(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Advocates for the homeless failed to get a special City Council meeting going Monday morning because of aldermanic no-shows.
There were more than enough City Council members on the second floor at City Hall to constitute a quorum. But when the roll call was taken to convene the special meeting to consider the "Bring Chicago Home" ordinance, only 25 of the 26 aldermen needed came into the chamber.
Mayor Lightfoot has expressed concerns about the proposed measure. It calls for a real estate transfer tax on the most expensive properties in the city; the revenue would raise funds for housing and help for the homeless.
April Harris, an organizer with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, was angry and condemned council members for not being present to kick start the meeting.
“The issue are the people who did not show up to vote, that hid like cowards because they’d rather do what the mayor tells them to do than do their job,” she said.
Advocates say they plan to get the issue on a future ballot as a referendum.
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