CHICAGO — Three Chicago civic groups are calling on the City Council and Mayor Brandon Johnson to improve transparency and public access to council meetings so Chicagoans can more easily monitor and participate in city government.
Leaders of the Better Government Association, the Civic Federation and the League of Women Voters demanded the improvements in a letter submitted Thursday to Johnson; Ald. Michelle Harris (8th), the council’s rules committee chair; and members of that committee.
“The mayor and many council members have expressed a commitment to transparency, and now is the time to act to improve the way the City Council and its Committees do business and the public’s ability to participate in a meaningful way,” the groups wrote in the letter. “The goal should be to provide the public with opportunity both to know in a timely fashion what is being considered and to offer input on those matters.”
The letter — signed by David Greising, Better Government Association president; Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson, Chicago’s former inspector general; and Jane Ruby, League of Women Voters of Chicago president — outlined several recommendations and reforms.
State law requires the city share its council meeting agendas 48 hours ahead of time. The civic leaders argue city officials skirt this mandate by introducing legislation at committee meetings without prior notice and substituting ordinances at the last minute that are significantly different from an initial proposal. In those cases, the language of an ordinance isn’t made public until after it’s approved, the civic leaders said.
“Agenda items are far too often introduced to committees without prior public posting of their text and sometimes without even alderpersons having an opportunity to see the text,” the leaders wrote in the letter.
To resolve this, the groups want the city to expand its 48-hour window to four business days and publish the full text of all agenda items in advance. The letter also recommends eliminating the direct introduction of items unless they are posted within the updated time frame.
The civic leaders also want the city to improve public access to meetings and the public’s ability to participate.
In November, the city implemented new security guidelines that limited the public seating inside the council chambers to people who had been invited by public officials or had otherwise coordinated a special visit to a City Council meeting.
After public outcry and pushback from the Better Government Association, the mayor reversed that plan, allowing the public access to the chamber again.
“The situation demonstrated the need for organizations like ours to protect public participation in the democratic process. It is the right of every citizen to have equal access to their government,” according to the groups.
Additional recommendations include a simpler signup process for public speakers and expanding the amount of time allotted for public comment, according to the letter.
In response, a Mayor’s Office spokesperson said the city “scrupulously follows the Open Meetings Act” for pre-hearing publication contents and timing.
“The City Council and its committees faithfully adhere to the 48-hour prior posting requirement for their agendas — regardless of whether an agenda item has been referred to committee or is a direct introduction — and closely follow the [Open Meetings Act] requirement that a meeting agenda adequately describe ‘the general subject matter’ of the item to be considered, whether it is an original introduction or a substitute,” the spokesperson said in an email.
Asked if the city would consider the recommendations, the spokesperson said the city appreciates the feedback and looks forward to discussing it with stakeholders.
In the same statement, the spokesperson pushed back against the idea the administration had not been transparent.
“The Johnson Administration appreciates and encourages public engagement and feedback in the legislative process. The robust levels of public engagement at City Council meetings are a positive indication of accessibility, even in situations when the gallery has been so disruptive as to bring meetings to a halt,” a spokesperson said in an email.
To enact any changes to its current operating procedure, the recommendations would have to be introduced and passed out of the Committee on Committees and Rules, which Harris oversees, before they are sent to a full vote by City Council.
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