Wednesday, April 22, 2009

City Council Unanimously Backs TIF Transparency

Progress Illinois heralds this great news.

You could've seen the vote today via the Chicago City Clerk website. Unfortunately I couldn't continue watching the stream.

I dope hope there will be other articles on this subject.

UPDATE 7:13 PM Clout City talks about TIF transparency:
A month ago it appeared to be dead, but today the TIF Sunshine Ordinance passed the full City Council by a 48-0 vote. Several aldermen declared that it would help make city government more transparent. Several others predicted it would help the city show taxpayers how effective the TIF program is.

As the economy keeps foundering, expect to hear this line plenty from aldermen and city officials under pressure to find money to pay for basic city services.

Detailed information showing how city officials are using hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars is now supposed to be easily accessible online by the end of July, which should help members of the public trying to make their own decisions about the value of the program.

It might even help aldermen figure out what they're voting on when they're asked to approve or watch over TIF deals.

"I have five TIFs in my ward and I have lots of questions and lots of concerns," said 24th Ward alderman Sharon Dixon. "This will help me understand."
Check out the comments. The very first comment rips into Ald. Lyle. She's mentioned in this post with regards to the vote on minority set-asides for the Olypics and article on that you from the Sun-Times will see below.

Other stories regarding the City Council:

City Council slams criticism, OKs 40% minority set-aside for Olympics contracts - Sun-Times
Firing back at retired Illinois Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago), the City Council agreed Wednesday to give minorities and women a 40 percent share of the gravy train of contracts that could be generated by 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Chicago.

Jones told the Chicago Defender this week that the agreement aldermen negotiated was a “slap in the face” that would leave minorities with “crumbs” and blacks with the “short end of the stick.”

“If this is the best they can do, they are poor negotiators,” the Defender quoted Jones as saying. Jones said he was disappointed that those “who claim to have the best interest of the community at heart would be so callous as to agree to crumbs and would essentially sell our community down the river.”

The aldermen were livid— especially after persuading Chicago 2016 to up the ante on construction set-asides by an extra 5 percent apiece for blacks and women —from 25 percent and 5 percent respectively to 30 percent and 10 percent.

“We said if it can’t be done, guess what? You’re not gonna get it voted on. We all stood together,” said Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), referring to last month’s Finance Committee vote.
Aldermen now want hearings on meter lease - Clout St
Less than five months after they approved the deal in short order, aldermen now are calling for City Council hearings to examine the controversial long-term lease of Chicago's 36,000 parking meters to a private company.

Aldermen voted 40-5 to approve the $1.2 billion, 75-year lease with LAZ Parking late last year to help balance Mayor Richard Daley's budget.

Today's measure, sponsored by Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th), alleged that LAZ has not hired minority subcontractors, as required under the agreement. Hairston said she has learned that city officials gave the company a waiver from the requirements.

The resolution also accuses the company of "cheating citizens out of parking minutes as advertised on their parking meters."
UPDATE 8:19 PM Aldermen push own biz-friendly stimulus plan - Greg Hinz
A group of Chicago aldermen, most from lakefront wards, are pushing an economic stimulus plan to help business by cutting taxes and other hassles.

In a package of proposed ordinances introduced Wednesday, restaurateur and Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) and others called for phasing out the city's $4-a-month employee head tax and streamlining the process of getting city licenses and permits.

The group also proposed boosting the Loop theater district by eliminating the city's parking tax on weekends and called for a banon any hike in parking-meter fees until it's possible to pay with plastic, instead of rolls of quarters.

The proposals, which were sent to committee for a hearing, were devised in consultation with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

“Doing business in Chicago is both costly and burdensome," said Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jerry Roper. “These measures will help local businesses recover from the economic downturn more quickly and spur job creation.”

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