Chicago’s new 2nd Ward has boundaries, outlined in bright green above, that only Chicago Aldermen could love. And only an alderman can love the near-boundless power that’s granted him by custom over new developments in his ward. Everyone else just needs to learn to live with the uncertainty and increased costs that accompany the existence of that power.
Developers have learned to live with, if not to like, this aldermanic privilege. Greg Hinz at Chicago Business spells out the consequences for a proposed apartment tower at Clark and Division when changes in ward boundaries result in a new alderman’s having veto power over the development. It’s a must-read if you want to understand one of the reasons for the high cost of building a new high-rise in Chicago.
There was a federal lawsuit against the new ward map based on “one man, one vote”. Federal judge ruled against the plaintiffs and it’s being appealed.
Here’s a link from a lawyer suing the city over the map.
That map should be declared a crime against geography and common sense. Toss in the equal representation argument and I hope the plaintiffs win.
It’s bad enough that developers have to cater to the whims of individual aldercritters, but having to deal with two aldercritters should be outlawed under the “cruel and unusual” clause of the constitution.
There is no overlap between the current and the new 2nd wards. In other words, the new 2nd ward is a completerly new ward that just happens to have the same number as Fioretti’s current ward. Fioretti has never been elected by any of the people living in the new 2nd ward, and he has not demonstrated that he can get elected in it. So the questionthat needs to be asked is why is Fiortti entitled to have any say in this new ward just because it has the same number as his current ward?