Committee on Finance meeting, April 13, 2026
- When: Mon, Apr 13, 2026, 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/1181636251
- Transcript: full text (27,660 words, automatic 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 first held a TEFRA public hearing on up to $100 million in multifamily housing revenue bonds for the Lathrop Homes Phase 1C redevelopment, with residents urging that the housing be built. In the regular meeting, the committee recommended two legal settlements: $470,000 to two motorcyclists injured by a pavement buckle on Lake Shore Drive and $9.5 million to Carl Reid, whose murder conviction was vacated. It approved water revenue bonds for Department of Water Management capital work and refinancing, with Alderperson Raymond A. Lopez recorded as a no, after questions about open-ended borrowing authority, inflation assumptions and contractor headquarters. The committee also approved financing for Lathrop Phase 1C and the Hub 32 affordable housing project in East Garfield Park, an expansion of TIF-funded Workforce Solutions grants, an amended redevelopment agreement for the ICA Green Rise building in Uptown, a resolution urging state legislation to let municipalities tax additional tobacco products, and a charitable solicitation permit. Members raised concerns about per-unit costs of affordable housing, project delays, veteran business participation and minority equity participation.
Topics: TEFRA hearing, legal settlements, water revenue bonds, Lathrop Homes redevelopment, Hub 32 affordable housing, Workforce Solutions TIF program, ICA Green Rise, tobacco tax resolution, affordable housing costs, bond authorization oversight
Agenda items discussed
- 9:47 TEFRA public hearing on multifamily housing revenue bonds for Lathrop Redevelopment Phase 1C: discussed
- 36:25 March 2026 monthly Rule 45 report: passed
- 37:01 Department of Law report of verdicts, judgments and settlements for March 2026
- 37:43 Settlement: Derrick Wordlaw and Camille Wordlaw v. City of Chicago, $470,000: passed
- 53:14 Settlement: Carl Reid v. Richard Zuley et al., $9.5 million: passed
- 1:02:07 Water revenue bonds, project and refunding Series 2026: passed
- 1:51:55 Multifamily housing revenue bonds and financial assistance for Lathrop Preservation Phase 1C: passed
- 2:27:25 Financial assistance and conveyance of city parcels for the Hub 32 project, 201 N. Kedzie: passed
- 2:43:55 TIF funding allocation for the Workforce Solutions program: passed
- 3:03:28 Amended redevelopment agreement with the Institute of Cultural Affairs, 4750 N. Sheridan: passed
- 3:11:15 Resolution urging enactment of HB 5175 and SB 3630 on municipal taxation of additional tobacco products: passed
- 3:20:01 Charitable solicitation on the public way permit for Children International: passed
Alderpersons who spoke
- Pat Dowell (chair): Asked the Law Department to explain the other inadmissible fact in the Wordlaw case, the plaintiff's motorcycle permit restrictions. (43:11); Asked why the water bond presentation said the funding lasts through August 2027 when the briefing slide said June. (1:12:48); Asked whether the cushion in the water bond authorization could be used for emergencies. (1:31:44)
- Jeanette B. Taylor (alderperson): Asked whether the motorcyclists were wearing helmets and whether the pavement had been fixed. (42:40); Asked for a list of businesses using Workforce Solutions in each ward and asked how the program does outreach, including with chambers. (3:01:38)
- Raymond A. Lopez (alderperson): Asked whether the rule barring evidence of a missing license applies to all motor vehicles and when the appellate court decided it. (44:19); Requested the number of pending lawsuits involving unanswered 311 requests. (52:08); Said he would vote no on the water bonds because his ward has been left out of capital investments two years in a row. (1:25:37)
- Brendan Reilly (alderperson): Asked whether the rule on inadmissibility of licensing violations could be changed by statute. (47:11); Questioned the 2.5% CPI assumption in the water bond plan, citing higher inflation forecasts linked to the Middle East conflict, and asked who advises the city on that rate. (1:39:49); Questioned the Hub 32 cost of about $796,000 per unit and asked what drives the high cost of affordable projects. (2:34:48)
- Brian Hopkins (alderperson): Asked whether tort immunity would be a defense at trial and how the 27 complaints about the pavement were counted. (48:05); Requested a status update from Risk Management on an automated mechanism to flag repeated hazard complaints for faster repair. (50:18)
- Gilbert Villegas (alderperson): Said a committee had just passed an ordinance requiring CDOT and DTI to develop asset management software to track infrastructure condition. (51:20); Asked whether water program and construction management firms are headquartered in Chicago and requested contract details, saying Chicago-based primes keep dollars local. (1:13:50); Asked the CFO to confirm that GO bond authority for capital projects still requires council review of the project list under the management ordinance. (1:46:58)
- William Conway (alderperson): Asked whether witnesses in the Reid case had recanted. (1:00:04); Said he wrestled with the Reid case but that the facts on balance, including no DNA on the weapon and the 44-hour interrogation, favor settlement. (1:00:33); Asked what secures the water revenue bonds and how water rate increases work. (1:18:17)
- Nicole T. Lee (alderperson): Asked how much of the 2023 water bond remains and requested data on how much was spent on emergency repairs. (1:33:39); Asked how weather affects water projects and whether the department uses in-house crews and is fully staffed. (1:35:02); Asked the CFO why the city seeks new bond authority when over a billion dollars in prior authorization remains unused. (1:36:54)
- Emma Mitts (alderperson): Asked for the number of sewer and water main replacements planned, street restoration, and any deep tunnel work, citing 2023 flooding. (1:43:08)
- Jason C. Ervin (alderperson): Asked that the requested contractor information include the racial makeup of MBE participation. (1:17:59); Said affordability questions are raised more for West and South Side projects and asked for support for the fully affordable Hub 32 project amid rising rents. (2:40:58); Expressed support for the ICA project, noting the organization's roots on the West Side. (3:10:00)
- Walter R. Burnett (alderperson): Asked how the CHA loan is structured and how often CHA uses it. (2:16:20); Asked about minority participation in construction and whether minority developers have an equity or joint-venture role. (2:17:26)
- Scott Waguespack (alderperson): Said the Lathrop project went through many iterations since 2010 and will return residents displaced more than a decade ago, and asked for the committee's support. (2:25:03)
Exchanges between members
- 51:20 Villegas responded to Hopkins's request by noting a recently passed asset management ordinance.
- 1:33:39 Lee said she was following up on points Lopez had made about bond authority.
- 1:48:49 The chair asked Villegas to take his line of questioning on capital bonds offline.
- 2:17:18 Burnett agreed with Conway's point that the city needs to finance and build such projects more quickly.
- 2:24:51 Waguespack said he would follow up with Villegas on the veteran business issue.
- 2:38:10 The chair noted to Reilly that the prior Lathrop deal also had a high per-unit cost.
- 2:55:32 The chair explained to Lopez how TIF neighborhood improvement programs are requested.
- 2:56:19 Lopez thanked the chair for her comments on the TIF program process.
- 2:59:56 The chair told Conway the 34th Ward issue would be taken care of.
- 3:00:17 The chair explained to Conway that his ward's TIFs are included in the ordinance and the agenda omission was an oversight.
- 3:01:12 Reilly followed Conway's line of questioning on which wards' TIFs were included.
- 3:16:25 Ervin remarked on Lopez and the mayor cooperating on the resolution.
- 3:17:07 Lopez invited Ervin to co-sponsor the resolution.
- 3:17:19 Ervin told Lopez to send over the co-sponsorship.