The City Council adjourned for the summer Wednesday after approving another round of ethics reforms and $35.2 million more in police abuse settlements, but punting on the thorny issue of whether to authorize “granny flats” citywide.
Before heading off for the annual August recess, alderpersons also gave a royal send-off to retiring Zoning Committee Chair Walter Burnett (27th).
If there was a vote for Mr. Congeniality, Burnett would win it hands-down. He is, by far, the Council’s most popular member.
Ald. Matt Martin (47th) called Burnett the “connective tissue that holds the City Council together.”
“We’re gonna miss you. Hopefully, we don’t fall apart after you leave,” Martin said Wednesday.
Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) referred to the almost tranquilizing influence that Burnett has had on colleagues who tend to lose their cool.
“Walter walks into a room. Everybody calms down a bit,” she said.
Ald. Mike Rodriguez (20th) called Burnett “a true leader…A true bridge-builder” and that rare leader who has “looked behind and raised others up…I’ve seen it myself. I’ve felt it myself.”
The City Council’s vice-mayor, Zoning chair and longest-serving member, Burnett is retiring after 30 years on the job. He is in line to become Mayor Brandon Johnson’s choice to take over the Chicago Housing Authority.
Burnett was so moved by the moment, he wore sunglasses to Wednesday’s final meeting to hide his tears. His voice broke when he delivered his Zoning Committee report for the final time.
When it was finally Burnett’s turn to speak, he delivered a farewell address that mixed humor, humility, compassion and emotion and threw in some sage political advice.
He urged his colleagues to follow his example and “learn how to respect each other,” always work with a leader” and “learn to agree to disagree.”
Burnett could barely get the words out as he thanked former Republican Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar for the 1998 pardon that allowed him to run again even though he was convicted for armed robbery at the age of 17.
“I want to thank him. I know he’s going through cancer right now. I pray to God that he gives him comfort in this moment,” Burnett said of Edgar. “Governor, you did a good thing. I hope I made you proud.”
The decision to delay the so-called Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance was not a surprise.
Southwest Side Ald. Marty Quinn (13th) has argued for months that allowing accessory dwelling units citywide “by right” would destroy the character of Chicago’s bungalow belt and undermine the unwritten rule known as aldermanic prerogative.
He and South Side Ald. Greg Mitchell (7th) used a parliamentary maneuver to delay consideration of that ordinance for one meeting.
Chief sponsor Bennett Lawson (44th) said he remains confident he will have the 26 votes he needs to pass the ordinance in September.
Just to be certain, he offered yet another amendment on Wednesday that would require property owners to obtain an “administrative adjustment” before adding a granny flat in single-family zones. That would give notice to the local alderperson and adjacent neighbors.
Late Wednesday, Johnson vowed to do “everything in my power” to deliver a citywide ADU ordinance that, he hopes, will chip away at Chicago’s 120,000-unit shortage of affordable housing units.
He portrayed Quinn’s opposition as parochial and not in the city’s interests.
“We have put some safeguards in place to be able to create a little bit more structure and stability so that, when decisions are made, the community can have input,” Johnson said. “What people are most concerned about—and this is all over the city—is that, if we don’t build more affordability, that will change the culture of our communities. Where people cannot afford to live in this city, that is far more dangerous than some of the trepidations that might be coming from some alders.”
Meanwhile, the $35.2 million in additional settlements bring to $177 million the mountain of police abuse settlements already this year.
That’s more than double the $82 million that Johnson’s hard-fought 2025 budget set aside of the entire year.
The latest in a seemingly endless string of ethics reforms was tailor-made to remove what Inspector General Deborah Witzburg viewed as roadblocks impeding her internal investigations.
Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) cast the only “no” vote after being targeted by what he viewed as a bogus IG investigation.
“What can happen to one of us can happen to all of us,” Gardiner warned his colleagues. “What happened to me I wouldn’t wish on anybody…on the face of this planet. It was evil. All I want is proper guardrails.”
Ald. Maria Hadden (49th), co-chair of the Council’s Progressive Caucus, countered that elected officials have a “responsibility to earn and keep trust” with the voting public.
“That means not trying to weaken efforts for government oversight or color those efforts as something other than they are. That means not taking a personal issue and trying to undermine reform for the entire city,” Hadden said. “This ordinance will help the Office of Inspector General make sure we don’t have false issues brought against us. Construing this as anything other than that is a mistake. It’s wise. It’s not responsible.”
Education Committee Chair Jeanette Taylor (20th) used the final meeting before the break to introduce a “Senior Bill of Rights” aimed at protecting Chicago’s formidable population of elderly residents.
The ordinance would re-establish a free-standing Department of Aging abolished as a cost-cutting move years ago and protect the health and welfare of seniors by imposing strict new burdens on property managers and landlords of senior buildings.
Employees of senior buildings would have to be trained to respond to “common medical emergencies.”
Landlords would be prohibited from “interfering with” or “frustrating visitors and caregivers.” If repairs or renovations had to be made that required a senior to relocate, alternative housing would need to be made “at landlord’s expense,” including “pack and moving expenses and assistance.”
Johnson proposed a $7 million city subsidy to help After School Matters renovate its teen center at 1065 N. Orleans and proposed a new race- and gender-neutral program that would set aside “non-construction” city contracts for “small business enterprises.”