Compromise candidate backed by labor, business to challenge Mayor Johnson's pick for Zoning chair

Business and labor leaders determined to prevent Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) from becoming chair of the City Council’s Zoning Committee have drafted a compromise candidate who claims he has the votes.

Ald. Felix Cardona (31st) told the Sun-Times Wednesday he has agreed to oppose Sigcho-Lopez, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s choice, and is certain he has the votes he needs to win the powerful job — with or without the mayor’s acquiescence.

“He’s the mayor. He’s gonna do whatever he wants. But, I don’t think he wants to put himself in a position that he might lose,” Cardona said, advising the mayor to back off.

Cardona helped break the long-running stalemate over Chicago’s new ward map. His decision to side with the Black Caucus left Hispanics with fewer majority Hispanic wards than they had sought and handed Ald. Gilbert Villegas, chair of the Hispanic Caucus, with a bizarre-looking 36th Ward resembling a snake.

According to Cardona, that episode proved how collaborative he would be as Zoning chair.

“I’m reasonable. I’m open to discussion. I build relationships across the aisle, and I listen. ... I’m always trying to hear both sides, then come to an agreement. I’m not agenda-driven,” Cardona said.

“You need to have a conversation. You need to be open. You can’t always put your own agenda before the business of Chicago.”

Sigcho-Lopez condemned Cardona as a “tool” of former Cook County Assessor and Democratic Party Chairman Joe Berrios.

“He comes from the Berrios organization. These individuals want to take us back to the times of Speaker Madigan. … If we want to go back to the pay-to-play culture — those people are not the people I represent,” Sigcho-Lopez said, refusing to predict the outcome of the nearly year-long stalemate over a new Zoning committee chair.

“The people have elected a mayor who wants to bring change. We are committed to work for the city and not for these developers and corporations who want to keep the chaos … and the corruption in the city.”

Sigcho-Lopez once again branded Southwest Side Ald. Marty Quinn (13th) and others marshalling opposition to his appointment the “New Vrdolyak 29.” He was referring to the mostly-white coalition led by two now-gone Council members — Edward Vrdolyak and Ed Burke, who thwarted then-Mayor Harold Washington’s every move during the 1980’s power struggle known as “Council Wars.”

“We see the same thing under Mayor Johnson. They do not want to let him govern. … We have corrupt politicians trying to block [votes] so a mayor elected by the people cannot choose his own leadership team,” Sigcho-Lopez said.

“We’re talking about developers who seem to want to have business as usual. Pay-to-play. I wonder what is happening with Ald. Quinn ... to rile up people to block a vote just because I don’t take contributions from developers. Is that the biggest problem that they have? That they cannot buy their way into city government like they used to?”

Quinn flatly declared there are “25 votes today against Byron,” a progressive firebrand who survived an effort to remove him as Housing chair. That attempt started because Sigcho-Lopez had spoken at a City Hall rally after an American flag was burned to protest U.S. support for Israel.

Reasons for opposing Sigcho-Lopez vary. Quinn’s center around a proposed accessory dwelling unit ordinance that, he fears, will destroy the character of Chicago’s bungalow belt.

"No community input. No aldermanic oversight. Two ADU’s per-block, per-year that do not have to be owner-occupied. An investor from New York could buy a Chicago bungalow and turn it into a three-flat overnight and there’s nothing residents or an alderman could say about it,” Quinn said.

Marc Poulos, director of Operating Engineers Local 150, said he opposes Sigcho-Lopez for the same reasons as some in the business community. Both groups crave predictability but fear Sigcho-Lopez will discourage investment by “moving the goalposts” on zoning and environmental regulations.

“Sigcho-Lopez gets involved in a lot of things that aren’t necessarily in the best interest of the city. … Instead of looking at things that are about economic development and building, we’re afraid that Sigcho-Lopez would bring into zoning decisions things that should not be brought into zoning decisions. … We believe that people like Sigcho-Lopez make decisions based on fantasy, rather than reality.”

Veteran restaurant owner Sam Sanchez, former chair of the Illinois Restaurant Association, said a Zoning chair must be "someone that understands a little a bit about business and development and can make friends and can make this work."

Sanchez added: "Somebody's got to bring it to the middle. Otherwise, the city will fail. Felix Cardona is the person who will bring it to the middle and say,'`The city is open for business.'"