Nine months into his administration, Mayor Brandon Johnson still hasn't tackled an executive order issued by predecessor Lori Lightfoot, aimed at reducing the near-absolute power held by the city's aldermen over local zoning decisions. Lightfoot's order, a shot at the deeply rooted "aldermanic prerogative," seemed dead on arrival as transparency in city planning remains veiled, according to the Chicago Tribune.
In the sweeping farewell move, the former mayor demanded the city's chief zoning official's recommendations on zoning changes be made public prior to committee hearings — a step towards spotlighting instances when aldermen divert from expert advice. However, as confirmed by Johnson spokesman Ronnie Reese, the push for transparency appeared to stall amidst other pressing items on the new mayor's agenda, including those big ticket items from the progressive playbook, such as his homelessness initiative "Bring Chicago Home," the Tribune reports.
During Lightfoot's tenure, tensions surrounding aldermanic prerogative came to a head with her move to pass an affordable housing project against local Ald. Anthony Napolitano's opposition, marking a significant moment in the city's struggle with affordable housing segregation. Lightfoot's initiatives aimed at demystifying council operations, yet her desired reforms seem to have lost the momentum under Johnson's leadership, which prioritizes "a collaborative approach," Reese told the Tribune.
Meanwhile, any blots on the former mayor's record were somewhat lightened by the Chicago Board of Ethics' recent dismissal of complaints linked to Lightfoot's conduct during her reelection bid. The board dropped allegations of unethical campaign cash pleas to city employees, reversing a prior determination that found probable cause for violations, made by the very board members appointed or reappointed by Lightfoot herself. "We are pleased with today's Board of Ethics' decision," Michael Dorf, Lightfoot's attorney, said in a statement obtained by WTTW News, declaring it sidestepped setting a "dangerous precedent."
The decision effectively quashed findings by the Inspector General that Lightfoot misused city resources and her authority as mayor in campaign emails. Dorf argued that Lightfoot took all steps to avoid fund solicitation from city emails and emphasized that most large scale campaigns do not involve candidates managing such minutiae of email fundraising personally. Despite this development, Mayor Johnson's vision for city planning, free from the shackles of aldermanic whim and influenced instead by a more inclusive, transparent approach, remains to be seen taking practical shape as Lightfoot's transparency-focused executive order lingers on the City Hall's to-do list unanswered, the Tribune reported.
