Mayor Brandon Johnson Pushing to Reorganize City Council Chairs; Aldermen Unsure of Votes

Mayor Brandon Johnson pushing to reorganize City Council chairs; aldermen unsure of votes

With a key ally out of the City Council, Mayor Brandon Johnson plans to switch up the aldermen who hold the body’s power levers. Johnson administration officials are lobbying aldermen with a plan to install a progressive Zoning Committee chair while winning over the council’s powerful ethnic caucuses with upgrades of their own. But the final result of the mayor’s push to reassign chairmanships remains in question, aldermen said Wednesday. “I don…

Mayor Johnson uses new Council committee chairs to appease critics, shore up progressive support

Mayor Brandon Johnson is using the game of musical chairs triggered by the retirement of City Council dean Walter Burnett to appease critics and shore up his base in the progressive and African American communities.Replacing Burnett as chair of the powerful Zoning Committee is 1st Ward Ald. Daniel La Spata, who worked closely with the mayor in crafting a groundbreaking ordinance relaxing parking requirements for so-called transit-oriented develo…