Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday called off a City Council vote that could have solidified his progressive base at the expense of a business community that craves predictability.
Johnson had spent the weekend twisting arms to install Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) as Zoning Committee chair, with Vice Mayor Walter Burnett (27th) replacing Sigcho-Lopez as Housing Committee chair.
But when some of the business community’s staunchest City Council supporters insisted that 34 votes were needed to consider the mini-reorganization, the mayor pulled the item to avoid possible defeat.
The abrupt about-face was all the more surprising, considering how hard Johnson had lobbied his own allies over the weekend. A member of Johnson’s Council leadership team, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was amazed at how “aggressive” the mayor was during their phone call.
“I’m still very puzzled as to why this is that important. He’s gonna die on the hill of Byron Sigcho-Lopez? He didn’t lobby us that hard over ShotSpotter,” the alderperson said.
Johnson explained his stance by saying “every mayor has always had the ability to designate their team of committee chairs and he can’t be treated any different,” the Council member continued. “He didn’t threaten me. But he put it in the context of, ‘Either you’re on the team or you’re not on the team.'”
Three months ago, Sigcho-Lopez survived an effort to remove him as Housing Committee chair for appearing at a City Hall rally after an American flag was burned to protest U.S. support for Israel.
That prompted the Anti-Defamation League Midwest to claim Sigcho-Lopez had “fanned the flames of hate and anti-Semitism for months” and “even spoke at a rally where an American flag was burned.”
The ADL said it would be “reckless and tone deaf” for the Council to “elevate him to chair one of the most powerful committees.”
Downtown Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), saying he represents a ward with a “significant Jewish population,” questioned whether Jewish leaders are “comfortable separating the question of zoning matters from the question of this alderman’s public stance on the war in the Middle East,” which Hopkins said “seem extreme.”
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce President Jack Lavin has told the Sun-Times the business community craves predictability, and fearsle the progressive Sigcho-Lopezwill deliver the opposite, sending a “negative signal” about investing in Chicago.
“We need to set the rules, follow them and not move the goal posts. If we do that, then businesses can make their decisions on investments,” Lavin said earlier this week.
Sigcho-Lopez could not be reached for immediate comment. Earlier this week, he told the Sun-Times he would “do my best to serve the people of Chicago with integrity, honesty and fairness.”
The Zoning Committee has been without a permanent chair for eight months — ever since Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) resigned as Zoning chair and as Johnson’s City Council floor leader after being accused of bullying and intimidating colleagues. Those accusations arose over his conduct in trying to prevent the City Council from considering a non-binding resolution that would have allowed voters to weigh in on whether Chicago should remain a sanctuary city.
Ethics crackdown also delayed
Before adjourning for the summer, the Council also agreed to put off until September a showdown vote on an ethics crackdown Johnson opposed because it targeted only him.
The changes championed by Ethics Chair Matt Martin (47th) would bar all lobbyist contributions to incumbent mayors or mayoral candidates. Contributions would also be barred from companies in which a lobbyist has an ownership stake of at least 7.5%.
Lobbyists found in violation would be fined three times their contribution amount, unless they seek a refund. Further violations would result in 90-day lobbying suspensions.
Martin said he agreed to hold the ordinance for a second straight month at Johnson’s request.
“I had a conversation with the mayor and I’ve had multiple conversations with people in his office and colleagues,” Martin said.
Martin has previously accused Johnson of stonewalling on the ethics issue. But he told the Sun-Times: “The opportunity for continued conversation with his office and colleagues about potential ways to expand while understanding that there will be a vote in September is an appropriate and collaborative way to move forward.”
Johnson said last month he opposed the ethics ordinance because he believes it’s time to stop “nibbling around the edges” of reform and approve public financing of campaigns.
“If the goal is to eradicate the proclivity of corruption, then let’s get at that. … Let’s all work together for public financing,” the mayor told reporters after the June City Council meeting.
Martin has introduced an ordinance that would lay the groundwork for the city to establish what he called a “voluntary, small-dollar-donor-matching program” similar to a proposal that went nowhere nearly 10 years ago.