Committee on Finance meeting, March 18, 2024
- When: Mon, Mar 18, 2024, 10:00 AM (Chicago time)
- Where: City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Scheduled & Published
- Committee: Committee on Finance
- Video: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/923860537
- Transcript: full text (34,342 words, official captions)
Meeting notes
AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.
The Committee on Finance, chaired by Alderperson Pat Dowell, approved the Rule 45 reports and then took up 13 agenda items. Members recommended passage of financial assistance for the Charles Earle Apartments permanent supportive housing project, loan restructurings moving Town Hall Apartments and Hollywood House from Heartland Housing to Full Circle Communities, three Chicago Park District TIF agreements (Bessemer Park, McGuane Park and Park 599), and redevelopment agreement amendments for the Chicago Market cooperative grocery and a Portage Park development ahead of TIF district expirations. Small claims orders and tag day permits were recommended in the omnibus and settlement reports were placed on file. The committee recommended three lawsuit settlements: $2.25 million in the Rashad McIntosh police shooting case (by roll call, with Vice Chair William Conway recorded as no), $5.5 million in the Ricardo Rodriguez wrongful conviction case involving former detective Reynaldo Guevara, and $45 million in a police pursuit crash case involving Nathan Jones. Discussion included affordable housing costs per unit, Park District use of TIF and private funds, police pursuit policy, and pension eligibility for former officers.
Topics: affordable housing, Heartland Housing restructuring, Chicago Park District TIF, TIF expiration, cooperative grocery, police misconduct settlements, wrongful conviction, police pursuit policy, housing development costs, public comment
Agenda items discussed
- 19:30 Rule 45 monthly reports (February 2024 and amended October/November 2023): passed
- 20:21 Financial assistance to Earle School LLC for the Charles Earle Apartments, 1711 W. 61st St. (15th Ward): passed
- 47:48 Loan restructuring agreement with Halsted Limited Partnership for Town Hall Apartments, 3600-3616 N. Halsted St. (44th Ward): passed
- 1:05:36 Loan restructuring agreement with Hollywood House Limited Partnership, 5700 N. Sheridan Rd. (48th Ward): passed
- 1:17:06 Intergovernmental agreement with Chicago Park District for TIF funds for Bessemer Park improvements (7th Ward): passed
- 1:32:51 Amendment to intergovernmental agreement with Chicago Park District for McGuane Park TIF funds (11th Ward): passed
- 1:36:51 First amendment to intergovernmental agreement with Chicago Park District for construction of Park 599, 1623 W. Edgewater Ave. (40th Ward): passed
- 1:44:48 Amendment to redevelopment agreement with Chicago Cooperative (Chicago Market) at 4620 N. Broadway (46th Ward): passed
- 1:56:09 Amendment to redevelopment agreement with Portage Park Capital LLC at 3657 N. Central Ave. (30th Ward): passed
- 2:00:30 Order authorizing payment of various small claims: passed
- 2:00:48 Ordinance denying payment of various small claims: passed
- 2:01:06 Tag day permits for charitable solicitation on the public way: passed
- 2:01:33 Reports of verdicts, judgments and settlements for February 2024 from the Department of Law
- 2:02:00 Settlement: Estate of Rashad McIntosh v. City of Chicago ($2.25 million): passed
- 2:13:25 Settlement: Rodriguez v. Guevara ($5.5 million): passed
- 2:23:52 Settlement: Nathan Jones, a minor, v. City of Chicago ($45 million): passed
Alderpersons who spoke
- Pat Dowell (chair): Responded that some recent market-rate building sales cited for comparison were below construction cost and involved far more units. (43:46); Asked the Park District how it pursues private funding and decides where those dollars go. (1:24:51); Requested a list of private entities that fund the Park District so alderpersons could approach them for their parks. (1:27:09)
- William Conway (alderperson): Asked where the tax credit equity in the Charles Earle financing comes from. (32:09); Asked about the difference between the original loan amount and the unpaid principal balance and the interest rate on the Town Hall Apartments loan. (56:48); Asked whether the officer later charged by COPA was a shooter and whether a gun was recovered. (2:08:12)
- Jeanette B. Taylor (alderperson): Asked who makes up Earle School LLC. (32:42); Asked whether Town Hall Apartments is occupied and whether residents would be displaced by the change in ownership. (56:15); Asked the Full Circle Communities representative to describe the organization. (1:13:15)
- Brendan Reilly (alderperson): Said he supports the Charles Earle project but asked why it costs about $660,000 per unit when recent market-rate South Loop buildings sold for about $270,000 per unit. (38:21); Told colleagues the city should be doing better on the prices it pays for affordable units. (43:36)
