Chicago City Council

The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 aldermen elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is called into session regularly, usually monthly, to consider ordinances, orders, and resolutions whose subject matter includes code changes, utilities, taxes, and many other issues. The Chicago City Council Chambers are located in Chicago City Hall, as are the downtown offices of the individual aldermen and staff. The presiding officer of the council is the Mayor of Chicago, who is usually non-voting, except in rare cases, such as to break a tie. The secretary is the City Clerk of Chicago. Both positions are city-wide elected offices. In the absence of the mayor, an alderman elected to the position of President Pro Tempore serves as the presiding officer. Originally established as the Common Council in 1837, it was renamed City Council in 1876. The Council assumed its modern form of 50 wards electing one alderman each in 1923. List of Chicago aldermen since 1923 The most recent city council election was the 2023 Chicago aldermanic elections. The current term began on May 15, 2023. Aldermanic elections are officially nonpartisan; party affiliations below are informational only. Council members also self-organize into caucuses, or blocs that address particular issues. Active caucuses include the Black Caucus, Democratic Socialist Caucus, Latino Caucus, LGBT Caucus, and Progressive Reform Caucus. The city council is internally organized into subject-specific standing committees. Once proposed legislation is drafted, it is assigned to a specific standing committee. After a hearing and deliberation process, the committee votes on whether to report the proposed legislation to the full council, along with recommendations. The committees are created, and their leaders and members are selected, through a resolution passed by the whole council. Historically, mayors have played a central role in selecting committee chairs.