July Council Meeting
July is usually busy month for City Council issues, given that the Council goes into recess in August. This month was no exception. We held two full Council meetings: our regular meeting on July 15 and an additional meeting on July 22. Unless otherwise noted, all matters mentioned below were considered at our July 15.
NITA and Transit Board Appointments
Mayor Johnson advanced a slate of appointments to the new Northern Illinois Transit Authority Board and the subsidiary agency boards (Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and PACE). All were approved by the Council and will therefore begin their terms of office on September 1. I voted against Lester Barclay, who had served as chair of the CTA Board since 2021.
Numerous advocates and residents had raised concerns that he failed to hold previous CTA leadership, including former CTA president Dorval Carter, accountable for problems at the agency. In addition, he argued against the state transit legislation adopted last year that created NITA, to whose board Mayor Johnson proposed to elevate him. I shared these concerns and voted no on his nomination.
The 78
City Council approved two ordinances directing over $400 million in tax increment financing funds to support infrastructure improvements and construction of a raised building podium/parking garage at the 78, the area on the South Branch of the Chicago River just south of the Loop that will house the Chicago Fire’s new stadium and ultimately new residential, office, and commercial developments.
Although I am concerned that many of these funds were transferred from the adjacent Canal/Congress TIF district, which is home to Union Station and the intercity bus station newly purchased by the City—both of which are in need of investments themselves—I also understand the need to support improvements at The 78 site to promote its development. Therefore, I voted in favor of the ordinances. However, I will strongly support transferring funds back to the Canal/Congress TIF once the TIF in which The 78 is located begins generating revenue.
Advisory Referendum Questions
Each election, the City Council is allowed to place up to three advisory referendum questions on the ballot for voters to express their views on the chosen issues. Even when I don’t necessarily agree with the ideas being proposed, I think it is important for us on the City Council to hear directly from voters via their votes.
During the Rules Committee meeting earlier this month, City Council members (all 50 of us are members of the Rules Committee) advanced two advisory questions for the November 2026 election to the full City Council meeting, which were approved by the Council on July 15:
That left one spot on the November 2026 ballot for an additional question, as well as all three spots on the February 2027 municipal ballot. Council members attempted to fill those spots during the July 15 Council meeting, but these attempts were “deferred and published”—in other words, delayed until the next Council meeting.
To bring these matters back sooner than the next regular Council meeting in September, Alderman Anthony Beale (9th Ward) moved to set the next meeting date as Wednesday, July 22.
At the July 22 Council meeting, we took that matter up first. I voted in favor, along with an overwhelmingly majority of the Council. Therefore, the final advisory question to appear on the November 2026 ballot will be:
Shall the City pursue all lawful means to recover financial compensation from the federal government for the costs and economic harm caused by the Donald Trump administration's violent, militarized ICE operations, including the Midway Blitz operation led by Greg Bovino, to recover lost tax revenue, public safety response costs, and services provided to residents and families affected by those operations.
We then moved onto adding advisory questions to the February 2027 municipal election ballot. I wanted us to move cautiously, and perhaps not make all of our selections at the meeting.
However, majorities of the Council disagreed, and the Council voted to put the following questions on the February 2027:
Should withhold funding from its sister agencies that do not enforce debt repayment plans for outstanding debt owed to City [by their employees]?
Should the city create a permanent monument celebrating Chicago's global contributions to music and arts?
Should the Chicago City Council establish and fully fund its own independent legal counsel separate from City's Law Department?
I voted to place the question on an independent legal counsel for the Council on the February ballot. There have been numerous examples in recent years where the Council would benefit from having its own lawyers able to give us unbiased advice. Unfortunately, the current arrangement where the Law Department is both the mayor’s lawyer and the Council’s lawyer can lead to conflicts of interest or the perception of conflicts of interest.
Zoning Issues
3346 N Milwaukee - special use permit for event venue
We are surveying residents regarding a request by the owner of 3346 N Milwaukee Ave for a special use permit to operate an event venue on the property.
You can read a full explanation of the proposal by the applicant here, but important features include:
Operating hours of 9 am to 9 pm – no late-night hours.
15 dedicated parking spaces on site.
Capacity of 50 people.
Direct management by the property owner, who also owns the jewelry business next door at 3348 N Milwaukee.
The facility is intended for small events, including baby showers, birthdays, graduations, engagements, and family gatherings.
The issuance or denial of special use permits is decided by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), a quasi-legal body of Chicago’s city government. Alderwoman Cruz has no official role in the process, but she will send a letter to the ZBA expressing her position. However, our office still seeks to survey nearby residents to understand public opinion about the proposal, which will help the Alderwoman whether she will support or not support the special use application.
Click here to respond to the survey for 3346 N Milwaukee.
