Mayor Brandon Johnson passes his City Council reorganization plan in first key vote
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Aldermen on Wednesday approved new Mayor Brandon Johnson's plan to reorganize the City Council, rewarding many of his allies with coveted committee chairmanships, while backing away from plans for a more independent council touted by aldermen just weeks ago.
The 41-9 vote delivered an early political victory for Johnson as he presided over his first City Council meeting.
Johnson's plan creates a total of 20 committees and replaces Finance Committee chair Scott Waguespack (32nd) with former Budget Committee chair Pat Dowell (3rd). While both Waguespack and Dowell backed former Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the first round of the race for mayor, Dowell endorsed Johnson in the runoff against Paul Vallas, while Waguespack was neutral.
Approval of Johnson's so-called "Unity Plan" which reshuffles City Council committee assignments, comes less than two months after aldermen sought to declare their independence for the mayor's office by passing a plan to create 28 committees, with chairs picked by aldermen rather than the mayor.
At the time, aldermen acknowledged that a reorganization plan would have to be adopted by the new City Council after the new mayor and aldermen were sworn into office in May, but instead, Johnson brokered a compromise to pass his "Unity Plan."
Committee chairmanships are highly sought after by aldermen because they come with the added perk of a budget for extra staff.
The mayor's Unity Plan keeps the same 19 existing committees, adding a new Police and Fire Committee in addition to the existing Public Safety Committee. The new Police and Fire Committee will be tasked with handling legislation related directly to those two respective city departments, while the Public Safety Committee will focus on other issues related to addressing violent crime in Chicago.
While the majority of the council's committee chairs this term endorsed Johnson for mayor, six of them backed Vallas – an early sign of political pragmatism from Johnson and his progressive allies on the council.
Ald. Michelle Harris (8th) will remain chair of the Rules Committee, Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) will remain chair of the Aviation Committee, Ald. Emma Mitts (37th) will replace Ervin as chair of the Committee on Contracting Oversight and Equity, Ald. Deb Silverstein (50th) will be the new chair of the Committee on License and Consumer Protection, Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) will replace Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) as chair of the Public Safety Committee, and Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th) will remain chair of the Committee on Special Events and Cultural Affairs.
Still, a handful of aldermen voiced opposition to Johnson's reorganization plan, saying several council members were left out of the process.
"You have to include everybody, and we cannot go behind closed doors, we cannot deal with certain people to get people in certain positions just to say yes," Ald. David Moore (17th) said. "I hope we can go back, tear this up, pull everybody in, and have a process that's fair, a process that's clear, where we're selecting our chairmen with the input of this great mayor."
Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) described the mayor's reorganization plan as a "pitfall," noting the final list of committee assignments and chairmanships was not distributed to aldermen until a few minutes after Wednesday's meeting had begun.
"We cannot continue like this," he said. "I think it's imperative that the message be heard loud and clear from you to your leadership team sitting amongst us here that this is not how we're going to do business; that if we're truly about creating a new era, turning the next chapter, then we need to do this where everybody – as my colleague said – is involved."
Waguespack, who had led the earlier reorganization effort in March, and had warned Johnson not to try to change it, also voted against the mayor's "Unity Plan," but was diplomatic in congratulating Dowell for becoming the first woman to chair the Finance Committee.
Sposato, who endorsed Vallas and voted against the earlier reorganization plan, arguing the new mayor and aldermen should have a say on committee assignments before any vote, said he was surprised so many of his colleagues backed down from their declaration of independence from the mayor just weeks ago.
"I'm just baffled, just baffled, of the people that were the architects of the independent committees are now supporting this," "Some of us were against it, a handful, but many were for it. Now things are changing," he said.
In addition to Dowell replacing Waguespack as Finance Committee chair, Johnson's "Unity Plan" elevates Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) to chair the Budget Committee, replacing Dowell.
All five members of the council's Democratic Socialist Caucus also will get committee chairs.
Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), one of Johnson's most vocal supporters, will be elevated to chair the Zoning Committee, and will also serve as Johnson's floor leader, helping Johnson whip up votes for his agenda.
Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) will chair the Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) will chair the Committee on Education and Child Development, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) will chair the Committee on Housing and Real Estate and Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd) will chair the Committee on Health and Human Relations.
Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), the senior member of the City Council, who endorsed Lightfoot in the first round of the mayoral election and Vallas in the runoff, lost his seat as chair of the Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, but will become the council's vice mayor, a largely ceremonial position in which he'd serve as acting mayor if the current mayor dies, resigns, or is otherwise removed from office.
However, Johnson is seeking to reward Burnett with the same budget for a staff as vice mayor as he had as a committee chair. According to published reports, Johnson is planning to expand the role of vice mayor as a community liaison, who can work with the mayor's office to reach out to people in all 50 wards, attend community events, and other public events.
Aldermen would have to approve the budget for Burnett's staff at a future meeting.
