Act Now to Increase City Council Transparency
Contact your alder to let them know you support Item #R2022-1116. This amendment would ensure that “direct introduction” legislative items proposed by the mayor and city departments be posted for the public to see and sent to all City Council members at least 48 hours before a City Council Committee meets to consider the items.
Take Action
Contact your alder and Chair Michelle Harris of the Rules Committee and let them know you support R2022-1116. Specifically request:
That R2022-1116 be placed on an agenda of the Rules Committee this month
That the Committee pass the proposal
That the City Council then pass this item
Chair Michelle Harris’ email is ward08@cityofchicago.org. You can find your alder’s contact information here. Not sure who your alder is? You can look up your ward by your home address.
If your alder is Ald. Waguespack (32nd) or Ald. Reilly (42nd), please thank them for sponsoring this rule change.
Read the letter that LWV Chicago sent to Chair Harris and all alders.
What You Should Know
Rule 41 of the City Council Rules of Order and Procedure allows the mayor and city departments to bypass the normal process of introducing items with their full text at a City Council meeting, where items then are referred to the appropriate City Council Committee for consideration.
In contrast to the normal process, often the text of such "direct introduction" items is not available to the public, and only a vague description of the subject matter is posted as part of the Committee (and then Council) agenda.
Further, during LWV Chicago’s Zooming with the Alder interviews, the League learned that the alders themselves often do not see the actual text of “direct introduction” items until shortly before the Committee meeting at which they are asked to approve those items.
Obviously, the existing rule leads to the opposite of good government and to a lack of transparency.
R2022-1116 would amend Rule 41 to require the text of direct introduction items to be publicly posted and sent to all City Council members at least 48 hours before a City Council Committee meets.
Last October, the League asked members to take action in support of an earlier version of this amendment, which subsequently did not pass at the Rules Committee meeting. Alds. Reilly and Waguespack have revised the amendment to address the concerns raised during the meeting, including deleting an unrelated provision that some alders objected to and clarifying that certain “routine or repetitive” matters be exempted from the 48-hour notice requirement.
Thank you for taking action!