of session in December 2016 to pass the bill, the next police and fire pension payments are likely due long before that, a date the Mayor’s press office was unable to confirm before publication. That drop dead date is likely to be something we’ll be discussing this fall.

Quite a few aldermen we spoke to when pressed on an exemption off the record said they would have a “hard time” voting for a property tax increase without an exemption extension or property tax rebate on the books. However, since the Mayor has committed to pushing an exemption through the legislature and has enlisted Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton to get it done, many aldermen believe it is within the realm of possibility that the exemption could be passed before the October 28 city budget vote.

Summing up many aldermen’s thoughts, “The worst part of this budget, is that it relies on a lot of Springfield heavy lifting,” said one prominent Council staffer.

The garbage fee, which will be listed as a separate item on homeowners’ city water bills, according to the Mayor’s Budget Office, could still be modified since the Council isn’t scheduled to vote on it for a full month, and between now and then we’ll be treated to a multitude of hearings.

Also according to the Mayor’s Budget Office, non-payment of the garbage fee would not impact pick up. Garbage collectors will pick up garbage in every alley, under any circumstance. Instead, non-payment of a the garbage fee would be treated like a delinquent water bill, leading to city offers of payment plans and ultimately water service turn-off, a concern numerous aldermen from poorer wards talked about yesterday.

Despite all those big, unresolved political issues, for those who watch Council for a living, there was no question that Emanuel will pass the property tax increase.

“Just coming out of that room right now, you know he’s got thirty votes,” said one regular Council watcher. Many aldermen Aldertrack spoke to yesterday off the record said they will vote for the property tax simply because they know it fiscally needs to happen. Council staffers and aldermen we talked to expect a smaller group, of a dozen or so aldermen, who will need “special deals” from the Mayor to help make up with voters over the next three years.

The political divide on property taxes is already splitting on unfamiliar political lines. Generally, a consensus is building that the toughest votes this fall will come for Aldermen in the Northwest and Southwest Side bungalow belts, as well as Lakefront aldermen whose wards have the highest commercial property values.

While the next municipal election isn’t until 2019, nobody's quite sure how long voter memories will last and worse yet, if this will be the last property tax hike they’ll have to approve before then.

Late yesterday afternoon, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s press office released the outlinefor today’s FY2016 budget address, featuring a property tax increase with a four-year phase-in period. The basics of his plan, to be officially announced in a 10:00 a.m. speech today, include annually:

• $544 million of property taxes, phased-in over four years, starting with $318M as a supplemental levy in FY2015, reports Greg Hinz. All added revenue would be committed to police and fire pension payments.

• $170 million in city government management savings, through programs like closing CBD TIFs and healthcare reforms.

• $60 million from a $9.50/month fee per household for garbage pickup.

• $60 million from new rideshare (Uber and Lyft) and taxi fees.

• $13 million from streamlining building permitting.

• $1 million from new e-cigarette taxes.

The city property tax increase is on top of a $45 million additional Chicago Public Schools levy the mayor will ask the Council to approve to pay for school capital improvements.

The Mayor’s Office’s 2015 financial analysis released August 2 pegged the city’s budget deficit at $754M. But that’s assuming Springfield passes SB777, which allows the city to stretch out police and fire pension payments over a longer period. If SB777 is not passed and signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner–and he has not yet indicated that he will sign it–then the city’s FY2016 budget hole grows to $975M, according to the analysis. (See our August 3 report for more detail.)

Thus, the Mayor’s plan, which we add up to $848 million in additional annual revenue by FY2018, will need an additional tax levies or cuts if SB777 is not enacted this year.

Also in the mix is the political necessity of a property tax exemption or rebate increase. The Mayor’s Office estimates the property tax increase would equate to $600 more a year for someone with a $250,000 house, a meaningful number for those on a fixed income. Again, the the Mayor’s Office press release says Emanuel is working in concert with Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton for an exemption increase, but Gov. Bruce Rauner last week said he would not support any exemption changes without passage of his Turnaround Agenda package.

Council members have privately told Aldertrack they are examining ways the city could create an ordinance through a rebate program (for example, the Progressive Caucus program discussed below) if Springfield does not act, but such programs would require new bureaucracy and would not work as smoothly as extending existing exemption programs.

