Committee on Finance meeting, April 15, 2024
- When: Mon, Apr 15, 2024, 10:00 AM (Chicago time)
- Where: City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Recessed
- Committee: Committee on Finance
- Video: https://vimeo.com/933415393
- Transcript: full text (21,042 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 heard ten public commenters, most of whom spoke in support of the proposed $1.25 billion housing and economic development bond ordinance, and approved its March Rule 45 report. On the bond substitute ordinance, Law Department staff described the changes, and Vice Chair William Conway moved to cut the bond amount to $350 million and lower the Council approval threshold from $5 million to $1 million. A motion to table his amendment passed after a roll call that the clerk announced as 18 yes and 13 no, and after a recess the chair held the bond ordinance in committee. The committee recommended a TIF grant of up to $9 million for the Ogden Washington A2 residential project in the 28th Ward, a loan restructuring for the Warren Apartments, an ownership amendment for Homekeep LLC, small claims orders and charitable solicitation permits. It also approved three settlements: $175,000 and $385,000 in two cases involving police vehicle crashes, and $750,000 in a lawsuit over injuries and a detention at a May 30, 2020 protest, which some members questioned before a roll call vote. The committee then recessed until Wednesday.
Topics: Housing and economic development bonds, Bond amendment motion, TIF funding for affordable housing, Affordable housing preservation, Legal settlements, 2020 civil unrest lawsuits, Small claims, Public comment
Agenda items discussed
- 20:42 Public comment: discussed
- 52:51 Monthly Rule 45 report for March 2024: passed
- 53:21 Substitute ordinance concerning issuance of General Obligation and/or Sales Tax Securitization Corporation bonds for housing and economic development programs: held
- 1:00:57 Motion by Vice Chair William Conway to amend the bond ordinance to $350 million and lower the Council approval threshold to $1 million (motion to table passed): failed
- 1:17:12 Proposed order authorizing payment of various small claims against the City: passed
- 1:17:30 Proposed order denying payment of various small claims against the City: passed
- 1:17:55 Proposed orders authorizing charitable solicitation tag day permits for Grassroots Team LLC (Amnesty International) and the International Rescue Committee: passed
- 1:18:57 Department of Law communication transmitting reports of verdicts, judgments and settlements for March 2024
- 1:19:42 TIF funds of up to $9 million to Ogden Washington A2 Residential LP for 1312 South Talman Avenue (28th Ward): passed
- 1:27:39 Loan restructuring agreement with Warren Ashland LP for Warren Apartments, 1527 West Warren Boulevard: passed
- 1:34:45 First amendment to multifamily program funds for Homekeep LLC under the Preservation of Existing Affordable Rentals program (31st and 33rd Wards): passed
- 1:40:36 Settlement: Felicia Pettis v. City of Chicago ($175,000): passed
- 1:43:09 Settlement: Marilyn Salazar v. Erika Perez and City of Chicago ($385,000): passed
- 1:47:51 Settlement: Brian Magia v. City of Chicago ($750,000): passed
Alderpersons who spoke
- Pat Dowell (chair): Noted two written comments from the Citywide Equitable Development Roundtable and Illinois Realtors in favor of the bond ordinance. (52:33); Announced after a recess that the bond ordinance would be held in committee. (1:16:00); Told Lopez the bond ordinance was held in committee and would probably be taken up another day. (1:16:36)
- William Conway (alderperson): Asked why the maximum interest rate is 12 percent for general obligation bonds and 10 percent for sales tax securitization bonds in the ordinance. (59:36); Moved to amend the ordinance to reduce the bond amount from $1.25 billion to $350 million and lower the Council approval threshold from $5 million to $1 million. (1:00:57)
- David H. Moore (alderperson): Raised a point of information asking for the amendment's dollar amount and threshold to be clarified before voting. (1:03:27)
- Raymond A. Lopez (alderperson): Asked whether the bond ordinance was being held until later that day or a later meeting. (1:16:30); Said the protest settlement could signal that people involved in the 2020 unrest can sue the city, and asked where the line is drawn. (1:58:05); Asked whether the Law Department and administrations had built enough trust for officers to come forward as witnesses. (1:59:55)
- Jason C. Ervin (alderperson): Described the Ogden Commons redevelopment on the former Lawndale Courts site and urged support for the TIF grant. (1:26:09); Asked for an explanation of the respondeat superior legal theory and the estimated jury verdict range in the protest case. (1:56:00)
- Derrick G. Curtis (alderperson): Asked whether the Warren Apartments affordability is based on area median income or city median income. (1:32:42)
- Brian Hopkins (alderperson): Said the Warren Apartments restructuring was necessary to keep the project on track and moved for passage in the ward alderperson's absence. (1:34:09)
- Felix Cardona Jr. (alderperson): Supported the Homekeep LLC amendment, saying it brings affordable apartments back to Belmont Cragin and Hermosa and more such projects are needed. (1:38:41)
- Daniel La Spata (alderperson): Said the Milwaukee Avenue location in the Salazar case is in his ward and asked that CDOT consider added protections for cyclists there. (1:45:15); Said the city was already found liable for battery and false arrest and that addressing alleged racial slurs by officers is part of taking hate crimes seriously. (2:02:36)
- Nicholas Sposato (alderperson): Said he supports the Salazar settlement and asked what kind of chef the plaintiff had been. (1:46:09); Asked what kind of protest the plaintiff attended and how many people were present, and said he was torn because the city had already been found liable. (1:53:30); Asked where the plaintiff lived and said he was troubled by the case, citing the damage during the 2020 unrest and concerns about the upcoming DNC. (2:09:57)
- Brendan Reilly (alderperson): Described the violence near Trump Tower on May 30, 2020, and said the plaintiff should not have been on the bridge police were told to hold. (2:04:27); Asked what POD camera and body camera footage had been reviewed by the Law Department. (2:07:01); Said he was concerned that settlements like this could encourage disruption at the Democratic National Convention. (2:08:57)
- Andre Vasquez Jr. (alderperson): Said the 2020 protests involved a range of people and motives and asked what lessons, such as body camera use, have been learned ahead of the DNC. (2:12:39)
- Scott Waguespack (alderperson): Asked whether the plaintiff in the protest case is a Chicago resident. (2:15:33)
Exchanges between members
- 1:03:27 Moore asked for Conway's amendment to be clarified before the vote.
- 1:03:42 Dowell asked Conway to repeat his motion.
- 1:03:48 Conway restated that his amendment would lower the bond to $350 million and the approval threshold to $1 million.
- 1:16:30 Lopez asked the chair whether the bond ordinance was held until later that day.
- 1:16:36 Dowell told Lopez the ordinance was held in committee and would likely be heard another day.
- 1:27:12 Dowell thanked Ervin for his remarks on the Ogden Washington project.
- 1:39:42 Dowell thanked Cardona for his remarks on the Homekeep project.
- 1:46:03 Dowell thanked La Spata for his comments on the Salazar case.
- 2:10:18 Dowell asked Sposato about the relevance of the plaintiff's ward.
- 2:10:30 Sposato explained he wanted to know how far the plaintiff traveled to the unrest.
- 2:11:30 Sposato said he shared Reilly's concern about the message the settlement sends.
- 2:12:24 Dowell thanked Sposato for his remarks.
- 2:13:42 Vasquez referred to the point Reilly raised about the upcoming DNC in asking what had been learned.
- 2:14:57 Dowell told Vasquez that Hopkins' committee had held a DNC security hearing.