League Calls for City Council Reform
League of Women Voters of Chicago Calls for Immediate Reform of City Council Rule 41
Press Release | January 16, 2023
Chicago’s City Council is undoubtedly more transparent and accountable than ever before. But the work is far from finished. Particularly noteworthy is a section of Rule 41, a procedural rule that allows senior city officials to bypass the normal process for bringing voting items before the Council’s Committees. The League of Women Voters of Chicago (LWV Chicago) believes it is high time we closed this gaping loophole in our city’s legislative process.
The “direct introduction” section of Rule 41 allows the Mayor and City Departments to add a subject matter to a Committee’s voting agenda without providing any specifics about its content in advance. While the subject matter of such a proposal is listed on the Committee’s public agenda, the actual proposal the Committee is expected to vote on is not. The Committee members themselves may not receive the actual text of the item until shortly before the meeting. Making matters worse, the text of a Rule 41 proposal is often not available to the public until after the Committee has voted; in some instances, the public cannot see the full text until after the proposal has been voted on by the full City Council.
“It’s hard to imagine a rule more antithetical to maintaining genuine democratic accountability,” said Jane Ruby, President of LWV Chicago.
The process for amending Council rules is pretty simple. Alders submit proposed amendments to the Council for referral to the Rules Committee. The Committee Chair then reviews the proposal and adds it to the Committee’s agenda. If approved in Committee, the proposal heads to the City Council floor for a vote. Unfortunately, simple doesn’t always mean easy.
Last year, Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) and eight other alders proposed an amendment that would require items submitted directly to Committees to be (1) posted for the public to be able to see the text at least 48 hours prior to the Committee meeting, and (2) submitted to all Council members by that same deadline. The proposal failed to get out of Committee, in part due to a separate, unrelated provision regarding substitutes. Alders Reilly and Scott Waguespack (32nd) submitted a revised proposal addressing members’ stated concerns last October, but it has yet to make it onto the Rules Committee agenda.
Many candidates in the upcoming City Council election, including plenty of sitting aldermen, have promised to fight for greater accountability and transparency. Amending Rule 41 would be a good place to start.
About LWV Chicago
The League of Women Voters of Chicago is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in our democracy. We empower voters and defend democracy through advocacy and education. LWV Chicago encourages informed and active participation in government while influencing public policy. We never endorse or oppose political parties or candidates, but we are political.
