Chicago City Council

The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 aldermen elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms.[1] The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually monthly, to consider ordinances, orders, and resolutions whose subject matter includes code changes, utilities, taxes, and many other issues. The Chicago City Council Chambers are located in Chicago City Hall, as are the downtown offices of the individual aldermen and staff.

Chicago City Council
Type
Type
History
Founded1837
Leadership
Lori Lightfoot, Democratic
since May 2019
President Pro Tempore
Brendan Reilly
since May 2019
Anna M. Valencia
since January 2017
Structure
Seats50
Political groups
Majority
  •  Democratic (46)[lower-alpha 1]

Minority

Length of term
4 years
Elections
Two-round system
Last election
2019
Next election
2023
Meeting place
Council Chambers in Chicago City Hall
The Chicago City Council Chambers are located in Chicago City Hall. (postcard from 1914)

The presiding officer of the council is the Mayor of Chicago. The secretary is the City Clerk of Chicago. Both positions are city-wide elected offices. In the absence of the mayor, an alderman elected to the position of President Pro Tempore serves as the presiding officer.[2][3]

Established in 1837 as the Common Council and renamed to the "City Council" in 1876, it assumed its modern form of 50 wards electing one alderman each in 1923.

Composition
See also: List of Chicago aldermen since 1923

The most recent city council election was the 2019 Chicago aldermanic elections.[4] The current term began on May 20, 2019.[5]

Aldermanic elections are officially nonpartisan; party affiliations below are informational only. Council members also self-organize into caucuses, or blocs that address particular issues.[6] Active caucuses include the Progressive Reform Caucus, the Black Caucus, the Latino Caucus, the LGBT Caucus, and the Socialist Caucus.[6][7]

Map of the 50 wards of the City of Chicago in use since 2015.
WardNameTook OfficeParty[lower-alpha 1] Main community areas[lower-alpha 2]
1Daniel La Spata2019Democratic[8] West Town, Logan Square
2Brian Hopkins2015Democratic West Town, Near North Side, Lincoln Park
3Pat Dowell2007Democratic[9] Grand Boulevard
4Sophia King2016[lower-alpha 3]Democratic[9] Kenwood, Douglas
5Leslie Hairston1999Democratic[9] Hyde Park, South Shore, Woodlawn
6Roderick Sawyer2011Democratic[9] Greater Grand Crossing, Englewood, Chatham
7Gregory Mitchell2015Democratic[9] South Chicago, South Shore, South Deering
8Michelle A. Harris2006[lower-alpha 3]Democratic[9] Avalon Park
9Anthony Beale1999Democratic[9] Riverdale, Roseland
10Susan Sadlowski Garza2015Democratic[9] South Deering, Hegewisch
11Patrick D. Thompson2015Democratic[10] Bridgeport, New City
12George Cardenas2003Democratic[11] South Lawndale, Brighton Park, McKinley Park
13Marty Quinn2011Democratic West Lawn, Clearing
14Edward M. Burke1969Democratic[9] Archer Heights, Gage Park
15Raymond Lopez2015Democratic[9] West Englewood, Brighton Park, New City
16Stephanie Coleman2019Democratic[9] West Englewood, Chicago Lawn, Englewood
17David H. Moore2015Democratic[9] Chicago Lawn, Auburn Gresham, West Englewood
18Derrick Curtis2015Democratic[9] Ashburn
19Matthew O'Shea2011Democratic[9] Beverly, Mount Greenwood, Morgan Park
20Jeanette B. Taylor2019Democratic[12] New City, Woodlawn, Englewood
21Howard Brookins Jr.2003Democratic[9] Auburn Gresham, Washington Heights
22Michael Rodriguez2019Democratic[9] South Lawndale, Garfield Ridge
23Silvana Tabares2018[lower-alpha 3]Democratic[13] Garfield Ridge, Clearing
24Michael Scott, Jr.2015Democratic[9] North Lawndale
25Byron Sigcho-Lopez2019 Democratic Lower West Side, Near West Side
26Roberto Maldonado2009[lower-alpha 3]Democratic[9] Humboldt Park, West Town
27Walter Burnett, Jr.1995Democratic[9] Near West Side
28Jason Ervin2011[lower-alpha 3]Democratic[9] Near West Side, East Garfield Park
29Chris Taliaferro2015Democratic[9] Austin
30Ariel Reboyras2003Democratic[9] Belmont Cragin, Portage Park
31Felix Cardona Jr.2019Democratic[14] Belmont Cragin, Hermosa
32Scott Waguespack2007Democratic[9] Logan Square
33Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez2019Independent[15] Irving Park, Avondale, Albany Park
34Carrie Austin1994[lower-alpha 3]Democratic[9] West Pullman, Roseland, Morgan Park
35Carlos Ramirez-Rosa2015Democratic[9] Logan Square, Avondale
36Gilbert Villegas2015Democratic[16] Belmont Cragin
37Emma Mitts2000[lower-alpha 3]Democratic[9] Austin, Humboldt Park
38Nicholas Sposato2011Independent[17] Dunning, O'Hare, Portage Park
39Samantha Nugent2019Democratic[18] North Park, Forest Glen
40Andre Vasquez2019Democratic[19] Lincoln Square, West Ridge
41Anthony Napolitano2015Independent[20] O'Hare, Norwood Park
42Brendan Reilly2007Democratic[9] Loop, Near North Side
43Michele Smith2011Democratic Lincoln Park
44Thomas M. Tunney2002[lower-alpha 3]Democratic[9] Lake View
45Jim Gardiner2019Democratic Jefferson Park, Portage Park
46James Cappleman2011Democratic[9] Uptown, Lake View
47Matt Martin2019Democratic[21] North Center, Lincoln Square
48Harry Osterman2011Democratic[22] Edgewater
49Maria Hadden2019Independent[23] Rogers Park
50Debra Silverstein2011Democratic[24] West Ridge

