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. 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.
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.
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

The most recent city council election was the 2019 Chicago aldermanic elections. The current term began on May 20, 2019.
Aldermanic elections are officially nonpartisan; party affiliations below are informational only. Council members also self-organize into caucuses, or blocs that address particular issues. Active caucuses include the Progressive Reform Caucus, the Black Caucus, the Latino Caucus, the LGBT Caucus, and the Socialist Caucus.
WardNameTook OfficePartyMain community areas
1Daniel La Spata2019DemocraticWest Town, Logan Square
2Brian Hopkins2015DemocraticWest Town, Near North Side, Lincoln Park
3Pat Dowell2007DemocraticGrand Boulevard
4Sophia King2016DemocraticKenwood, Douglas
5Leslie Hairston1999DemocraticHyde Park, South Shore, Woodlawn
6Roderick Sawyer2011DemocraticGreater Grand Crossing, Englewood, Chatham
7Gregory Mitchell2015DemocraticSouth Chicago, South Shore, South Deering
8Michelle A. Harris2006DemocraticAvalon Park
9Anthony Beale1999DemocraticRiverdale, Roseland
10Susan Sadlowski Garza2015DemocraticSouth Deering, Hegewisch
11Patrick D. Thompson2015DemocraticBridgeport, New City
12George Cardenas2003DemocraticSouth Lawndale, Brighton Park, McKinley Park
13Marty Quinn2011DemocraticWest Lawn, Clearing
14Edward M. Burke1969DemocraticArcher Heights, Gage Park
15Raymond Lopez2015DemocraticWest Englewood, Brighton Park, New City
16Stephanie Coleman2019DemocraticWest Englewood, Chicago Lawn, Englewood
17David H. Moore2015DemocraticChicago Lawn, Auburn Gresham, West Englewood
18Derrick Curtis2015DemocraticAshburn
19Matthew O'Shea2011DemocraticBeverly, Mount Greenwood, Morgan Park
20Jeanette B. Taylor2019DemocraticNew City, Woodlawn, Englewood
21Howard Brookins Jr.2003DemocraticAuburn Gresham, Washington Heights
22Michael Rodriguez2019DemocraticSouth Lawndale, Garfield Ridge
23Silvana Tabares2018DemocraticGarfield Ridge, Clearing
24Michael Scott, Jr.2015DemocraticNorth Lawndale
25Byron Sigcho-Lopez2019DemocraticLower West Side, Near West Side
26Roberto Maldonado2009DemocraticHumboldt Park, West Town
27Walter Burnett, Jr.1995DemocraticNear West Side
28Jason Ervin2011DemocraticNear West Side, East Garfield Park
29Chris Taliaferro2015DemocraticAustin
30Ariel Reboyras2003DemocraticBelmont Cragin, Portage Park
31Felix Cardona Jr.2019DemocraticBelmont Cragin, Hermosa
32Scott Waguespack2007DemocraticLogan Square
33Rossana Rodriguez2019IndependentIrving Park, Avondale, Albany Park
34Carrie Austin1994DemocraticWest Pullman, Roseland, Morgan Park
35Carlos Ramirez-Rosa2015DemocraticLogan Square, Avondale
36Gilbert Villegas2015DemocraticBelmont Cragin
37Emma Mitts2000DemocraticAustin, Humboldt Park
38Nicholas Sposato2011IndependentDunning, O'Hare, Portage Park
39Samantha Nugent2019DemocraticNorth Park, Forest Glen
40Andre Vasquez2019DemocraticLincoln Square, West Ridge
41Anthony Napolitano2015IndependentO'Hare, Norwood Park
42Brendan Reilly2007DemocraticLoop, Near North Side
43Michele Smith2011DemocraticLincoln Park
44Thomas M. Tunney2002DemocraticLake View
45Jim Gardiner2019DemocraticJefferson Park, Portage Park
46James Cappleman2011DemocraticUptown, Lake View
47Matt Martin2019DemocraticNorth Center, Lincoln Square
48Harry Osterman2011DemocraticEdgewater
49Maria Hadden2019IndependentRogers Park
50Debra Silverstein2011DemocraticWest 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.
The committees are created, and their leaders and members are selected, through a resolution passed by the whole council. Historically, mayors have played a central role selected committee chairs. As of May 2019, there are 18 standing committees in the council, whose chairmen and vice-chairmen are as follows:
CommitteeChairVice-chair
AviationMatthew O'SheaDerrick Curtis
Budget and Government OperationsPat DowellDebra Silverstein
Committees and RulesMichelle A. HarrisAnthony Napolitano,
Matthew O'Shea,
Gilbert Villegas
Contract Oversight and EquityCarrie AustinDavid H. Moore
Economic, Capital, and Technology DevelopmentGilbert VillegasGregory Mitchell
Education and Child DevelopmentMichael Scott Jr.Sophia King
Ethics and Government OversightMichele SmithMatt Martin
Environmental Protection and EnergyGeorge CardenasSamantha Nugent
FinanceScott WaguespackLeslie Hairston
Housing and Real EstateHarry OstermanWalter Burnett Jr.
Human Relations and HealthRoderick SawyerJames Cappleman
License and Consumer ProtectionEmma MittsBrian Hopkins
Public SafetyChris TaliaferroHarry Osterman
Special Events, Cultural Affairs, and RecreationNicholas SposatoAndre Vasquez
Pedestrian and Traffic SafetyWalter Burnett Jr.Roberto Maldonado
Transportation and Public WayHoward BrookinsMichael Rodriguez
Workforce DevelopmentSusan Sadlowski GarzaJason Ervin
Zoning, Landmarks, and Building StandardsTom TunneyAriel Reboyras

History

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.
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.

Corruption

Chicago City Council Chambers has long been the center of public corruption in Chicago. The first conviction of Chicago aldermen and Cook County Commissioners for accepting bribes to rig a crooked contract occurred in 1869. Between 1972 and 1999, 26 current or former Chicago aldermen were convicted for official corruption. 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.
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. 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.
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.
Over half of elected Chicago aldermen took illegal campaign contributions totalling $282,000 in 2013.

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.

Authority and roles

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

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. The Municipal Code of Chicago is the codification of Chicago's local ordinances of a general and permanent nature. 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.

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. 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. Political scientists have suggested that this facilitates corruption. The system has been described as "50 aldermen serving essentially as mayors of 50 wards."