Tired of waiting, City Council elders moving to reorganize themselves

With no clear signal from Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot, the City Council’s most senior aldermen are working to reorganize themselves with a lineup that includes Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) as Finance Committee chairman, a veteran alderman said Friday.

Lightfoot spent three days in Washington, D.C., this week meeting with White House officials and establishing relationships with members of Congress.

Back at home, Chicago aldermen were feeling ignored.

Even after a get-acquainted lunch with Lightfoot on Friday with all 50 aldermen invited, they still didn’t know whom Lightfoot favors to lead the Finance, Budget and Zoning Committees and whom she wants to become her City Council floor leader.

In fact, Lightfoot has pushed back a week — until May 29 — the date of the council meeting where a reorganization vote will be taken.

On Friday, Transportation Committee Chairman Anthony Beale (9th) made it clear that senior aldermen are tired of waiting and taking matters into their own hands.

They’re reorganizing themselves with a tentative lineup that includes Tunney as Finance chairman; Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) retaining the role of Budget Committee chairman; Ald. Michelle Harris (8th) hanging onto the Rules Committee; possibly Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30th) as Zoning Committee chairman, and Beale as chairman of the Committee on Workforce Development and, perhaps, floor leader.

“We need to get to 31 to 33 votes for this administration — and that’s what we’re trying to do. If we don’t, we could have problems down the road and we’re trying to prevent that” when it’s time to pass a budget that’s certain to include painful budget cuts and tax increases, Beale told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Although 26 votes are needed for passage, Beale said, “You always need a cushion because you never know what someone’s politics is. They may have to take a pass on a vote or two . . . because of some interest in their community.”

Waguespack said last week he has lined up “around 25” of the 26 votes he needs to become finance chairman and outlined an ambitious reform agenda if he claims the job.

Senior aldermen favor Tunney, whom Austin calls “more of an even-tempered individual.”

On Friday, Beale was even more pointed in his warning to Lightfoot.

If she insists on pushing Waguespack as finance chairman or tries to dump Austin as budget chairman, Beale warned that Lightfoot may well be picking a fight with the new City Council that she cannot win.

An embarrassing defeat in the first test of Lightfoot’s City Council muscle could also set the stage for a turbulent relationship, he said.

“We want to work with the administration. But we don’t want to blow up the City Council for one person who has no relationships . . . with people in the City Council and has never had a committee,” Beale said of Waguespack.

“To handle big committees, you have to have the right temperament to get along with people, to work with people, and know how to give and take with people. I don’t get that from Ald. Waguespack. She’s coming in. We’ve worked with him. We know what we’re getting: Someone who doesn’t work well with others in the sandbox.”

Tunney jokingly referred to himself as a “gay guy, straight-shooter” who has “pretty good relations with most of my colleagues.” But he acknowledged that Lightfoot will “have an impact on the committee structure.”

“Everybody’s nervous,” he said.

Waguespack emerged from Lightfoot’s transition office to say, “I know Beale’s working it. But that’s not gonna fly with the new aldermen or the new mayor.”

Asked why the first council meeting was pushed back, Waguespack said, “They’re asking for a little bit more time so they can do their restructuring, get their staff in place, their commissioners. And with that will come some direction about where she wants to be with the City Council.”

Lightfoot has promised to issue an executive order on May 20 — inauguration day — ending the unwritten rule that has given aldermen virtually iron-fisted control over zoning and permitting in their wards.

The tradition is at the heart of the attempted extortion charge against Burke and nearly every other aldermanic corruption case over the years.

Inspector General Joe Ferguson has argued that you can’t “legislate relationships” and the best Lightfoot can hope for is to shine the light on aldermanic privilege.

Beale warned the mayor-elect not to push too hard on that issue either.

“That would be a mistake to do anything as it relates to aldermanic prerogative. These commissioners have to be confirmed. And if I hear a commissioner saying they’re not gonna listen to the aldermen, then they’re not gonna get my vote for confirmation,” Beale said.