Standing committees

The city council is internally organized into subject-specific standing committees. Once proposed legislation is drafted, it is assigned to a specific standing committee. After a heading and deliberation process, the committee votes on whether to report the proposed legislation to the full council, along with recommendations.[25]

The committees are created, and their leaders and members are selected, through a resolution passed by the whole council.[2] Historically, mayors have played a central role selected committee chairs.[3][26] As of May 2019, there are 18 standing committees in the council, whose chairmen and vice-chairmen are as follows:[27]

Committee Chair Vice-chair(s)
Aviation Matthew O'Shea Derrick Curtis
Budget and Government Operations Pat Dowell Debra Silverstein
Committees and Rules Michelle A. Harris Anthony Napolitano,
Matthew O'Shea,
Gilbert Villegas
Contract Oversight and Equity Carrie Austin David H. Moore
Economic, Capital, and Technology Development Gilbert Villegas Gregory Mitchell
Education and Child Development Michael Scott Jr. Sophia King
Ethics and Government Oversight Michele Smith Matt Martin
Environmental Protection and Energy George Cardenas Samantha Nugent
Finance Scott Waguespack Leslie Hairston
Housing and Real Estate Harry Osterman Walter Burnett Jr.
Human Relations and Health Roderick Sawyer James Cappleman
License and Consumer Protection Emma Mitts Brian Hopkins
Public Safety Chris Taliaferro Harry Osterman
Special Events, Cultural Affairs, and Recreation Nicholas Sposato Andre Vasquez
Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Walter Burnett Jr. Roberto Maldonado
Transportation and Public Way Howard Brookins Michael Rodriguez
Workforce Development Susan Sadlowski Garza Jason Ervin
Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards Tom Tunney Ariel Reboyras

History
Map of city of Chicago ward system in 1904. Wards with lower populations have larger boundaries. External link: current map of Chicago wards
See also: Political history of Chicago

Chicago has been divided into wards since 1837, beginning with 6 wards. Until 1923, each ward elected two members to the city council. In 1923, the system that exists today was adopted with 50 wards, each with one council member elected by the ward. In accordance with Illinois state law, ward borders must be shifted after every federal census. This law is intended to give the population of the ward equal representation based by the size of the population of Chicago.[28]

