Interview with Ald. Brendan Reilly
Two Ways to Improve the City Council: Legislative Counsel and Subpoena Power
Ald. Brendan Reilly of the 42nd Ward provided the League with two suggestions for improving the operation of the City Council that are part of a bill he is proposing:
Create the Office of Legislative Counsel to advise the alders on parliamentary and related matters.
Authorize City Council Committees to subpoena witnesses to appear before them.
Currently, the parliamentarian who advises on the rules of procedure during City Council meetings is a member of the City Corporation Counsel’s staff, who report to the mayor. Many of the alders we’ve interviewed expressed a strong desire to have their own parliamentary expert who can advise them. Also, at the present time, committees may only request that people appear before them; they can do nothing if anyone decides not to appear. Ald. Reilly’s proposed ordinance to address both these matters is currently in the Rules Committee (O2022-656). Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th Ward, also has a similar proposal (without the subpoena power) that is in the Budget & Government Operations Committee (SO2021-2901). LWV Chicago’s City Government Committee will be watching to see what happens.
Watch the full interview above or read on for more highlights:
Ald. Reilly would like to see a few matters at least get started during the remainder of this term, which ends in 2023. These include:
Making the CTA cleaner and safer.
Hiring 2,000 more police officers to fill many of CPD’s current vacancies.
Purchasing two more police helicopters. More helicopters are key to getting car-jacking under control, among other crimes. Currently, the Chicago Police Department has only one helicopter in operation. Ald. Reilly said that Los Angeles has 17, while New York City has 19 helicopters.
Redoing Ogden Plaza Park (on Columbus Drive, just north of the Sheraton Hotel).
Commencing redevelopment of the former Spire site that includes DuSable Park. Ald. Reilly expects that will start this fall.
As President Pro Tempore of the City Council, Ald. Reilly presides over meetings whenever the mayor has to be absent, whether it just be to take a phone call or for a longer period. That position also oversees the Legislative Reference Bureau, which drafts all the legislation for the alders and serves as their lawyers. Since becoming President Pro Temp in 2019, Ald. Reilly told us he has hired some of the best lawyers he could. Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd Ward, told us in one of the first Zooming interviews that this bureau has now been professionalized.