By definition, political independents are hard to organize into a bloc. And the initial attempt at expanding the self-styled progressive caucus in the new City Council reflected that challenge.
Only seven of the 13 new aldermen attended an orientation organized the City Council’s progressive caucus, which has long been touted by union officials though the group’s membership rarely ever votes as a uniform group.
Aldermen Pat Dowell (3rd Ward), Ricardo Munoz (22nd), Scott Waguespack (32nd) and Joe Moore (49th) ran Monday morning’s orientation, which lasted for about two hours at City Hall. Dowell told the Chicago News Cooperative that the meeting was a success even though about half of the class of 2011 was absent.
“It was a chance to meet people,” Dowell said.
Dowell said the incoming aldermen who showed up to the orientation were Will Burns (4th), Nicholas Sposato (36th), Mary O’Connor (41st), Michele Smith (43rd), John Arena (45th), James Cappleman (46th) and Ameya Pawar (47th).
The progressive caucus traces its origins to the last council term, after labor unions helped elect several aldermen who unseated incumbents supported by Mayor Richard M. Daley. Despite meeting periodically and receiving backing from the SEIU, the caucus never gelled into an effective counterweight to the mayor’s power.
Waguespack said that the caucus does not act at the behest of the union.
“I know a lot of people were kind of saying, ‘Oh, it’s an SEIU-run group,’ but it never really was,” Waguespack said. “They weren’t really keyed in like I think a lot people thought they were.”
Waguespack said Monday’s meeting focused on mundane topics like setting up a ward office and handling various aldermanic expense accounts, such as the $1.3 million menu account given to each alderman for infrastructure improvements in their wards. He said the caucus did review some favored ordinances, such as an ordinance giving the City Council oversight power of city contracts over $500,000 and another ordinance that would mandate a 30-day review of all privatization deals.
Waguespack said the aldermen who attended the orientation will not be expected to vote a certain way on any of those issues.
“We just talked about how some days they’re going to be on one page and we’ll be on another,” Waguespack said, adding that he views the caucus as an “independent think tank” more than a voting bloc. “A lot of people just don’t get this. When you’re sitting there and, say, having beers with your buddies, you’re talking about a lot of issues that are never going to get discussed at the office. You might not have that opportunity, [like] when you’re sitting at the dinner table and having a good discussion. And that’s really what we’re going [for] — putting people at the table.”
Alderman-elect Roderick Sawyer (6th) said he could not make Monday’s orientation because of a scheduling conflict, but he said he would have otherwise attended the meeting.
“Anything with the word ‘progressive’ sounds interesting to me,” Sawyer said, adding that he will attend another orientation scheduled for this week by Mayor Richard M. Daley’s office of intergovernmental affairs.
Powerful Ald. Edward Burke (14th), the council’s longest-serving member, will hold his own orientation for council newbies on May 6.