TheChicago City Council is thelegislative branch of thegovernment of thecity of Chicago inIllinois. It consists of 50alderpersons elected from 50wards to serve four-year terms.[1] The council is called into session regularly, usually monthly, to consider ordinances, orders, and resolutions whose subject matter includes code changes, utilities, taxes, and many other issues. The Chicago City Council Chambers are located inChicago City Hall, as are the downtown offices of the individual alderpersons and staff.
The presiding officer of the council is themayor of Chicago, who is usually non-voting, except in rare cases, such as to break a tie. The secretary is thecity clerk of Chicago. Both positions are city-wide elected offices. In the absence of the mayor, an alderperson is elected to the position of President Pro Tempore serves as the presiding officer.[2][3]
Originally established as theCommon Council in 1837, it was renamed City Council in 1876. The Council assumed its modern form of 50 wards electing one alderperson each in 1923.
The city council is internally organized into subject-specificstanding committees. Once proposed legislation is drafted, it is assigned to a specific standing committee. After a hearing and deliberation process, the committee votes on whether to report the proposed legislation to the full council, along with recommendations.[34]
The committees are created, and their leaders and members are selected, through a resolution passed by the whole council.[2] Historically, mayors have played a central role in selecting committee chairs.[3][35]
As of May 2023, a majority of incoming City Council members after the 2023 election had agreed to a plan for the following subcommittees and chair assignments:[36][37]
Map of city of Chicago ward system in 1904. Wards with lower populations have larger boundaries. External link:current map of Chicago wards
Chicago has been divided into wards since 1837, beginning with 6 wards. Until 1923, each ward elected two members to the city council. In 1923, the system that exists today was adopted with 50 wards, each with one council member elected by the ward. In accordance with Illinois state law, ward borders must be shifted after everyfederalcensus. This law is intended to give the population of the ward equal representation based by the size of thepopulation of Chicago.[38]
Chicago is unusual among major United States cities in the number of wards and representative alderpersons that it maintains. It has been noted that the current ward system promotesdiverse ethnic and cultural representation on the city council.[39]
In June 2021, the state of Illinois adopted a statute that changed the title of City Council members toalderperson (plural:alderpersons), replacing the gendered termaldermen.[40][41] However, some members of City Council continue to use the termalderman or instead usealderwoman oralder.[42]
Chicago City Council Chambers has long been the center ofpublic corruption in Chicago.[43][44] The first conviction of Chicago alderpersons and Cook County Commissioners for accepting bribes to rig a crooked contract occurred in 1869.[43] Between 1972 and 1999, 26 current or former Chicago alderpersons were convicted for official corruption.[45][46][47] Between 1973 and 2012, 31 alderpersons were convicted of corruption. Approximately 100 alderpersons served in that period, which is a conviction rate of about one-third.[43][48]
Fourteen of the Chicago's City Council's nineteen committees routinely violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act during the last four months of 2007 by not keeping adequate written records of their meetings.[49] Chicago City Council committees violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act and their own rules by meeting and taking actions without a quorum at least four times over the same four-month span.[50]
Over half of elected Chicago alderpersons took illegal campaign contributions totalling $282,000 in 2013.[51][52][53]
Map of the 50 wards of the City of Chicago in use since 2023 (Interactive version)
Chicago alderpersons are elected by popular vote every four years, on the last Tuesday in February in the year following national mid-term elections. A run-off election, if no candidate garners more than fifty percent of the vote, is held on the first Tuesday in April. The election is held on a non-partisan basis. New terms begin at noon Central Time on the third Monday in May following the election.[54]
The council, in conjunction with theMayor of Chicago, hears recommendations from theCommission on Chicago Landmarks and then may grant individual propertiesChicago Landmark status. The Council also has the power to redraw ward boundaries, resulting in the heavily gerrymandered map seen today.
TheJournal of the Proceedings of the City Council of the City of Chicago is the official publication of the acts of the City Council.[55] TheMunicipal Code of Chicago is thecodification of Chicago'slocal ordinances of a general and permanent nature.[55][56] Between May 18, 2011, and August 2011, the first 100 days of the first term of MayorRahm Emanuel, 2,845 ordinances and orders were introduced to the Council.[57]
Chicago's alderpersons are generally given exceptional deference, called "aldermanic privilege" or "aldermanic prerogative", to control city decisions and services within their ward.[58][59] This is an unwritten and informal practice that emerged in the early 20th century and gives alderpersons control over "zoning, licenses, permits, property-tax reductions, city contracts and patronage jobs" in their wards.[60][61] Political scientists have suggested that this facilitates corruption.[60][61] The system has been described as "50 aldermen serving essentially as mayors of 50 wards."[62]
^Haider, Annum (February 12, 2019)."Chicago City Council".Better Government Association.Archived from the original on May 29, 2019. RetrievedMay 29, 2019.
^Gradel, Thomas J.; Simpson, Dick; Zimelis, Andris (February 3, 2009)."Curing Corruption In Illinois: Anti-Corruption Report #1"(PDF). University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Political Science.Archived(PDF) from the original on March 26, 2009. RetrievedFebruary 23, 2009.
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Chicago municipal government officials