Smooth ride at City Council for mayor's CDOT pick

CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- The man Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wants to oversee roads and bridges in the city had a mostly smooth ride at his City Council confirmation hearing.

Transportation Commissioner-designate William Cheaks Jr. has spent four decades in public service, including a previous tour of duty as CDOT's managing deputy commissioner. He's been serving in an acting capacity since Mayor Johnson nominated him last month.

During his appearance before Wednesday's committee hearing, Cheaks told aldermen he was dedicated to improving efficiency, safety and communication in the role: "My focus has stayed the same: Delivering safe, equitable and accountable infrastructure improvements that strengthen Chicago's neighborhoods."

Council members largely praised Cheaks' work, with Northwest side Ald. Felix Cardona (31st Ward) noting he's already seen changes with inspectors detailed to his ward: "It's something that I haven't seen for years," he said, laughing, "and I thank you for that."

But Downtown Ald. Brian Hopkins brought up the traffic nightmare caused last summer, when unrelated improvement projects closed numerous bridges over the Chicago River at the same time: "This was entirely foreseeable and avoidable."

Ald. Hopkins (2nd Ward) called on Cheaks to move toward a "cultural change" at CDOT, adopting a version of the physicians' Hippocratic oath: "First, do no harm."

"We have caused harm," said Ald. Hopkins. "It's possible to maintain our bridges, to go forward with scheduled projects, and also minimize the inconvenience."

Cheaks said he got the message: "You're not the only one who's voiced displeasure. I have been meeting with my team and we're going to look at what happened there."

His appointment now goes to the full Council, which is likely to vote on it May 20.