May 13
At its meeting, the City Council Committee on Finance learned about the Water Leak Relief Pilot (LRP) program, which is set to run for two years (2025-2026) and to compensate property owners retroactive to January 1, 2023. City water-line leaks have cost some property owners thousands of dollars. City Comptroller Chasse Rehwinkel explained that upon request, city inspectors will examine water lines, repair leaks, and replace lead service lines if necessary. The program’s cost is expected to be about $2.3 million or just under 0.1 percent of the water department’s budget. The Department of Housing asked for $25 million in housing revenue from tax-exempt bonds to apply toward affordable multifamily housing in the 27th Ward. The housing would consist of one-to-three bedroom units designed to house twenty-nine families. The Committee approved the request. The department estimates the project’s total cost eventually to reach $40 million. The Committee also authorized city attorneys to settle four cases in connection with police conduct. The cases involved multiple civilian injuries and one death. The attorneys advised that fighting the settlements in court would probably lead to higher costs. The authorization does not prevent settlements being rejected and the cases decided in court. Funds to expand distributions from the Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF) were approved. Covering twenty-two wards, the funds can be available in July. Some 150 applications for the SBIF program are awaiting approval. Three individuals spoke during the public comments section of the meeting. Some council members were criticized by name.
May 15
At its meeting, the City Council Committee on Health and Human Relations heard from the city’s public health commissioner, Olusimbo Ige, MD, that opioid use is increasing and that the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) is addressing the problem in several ways. The department has identified overdose “hot spots,” formed an overdose rapid response team, and is making Narcan Nasal Spray, fentanyl test strips, and harm reduction training available through its Office of Substance Use and Recovery Services. Narcan is an over-the-counter commercial brand that uses naloxone, an FDA-approved medication, to rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Naloxone can also reverse and block the effects of heroin, morphine, and oxycodone. Appointed by the mayor last November, Commissioner Ige reported that the gap in life expectancy between Black and non-Black Chicagoans is twice that of the national average, or 11.4 years as of 2022. Other data analysis, she reported, showed that Black Chicagoans seem to experience less loneliness, serious psychological distress, and youth depression than other populations but a greater sense of belonging in their neighborhoods. They also self-reported higher rates of unemployment, poverty, unmet mental health issues, youth suicide attempts, and misuse of prescription opioids. Plans to delay the opening of a “sobering center” for intoxicated individuals were protested by several attendees. Such centers offer medical care, coaching, and other resources. Federal COVID-19 relief money is to be used for a center in Chicago but no partner organization has stepped forward. In connection with the Treatment Not Trauma campaign, the committee was looking forward to a working group report due at the end of May to address substance abuse and mental health crises without involving police.
At the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) Pilsen Public Meeting: Sims Metal Large Recycling Facility Permit, the department fielded a request from community members to shut down Sims Metal Management Facility at 2500 South Paulina Street. Alleged dangerous pollutants and a fire just over a year ago are among the reasons cited to justify the recycling plant’s shutdown. The community has previously asked for an environmental cleanup or shutdown several times. Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige pointed out that the Chicago Municipal Code restricts the department’s ability to deny the company’s permit, explaining that an amendment to the code would be required. When the facility’s permit renewal came up more than two years ago, Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization (PERRO) volunteer and former aldermanic candidate Troy Hernandez said, “If Sims can clean up, we would like them to clean up. If they can’t, we would like them to shut down.” Sims was sued by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office in 2021 for violating air pollution standards. In December, 2022, however, the EPA cleared Sims of wrongdoing: “Monitoring data from October and November shows no pollutant concentrations that would cause human health effects from short-term exposure to the air in the area around the facility.” Community members want to see an amendment to give the CDPH the ability to shut down certain environmentally hazardous operations.
May 16
How should misconduct allegations involving “serious” discipline against Chicago police officers be investigated? The Chicago Police Board again heard both sides at its meeting. The city has argued for hearings to be public and conducted by the Police Board. Police union representatives say the hearings should use private arbitration done by a civilian mediator. Serious discipline actions are a year’s suspension or dismissal. The Police Board is responsible for deciding cases when the police superintendent files charges that could result in a dismissal and when the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) and the superintendent disagree on appropriate discipline, according to the Police Board’s website. A judge’s ruling in April that apparently applies to the officers involved in a lawsuit challenge said officers should be given a choice to use arbitration but that arbitration proceedings must be publicly conducted and that officers awaiting discipline be suspended without pay. A police union, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, is appealing the ruling. A Police Board concern is that arbitrators aren’t accountable to the public in the same way as the Police Board is and may be more lenient in disciplining officers. Sixteen officers with cases before the Police Board have requested an arbitrator.
May 16
At its meeting, the ChicagoPlan Commission deferred a vote on a contentious development in North Lawndale after community members spoke in opposition. Protests also came at an earlier community meeting of the city’s public health department on the matter. “If nobody stands up, we can continue to be railroaded and run over,” said resident Norvetta Landon, who has filed a lawsuit to stop the project. Council Member Michael Rodriguez (22nd) has also voiced opposition to the distribution facility if it means area trucking will increase excessively. Instead, he would like to see manufacturing that creates “higher-paid career-oriented jobs, more unionization and less trucking for a community already dealing with an overburdened trucking environment,” as quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times. The proposed 250,000 square-foot logistics hub would occupy fifteen acres of West Ogden Avenue between Pulaski Road and Keeler Avenue. The proposal comes from real estate developer IDI Logistics, which serves the greater Chicago market and has built logistics centers in ten other states as well. In supply chain management, a hub is a central location that facilitates physical distribution of goods to various destinations. To make way for the facility, IDI plans to call for the demolition of several manufacturing buildings, some of historic interest. Residents object to potential health effects due to demolition and increased pollution from truck traffic. The city has referred to the project as an “environmentally complex demolition.”