The Real Power in Chicago

Mayor Richard Daley has gathered enough power to the Fifth Floor that he talks about "one stop" shopping for business and interest groups who want to do something in Chicago. This is a bit of a misnomer. Daley is clearly the major power center in Chicago, but he's not the only one.

There are other "power centers" in city hall, people who have power and influence independent of Daley. They don't include Ald. Stone.

Berny Stone is the Mayor's poodle. Stone owes everything to da Mayor.

Stone has made much of being the "Vice Mayor," an honorific that has gone to aldermen in their second terms, not (usually) their eighth. This position is usually a stepping stone to something much more powerful, not a final destination. The Vice Mayor's position has no power, no influence on the direction of the city (even if the Mayor died in office). But it fits Stone's inflated sense of himself and someone has to fill the position anyway.

Then there are the powers of the Chicago City Council. Stone is one of 19 committee chairman, but he's not one of the powerful committee chairs. Those go to people who really count in the council chambers.

Only one, Ed Burke, was elected before Stone. Another, Ike Carothers, is only in his third term as alderman. If Stone has age on all of them, these people are considered to be the wise in the council.

Ed Burke (first elected 1969) chairs the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee is widely acknowledged as the most powerful committee in the City Council. Stone sits on this committee.

Carrie Austin (1994) was just elevated to chair the Budget Committee. As the linked story indicates, the Budget Committee is considered the second most powerful committee in the city council. Stone also sits on this committee. No one thought he was in line to assume its powerful chairmanship.

Ike Carothers (1999) is the chair of the Police and Fire Committee. It only took Carothers two years to be elevated to it's chairman, appointed by Daley in 2001. Now that's clout.

William Banks (1983) is the chair of the Zoning Committee. Stone also sits on this committee.

Finally, Richard Mell (1975) chairs the Committee on Committees, Rules and Ethics. Stone also sits on this committee.

These are the powerhouses in the Chicago City Council, the people who have gained power and stature by knowing the rules and procedures (independent off their staffs) and using them effectively to get what they want. These are the people before whom city workers tremble if they get called unexpectedly. (City workers outside the 50th Ward just "laugh it off" if Berny Stone says something cross to them.)

Stone may be the oldest member of the Chicago City Council. But he's hardly gathered power or influence in his years, as its second longest-serving member.

But at least he's the Mayor's poodle. That's something.

A New Beginning for Chicago

Yesterday, I got a call from an excited friend. Did you know that there's a Starbucks at the corner of Western and Howard, she asked. It's not in the 50th Ward, but still, she said.

It's a metaphor. There's a significant contrast between an alderman who's aggressive about bringing in new business to his ward and one who makes prospective new businessmen wait four months before he allows them to go forward with the necessary paperwork. For those who go apoplectic at the thought of Joe Moore or the 49th Ward, this contrast holds with the wards to the south and west of us, as well.

Today marks the beginning of the new Chicago City Council. Instead of fresh leadership, someone who has the energy and vision to bring in, say a Starbucks or something, to the 50th, we have what the Capital Fax calls a "broken down warhorse."

Let's call him the Mayor's poodle.

Berny Stone is very well trained.

But what is exciting today is not the swearing in of nine new members to the city council. It needed some fresh blood. We got a big infusion. What is exciting is that there is now a support system in the city council for political independence. Those who have opposed the machine, or allied themselves with outside forces (like Congressman Jesse Jackson), now have reinforcements. A lot of them. While those won't necessarily bring their machinations out into the public, it promises to make city governance more interesting.

The political dinosaurs, like Ald. Stone, will try to paint the newbies as deeply indebted to the Unions. But it's more complicated than that. Sandi Jackson (7th Ward), likely to emerge as the voice of the class of 2007, is bright and energetic, and comes with her own power center and an agenda on ethics reform. Who could be against that? It will be interesting to see who contests William Beavers for Democratic committeeman in February. The Beavers and the Stones have a lot in common.

Brendan Reilly, who replaced Berny's mentor in the 42nd, comes with an equally powerful resume. CFL President Dennis Gannon takes credit for muscling out a third opponent (much like SEIU tried to do with Naisy Dolar). But with ties to Michael Madigan, he will balance a lot of demands. Reilly is certainly one to watch, because he will be a force in the city council, and maybe even the city, in the future.

Bob Fioretti (2nd Ward) also had Union backing, but he brought in his own money made as a personal injury attorney. Like Jackson, he can be expected to carry the Union's water, when he wants to. Still, Fioretti's thought to have quite the ego, so he might not take too well to being considered a Union puppet. Representing a historically black ward might bring it's own tensions.

Then there's Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward). SEIU jumped on this unexpected bandwagon, in his run-off against a CFL-backed incumbent. Waguespack could easily be considered the wild card in the new city council. His issues are familiar: he ran as a reformer with a promise for community-based zoning and better constituent services.

Retired CPD sargent Willie Cochran rode the wave of voter dissatisfaction with a scandal-plagued incumbent (Arenda Troutman) in the 20th Ward. He'll bring his own perspective to the council, but it's unlikely he'll do the Union's bidding against his own better judgment.

Sharon Denise Dixon seems to owe more to Congressman Jesse Jackson than the Unions. Like Waguespack, both Dixon and the incumbent won Union backing in this 24th Ward race. This race seemed to be below the radar, but Jackson's organization took a keen interest in this westside ward. Dixon will be supportive of the Union agenda, but she's no poodle!

The Union Ladies, Pat Dowell in the 3rd, Toni Folkes in the 15th, and Joann Thompson in the 16th, were all well-financed and -staffed by Union supporters. They can be counted on to bring worker's issues to the council and defend the Union Label. But they represent only a third of the fresh faces being installed today.

What does this mean? I've looked around, and there doesn't seem to be much speculation about this. Berny Stone, per usual, has embarrassed us all advising them to "keep your mouth shut and your ears open." We don't know how the Mayor will react to this first real challenge. Does this end the myth of "one-stop shopping," which the Mayor liked to convey? Is nine (or ten or so) independent voices enough to bring real independence to the city council? I doubt it. We won't see a re-occurrence of "Council Wars," but I suspect that the city council will be more lively, despite Stone's rude advice. I also expect Mayor Daley to try to seduce many of these new members. He's done it before.