Newly sworn-in Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a deal with aldermen last week that he said would bring much-needed reform and efficiency to the Chicago City Council: The number of legislative committees would be cut from 19 to 16, trimming about $500,000 from the council’s $20 million annual budget.
The 50 aldermen each earn between $104,000 and $110,000 a year.
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“The day is going to come when routine matters like a canopy approval or a parking issue will be dealt with administratively,” said Miguel del Valle, the city clerk from 2006 until last week. “I understand aldermen want to keep a handle on these things, but you can do that another way.”
Most of Daley’s ordinances were citywide administrative matters that only the mayor would be expected to take the lead on, such as the city’s annual budget and agreements with other governmental bodies like the CTA. But others weren’t. Those initiatives illustrate how Daley dominated the council’s policy agenda, affixing his name atop ordinances passed by the council that govern construction debris recycling, shared kitchens, and the use of tax increment financing funds for affordable housing—the latter an initiative Daley took credit for after it had been pushed for months by a coalition of aldermen and activists.
Reilly said he has formed a “working group” with several other aldermen to find ways to streamline the permit approval process. Permit and license renewals, for example, could be automated, which he said would reduce inefficiency in the legislative system while helping businesses. “Absolutely the city can do more to cut down the bureaucracy,” he said.
Chicago Sun-Times
