SAINT
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IGNATIUS
COLLEGE PREP
SIMUN XIV
Saint Ignatius Model United Nations
Chicago, IL – November 7th, 2015
Chicago City Council
Topic Background Guide
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Dear Members of the Chicago City Council,
My name is Christian B. Johns, and I will be serving as your chair for the Chicago City
Council. I have served on the Saint Ignatius Model United Nations Executive Board since the fall
of 2014, and participated on the team since freshman year. As a senior, I have seen a lot of
different situations and crises in model un and I have loved every minute of it. I am sad to see
that this will be my last year participating in high school model united nations.
Being a senior, it naturally implies that I know everything and anything about model un.
Let me be clear, I am still lost on one or a few of the procedures and motions that come up in
committee. It is my hope that each and every one of you participate in committee and make the
most of the session. I urge you to steer away from fear of speaking and know that I understand
the feelings going through your mind.
The City of Chicago and its problems are very complex, but it’s nothing that a
determined alderman and some wind cannot handle. Be sure to research the topics, and your
wards well, I expect a great day from each and every one of you. If you have any questions
please do not hesitate to contact me at Christian.Johns@students.ignatius.org.
Yours in Windy Diplomacy,
Christian B. Johns
Dear delegates,
My name is Mackenzie Weatherly and I am the political officer for The Chicago City
Council Committee. I am a sophomore at Saint Ignatius and I have participated on the Saint
Ignatius Model UN team for the past year. During my freshman year I attended seven
conferences and I went to Model UN camp over the summer. Though I have never been a
political officer I have been an active delegate. I am looking forward to helping make this
committee engaging and fun! I'm very excited to work with all of you and see how you react to a
fast paced intensive Chicago Cabinet.
Best of luck in your research,
Mackenzie Weatherly
Functions of the Committee
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The Chicago City Council, for obvious reasons, is not a typical body in the United
Nations; therefore, there are some necessary adjustments. First of all, the mayor or chairman of
the council will have a vote in the non-procedural matters in committee. This includes, but is not
limited to, voting on resolutions (ordinances), amendments to said ordinances, and other
motions. The voting reflects the important role that mayor has in the legislative and executive
functions of the local government. In addition to voting, I will be introducing two mayoral
sponsored ordinances that the council can debate and vote upon. Resolutions will be titled
ordinances, press releases will be allowed, and committee directives will not be used. Lastly,
aldermanic privilege is a legal and legitimate practice that may be used in the committee to assist
the facilitation of crises and committee flow. Your actions in your ward can have an effect on
what happens in the session.
Topic One
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Funding Pension Liabilities
The City of Chicago is in deep financial trouble and is struggling to find appropriate and
efficient ways to solve its problems. At the root of the city’s problem are the pension funds that
must be funded by the city. Pensions are what workers, after years of hard work and loyalty, live
off of after they retire. When pensions were introduced, the government promised workers high
levels of pay without major employee contribution and no solvent way to fund them. For the city,
the pension bubble began in the 1960s and in 2015, is about to pop. Several politicians, including
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, have defined this bubble as “kicking the can down the road,” or in literal
sense, seeing the problem and leaving it for the next generation.
The pension crisis has been on the horizon for quite a while, and has garnered more
attention as the numbers continue to grow. The out of control numbers were identified in a 2010
report commissioned by then mayor Richard M. Daley. The report concludes that the four
pension plans are “significantly underfunded,” which means that the funds do not have the assets
to guarantee all the pensions promised by the city of Chicago. The document also warns that
without action, the pension funds will be insolvent in under a decade. However, it does
recommend that the only way to correct the pension funds is to increase contributions and reduce
expenses.
How do pensions work?
Pensions are not as complex as one might
conceive it to be, but they are creating enormous amounts
of complexity as leaders attempt to solve the problem.
When a new employee, for our purposes the employee
will be named “Joe,” joins the city of Chicago, they are
offered a pension or retirement plan to take care of them
once they fulfill their duties to the city. Joe’s pension
benefits will typically include: healthcare insurance,
disability benefits, and an average pension of 41,400
USD.
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The benefits and payment amounts are wreaking havoc on the funds because they are
severely underfunded. However, the city is not the only entity that must pay into the pension
funds. Joe, the city worker, is mandated to contribute 8.5-9.125% into the pension fund that he
belongs to. In addition to employee contribution, 12.28% of the taxpayer’s taxes goes to the
pension funds.
