Mayor Johnson pushes hard for contentious alderman as zoning chair

Mayor Brandon Johnson is sticking to his guns with the appointment of a controversial alderman to chair the city’s Zoning Committee, and he even wants to call the Chicago City Council back from summer break to vote on his appointee. 

Johnson is proposing Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez as chair of the Zoning Committee and removing him as chair of the council’s Housing Committee. Vice Mayor Walter Burnett would take over as Housing Committee chair, Chicago Sun Times reported. 

Johnson has put forward Sigcho-Lopez as a nominee in a bid to expand the power held by his progressive allies. Sigcho-Lopez represents Pilsen and has built his political career in part by advocating for affordable housing, but he’s also called developers “greedy” and blamed them for pricing residents out of the neighborhood.

The Mayor’s office has contacted ​​several alderpersons about their availability in August for a special City Council meeting to confirm the appointment of Sigcho-Lopez and Burnett. 

Johnson postponed the confirmation vote last month after calls for a greater majority to approve reorganization. Despite the delay, Johnson has praised Sigcho-Lopez for his commitment to affordable housing and neighborhood-focused economic development.

Sigcho-Lopez has attempted to reassure the business community, emphasizing his desire to balance regulatory changes with community needs. He also criticized those who oppose his approach, arguing that advocating for working-class neighborhoods should not be seen as divisive.

Opposition to Sigcho-Lopez’s appointment centers on concerns about potential changes to zoning regulations and the impact on single-family zoning. For instance, Alderman Marty Quinn fears that Sigcho-Lopez’s leadership will undermine single-family zoning and limit aldermanic oversight. 

“We need single-family zoning in Chicago if we’re serious about building generational wealth. And the proposal that will come out of the [mayor’s office] will do away with single-family zoning,” Quinn said.

Alderman Brian Hopkins also voiced opposition. 

“The Zoning Committee has been run quite well by Alderman [Bennett] Lawson. I’d like to see someone who continues in that pro-business vein and believes that capitalism is a superior economic system than socialism,” he said.

Sigcho-Lopez recently survived an effort in the 50-member City Council to punish him for attending a rally where an American flag was burned in protest of U.S. support for Israel in the Israel-Hamas war.

Despite opposition, Johnson’s allies believe they have the votes to confirm Sigcho-Lopez and are pushing to finalize the appointment before upcoming budget sessions begin.

— Andrew Terrell

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