[remote or in person] Committee on Finance

Chicago City Council

Finance

Politics

Monday, May 13, 2024
9:30 a.m. — 12:00 p.m. CDT

View meeting details

Add to iCal

Add to Google Calendar

121 N LaSalle St Chicago, IL 60602 (Directions)

City Hall, 2nd floor, Council Chambers

You have the option of documenting this meeting in person or remotely.

If you choose to attend in person, an additional hour will be added to your total assignment hours. You may be asked to provide government-issued photo ID and to go through a metal detector.

If you choose to document remotely, the meeting will be live-streamed at https://www.chicityclerk.com/.

At this link, scroll down to “Meeting Notices.” Look for “Watch now” and click on the link with the meeting title to go to a livestream page.

If you don’t see a link for the meeting, you may be early or the meeting may be starting late. Wait a few moments and try refreshing your Internet tab.

The end time listed on this assignment is an estimation based on the duration of past meetings of this type.

Other pre-research resources

Meeting details page: https://chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov/Meeting/?meetingId=F8ED040A-DE00-EF11-A1FE-001DD809669D
Note: Police misconduct settlements are often posted after the main agenda has been published in a separate deferred agenda.
Be sure to check the “attachments” tab for the meeting agenda and other documents. You can access more information about items on the agenda at https://chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov/. You can search keywords or click the “Show more filters” button and enter the legislation number (i.e. [O as in Ordinance][year introduced]-####, [R as in Resolution][year introduced]-####).
Chicago Councilmatic: This civic data org’s website has a lot of the information that can be found on the city’s database in a more user-friendly format, with info on this committee, plus headshots of members

Check the source website for additional information

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Note-taking by Holland Harmon

View notes

Live reporting by Jennifer Lenz

Jen Lenz @JenLenz

Hey Chicago! I’ll be live-tweeting /or “x”ing today's City Council Committee on Finance meeting for #CHIdocumenters @CHIdocumenters @city_bureau

09:27 AM May 13, 2024 CDT

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 2/23

The Finance Committee meeting begins at 9:30am at City Hall & online

chicityclerk.com

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 3/23

Today’s agenda:

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 4/23

the meeting started about 12 mins late

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 5/23

3 public commenters were given 3mins each to address the council. Several Aldermen were called out by name to be held accountable for their actions that threatened the livelihoods of these individuals.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 6/23

According to Rule 45 there must always be record of all proceedings that take place during any committee meeting. The committee records are filed on a monthly basis & posted online by @chicityclerk Office of the City Clerk

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 7/23

@chicityclerk The Dept. of Finance presents The Water Leak Relief Pilot (LRP) which seeks to provide debt relief to eligible customers who experience water leaks that cause unexpected increases in their bills.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 8/23

@chicityclerk City Comptroller Chasse Rehwinkel details the LRP pilot & answers questions from the council. The Aldermen seem excited about the roll-out of the pilot & that a relief program like this is long overdue.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 9/23

@chicityclerk The LRP will go into effect Jan 2025 (lasting 2 years). It will go back to Jan 2023 for relief backpay, so it works retroactively. In addition, the City of Chicago will offer a FREE full lead service line replacements whenever a leak or a break occurs on a lead service line.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 10/23

During the Committee on Finance meetings, members debate proposed legislation, confer budget activities, examine proposals, & execute legislative decisions.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 11/23

The committee is led by Chairman Alderman Pat Dowell. Happy Birthday @AldPatDowell3rd ! Every Aldermen that spoke wished Ald. Dowell a happy birthday during the meeting.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 12/23

The Dept. of Housing requested an approval of $25 million for housing revenue tax-exempt bonds for affordable Multi-family housing in the 27th Ward.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 13/23

The properties would house up to 29 families (1-3 bedrooms per unit). The full estimated cost of the project is $40 million. The ordinance was passed & approved.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 14/23

The Dept. of Planning & Development had 4 ordinances. The Parks District is seeking approval for funding to make improvements. Other ordinances were to discuss an amendment & the execution of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for a redevelopment project.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 15/23

The redevelopment project will bring in Filmore Linens to rent the property. This will bring in a commercial laundry facility in the Chicago market for the medical district. The ordinance is passed & approved.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 16/23

The final ordinance seeks approval to increase funding for redevelopment projects & amend the Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF).

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 17/23

If approved today they can roll out new funds as soon as this July. It will help over 22 different Wards in Chicago. There are 150 applications in the queue waiting for approval for the SBIF program.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 18/23

The final ordinance from the Dept. of Planning & Development has been passed & approved.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 19/23

Next, the Dept. of Law presented 4 orders that would authorize Corp. Counsel (city gov lawyers) to issue Settlements. The city lawyers advised the City Council to approve all the settlements, bc if the case is taken to court, the city will be found responsible & pay even more $$

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 20/23

Every single case that was presented involved multiple civilian injuries & in 1 case a death; due to Chicago Police Officers' negligence. After hearing the details, I am truly horrified.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 21/23

All of the Settlements were approved. However, just bc a settlement is offered doesn't mean the cases won't go to court. The individuals & families that have been wronged by the Chicago Police, still have the option to refuse the offers & go to court for reparations.

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 22/23

Meeting adjourned at 12:36pm. This concludes my reporting on City Council Committee on Finance. The next committee meeting hasn’t been announced yet [TBD].

Jen Lenz @JenLenz 23/23

For more meetings coverage, follow @CHIdocumenters & check out

documenters.org

View thread

Attachments

Meeting details

By India Daniels 5/13/2024

Agency Information

Chicago City Council

chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov

(312) 744-3166

@ChiCouncil

See Documenters reporting

The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago and consists of the Mayor and Aldermen elected from each of the City’s fifty wards. Source

If you attend a meeting in person, be prepared to go through a security checkpoint and show photo ID.

Meetings are also livestreamed at https://www.chicityclerk.com/.

At this link, scroll down to “Meeting Notices.” Look for “Watch now” and click on the link with the meeting title to go to a livestream page. If you don’t see a link for the meeting, you may be early or the meeting may be starting late. Wait a few moments and try refreshing your Internet tab.

Recordings of past City Council meetings may be found here: https://vimeo.com/user100351763/videos/sort:date.

See also: “What to Expect at a Meeting of Chicago’s City Council” via the Better Government Association.