Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development

Politics

Tuesday, May 17, 2022
1:00 p.m. CDT

Remote

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Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Note-taking by Daniel Wolk

Chicago fleet electrification, Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, Tax incentives

View notes

Live reporting by Benjy Sachs

Chicago fleet electrification, Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, Tax incentives

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs

Howdy, folks who care about Chicago municipal governance!

I'll be live-tweeting the Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development meeting for @CHIdocumenters that is about to start for the next hour or two. 😎

01:00 PM May 17, 2022 CDT

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 2/41

Chairman @gilbert36ward calls us to order, and we begin roll call. Here is the agenda for our meeting: https://t.co/c86vPrISFR

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 3/41

We have 13 alders present, enough for a quorum.
The April Rule 45 Monthly Report is approved unanimously.

We have no one signed up for public comment, nor did anyone send in written comment.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 4/41

Alder Villegas is reading through all the appointments/reappointments for members of Special Service Areas. No appointees speak on their behalf.

All are passed without objection.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 5/41

Next, item 8, is on Support of Class 6(b) tax incentive for property at 3125 S Kolin Ave. We have Emmett Morissey, a financial planning analyst with the City of Chicago.

The property in question is an industrial site in Little Village. More details: https://t.co/sPsdJptNUj

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 6/41

The owners of the site want to upgrade it to a coffee manufacturing site. The employees will be paid around $75,000/year + benefits. Here's a schematic of the million dollar coffee machine: https://t.co/6yYYt5j2oa

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 7/41

The owner estimates 10–20 new jobs will be created. Alder Michael Rodriguez calls them "a Chicago institution," not just a Little Village staple. Rodriguez speaks favorably of their support of the local Little League team and the fact they pay a living wage.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 8/41

The tax incentive passes.

Next topic is Support of Class 6(b) SER (Sustainable Emergency Relief) tax incentive for properties at
3130 S Kolin Ave and 3136 S Kolin Ave.

Emmett Morrissey is back to present. The two sites are abandoned buildings being redeveloped.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 9/41

Construction started in 2019 and finished in 2020. This picture shows the interior, a manufacturing shop, also for coffee production. Same owner, and it's directly across the street from the last site we discussed.

A banner day for all Chicago's coffee connoisseurs. https://t.co/oytAsRPKLr

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 10/41

Think I found the coffee company, Modern Process Equipment. They make industrial coffee grinders.

According to this article, "95 percent of industrial coffee-grinding in North America is done by an MPE grinder." Wow!

@ChicagoDPD/little-village-grinder-maker-perfects-coffee-for-millions-528df17aa72e' target='_blank'>medium.com/@ChicagoDPD/li…

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 11/41

The tax incentive sails through.

Item 10 is Support of Class 6(b) tax incentive for property at 2800-2850 W Columbus Ave.

Emmett is back once again to present. Looks like MPE isn't the only one on the grind! (sorry, couldn't resist)

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 12/41

We have a 1.5 million sqft industrial site, pictured here. This site manufacturers snack foods, including popcorn and energy drinks.

This tax incentive would save the applicant over $13 million in property taxes over the next 12 years. https://t.co/OQ17Yt9Bv8

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 13/41

The applicant says the incentive will help preserve 261 full-time jobs. Alder Curtis, who is the alder for the site's ward, says he approves of this item.

The tax incentive passes unanimously.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 14/41

Our penultimate item is: Call for hearing(s) on Department of Assets, Information and Services regarding current data sharing practices and tools and establishment of plan to improve and implement
effective data sharing platform

This passes unanimously.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 15/41

Our last item: Call for subject matter hearing(s) on fleet electrification implementation. Chairman Villegas originally introduced this during a previous City Council meeting.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 16/41

He says the hearing will allow agencies such as @cta to weigh in on and help develop the city's plan to electrify its vehicles.

The Illinois transportation sector is responsible for about a third of our carbon emissions, he says.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 17/41

"The city has developed a dependency" on cars that "is harmful to our health," says Villegas. He calls for more EV-friendly policies.

