New Proposal for City Council Transparency
League Again Supports Amending Rule 41 Regarding Direct Introduction Items
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) and Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) have filed a new resolution to amend the City Council’s Rule 41 regarding “Direct Introduction Items.” This amendment (R2022-1116) would again require public posting of the text of such items, along with submission to all City Council members, at least 48 hours prior to a City Council Committee meeting.
LWV Chicago previously reported on the defeat of the prior proposal to amend Rule 41.
There are two important differences in this new proposal from the prior version that was voted down by the Rules Committee:
Deleted: A section dealing with Substitutes with which a number of alders expressed concern. The League’s support was for the Direct Introduction section, not the Substitute section.
Added: A provision to exempt certain “routine or repetitive matters” from the minimum 48-hour notice requirement, including “approval of legal settlements.” Ald. Waguespack had said he voted against the prior proposal because he was concerned that the 48-hour notice requirement would cause problems for legal settlements that come before the Finance Committee, which he chairs.
The League will work with Ald. Reilly and Waguespack to obtain approval of this proposal, which will increase transparency to the workings of the City Council.
More News from the City Government Committee
As a result of an email from City Government Committee member Rochelle Riffer to the City Clerk’s office, the public can now find a link on the clerk’s home page to the procedures for participating in the public comment portion of City Council and Committee meetings. Previously, those procedures were listed on the home page, but recently, the City Government Committee noticed that they were no longer there.
The City Council passed a Resolution (R2022-1121) on November 4 urging the Illinois General Assembly to permanently authorize the use of central voting centers. Central voting centers, which have been used for both Early Voting and Election Day voting, currently are not authorized under current Illinois law after 2022. Sponsor Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) said that the Budget & Government Operations Committee that she chairs will work with the Chicago Board of Elections to reach out to Illinois House and Senate members to see that these central voting centers continue to be authorized—hopefully in time to be used for Chicago's municipal elections in February and April 2023.
Would you like to learn more about City Government and help make a positive difference? Join the City Government Committee! Please email league@lwvchicago.org.