As baby boomers continue to retire, the burden on the taxpayers increases because
current employee contribution and taxpayer funding levels are not enough to carry the city for
longer than a decade. This requires higher contributions and more forms of revenue from the city
so that a healthy level of funding is met. ‘Healthy’ is defined by the American Academy of
Actuaries as 100%, but most other resources use 90% as a healthy percentage.
When making decisions about the sources of revenue it is important to remember that
Chicago faces a state mandated 550 million USD increase in pension funding due at the end of
2015, a 1 billion USD budget deficit for 2016, and a junk status rating on crucial bonds. The total
amount for the city’s unfunded pension liabilities totals up to 29 billion USD.
These painstaking numbers could send the city into bankruptcy as the only help in sight
are the potential new revenue sources.
Solutions
The goal of this body is to create the new revenue sources that can help put a dent into
the looming pension crisis. The situation urges creativity and an understanding of your respective
ward and how it would affect your election prospects in 2019. Among the most talked about
revenue ideas is an unpopular property tax hike, a Chicago income tax, progressive sales taxes,
budget cuts, and a Chicago casino.
A property tax hike is seen as the last resort to many, but others believe that it can be
avoided. The hike will need to generate over 250 million USD or be raised 32% higher in order
to be economically feasible. With an increase that large, the city could risk the loss of residents
and businesses because of the high tax. In 2014, the city moved to increase property taxes
because of the pension situation, and another hike so close together all but guarantees backlash
from the citizens.
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An alternative to raising property taxes is a Chicago income tax, which is a main
proponent of the progressive agenda. This new form of tax, which would require state legislative
approval, has hopes to place the burden on the wealthy versus those who are paying taxes simply
on the value of their home. Mayor Emanuel is not supportive of this tax, but likely will have to
consider this an option as time continues to run out.
Remember that the council’s options are limited because of several factors including the
junk status rating (borrowing more will cost more), the Illinois General Assembly passing the
Chicago Pension Payment Law, the legality of the earlier law passed by the IGA, and time.
Lawmakers in Springfield are already dealing with their own pension crisis, but some see
extending the deadline for payments as regressive. Keeping up with developments should help to
determine what course of action the council should take.
Mayor Emanuel submitted a plan to address some of the pension obligations the city has,
but in late July, a judge struck down the pension plan. The city will bring the law to the Illinois
Supreme Court, but many expect the law, which would save the city 846 million USD, to be
ruled against. The rulings are a stark reminder that hard decisions must be made in order to
maintain solvency.
In your research, it is important
that you are thorough and ensure that you
remain in line with your ward and the
caucus that you belong to.
Bloc Positions
The Progressive Caucus will be
geared towards avoiding a property tax
hike and ensuring that the most vulnerable
Chicagoans are not carrying a large
portion of the burden. Their agenda
includes going against the nonprogressive policies of Mayor Rahm
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Emanuel.
The Emanuel backed aldermen will be for whatever the mayor is in favor of, which
includes a Chicago casino and a potential property tax hike. This bloc will be geared towards
avoiding a property tax hike, but will do so if demanded by Emanuel.
Questions to Consider
1. How would your constituents react to a property tax hike?
2. What alternatives are there to tax hikes, if there are any, are they feasible?
3. What changes could be enacted to prevent missed payments or misappropriations of
funds?
Helpful Resources
The below link is to the Chicago Tribune’s election center. You will find a questionnaire
on your alderman and their position during the February & April elections.
http://elections.chicagotribune.com/candidates/
Just the Facts: Answers to Frequent City Pension Questions
http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/iframe/just_the_facts.html
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Topic Two
Chicago Public Schools: Elected School Board
Education has traditionally been a major point of debate in the United States, but in
Chicago, it is held dear and is controversial. The governing body of the Chicago Public Schools
is not elected, and has been deemed to be disconnected, corrupt, and most of all, the mayor’s
puppets. Since a law passed by the Illinois General Assembly in 1995, the mayor has had the
sole responsibility of appointing a school board. The State of Illinois did this in response to some
turbulent years within the nation’s third largest school district.
The Chicago Board of Education, like many other school boards across the nation, are
responsible for the success of the students as well as their welfare. Naturally, this gives the
school boards an immense of power over testing, curriculum, staff, and other essential
components of an education system. In Chicago, the school board is highly politicized as it is
responsible for the failures and triumphs of the school district. Due to the current configuration,
the mayor is also directly responsible for the dozens of school closings, but also the rising
graduation rates. Having control over the school district is typically beneficial for the mayor, but
can have adverse effects on the general public.