Sam Bingham from @ChicagoDOT is here to present on fleet electrification.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 18/41

Bingham says the fleet recommendations align with the 2022 Chicago Climate Action Plan by reducing transportation emissions.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 19/41

Here's @ChicagoDOT's plan for reducing emissions from their vehicles. Replacing the oldest diesel equipment is a priority for the 1st year. The plan is to reach 100% electric by 2035. https://t.co/cXAaixm4Jk

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 20/41

The Drive Clean Truck program will disburse money to help cover the cost to replace gas-powered trucks with electric ones. 288 trucks and buses were funded between 2015 and 2017.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 21/41

The program has been on hold for a while now due to a requirement that the EVs are produced completely within the US. Major parts can't be manufactured elsewhere, it seems.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 22/41

The City Council passed guidelines to future-proof infrastructure for EV readiness. But Bingham says this infrastructure was only for light-duty EVs; it wasn't for commercial vehicles such as electric trucks. https://t.co/OfalLKbZnb

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 23/41

The City will use $15 million in federal funds for congestion and air quality to add EV charging stations. Again, though, Bingham says this may be delayed by the Buy America requirement that I mentioned above. https://t.co/NzVxoDQjsx

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 24/41

Thanks to the Illinois Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, big utilities such as ComEd will have to submit proposals for charging rebates. Bingham says ComEd will likely invest around $40 million a year to this program. https://t.co/8r7VPxpWSb

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 25/41

Michael Connelly, Chief Planning Officer at @cta, speaks now about the plan to fully electrify its bus fleet by 2040. They'll be buying over 1,600 electric buses!

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 26/41

Connelly says the EV bus technology is still developing. CTA has chosen overhead pantograph charging to charge its buses. The buses can be charged overnight at their usual parking building. https://t.co/lxpQ1uYzcP

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 27/41

There will also be some on-route charging locations (such as at Navy Pier or Midway Airport) to extend the range of the electric buses by allowing them to charge quickly during the day.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 28/41

Here's a map of Chicago's air quality. Sadly, predictably, the South and West Sides have the worst air quality.

CTA is prioritizing these areas to receive electric bus infrastructure first. https://t.co/JFJC922BSH

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 29/41

This is the recommended sequence. Each garage was rated on its impact on "minority and low-income residents." Another rating was done on the bus routes stemming from each garage, and how many of the same folks mentioned above will be impacted by those routes. https://t.co/Q4BUiNxa9a

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 30/41

Here's the timeline of the building schedule from now to 2040. Connelly says some modifications will be completed in phases, especially on some of the newer garages that need less renovation. https://t.co/YKOreHpga3

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 31/41

Cool graph alert! Here's the estimated % of electric buses used by year. At this rate, we'll have a mostly electric fleet by 2035. https://t.co/iDSh6gzA57

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 32/41

Connelly says by the middle of 2022, there will be 25 electric buses in service.

"@cta is charging forward toward a 100% electric fleet." Well played, sir. https://t.co/JptYjunKpz

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 33/41

Our next presenter on fleet electrification is John Wedel, the Deputy Commissioner of Bureau of Fleet Operations. The plan is to order 182 EVs.

Here's a rundown of the chargers they've already ordered, prioritized for areas with poor air quality. https://t.co/NI8xrqrGMA

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 34/41

Surprise: there are supply chain issues at play. The goal is to install 182 level chargers and 9 DC fast chargers by the end of 2023. https://t.co/BlcsjuXirT

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 35/41

The Chicago Police Department currently uses 536 hybrid vehicles. Wedel says this has improved fuel economy by 63% (but only up to 15.2 mpg). More are being ordered.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 36/41

Villegas asks: how many vehicles do we have in total?

Wedel: Over 9,000 vehicles.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 37/41

Bingham comes back to say 70% of public charging stations are in just 3 communities. She says CDOT is examining where "the market will not go" so the city can fill in the gap among private charging stations.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 38/41

Alder Maria Hadden asks if city charging stations can be a revenue source. Bingham says CDOT is working on it. There will likely be "a small premium" for public chargers.

She hints at some problems with existing charger revenue models. Maybe ads on the stations could help.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 39/41

Bingham clarifies the Buy America waiver request.

All projects have to have 100% sourced US steel and iron. Bingham says no manufacturer can meet this requirement. In the past, CDOT has requested a partial waiver.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 40/41

Bingham says the Trump administration signed an executive order banning any Buy America waivers. As a result, the federally funded programs such as electric truck purchasing, mentioned above, have been on hold.

Benjy Sachs @BenjySachs 41/41

The Q&A has ended. We adjourn at 2:25 PM.

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Attachments

Meeting video recording

By India Daniels 5/17/2022

Legistar meeting details

By India Daniels 5/17/2022

Agency Information

Chicago City Council

chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov

(312) 744-3166

@ChiCouncil

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