Progress Illinois

Wednesday’s City Council meeting was jam packed with policy and ordinance proposals. See Progress Illinois’ cheat sheet for an update:

PASSED:
Gun Ranges - Mayor Rahm Emanuel got an ordinance through the full committee that allows gun ranges in the city. Practicing at a range -- which previously meant a trip to the suburbs -- is part of the process in obtaining a permit. The ordinance will allow indoor ranges to set up shop in areas zoned for manufacturing and would require city and Chicago Police approval. Passing the ordinance lets the city get a hold on two related federal lawsuits that are pending.
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A bill in Springfield could have a big impact on the way Chicago deals with vacant homes. State. Rep. Karen Yarbrough's Housing Committee is scheduled to take up legislation this morning has its roots in a Chicago ordinance 3rd Ward Ald. Pat Dowell first drafted last summer. HB 1109, as we first noted a couple of weeks ago, would give muncipalities in Illinois more tools to deal with the vacant homes, many of them in the foreclosure process and many of them blighted, that destabilize neighborhoods. The bill would authorize cities to create rules for the maintenance of vacant properties, impose registration fees on owners of empty buildings, and assess fines for those who fail to comply.

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There's been a lot of discussion about Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel's agenda for Chicago over the last few days. But it's worth remembering that the new mayor won't be the only one setting the legislative tone in City Council once that body is finally set. Here's a reminder about a few of the major bills that the current crop of aldermen have already introduced into City Council:

• The Sweet Home Chicago Ordinance, which seeks to steer more tax increment financing dollars toward affordable housing and foreclosure mitigation projects, has been whipsawed in the council since 2009, and may be up for further consideration in March.
• Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward) introduced the Procurement Review Ordinance (PDF) in October of last year, a bill that would require the city's chief procurement officer to send all contracts worth more than $500,000 to the council's Committee on Finance for review before those contracts are awarded.
• Third Ward Ald. Pat Dowell has crafted legislation to strengthen the city's existing vacant property ordinance by expanding the definition of "ownership" to include banks, financial institutions, or mortgage servicers who have initiated the process of foreclosure on a home. That would force the banks to register the properties (for a fee) with the city and maintain the lot so as to prevent both plummeting property tax rates and rising crime.
• Earlier this month, aldermen introduced two labor-related legislative efforts. The "Stable Jobs Stable Airports Ordinance" (PDF), which Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd Ward) is shepherding, would remake labor relations for concession employees at O'Hare and Midway airports. Munoz also has offered up a resolution calling for council members and Chicago's mayor to craft a new set of guidelines to ensure that contractors using public funds comply with applicable employment law and give their workers a fair shake.
• Pro-Daley aldermen have not even allowed the Clean Power Ordinance, a bill that would let the city use its home rule authority to set new emission standards for two coal-fired plants in Chicago, to even come up for an official committee hearing.

Taken together, these five ordinances (and one resolution) show that there's a pretty robust policy agenda already on the table in City Hall.