Among the dozens of Mayoral appointments to the City’s boards and commissions announced at yesterday’s City Council meeting we heard a familiar name: Ray Suarez. Mayor Emanuel introduced an ordinance appointing the former 31st Ward alderman to the Illinois International Port District Board, the policy making body for the city’s port and harbor. The nine member body issues construction permits and regulates the district’s facilities and waterways. Suarez would finish the unexpired term of Rev. Lynette R. Santiago, Co-pastor of the Christian Fellowship Flock Church, who resigned.

Unlike most city boards and commissions, the job comes with an annual salary of $20,000. Since the appointment requires approval from Ald. Anthony Beale’s (9) Committee on Transportation and Public Way, Suarez will have to make a trip to City Hall to get confirmed by his former peers.