CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Some Chicago City Council members are expressing frustration over efforts to have their own lawyer to handle disagreements over ordinances and procedures during meetings.
Mayor Lightfoot said she supports the idea of aldermen having a counsel to give them legal and procedural advice. But, Alderman Anthony Beale’s proposal keeps getting locked up in the Rules Committee, often a burial ground.
On Wednesday, the latest attempt to get a floor vote was thwarted by mayoral allies like Alderman Brendan Reilly, who insists he supports it too.
"I think there's a lot of good in there, and for the last three or four months, I've been working with the legislative reference bureau lawyers to put a finer point to refine Alderman Beale's ideas here," Ald. Reilly said.
Alderwoman Leslie Hairston, 5th Ward, feels this illustrates why they need their own lawyer.
"We have said it time and time again. Here is somebody who introduces it, and what do we do Alderman Reilly? We defer...so it couldn't get heard," she said.
Ald. Beale said Ald. Reilly is trying to hijack his plan.
"You heard the Mayor, she said she supports it. Well if you support it, why are you sitting on it? Why do you have the chairman sitting on it in committee? Let's bring it to the floor," Ald. Beale said.
Meanwhile, 3rd Ward Alderwoman Pat Dowell argued against voting on it because the ordinance hasn’t had a formal hearing.
"I think it would be inappropriate for us to vote it up or down because we don't even know what we are voting for," Ald. Dowell said.
Ald. Beale said he’s not giving up.
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