There is a growing consensus among aldermen that Mayor Rahm Emanuel will propose a property tax increase next Tuesday. But despite previous press reports, it is unclear how big of an increase and whether or not this will be the only tax increase–another tax hike might be necessary next year, too. Conversations with aldermen, state legislators, staff and leading City Hall lobbyists conducted by Aldertrack in recent days have revealed the following:

• The much discussed $500 million property tax hike, on top of other potential fees and new revenue sources, would likely only get the city to a “minimum credit card payment” to cover FY2016 needs, and not nearly enough to begin paying down the city’s $42.9 billion of debt and pension obligations in a significant way.

• Privately, the Mayor’s team has disavowed the $500 million number leaked to the press the Wednesday before Labor Day, sowing confusion among aldermen regarding the Mayor’s plans. Almost no budget details have been shared with aldermen so far, although the mayor has solicited everyone for their best ideas.

• Many aldermen believe they can politically weather voting for one property tax increase, but two property tax increases would be political suicide. As a result, many on the City Council would prefer to see a monster increase this year, giving them three years to make up with voters before the 2019 elections.

• Gov. Bruce Rauner made it clear earlier this week he will not approve any tax increase without changes to collective bargaining rules for government unions, so the city will need to find tax increases and revenue sources that do not require state approval, like a property tax increase.

• Even without Rauner’s opposition, there is little appetite to do anything to help Mayor Emanuel’s political prospects among Springfield Democrats. The fact that many of the pro-Rauner Illinois GO political action committee’s donors are the same leading donors to Emanuel has not been lost on legislators, leading many to believe that Emanuel is complicit with Illinois GO, or at least not making an effort to put a brick on the organization

• The thirteen freshmen aldermen are very politically exposed, regardless of whatever property tax plan is brought forward. They are the ones that have the most to lose by voting for property tax increase.

• Municipal employee unions are generally in favor of the property tax increase, giving aldermen some political cover.

• The almost total failure of Emanuel’s Chicago Forward PAC to affect the last election cycle has proven to many aldermen that there’s little he can do to help them at the ballot box.

• The mayor only needs 25 votes (he is the tie-breaker) to pass a budget. Because so many aldermen could be politically exposed, we may see a scenario where a large number vote “no” on a property tax increase and it squeaks through.

• Aldermen must be in office for 28 months before a mayoral appointment can be made for a replacement instead of a special election. Already a number of aldermen are rumored to be making plans for finding work after September 7, 2017, the 28-month mark.

Today Aldertrack paid subscribers received our first Quarterly Report, a guide that includes the member backgrounds of dozens of city administrative boards and commissions. While the report is only going to subscribers, the tale of what it took to gather this much information about how the city works is story that stands on its own.

A compendium of Chicago’s most important boards and commissions with names, appointment dates, and pictures, the Quarterly Report contains as much contact information as we could find. And there arose our challenge: like anything else even remotely related to bureaucracy, things were often unnecessarily complicated, hard to track down, or lacking a single source for answers.

The Aldertrack team spent more than a month searching for members who sit on nearly all of the City’s boards & commissions. We say nearly, because we ran into many roadblocks: outdated information, unhelpful staffers, and in some cases, little to no publicly available information.  

Excluding Special Service Areas (SSAs), the City lists 70 different boards and commissions for the City of Chicago. These commissions advise and manage city business for everything from public transportation to noise control at Chicago-area airports; zoning and development commissions that approve large scale construction projects and landmark designations to panels that address affordable housing funding and development.

The City’s web page provides skeletal information: a brief sentence describing the board’s function, the corresponding legal authority, whether City Council approval is required and a list of names and expiration dates. Using these member lists as our starting point, we searched through LinkedIn pages and old press releases dating back to 2011 to confirm job titles. We also cross referenced appointment dates with the Journals of the Proceedings and Legistar, and searched the relevant legal text to find board duties, membership requirements, and compensation.

