a key focus<\/a> for Johnson\u2019s administration in recent weeks as the mayor zeroes in on his pledge to promote more affordable housing development. Advocates say the move would clear the way for the units\u2019 construction \u2014 outlawed in Chicago since 1957 \u2014 to add more housing stock throughout the city.<\/p>\nBut Quinn and other aldermen representing areas filled with detached single-family homes have blasted the measure as a move that would dramatically reshape their neighborhoods without their input.<\/p>\n
To win them over Wednesday, sponsor Ald. Bennett Lawson, 44th, proposed homeowners seeking changes in such areas be required to be approved for an administrative adjustment, a process that would give the local alderman a chance for input, but not final say.<\/p>\n
An earlier version of Lawson\u2019s ordinance sought to address fears that a flood of new units would transform neighborhoods by adding limits of one, two or three new units per block each year in single-family areas.<\/p>\n
The compromise effort was insufficient because it does not give aldermen control over the units, said Quinn, who argues the added density would harm quality of life in his bungalow belt Southwest Side ward by stressing already-stretched resources.<\/p>\n
The City Council is next scheduled to meet after an August summer break in September, just as aldermen head into a daunting 2026 budget season. Quinn, who plans to push for another version of the ordinance that would allow wards like his to be exempted from the change, said the timeline Johnson faces could make passing the ordinance harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much fighting does the mayor want to do on this initiative prior to the budget vote, when he is going to need every last drop of capital he has, if he has any, with his relationships to get a budget passed?\u201d Quinn asked.<\/p>\n
But another change to Chicago law from Wednesday\u2019s meeting could spur more housing development by clearing the way for developers to make new buildings larger, according to its sponsor, Ald. Daniel La Spata. Aldermen passed a measure that effectively eliminates parking minimums in plots within a half mile of a rail station and a quarter mile of a bus line.<\/p>\n
La Spata, 1st, said he believes the ordinance will give developers the option to not build parking in over half of Chicago.<\/p>\n
Also Wednesday, Aldermen Raymond Lopez, 15th, and Anthony Napolitano, 41st, moved to stall a resolution mandating all data on Chicago police officers\u2019 presence at a June demonstration outside a U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement office in the South Loop be turned over to City Council.<\/p>\n
The legislation, sponsored by Ald. Andre Vasquez, had the backing of progressives who clashed with federal agents at that protest \u2014 and are alleging CPD officers violated the city\u2019s sanctuary city policy by aiding with traffic control at the scene.<\/p>\n
The Police Department has denied that officers aided the federal agents. But the ongoing demand from progressives for all communications stemming from that June 4 fracas continues to place Johnson in the middle of a dispute between some of his closest council allies and his handpicked Chicago police superintendent, Larry Snelling.<\/p>\n
Aldermen also approved $35.2 million in deals to settle four lawsuits related to police misconduct, a botched car chase and a wrong-house raid.<\/p>\n
And the council passed new ethics rules outlining how the mayor-controlled top city attorney must work with inspector general investigations. It also authorized a long-stalled union contract between the city and public safety workers represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 7 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 21.<\/p>\n
Originally Published: July 16, 2025 at 5:09 PM CDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Opponents of an ordinance that would legalize \u201cgranny flats\u201d and coach houses blocked a vote Wednesday, stalling the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":68492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[64,960,5404,5386,1818,1370,728,50,80,4329],"class_list":{"0":"post-68491","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-cook-county","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-illinois","13":"tag-latest-headlines","14":"tag-local-news","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-politics","17":"tag-real-estate"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}