Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson again faces thorny politics of picking Zoning chair, other council appointments
Burnett, often dubbed the "dean" of the council as its most tenured member, will step down at the end of July, vacating both his committee chairmanship and role as Johnson's vice mayor. The Zoning appointment has been one of the freshman mayor's biggest political conundrums throughout the first two years of his term, and his next choice is expected to make waves in a council where racial politics remain an undercurrent.
To that end, the heads of both the Black and Latino caucuses are calling for the chairmanship to go to one of their members. And vice chair Ald. Bennett Lawson, who is white, has expressed interest in the permanent role too.
Johnson, for his part, would not say on Wednesday where his inclinations lie.
"Look, the most important thing here is that we have someone who … reflects my values," he told reporters when asked if the Black Caucus should retain the Zoning chair spot. "We'll go through a process, like we've always gone through, and the person that best reflects our ability to build the safest, most affordable big city in America … I feel very confident that we'll find the right person."
Latino Caucus chair Ald. Andre Vasquez confirmed Thursday he is interested in seeking the Zoning appointment, pending consensus among caucus members. The progressive critic of the mayor sought the candidacy a year ago too, but Johnson tapped his close ally Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez instead.
That decision created one of the mayor's biggest political problems within the council during that time. For months, Sigcho-Lopez struggled to garner support from aldermen who complained he was too divisive to hold the powerful role. By September - after nine months of Lawson serving as the interim chair - Johnson tapped Burnett instead, a pick that sailed through without controversy.
However, the mayor had promised the spot to the Latino Caucus back when he planned to install Sigcho-Lopez. Vasquez said the time is now for the caucus to seek the Zoning role back.
"We feel like there's been a lack of representation, and actually a loss of representation," Vasquez said. "I'm happy to serve in that capacity. … If we're looking at the leadership of the city and it being represented in the committee chairs, there's opportunities for the Latino Caucus to grow rather than feel like it's lost a seat or remained the same."
Out of City Council's 20 committees, 10 are chaired by members of the Black Caucus while six are headed by Latino Caucus members. The remaining four are led by white aldermen. Though these appointments require council approval, they are traditionally up to the mayor's discretion and play out behind closed doors in a political arena where various factions attempt to curry favor with the administration.
Ald. Stephanie Coleman, head of the Black Caucus, confirmed to the Tribune on Wednesday she "absolutely" expects the Zoning chair position to go to one of her members.
"Just as our City Council reflects the diversity of our great city, leadership should as well," Coleman said.
Asked to respond to the Latino Caucus's argument that it used to control that role under Johnson's first Zoning chair, former Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Coleman responded, "Well, the operative word was 'used' to be."
Ramirez-Rosa stepped down from leading the Zoning Committee in November 2023 amid a furor over bullying accusations from four colleagues including Ald. Emma Mitts, the council's current longest-serving Black woman. He has denied the allegations.
Later that month, Ramirez-Rosa avoided a historic censure thanks to Johnson's tie-breaker vote, but not before the episode cast open bitter divisions within the body along racial lines. Mitts, who ultimately voted against formally punishing Ramirez-Rosa, said on the council floor "I felt like I was back in the South."
As for whom the Black Caucus plans to recommend to head Zoning now, Coleman sidestepped a question Wednesday on whether she was interested in the role.
So did Ald. Greg Mitchell, who two sources said was seeking support to be Johnson's next Zoning chair. "I can neither confirm nor deny that," he said Wednesday.
Meanwhile Lawson, who has spent over a year trying to shepherd through the council a stalled ordinance that would legalize "granny flats" and coach houses in Chicago, signaled his interest too. He added he would no longer be willing to serve as interim Zoning chair.
"I think it would be dishonest to say no," Lawson said when asked if he wants the permanent appointment. "I think I do a good job. … I understand it's a lot more than that that goes into it, so I'm also realistic."
Whoever Johnson's next Zoning chair appointment may be, it is likely to trigger a musical chairs of sorts among other committee assignments, too. Vasquez is currently chair of the Immigration Committee, while Mitchell heads the Transportation Committee. Meanwhile, Burnett's exit also leaves open the vice mayor role, which is largely symbolic but does come with a shiny $430,000 budget for additional staff.
Two sources told the Tribune that if Vasquez were to vacate the Immigration Committee chair, Ald. Ruth Cruz would be interested in taking over, while Ald. Mike Rodriguez hopes to be Johnson's pick for the next vice mayor. But if Mitchell were to clinch Zoning, Vasquez would seek the Transportation Committee post, sources said, so that the Latino Caucus would gain a chairmanship seat regardless.
Cruz and Rodriguez declined to comment on Thursday.
Delmarie Cobb, a Chicago-based political strategist, argued that whatever course Johnson takes leaves little room for either the Black or Latino caucus to object compared to previous eras in City Council. But she did suggest the mayor "spread the wealth" by taking these vacancies as a chance to extend an olive branch to some of his detractors in the council.
"If he reached out to Walter Burnett, who certainly was not a progressive by any means, any stretch of the imagination, he can do the same to some of these other detractors," Cobb said. "I don't think the Latino Caucus has a lot to complain about. I don't think the Black Caucus has a lot to complain about. I think he's been very equal for the most part."
Vasquez, however, noted his caucus has sounded the alarm on Latino representation within Johnson's administration and leadership appointments before and sees the upcoming committee chair reshuffling as a chance to even the playing field.
"I do think it's unfortunate given the history of Chicago, where everything's been so segregated and communities of color and vulnerable communities have felt like they've had to fight for every bit of representation … you see a little bit more of that tension along racial lines," Vasquez said. "But if you recognize how the city has been built and an understanding of it, I think it's incumbent upon us to work past those things."
The Zoning Committee controls critical legislation related to development and other land use issues in Chicago. That makes the mayor's chairmanship selection a weighty one in a City Council where aldermanic prerogative - the de facto practice of deferring to the presiding alderman when it comes to projects within their ward - continues to reign supreme.
It also has landed former chairs in hot water. Former Ald. Danny Solis, Zoning chair for a decade, famously wore a wire on his colleagues after being implicated in taking bribes while controlling that committee.
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-The Tribune's Jake Sheridan contributed reporting.
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