Interview with Ald. Raymond A. Lopez
Ald. Lopez Has Ideas to Improve Transparency at the City Council
LWV Chicago’s City Government Committee has identified the same transparency concerns raised by Ald. Raymond A. Lopez of the 15th Ward during his interview with Leaguer Annie Logue.
Watch the full interview above or read on for more highlights.
Here are the transparency issues raised by Ald. Lopez:
A number of substitutes to proposed ordinances are submitted shortly before meetings of City Council committees as well as the Council itself. Members of the public have no notice of the substitutes. Sometimes, not even all alderpersons have seen, let alone had a chance to read and digest, the actual text of what will be voted on. Our City Government Committee has observed that these substitutes are often not posted on the city’s Legistar online system, and therefore are not available for the public to read, until after they have passed the City Council!
Ald. Lopez suggested the possibility of requiring that any substitutes be submitted (and the City Government Committee would add “posted on Legistar”) at least 48 hours prior to any meeting.
Ald. Lopez believes the ability to directly introduce items to a meeting of the City Council or any of its committees should be limited. Under the Council’s Rule 41, the mayor or an alderperson may submit an item directly for consideration at a meeting, without submitting the text of the item ahead of time for posting on Legistar. A description of the item does have to appear on the posted agenda, but the actual text does not. Again, our City Government Committee has observed instances when the texts of items directly introduced to a committee or the Council have not been posted for the public to see until days after the items have been voted on.
Ald. Lopez also believes there should be time limits on acting on proposed ordinances so that they cannot be held indefinitely in committee, particularly when there is no explanation as to why an item is being held. Under the existing rules, there is an ability, but only if there are sufficient votes, to discharge an item from Committee and have the Council vote on the item.
The City Government Committee is starting a list of such transparency issues to follow up on in the coming months. Interested in being part of this effort? Let us know.