Chicago City Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | December 13, 1837 |
Leadership | |
Vice Mayor | |
President pro tempore | |
Floor Leader | Vacant since November 6, 2023 |
Assistant President pro tempore | |
Structure | |
Seats | 50 |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
Elections | |
Two-round system | |
Last election | 2023 |
Next election | 2027 |
Meeting place | |
Council Chambers in Chicago City Hall |
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. [1] The council is called 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 alderpersons and staff.
The presiding officer of the council is the Mayor of Chicago, who is usually non-voting, except in rare cases, such as to break a tie. The secretary is the City Clerk of Chicago. Both positions are city-wide elected offices. In the absence of the mayor, an alderperson is elected to the position of President Pro Tempore serves as the presiding officer. [2] [3]
Originally established as the Common Council in 1837, it was renamed City Council in 1876. The Council assumed its modern form of 50 wards electing one alderperson each in 1923.
The most recent city council election was the 2023 Chicago aldermanic elections. The current term began on May 15, 2023.
Alderperson elections are officially nonpartisan; party affiliations below are informational only. Council members also self-organize into caucuses, or blocs that address particular issues. [4] Active caucuses include the Black Caucus, Democratic Socialist Caucus, Latino Caucus, LGBT Caucus, and Progressive Reform Caucus. [4] [5]
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 hearing and deliberation process, the committee votes on whether to report the proposed legislation to the full council, along with recommendations. [34]
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 in selecting committee chairs. [3] [35]
As of May 2023, a majority of incoming City Council members after the 2023 election had agreed to a plan for the following subcommittees and chair assignments: [36] [37]
Committee | Chair | Vice Chair |
---|---|---|
Aviation | Matt O'Shea | Derrick Curtis |
Budget and Government Operations | Jason Ervin | Nicole Lee |
Committees and Rules | Michelle Harris | William Hall |
Contracting Oversight and Equity | Emma Mitts | Daniel La Spata |
Economic, Capital and Technology Development | Gil Villegas | Ronnie Mosley |
Education and Child Development | Jeanette Taylor | Angela Clay |
Environmental Protection and Energy | Maria Hadden | Timmy Knudsen |
Ethics and Government Oversight | Matt Martin | Maria Hadden |
Finance | Pat Dowell | Bill Conway |
Revenue (subcommittee) | William Hall | Pat Dowell |
Health and Human Relations | Rossana Rodríguez | Julia Ramirez |
Housing and Real Estate | Byron Sigcho-Lopez | Greg Mitchell |
Immigration and Refugee Rights | Andre Vasquez | Jeanette Taylor |
License and Consumer Protection | Debra Silverstein | Peter Chico |
Pedestrian and Traffic Safety | Daniel La Spata | Ruth Cruz |
Police and Fire | Chris Taliaferro | Lamont Robinson |
Public Safety | Brian Hopkins | Desmon Yancy |
Special Events | Nick Sposato | Monique Scott |
Transportation and Public Way | Greg Mitchell | Andre Vasquez |
Workforce Development | Mike Rodriguez | Jeylú Gutiérrez |
Youth Employment (subcommittee) | Jessie Fuentes | Michael Rodriguez |
Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards | Vacant | Bennett Lawson |
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. [38]
Chicago is unusual among major United States cities in the number of wards and representative alderpersons that it maintains. It has been noted that the current ward system promotes diverse ethnic and cultural representation on the city council. [39]
In June 2021, the State of Illinois adopted a statute that changed the title of City Council members to alderperson (plural: alderpersons), replacing the gendered term aldermen. [40] [41] However, some members of City Council continue to use the term alderman or instead use alderwoman or alder. [42]
Chicago City Council Chambers has long been the center of public corruption in Chicago. [43] [44] The first conviction of Chicago alderpersons and Cook County Commissioners for accepting bribes to rig a crooked contract occurred in 1869. [43] Between 1972 and 1999, 26 current or former Chicago alderpersons were convicted for official corruption. [45] [46] [47] Between 1973 and 2012, 31 alderpersons were convicted of corruption. Approximately 100 alderpersons served in that period, which is a conviction rate of about one-third. [43] [48]
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. [49] 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. [50]
Over half of elected Chicago alderpersons took illegal campaign contributions totalling $282,000 in 2013. [51] [52] [53]
Chicago alderpersons are elected by popular vote every four years, on the last Tuesday in February in the year following national mid-term elections. A run-off election, if 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. [54]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2019) |
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.
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. [55] The Municipal Code of Chicago is the codification of Chicago's local ordinances of a general and permanent nature. [55] [56] 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. [57]
Chicago's alderpersons are generally given exceptional deference, called "aldermanic privilege" or "aldermanic prerogative", to control city decisions and services within their ward. [58] [59] This is an unwritten and informal practice that emerged in the early 20th century and gives alderpersons control over "zoning, licenses, permits, property-tax reductions, city contracts and patronage jobs" in their wards. [60] [61] Political scientists have suggested that this facilitates corruption. [60] [61] The system has been described as "50 aldermen serving essentially as mayors of 50 wards." [62]
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council member elected by voters.
Leslie Hairston is an American politician who previously served as alderperson of the 5th ward of the City of Chicago from her first election in 1999 until retiring in 2023. Hairston is a Hyde Park native. As alderman, she represented the ward in the Chicago City Council along with representatives from the 49 other Chicago wards. She was re-elected in 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019.
Roderick Terrance Sawyer is an American politician and the former alderman of the 6th ward located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Sawyer is also the former the chairman of the Health and Human Relations Committee, a member of the Progressive Reform Caucus, and the former chairman of the African American Caucus.