- Daniel La Spata (alderperson): Said affordable housing is held to higher labor, sustainability and preservation standards than market-rate housing, which raises costs, and suggested the Housing Committee take up the issue. (44:33); Expressed sympathy to Nathan Jones's mother and noted the crash happened on streets formerly in his ward. (2:49:39)
- Gilbert Villegas (alderperson): Asked whether the Department of Planning or CPS could provide a list of other closed schools in the pipeline for reuse. (46:45)
- Bennett R. Lawson (alderperson): Supported the Town Hall Apartments restructuring, describing it as LGBTQ-friendly senior housing and thanking the department, the receiver and Full Circle Communities. (54:57); Commended the Park District and the 7th Ward alderperson for securing private funding and called for more creative citywide use of private dollars alongside TIF. (1:31:48)
- Gregory I. Mitchell (alderperson): Asked how Heartland is being removed from the loan and whether Full Circle Communities had been vetted. (59:27); Described playing Little League at Bessemer Park and asked colleagues to support the improvements. (1:23:31)
- Walter R. Burnett (alderperson): Asked why only some Heartland properties are being brought forward and described neglect at a Heartland building in his ward adding costs. (1:02:15); Thanked the chair and Law Department for briefings, noting members had asked questions there. (3:02:36)
- Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (alderperson): Supported the Hollywood House restructuring, saying residents had suffered from maintenance and security problems and suggesting the city rethink how affordable housing is structured. (1:10:45); Expressed support for the Chicago Market project and thanked its board chair for community involvement. (1:55:27)
- Derrick G. Curtis (alderperson): Asked whether Full Circle's commitment of 75 cents per dollar to services applies per project. (1:16:10); Said he supports the Nathan Jones settlement and asked to be recorded as no on item 13B. (3:04:39)
- Monique L. Scott (alderperson): Suggested that a share of event permit revenue such as Riot Fest's should return to the host park, reducing reliance on TIF for park improvements. (1:29:51)
- Nicole T. Lee (alderperson): Described McGuane Park as one of the most used parks in her ward and supported extending the agreement so the Park District is reimbursed. (1:35:42); Asked whether other cases involving former detective Guevara are pending. (2:21:36)
- Andre Vasquez Jr. (alderperson): Explained that Park 599 is a passive park finishing the long redevelopment of the former Edgewater Medical Center site and that costs rose with delays. (1:41:39); Asked where former detective Guevara is, whether he receives a pension, and how much the city has paid in related cases. (2:19:16); Said he would support the settlement and that the case illustrates the cost of police accountability failures. (2:20:15)
- Nicholas Sposato (alderperson): Asked about the location's history, the relationship of the witnesses to McIntosh, and whether the officer was disciplined. (2:08:58)
- Scott Waguespack (alderperson): Asked about the Toyota occupants, insurance, and how far the vehicle traveled after the officer ended the pursuit. (2:32:06); Asked whether the proximate cause standard means the city is moving toward a stronger no-chase policy. (2:41:06)
- Matthew J. Martin (alderperson): Asked when the state codified the proximate cause language. (2:43:21)
- Byron Sigcho-López (alderperson): Asked whether the officer is on active duty and whether CPD has a protocol for such decisions, stressing consistency with the consent decree. (2:43:57)
- Jason C. Ervin (alderperson): Asked whether the excess insurance carriers agreed to the settlement and called the case tragic. (2:50:42)
- Chris Taliaferro (alderperson): Said he would support the settlement and asked whether the city sought contribution from the driver as a jointly liable party. (2:58:48)
Exchanges between members
- 43:46 The chair responded to Reilly's per-unit cost comparison by noting some cited sales were below construction cost.
- 53:42 The chair thanked Taylor after addressing a noise disruption she raised.
- 1:05:21 The chair thanked Burnett for his questions on Heartland properties.
- 1:24:51 The chair thanked Mitchell for his remarks on Bessemer Park.
- 1:29:09 Taylor said she respects and appreciates Mitchell's description of young people using Bessemer Park while raising concerns about park spending.
- 1:29:48 The chair thanked Taylor for her comments on Park District spending.
- 1:31:48 Lawson commended Mitchell on securing private funding for Bessemer Park.
- 2:21:36 Lee followed up on Vasquez's questioning by asking about other pending Guevara cases.
- 2:49:42 La Spata said he could not say it better than Taylor had about the Nathan Jones case.
- 2:50:45 Ervin said Taylor had summed up many of the points about the case.
- 2:52:27 Vasquez said his pursuit policy questions followed the same lines as Waguespack's but from a different direction.
- 3:04:21 The chair thanked Taylor for keeping the body sensitive to the impact of its decisions.