CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- Mayor Brandon Johnson's veto of a measure designed to make it harder to borrow money for city projects survived an override attempt during Wednesday's meeting of Chicago City Council.
This latest veto fight, the fourth since the mayor was elected, focused on a measure that would require the mayor to get support from 30 aldermen, instead of a simple majority of 26, before the city could sell bonds to borrow money for infrastructure and other development.
Southwest side Ald. Marty Quinn sponsored the proposal, and told colleagues during the debate on the override that raising that threshold will help City Council assert its independence.
"In order to become truly independent, you have to change the rules," said Ald. Quinn, who noted he'd been fighting for City Council independence for "years," and that rules have been used to limit the council's authority "forever."
Northwest side Ald. Andre Vasquez, a co-chair of the Council's Progressive Caucus and a frequent supporter of the mayor, said he would support the override.
"Every single person in Chicago is born in debt," said Ald. Vasquez (40th Ward), describing past mayors' borrowing decisions that contributed to the city's structural budget deficit, and minimizing the impact on future development: "You might have to work a little harder to get just ... four more votes? Why is that a tough thing to do?"
But West side Ald. Jason Ervin, who's one of the mayor's strongest allies on City Council, suggested it was an attempt to water down the power of the mayor and City Council members fighting to direct resources to under-served parts of the city.
"We only talk about independence and executive oversight when the person sitting up there looks like me," said Ald. Ervin (28th Ward), gesturing to Mayor Johnson as the presiding officer over City Council. "This ordinance is not designed to make council stronger. It's designed to make the majority weaker."
And North side Ald. Maria Hadden (49th Ward) questioned the "good governance" argument used by supporters: "We've often seen good governance used to undercut the progress being made from minority voices."
Thirty-three aldermen voted in favor of the override resolution, one short of the 34 needed to achieve a two-thirds majority.
Veto strikes attempt to raise votes needed to issue new debt
Veto strikes attempt to raise votes needed to issue new debt
