City Council committees held more than 20 so-called subject matter hearings in 2020, more than the number of no-vote public discussions held during all of the four previous years combined. 

Aldermen and experts surmise the COVID-19 pandemic has played a role, in a multitude of ways, in the uptick in the number of meetings that largely have not culminated in any binding legislative action. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and some aldermen have celebrated the extra meetings for the extra transparency they lend to governance, but others have taken the trend as a sign that the council is too hesitant to take decisive action.