After, then mayor, Richard M. Daley appointed Paul Vallas as CEO and Gery Chico as
president of the school board, the city’s schools saw major reforms. Prior to the reforms in 1995,
the Secretary of Education, in 1987, called CPS the “worst in the nation.” Those reforms
included holding back students who had low scores on standardized tests, placing poorly
performing schools on probation, and changing the way schools are evaluated. Those reforms
gained a lot of national attention and were responsible for propelling the board’s presidents and
CEOs to high positions of
power.
The seemingly all
powerful Chicago Board of
Education is atypical
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compared to its suburban counterparts. The suburban and rural districts all have elected school
boards, and now there is public outcry to have Chicago return to the pre-1995 elected school
board.
Mayor Emanuel is elected – 2011
The constituents of Chicago began to question the mayor and the ‘autonomy’ of the school board
as the board functioned according to the mayor’s wishes. The fuel was added to the mix after the
2012 teacher’s strike which lasted for nine days. As the strike gained continuous national
attention, Chicago Teacher’s Union president Karen Lewis began to target the mayor and his
agenda.
In November of 2013, the Progressive Caucus attempted to bring a resolution to the floor
which would place a referendum on the 2015 election ballot. The issue revealed a divided
legislature as it constantly battled with allowing the resolution to reach the city council. By
October of 2014; however, the council voted to allow the non-binding referendum. The events
during that year can be considered a pre cursor to what could happen in committee.
2015 Mayoral Election
An elected school board became a major point in the 2015 election and the debates that
took place between the mayoral candidates. Of the five candidates, four were in favor of
voluntarily relinquishing their appointing power to the electorate, but the fifth, Mayor Emanuel,
was not apt to changing the system.
The debates brought on many legitimate questions for both sides of the spectrum. For
those against changing the system, they feared that elections could leave some constituents out of
the equation, subject the district to gerrymandering, or place candidates with special interests
into office. The final reason could lead to several conflicts of interest and cause even further
dissatisfaction with the school board.
The critics of the current system make note of the mayor’s heavy involvement in the
operations of the Chicago Public Schools, his 2011 appointments, and the 50 school closings in
2013. Many claim that the widely controversial closings would not have occurred had an elected
school board been in place.
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Unsurprising to most, a non-binding referendum was placed on the 2015 election ballot in
37 wards across the city. Voters were asked if they thought that Chicago should have an elected
school board. In each of the wards, over 88 percent responded with yes. The results revealed that
the public believes that there should be some changes to the school board. Even after the
contentious election, the Chicago Teacher’s Union staged a protest in mid-June to voice their
grievances against the current school board.
In addition to the school closings,
the Chicago Board of Education came
under more fire after the Federal Bureau
of Investigation began an investigation on
former Chicago Public Schools CEO
Barbara Byrd Bennett. The federal
agency was looking into a 20.5 million
USD contract with Bennett’s former employer, SUPES. Bennett later resigned, but the
controversy revealed conflicts of interest on the board.
What should be done?
The decision on how the Chicago Board of Education should be composed is mostly up to
the Chicago City Council. It is important to note that the decision truly belongs to the Illinois
General Assembly. The circumstances will be changed for the purposes of this committee in
order to maintain clarity and continuity.
The city council can change the composition of the council and include other changes to
the way school board members are selected. Essentially, the people are concerned with the
amount of power that one person has over the school system. Even minute changes such as term
limits can drastically affect public opinion as well as local politics.
Mayor Emanuel is taking steps to ensure that the Chicago Public Schools system remains
operable. These steps are being taken while the district is facing a billion dollar budget deficit
due to rising pension costs. Along with some staff reductions and cost cutting measures, in July
of 2015, Mayor Emanuel appointed Forrest Claypool as the Chief Executive Officer and made
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some noteworthy leadership changes at CPS. The mayor’s ability to make such changes without
public input is what is truly at stake.
Bloc Positions
The Progressive Caucus aldermen will be advocates for an elected school board as many
of their elections were based on this issue. This topic is important to their agenda which means
that they are unlikely to change their position.
The Emanuel bloc, for obvious reasons, will not be in favor of changing the law that
allows the mayor to appoint all the members of the Chicago Board of Education. However, some
members might ignore the mayor’s agenda and follow the referendum results of their ward.
