The mayor wasn’t the only Daley who bid farewell to the City Council at its May 4 meeting. Forty-third Ward alderman Vi Daley (no relation) was also there for her last meeting, since she too decided not to run for reelection.
But before we get to the council’s interesting zoning machinations, a few words about Webster Square. It’s a project of Sandz Development, whose principals are longtime developers Michael Supera and Richard Zisook, and plans call for 152 condominium units, including 120 “affordably-priced luxury condiminiums”; a six-story office building; and a 12,000-square-foot “boutique grocery store” called the Fresh Market, according to the development’s website.
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Many locals vehemently oppose the project, raising the usual concerns people have about development in this particularly overdeveloped corner of Lincoln Park: too much traffic, too much noise, too much congestion.
Her support was crucial because the developers needed to change the zoning of the site from residential to business. With Alderman Daley’s backing, the Chicago Plan Commission, a board of mayoral appointees, recommended the zoning change at its December 17 meeting, and the City Council’s zoning committee approved the change on March 22. It looked as though the full council was set to follow suit—except that one last technicality got in the way.
By that standard, decay won. Smith defeated Egan with about 51 percent of the overall vote, largely on the basis of a strong turnout from the precincts in and around Webster and Lincoln.
Normally, in other words, the matter would be entirely in Daley’s hands. But on April 13, at Smith’s request, the big three teamed up for a legislative maneuver called defer and publish, which essentially postponed the vote until the next council meeting.
But Solis, like Burke, Mell, and O’Connor, is a big believer in aldermanic privilege. “The current alderman was for it and so it passed the committee,” Solis said.
