# No one at the City is negotiating a new ComEd franchise, the environment department tells alderpersons. The old deal expired in 2020 *Ald. Michael Rodriguez pressed the Department of Environment at Tuesday's budget hearing. A 2023 deal worth at least $100 million from the utility never got a Council vote.* By Chicago Politics · Updated Oct 29, 2026 The agreement that lets Commonwealth Edison run its power lines under and over Chicago's streets expired at the end of 2020, and nobody at the City is negotiating a replacement, a top official in the Department of Environment told the City Council's budget committee Tuesday. Why it matters: a franchise agreement is one of the few points of leverage the City has over the utility that delivers electricity to every Chicago home and business. A deal reached under the previous mayor would have brought money for climate and equity programs plus community benefit spending, and alderpersons who want it revived say that money could have eased this year's budget. The current agreement stays in force through automatic extensions until a new one is signed. ## What was said Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd) laid out the history during the department's hearing ([watch at 7:23:30](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/meeting/851CA01E-91C9-F111-AAAE-001DD80B58E5?t=26610)). He said the January 2023 deal would have brought at least $100 million from ComEd for climate and equity programs and at least $520 million in community benefit projects, that the Council never acted on it, and that the current administration has taken no public steps toward a new one. He asked who is negotiating and how much money has been left on the table. The department's first deputy commissioner said the department considers a new franchise a priority, and pointed to the City's work in ComEd rate cases at the Illinois Commerce Commission, including a shorter-term "energy partnership agreement" that came out of the utility's most recent grid plan case. He said that agreement is not a substitute for a franchise. When Rodriguez said he had asked about the franchise, not rates, the official answered: "The department itself is not in active negotiation with the company around a franchise" ([watch at 7:27:14](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/meeting/851CA01E-91C9-F111-AAAE-001DD80B58E5?t=26834)). He said any new deal should at minimum match the investment in the 2023 proposal, and confirmed that the Department of Environment has franchise oversight under the Municipal Code. Rodriguez urged the department to get a deal done, saying the City is in a good negotiating position and that savings could reach residents struggling with their bills ([watch at 7:28:17](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/meeting/851CA01E-91C9-F111-AAAE-001DD80B58E5?t=26897)). He also asked about the department's reliance on federal money, which he said makes up $43 million of its $53.1 million budget. The department said most of that is a drawdown account from a federal settlement over thorium contamination in Streeterville, used only on projects in that area ([watch at 7:29:29](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/meeting/851CA01E-91C9-F111-AAAE-001DD80B58E5?t=26969)). ## The background The 1992 franchise ran out on Dec. 31, 2020, and its rollover clause keeps it in place until a new one is signed. In January 2023, then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked the Council to approve a 15-year extension, [WTTW reported](https://news.wttw.com/2023/01/30/chicago-city-council-gets-first-look-15-year-deal-comed-brokered-lightfoot) at the time. The Council never voted on it, and by June 2025 the City still had not issued a formal request for proposals, [WTTW reported](https://news.wttw.com/2025/06/13/nearly-45-years-after-28-year-city-contract-comed-expired-no-new-deal-sight). ## What our records add **No franchise vote this term.** Our database of key Council roll calls since May 2023 has no franchise ordinance for ComEd; the only ComEd item in our earlier records is a 2019 easement for property at 3540 S. Michigan Ave., which passed without opposition. **Where ComEd has come up.** The utility's planned substation at 1111 W. Diversey Pkwy. in Lincoln Park is before state regulators, [as we reported Oct. 24](/on-my-block/comed-lincoln-park-substation-1111-w-diversey-icc-judges). Because the City doesn't set electric rates, cases like that are decided by the Illinois Commerce Commission, which is where the department said it has focused its work. **Who asked.** Rodriguez is retiring and not running for reelection in the 22nd Ward, [as we reported](/on-my-block/chicago-open-council-seats-2027-13th-19th-22nd-wards-candidates). His [member page](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/ward/22) lists his sponsored legislation and votes this term. ## What's next - Any new franchise would have to come to the Council as an ordinance. Nothing has been introduced. - **Today, Oct. 29:** Streets and Sanitation, Transportation, Technology and Innovation, and Water Management face the budget committee ([meeting page](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/meeting/31EFF839-92C9-F111-AAAE-001DD80B58E5)). - **Dec. 8:** the Council's public hearing on the 2027 budget. *Sources: [City of Chicago: Franchise and Energy Equity Agreement summary (2023)](https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/dgs/electricity_franchise/FranchiseandEnergy-Equity-Agreement-Summary.pdf).* ## Sources 1. WTTW: [WTTW reported](https://news.wttw.com/2023/01/30/chicago-city-council-gets-first-look-15-year-deal-comed-brokered-lightfoot) 2. WTTW: [WTTW reported](https://news.wttw.com/2025/06/13/nearly-45-years-after-28-year-city-contract-comed-expired-no-new-deal-sight) 3. City of Chicago: [City of Chicago: Franchise and Energy Equity Agreement summary (2023)](https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/dgs/electricity_franchise/FranchiseandEnergy-Equity-Agreement-Summary.pdf) On the map: [22nd Ward](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/ward/22) --- Source: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/chicago-comed-franchise-expired-2020-no-negotiations-budget-hearing · Chicago Politics, an independent tracker of the Chicago City Council. Guide for agents: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/llms.txt