Chicago City Council

Chicago City Council
History
Founded 1837
Leadership
Rahm Emanuel, Democratic
Since May 15, 2015
Anna Valencia
Structure
Seats 50
Chicago City Council composition
Political groups
Length of term
 4 years
Elections
First-past-the-post
Meeting place
Chicago City Hall
The Chicago City Council Chambers are located in Chicago City Hall. (postcard from 1914)

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 Chicago City Council is gaveled into session regularly (usually monthly) to consider ordinances, orders, and resolutions whose subject matter includes traffic code changes, utilities, taxes, and many other issues. The presiding officer of the Chicago City Council is the Mayor of Chicago. The secretary is the City Clerk of Chicago. Both positions are popularly elected offices.

The Chicago City Council Chambers are located in Chicago City Hall. Also located in the building are the downtown offices of the individual aldermen and staff.

History

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

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.[2]

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.[3]

Corruption

Chicago City Council Chambers has long been the center of public corruption in Chicago.[4][5] The first conviction of Chicago aldermen and Cook County Commissioners for accepting bribes to rig a crooked contract occurred in 1869.[4] Between 1972 and 1999, 26 current or former Chicago aldermen were convicted for official corruption.[6][7][8] 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.[4][9]

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.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12]

Over half of elected Chicago aldermen took illegal campaign contributions totalling $282,000 in 2013.[13][14][15]

Authority

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.

Chicago's aldermen are generally given exceptional deference, called "aldermanic privilege," to control city decisions and services within their ward.[16][17] Aldermanic privilege includes "zoning, licenses, permits, property-tax reductions, city contracts and patronage jobs"; political scientists have suggested that this facilitates corruption.[18] The system has been described as "50 aldermen serving essentially as mayors of 50 wards."[19]

Law

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.[20] The Municipal Code of Chicago is the codification of Chicago's local ordinances of a general and permanent nature.[20][21] 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.[22]

Chicago aldermen

Below is a list of current Chicago aldermen.[23] The last election was held on February 24, 2015.

Aldermanic elections are officially nonpartisan; party affiliations below are informational only.

WardNameTook OfficeParty
1Proco Joe Moreno2010*Dem
2Brian Hopkins2015Dem
3Pat Dowell2007Dem
4Sophia King2016*Dem
5Leslie Hairston1999Dem
6Roderick Sawyer2011Dem
7Gregory Mitchell2015Dem
8Michelle A. Harris2006*Dem
9Anthony Beale1999Dem
10Susie Sadlowski Garza2015Dem
11Patrick Daley Thompson2015Dem
12George Cardenas2003Dem
13Marty Quinn2011Dem
14Edward M. Burke1969Dem
15Raymond Lopez2015Dem
16Toni Foulkes2007Dem
17David H. Moore2015Dem
18Derrick Curtis2015Dem
19Matthew O'Shea2011Dem
20Willie Cochran2007Dem
21Howard Brookins Jr.2003Dem
22Ricardo Muñoz1993*Dem
23Silvana Tabares2018*Dem
24Michael Scott, Jr.2015Dem
25Daniel Solis1996*Dem
26Roberto Maldonado2009*Dem
27Walter Burnett, Jr.1995Dem
28Jason Ervin2011*Dem
29Chris Taliaferro2015Dem
30Ariel Reboyras2003Dem
31Milly Santiago2015Dem
32Scott Waguespack2007Dem
33Deb Mell2013*Dem
34Carrie Austin1994*Dem
35Carlos Ramirez-Rosa2015Dem
36Gilbert Villegas2015Dem
37Emma Mitts2000*Dem
38Nicholas Sposato2011Ind
39Margaret Laurino1994*Dem
40Patrick J. O'Connor1983Dem
41Anthony Napolitano2015Rep
42Brendan Reilly2007Dem
43Michele Smith2011Dem
44Thomas M. Tunney2002*Dem
45John Arena2011Dem
46James Cappleman2011Dem
47Ameya Pawar2011Dem
48Harry Osterman2011Dem
49Joe Moore1991Dem
50Debra Silverstein2011Dem

* Year of appointment, not first election

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Aldermanic elections are officially nonpartisan; party affiliations are informational only.