But over the course of the month, we found the city’s master list of administrative board members was often outdated or didn’t match the lists provided on various commission websites. More than a third of the members the city listed as members on the Neighborspace Board of Directors are no longer serving on the board. We found similar discrepancies with World Business Chicago and the Chicago-Gary Regional Airport Authority, a panel created through an interstate agreement with Indiana and Illinois.

We also found cases where members continued to serve on the board even though their appointments had expired. That was the case for the board the oversees the Chicago Public Library. The terms for six of the eight members currently sitting on the Chicago Public Library Board have expired. When we contacted the board’s staffer, Pete Malloy, he assured us that members are allowed to serve until their replacement has been found or their reappointment has been filed. The Mayor’s office usually renews appointments when they submit requests for new appointees, and since there is currently a vacancy on the public library board, those reappointments won’t be filed until a new board member is found, Malloy said, after verifying the information with the Mayor’s office.

We had an especially difficult time verifying the members of boards whose appointments don’t require City Council approval. Since the Mayor’s office doesn’t have to submit a resolution requesting these appointments, there is little to no paper trail detailing whether someone has stepped down or added to the board. We contacted various city departments and board staffers to get a simple list of names, and were sometimes told to submit FOIA requests.

When we contacted to the City’s Commission on Human Relations to to verify the appointment dates for the members of the Advisory Council on Equity, we were told to submit a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request. We were sometimes asked to submit FOIAs for simple questions like whether board members were compensated or whether the City's membership lists w

We even made a personal visit to the office that oversees the city’s boards and commissions on City Hall’s 4th floor to verify appointment dates and memberships for some of these boards. The receptionist there told us the person in charge of these governing bodies was out of the office, and refused to provide that person’s contact information, suggesting we go to the the fifth floor and address our questions to the Mayor’s press office.

Some boards have a mixture of City, County and State appointees, and each government entity has their own database listing board memberships. The lists rarely matched. We found that to be the case with the Chicago-Gary Regional Airport Authority and the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority Board.

But once we got past these discrepancies and began putting the lists together we started to notice some trends.

There are still a significant number of Mayor Richard M. Daley appointees sitting on development and social service related boards. Eight of the 18 members on the Community Land Trust Board were appointed by Mayor Daley, and most of those members secured a spot on the board in 2006 when the board was created to address the limited supply of affordable housing in the City. A similar oversight body, the Low-Income Housing Trust Fund Board, a not-for-profit organization created in 1967 to provide low-income residents with affordable housing, still holds eight Daley appointees, including Board President Thomas J. McNulty, a partner at the law firm Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, LLP. McNulty was appointed in 1989 and all of the board's meetings are held at his law firm. And even though the board is held to the standards of the Open Meetings Act, members of the public who wish to attend must submit a request ahead of time for security reasons. Then there's the Chicago Committee on Urban Opportunity, a 16-member oversight body that reviews block grants and Head Start funding. Daley appointed nearly half the board.

In addition to finding a notable number of Daley appointees, we also found what we can be described as musical chair appointments: members serving on multiple boards at once, or moving from one board to the next.

Reverend Richard L. Tolliver, M.D., of St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church, sits on three boards: He was appointed to the Development Fund Advisory Board in 2008, the Low-Income Housing Trust Fund Board in 2012, and the Commission on Chicago Landmarks in 2014.

Similarly, Martin Cabrera, Jr, the Chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission, currently sits on the Public Building Commission and World Business Chicago. He also served a stint as Chairman of the City Colleges Board of Trustees, a position he was appointed to in 2011.

Another frequent board member is Blake Sercye, a litigator for corporate law firm Jenner & Block who ran (unsuccessfully) in 2014 for the Cook County Board of Commissioners, with the backing of Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and Mayor Emanuel. Sercye was appointed this year to the Zoning Board of Appeals and currently serves on the Community Development Commission and the Illinois Medical District Commission.

Then there is Dr. Horace E. Smith, pastor at Apostolic Faith Church and a doctor at Children’s Memorial Hospital, who also serves on three boards. He was appointed to the Low-Income Housing Trust Fund Board this year, and currently serves on Board of Health and the Affirmative Action Advisory Board.

Aldertrack plans to update the board listings every quarter, so expect updates as we learn more.