Chicago: A City with No Blueprint
At the beginning of October 2024, after facing months of pressure from Mayor Brandon Johnson the entire Chicago school board resigned. The former school board was subsequently replaced by seven new members selected solely by Mayor Johnson in spite of objections from the city’s aldermen. Many interpret these new appointments as a power play by Mayor Johnson to oust Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Pedro Martinez and pass a proposed $300 million dollar loan to cover the CPS budget deficit. In any case, this debacle shines a light on the unusual power the mayor of Chicago holds over the city council and every facet of city governance. This power imbalance is not new. It has its origins in Chicago’s unique lack of a city charter.
Chicago is one of only two major U.S. cities without a city charter. Instead, the 1970 Illinois Constitution designates Chicago as a home rule unit, which gives the city freedom to settle municipal issues, such as the ability to tax, license, incur debt and create laws. Home rule status in most US cities, however, is utilized alongside a comprehensive city charter which clearly defines most processes of the city government. However, in Chicago there is no charter, and the issue has become a topic of discussion with two candidates in the previous mayoral campaign attributing several issues to the lack of charter, such as inefficiency of government and uneven balance of power between mayor and city council. Advocates for a city charter argue that the drafting of a new city charter is Chicago’s opportunity to outline a stronger separation of power between mayor and city council and give citizens more avenues for engagement within local government.
However, critics argue that introducing a city charter is unnecessary. During an interview with The Gate, University of Chicago Political Science Professor John Mark Hansen was quick to point out that Chicago’s powers under the home rule system allows the city to govern effectively already. Hansen described the current system Chicago operates under as a “regular legislative process.” Even under the Home Rule System, Hansen asserts that Chicago doesn’t operate much differently than chartered cities, as “municipalities can make their own ordinances…as long as the provisions of those ordinances don’t conflict with state law. So unless the state specifically refuses to let the city do what it will they’re allowed to do it.”
Historically, Chicago reformers actually pressed for Home Rule and submitted their own Home Rule legislation to Springfield. Other major cities often have home rule established by the state government in unison with a city charter, which points to Chicago not being as unusual as previously thought, with Henson stating that in practice Chicago governance is not that different from other cities.
However several notable Chicagoans present a different story. Illinois state representative and former city councilman Kam Buckner argues, “[The lack of a charter] has been, I think, to the detriment of city government working effectively and efficiently…It doesn’t allow the city council to be an independent legislative body.” Buckner also is quick to point out that one consequence of not having a city charter is that there is an absence of written law for several of the minute details of city government, forcing legislators to defer to custom. As Buckner states, “We’ve done it this way because we’ve always done it this way. As human beings we’re captured by the past.”
Other important supporters of a city charter include Joe Ferguson, a former Chicago inspector general and, as of 2023, a chief executive of (re)Chicago, an advocacy group focused on the establishment of a city charter. Ferguson notes that, without a city charter, the current municipal code is unenforceable with an absence of checks and balances that limit the mayor’s power. Ferguson states, “There’s almost no capacity for an individual citizen to file some form of action to enforce an obligation that the city has under the municipal code.” Within his interview with The Gate, Buckner points to similar misuses of power, adding that, “historical notorious Chicago issues like bulldozing of Meigs field …closing of fifty schools under Rahm Emanuel, … “[a city charter] would’ve created some parameters.”
To look at what these hypothetical parameters could look like, we can point to other large cities such as New York. In New York, before any party can be granted the right to use city property, they must be approved by the Franchises and Concessions committee. Conversely, in Chicago, Mayor Richard M. Daley was able to sidestep the city council and sell every parking meter in Chicago to outside investors in 2008.
The debate surrounding creating a city charter for Chicago is not new. There have been several movements to establish a city charter, with the most notable one having failed in 1907 partially due to issues of women’s suffrage and prohibition. Now, the issue is barely talked about as Buckner explains, “when I ran for mayor, most of the other candidates didn’t even know about this.” But for Ferguson and Buckner now might be the perfect time for a chartered Chicago to see the light of day.
Regardless of whether widespread support for a city charter can be established, bureaucracy is slow and establishing a city charter could take years. Still, there are three ways that a charter could feasibly come into being. The first option is Chicago voters passing a referendum to create a charter commision, the second would be the mayor and city council agreeing to the creation of a charter commission and the final option is the state legislature passing a law to create a charter commission. The charter commission would then draft a charter to be voted on by Chicago voters. Each option requires a significant amount of political backing and, even if completed, the actual writing of the charter could take longer still.
In spite of these challenges, Kam Buckner remains hopeful that a new movement could overcome the hurdles of the past, saying, “It’s a different day and age.” Maybe, one day, Chicago will no longer be the city with no blueprint.
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