    References

    1. ↑ "65 ILCS 20/ Revised Cities and Villages Act of 1941". Illinois General Assembly – Illinois Compiled Statutes. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
    2. ↑ "Ward System". www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org. Archived from the original on 2015-02-23. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
    3. ↑ "Why Chicago Has 50 Aldermen". NBC Chicago. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
    4. 1 2 3 Simpson, Dick; Nowlan, James; Gradel, Thomas J.; Mouritsen Zmuda, Melissa; Sterrett, David; Cantor, Douglas (2012-02-15). "Chicago and Illinois, Leading the Pack in Corruption; Anti-Corruption Report Number 5" (PDF). University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Political Science. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-12-02. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
    5. ↑ Grossman, Ron (2013-07-31). "Chicago political history rife with nepotism, aldermanic dynasties". Chicago Tribune. Tronc, Inc. Archived from the original on 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2017-07-29.
    6. ↑ Reardon, Patrick T. (1999-01-31). "Aldermen Rogues' Gallery Opens '99 Wing; Jones Is 25th City Council Member Convicted Since 1972". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2013-09-16.
    7. ↑ Gradel, Thomas J.; Simpson, Dick; Zimelis, Andris (2009-02-03). "Curing Corruption In Illinois: Anti-Corruption Report #1" (PDF). University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Political Science. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
    8. ↑ Bogira, Steve (2012-01-27). "Aldermanic rap sheet". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
    9. ↑ "Chicago's 'hall of shame'". Chicago Tribune. 2012-02-24. Archived from the original on 2012-02-26.
    10. ↑ Christoffer, Erica; Schlikerman, Becky (2008-05-19). "Off the Record: Chicago City Council Committees Evade The Law, Experts Say". Chicagotalks. Archived from the original on 2012-02-03.
    11. ↑ Christoffer, Erica; Schlikerman, Becky (2008-05-19). "Out of Order: Council Committees Evade The Law". The Beachwood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01.
    12. ↑ Lipinski, Ann Marie; Baquet, Dean (1987-10-05). "Committees Work A Little And Spend A Lot". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2013-12-07. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
    13. ↑ "FBI seizes files as Chicago aldermen oust oversight". illinoispolicy.org. 17 November 2015. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
    14. ↑ "Report: Aldermen Got $282,000 in Illegal Campaign Contributions in 2013". wttw.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
    15. ↑ "More than half of Chicago aldermen took illegal campaign cash in 2013". chicagonow.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
    16. ↑ "Curious City: What duties Chicago alderman are responsible for – WBEZ 91.5 Chicago". wbez.org. Archived from the original on 2015-03-31.
    17. ↑ Aldermanic Privilege. Archived 2015-03-17 at the Wayback Machine. Christopher Thale, Encyclopedia of Chicago.
    18. ↑ "Crony chronicles: Aldermanic privilege – Prohibition, prostitution and Chicago's mini-fiefdoms". Illinois Policy – An independent government watchdog. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
    19. ↑ "Chicago City Council; budget; parking meters". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
    20. 1 2 Julia Ellis, Chicago City Clerk Legislative Counsel (20 November 2013). The Making of Chicago City Law – How It Works. OpenGov Foundation / YouTube. Archived from the original on 20 January 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
    21. ↑ Chicago City Council Journal of 27 June 1990 Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine., p. 17764
    22. ↑ Dumke, Mick (2011-08-30). "New City Council, just about the same as the old City Council". Chicago Reader. Wrapports LLC. Archived from the original on 2017-07-29. Retrieved 2017-07-29.
    23. ↑ "City of Chicago :: Wards". www.cityofchicago.org. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
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