Ald. Daniel La Spata (1) showing an example of public bathrooms some cities have installed.

It would be “doable” and worthwhile for Chicago to build a network of freestanding public toilets around the city, a cluster of progressive aldermen argued in a City Council hearing on Monday. And while the effort has yet to gain the backing of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration or of most aldermen, it may have gained a powerful ally in the chair of a key council committee.