Jesús G. "Chuy" García is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 4th district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, as well as in the Illinois Senate and on the Chicago City Council before his election to Congress. He was also a candidate for mayor of Chicago in 2015 and 2023. Throughout his career in Chicago and national politics, he has been described as a progressive.
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa is an American politician. He has served as the Alderperson for Chicago's 35th Ward since May 18, 2015. He was first elected to the Council in 2015, become one of the chamber's youngest members ever elected at age 26. He was re-elected in 2019 and 2023.
The 11th Ward is one of the 50 aldermanic wards with representation in the City Council of Chicago, Illinois. It is broken into 38 election precincts. Five Mayors of Chicago have come from this ward: Edward Joseph Kelly, Martin H. Kennelly, Richard J. Daley, Michael A. Bilandic and Richard M. Daley.
Michelle A. Harris is an American politician who is the alderperson of Chicago's 8th ward and the chair of the Chicago City Council's rules committee.
Susan Sadlowski Garza is a member of the Chicago City Council serving as the alderman for the 10th ward. The 10th ward is located on Chicago's southeast side and includes East Side, Hegewisch, Jeffrey Manor, South Chicago and South Deering. She initially assumed office after defeating Rahm Emanuel ally John Pope in the 2015 election. During the 2019–23 term, she was selected to be the chair of the Chicago City Council Progressive Reform Caucus.
Gilbert Villegas is an American politician. He is a member of the Chicago City Council, serving as alderperson for the city's 36th ward. The 36th ward includes Belmont-Cragin, Galewood, Hermosa, Humboldt Park, Montclare and Portage Park. Prior to his election to the Chicago City Council, he served as chief of staff of the Illinois Capital Development Board.
Anthony V. Napolitano is the current Alderman for Chicago's 41st ward, located on the Northwest side and including Edison Park, Norwood Park, Oriole Park, O'Hare and Edgebrook.
Chris Taliaferro is a Democratic Alderman representing the 29th ward of the city of Chicago. The 29th ward includes the Austin, Montclare and Galewood areas.
Sophia D. King is an American politician and former member of Chicago City Council, who served as alderman from the 4th ward, which includes portions of the neighborhoods Bronzeville, Hyde Park, Kenwood, Oakland, and South Loop. King was appointed to the position by mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2016 as a replacement to the retiring William D. Burns. She won a special election in 2017 to serve out the rest term of the Burns' unexpired term, and was re-elected to a full term in 2019. On the council, she was a member and chair of the Progressive Reform Caucus. She forwent reelection to the city council in 2023 in order to make an unsuccessful run for mayor of Chicago in the 2023 Chicago mayoral election.
The 2019 Chicago mayoral election was held on February 26, 2019, to determine the next Mayor of the City of Chicago, Illinois. Since no candidate received a majority of votes, a runoff election was held on April 2, 2019, between the two candidates with the most votes, Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle. Lightfoot defeated Preckwinkle in the runoff election to become mayor, and was sworn in as mayor on May 20, 2019.
The 2019 Chicago elections took place in two rounds on February 26, 2019, and April 2, 2019. Elections were held for Mayor of Chicago, City Clerk of Chicago, City Treasurer of Chicago, and all 50 members of the Chicago City Council. The candidates who won in these elections were inaugurated on May 20, 2019. Four ballot referendums were also voted on in certain precincts. The elections were administered by the Chicago Board of Elections.
David H. Moore is an American politician and member of the Chicago City Council serving as alderman for the 17th ward since May 18, 2015. The 17th ward includes portions of Auburn Gresham, Englewood, Chicago Lawn, Marquette Park and West Englewood.
Matt Martin is an American politician who is currently serving as a member of Chicago City Council for the city's 47th ward. He won election as alderman in 2019 and was re-elected in 2023. The 47th ward includes all or parts of the North Center, Lincoln Square, Lakeview, and Uptown neighborhoods.
Maria Elaine Hadden is an American politician and community activist from Chicago. She is a member of the Chicago City Council, serving as alderperson for the city's 49th ward. She won election to that office after defeating 28-year incumbent Joe Moore in the 2019 election, and was reelected in 2023. The 49th ward includes most of Rogers Park and portions of West Ridge. She is a member of the Progressive Caucus, Black Caucus, and LGBT Caucus in the City Council.
The Democratic Socialist Caucus of the Chicago City Council is a bloc of aldermen in the Chicago City Council. The block was unofficially organized as the Socialist Caucus in 2019, and later organized as a formal caucus with its current name in 2021. It currently has six members, out of the 50 aldermen that comprise the Council. Members of the caucus identify as democratic socialists.
The 2023 Chicago aldermanic election took place in two rounds on February 28 and April 4, 2023, to elect 50 alderpersons to the Chicago City Council. Each alderperson represents one of Chicago's 50 wards. The elections are non-partisan and use a two-round system where the top two finishers compete in a second-round runoff if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the first round. The elections are part of the 2023 Chicago elections, which include elections for Mayor, City Clerk, and City Treasurer.
Nicole T. Lee is an American politician in Chicago, Illinois. She is a member of the Chicago City Council as the alderwoman for the 11th ward, which includes portions of Bridgeport, New City, and Chinatown. She took office in March 2022, after being appointed to fill the vacancy created by the removal of Patrick Daley Thompson. She was elected to a full term in 2023. She is the second Asian American and first Chinese American to serve on the City Council.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Back home in Chicago, Mosley worked for Ald. Michelle Harris' (8th) office and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel's 2015 reelection campaign. Shortly after, he founded a consulting firm to aid the likes of Gov. JB Pritzker and the Obama Foundation.