CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago's mayor overcame a block of dissident aldermen Friday to get temporary authority to spend funds and award contracts during the pandemic.
The majority of city council voted in favor to give Mayor Lightfoot emergency powers to quickly approve spending and contracts related to COVID-19 without coming before the full city council.
Lightfoot said the powers will help her "continue doing everything we can to keep residents safe." She also rejected the notion that the new measure gives her power over the council.
The powers, which were blocked at an earlier city council meeting this week, received votes from 29 aldermen, while 21 voted against the measure.
Those who voted no argued that the city's spending decisions should be more democratic and have multiple voices at the table. Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd Ward), one of the members who voted against the measure, said the council should still have a say in some issues.
"A lot of the issues related to this emergency are structural issues that we have been dealing with for a very long time," Rodriguez-Sanchez said. "COVID-19 didn't cause homelessness (or) bring poverty or violence."
Other aldermen who voted against the measure included Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) and Jason Ervin (28th), chairman of the City Council’s Black Caucus.
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) was the only alderman to speak at the meeting in favor of the ordinance. He credited Lightfoot for making quick changes but said the powers expire June 30.