The Finance Committee meeting begins at 9:30am at City Hall & online

Today’s agenda:

the meeting started about 12 mins late

3 public commenters were given 3mins each to address the council. Several Aldermen were called out by name to be held accountable for their actions that threatened the livelihoods of these individuals.

According to Rule 45 there must always be record of all proceedings that take place during any committee meeting. The committee records are filed on a monthly basis & posted online by @chicityclerk Office of the City Clerk

@chicityclerk The Dept. of Finance presents The Water Leak Relief Pilot (LRP) which seeks to provide debt relief to eligible customers who experience water leaks that cause unexpected increases in their bills.

@chicityclerk City Comptroller Chasse Rehwinkel details the LRP pilot & answers questions from the council. The Aldermen seem excited about the roll-out of the pilot & that a relief program like this is long overdue.

@chicityclerk The LRP will go into effect Jan 2025 (lasting 2 years). It will go back to Jan 2023 for relief backpay, so it works retroactively. In addition, the City of Chicago will offer a FREE full lead service line replacements whenever a leak or a break occurs on a lead service line.

During the Committee on Finance meetings, members debate proposed legislation, confer budget activities, examine proposals, & execute legislative decisions.

The committee is led by Chairman Alderman Pat Dowell. Happy Birthday @AldPatDowell3rd ! Every Aldermen that spoke wished Ald. Dowell a happy birthday during the meeting.

The Dept. of Housing requested an approval of $25 million for housing revenue tax-exempt bonds for affordable Multi-family housing in the 27th Ward.

The properties would house up to 29 families (1-3 bedrooms per unit). The full estimated cost of the project is $40 million. The ordinance was passed & approved.

The Dept. of Planning & Development had 4 ordinances. The Parks District is seeking approval for funding to make improvements. Other ordinances were to discuss an amendment & the execution of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for a redevelopment project.

The redevelopment project will bring in Filmore Linens to rent the property. This will bring in a commercial laundry facility in the Chicago market for the medical district. The ordinance is passed & approved.

The final ordinance seeks approval to increase funding for redevelopment projects & amend the Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF).

If approved today they can roll out new funds as soon as this July. It will help over 22 different Wards in Chicago. There are 150 applications in the queue waiting for approval for the SBIF program.

The final ordinance from the Dept. of Planning & Development has been passed & approved.

Next, the Dept. of Law presented 4 orders that would authorize Corp. Counsel (city gov lawyers) to issue Settlements. The city lawyers advised the City Council to approve all the settlements, bc if the case is taken to court, the city will be found responsible & pay even more $$

Every single case that was presented involved multiple civilian injuries & in 1 case a death; due to Chicago Police Officers' negligence. After hearing the details, I am truly horrified.

All of the Settlements were approved. However, just bc a settlement is offered doesn't mean the cases won't go to court. The individuals & families that have been wronged by the Chicago Police, still have the option to refuse the offers & go to court for reparations.

Meeting adjourned at 12:36pm. This concludes my reporting on City Council Committee on Finance. The next committee meeting hasn’t been announced yet [TBD].

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