Questions to Consider
1. What were your ward’s results from the 2015 non-binding referendum?
2. How would an elected school board negatively/positively affect your constituents?
3. What solutions could the city council consider in order to rein in the mayor’s power?
Helpful Resources
This is an article that will aid in your research and offers the advantages and
disadvantages of both sides.
http://depauliaonline.com/news/2015/02/22/appointed-vs-elected-school-boards-achicago-debate/
This is a map of the referendum results, in addition to that, the second link directs you to
a video regarding the topic.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/embed?mid=z2MNmjf37FeU.kxBFuOL44zOA&pli
=1&authuser=1
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2015/02/25/education-roundup-cps-debt-elected-schoolboard-parcc-testing
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Positions
The caucus names are whom you typically would caucus with. You can check your individual
voting habits at the link below. Remember that the issues are highly contentious and based on
voting decisions; therefore, there can be some major repercussions.
Additionally, there are two ethnic based caucuses that typically remain united in certain votes. I
encourage you to research the Black and Latino caucuses in the City Council.
http://pols.uic.edu/docs/defaultsource/chicago_politics/city_council_voting_records/city-councilreport-7-january-2015.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Ward
Name
Caucus
1st
Proco “Joe” Moreno
Paul Douglas Alliance
2nd
Brian Hopkins
Emanuel
3rd
Pat Dowell
Paul Douglas Alliance
4th
Will Burns
Paul Douglas Alliance
5th
Leslie Hairston
Progressive
6th
Roderick Sawyer
Progressive
7th
Gregory Mitchell
Emanuel
8th
Michelle Harris
Emanuel
9th
Anthony Beale
Emanuel
10th
Susan Sadlowski Garza
Progressive
11th
Patrick Daley Thompson
Emanuel
12th
George Cardenas
Emanuel
13th
Marty Quinn
Emanuel
14th
Edward Burke
Emanuel
15th
Raymond Lopez
Emanuel
16th
Toni Foulkes
Progressive
17th
David Moore
Progressive
18th
Derrick Curtis
Emanuel
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19th
Matthew O’Shea
Emanuel
20th
Willie Cochran
Emanuel
21st
Howard Brookins Jr.
Emanuel
22nd
Ricardo Munoz
Progressive
23rd
Michael Zalewski
Emanuel
24th
Michael Scott Jr.
Emanuel
25th
Daniel Solis
Emanuel
26th
Ricardo Maldonado
Emanuel
27th
Walter Burnett Jr.
Emanuel
28th
Jason Ervin
Emanuel
29th
Chris Taliaferro
Progressive
30th
Ariel Reboyras
Emanuel
31st
Milagros “Milly” Santiago
Emanuel
32nd
Scott Waguespack
Progressive
33rd
Deb Mell
Emanuel
34th
Carrie Austin
Emanuel
35th
Carlos Ramirez Rosa
Progressive
36th
Gilbert Villegas
Emanuel
37th
Emma Mitts
Emanuel
38th
Nicholas Spocato
Progressive
39th
Margaret Laurino
Emanuel
40th
Patrick O’Connor
Emanuel
41st
Anthony Napolitano
Emanuel
42nd
Brendan Reilly
Paul Douglas Alliance
43rd
Michele Smith
Paul Douglas Alliance
44th
Tom Tunney
Emanuel
45th
John Arena
Progressive
46th
James Cappleman
Paul Douglas Alliance
47th
Ameya Pawar
Paul Douglas Alliance
48th
Harry Osterman
Paul Douglas Alliance
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49th
Joe Moore
Paul Douglas Alliance
50th
Debra Silverstein
Emanuel
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Works Cited
“Byrne, John, and Hal Dardick. "Emanuel's Council Critics Could Grow Louder after Election
Gains." Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing, 9 Apr. 2015. Web. 23 July 2015.
“City Income Tax Should Be on the Table." Chicago. Sun Times Media, 20 July 2015. Web. 29
July 2015.
“City of Chicago :: Just The Facts." City of Chicago :: Just The Facts. City of Chicago, 2014.
Web. 25 June 2015.
“Corfman, Thomas A. "Chicago City Council Coming to Grips with Big Tax Hike." Crain's
Chicago Business. Crain's, 29 July 2015. Web. 30 July 2015.
“Keefe, Alex. "Experts Say Chicago Has a Public Pension System Set up to Fail." WBEZ.
Chicago Public Media, 8 Dec. 2013. Web. 22 June 2015.
“Tests of Government Accountability." Deschooling Learning (2014): n. pag.Illinois Public
Retirement Systems. Commission on Government Forecasting and Accounting, Jan. 2014.
Web. 25 June 2015.
“The Bottomless Pit." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 16 May 2015. Web. 22 June
2015.
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