Chicago is unusual among major United States cities in the number of wards and representative aldermen that it maintains. It has been noted that the current ward system promotes diverse ethnic and cultural representation on the city council.[29]

Corruption

Chicago City Council Chambers has long been the center of public corruption in Chicago.[30][31] The first conviction of Chicago aldermen and Cook County Commissioners for accepting bribes to rig a crooked contract occurred in 1869.[30] Between 1972 and 1999, 26 current or former Chicago aldermen were convicted for official corruption.[32][33][34] Between 1973 and 2012, 31 aldermen were convicted of corruption. Approximately 100 aldermen served in that period, which is a conviction rate of about one-third.[30][35]

Fourteen of the Chicago's City Council's nineteen committees routinely violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act during the last four months of 2007 by not keeping adequate written records of their meetings.[36] Chicago City Council committees violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act and their own rules by meeting and taking actions without a quorum at least four times over the same four-month span.[37]

Less than half of the Council's 28 committees met more than six times in 1986. The budget for Council committees was $5.3 million in 1986.[38]

Over half of elected Chicago aldermen took illegal campaign contributions totalling $282,000 in 2013.[39][40][41]

Election

Chicago aldermen are elected by popular vote every four years, on the last Tuesday in February. A run-off election, in the event that no candidate garners more than fifty percent of the vote, is held on the first Tuesday in April. The election is held on a non-partisan basis. New terms begin at noon on the third Monday in May following the election.[5]

Authority and roles
Richard M. Daley in Chicago City Council chambers in 2008

The council, in conjunction with the Mayor of Chicago, hears recommendations from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks and then may grant individual properties Chicago Landmark status. The Council also has the power to redraw ward boundaries, resulting in the heavily gerrymandered map seen today.

Law
Further information: Law of Illinois

The Journal of the Proceedings of the City Council of the City of Chicago is the official publication of the acts of the City Council.[42] The Municipal Code of Chicago is the codification of Chicago's local ordinances of a general and permanent nature.[42][43] Between May 18, 2011 and August, 2011, the first 100 days of the first term of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, 2,845 ordinances and orders were introduced to the Council.[44]

Aldermanic privilege

Chicago's aldermen are generally given exceptional deference, called "aldermanic privilege" or "aldermanic prerogative", to control city decisions and services within their ward.[45][46] This is an unwritten and informal practice that emerged in the early 20th century and gives alderman control over "zoning, licenses, permits, property-tax reductions, city contracts and patronage jobs" in their wards.[47][48] Political scientists have suggested that this facilitates corruption.[47][48] The system has been described as "50 aldermen serving essentially as mayors of 50 wards."[49]

See also

Notes
  1. Aldermanic elections are officially nonpartisan; party affiliations are informational only.
  2. Main community areas overlapping with the ward. Only community areas that make up 20% of the area of the ward or more are listed.
  3. Year of appointment, not of first election.

    References
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    2. g.angelo (2015-09-21). "About City Government & the Chicago City Council". City Clerk of Chicago. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
    3. Pratt, John Byrne, Juan Perez Jr , Gregory. "Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot aces first test of her power: City Council overhaul approved". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
    4. Hinton, Rachel (20 May 2019). "MEET THE NEW CITY COUNCIL A new mayor and a dozen new aldermen take their seats Monday. Here's everything you need to know about all 50 wards". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
    5. "State of Illinois Candidate's Guide 2019" (PDF). State Board of Elections. 6 August 2018. p. 32. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
    6. "City Council Caucus Chairs on Chicago's Future". WTTW News. 2019-07-03. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
    7. Joravsky, Mick Dumke, Ben. "The real caucuses in the Chicago City Council". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
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    9. Sandvoss, Steven S., ed. (September 18, 2019). "State of Illinois Central Committees" (PDF). Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Board of Elections. pp. 75–78. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
    10. Thompson, Patrick (October 10, 2012). "Patrick Thompson: Candidate Profile Metro. Water Reclamation District (Democrat)" (Interview). Interviewed by Daily Herald Editorial Board. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
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