Chicago City Council, demystified


Search Chicago legislation

Chicago City Council consists of 50 elected alders and meets monthly to shape the city. The council works with Brandon Johnson, the Mayor, and Anna Valencia, the City Clerk.

Chicago Councilmatic tracks all things related to Chicago City Council:

More on how City Council works »

Note that while the official term for a City Council member is “alderman,” Councilmatic uses “alder” for both brevity and gender neutrality.

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Citywide issues

The Mayor proposes most city-wide policies. These include business transactions, changes to the municipal code, bond issuance and appointments.

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Local issues

At the local level, matters like land use, signs, street parking, business permits, and other residents issues require the local Alder's support.

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Upcoming Meetings


Next City Council meeting

Wed 4/16/2025
10:00a.m.
Council Chambers, City Hall
121 N LaSalle St, Chicago, IL

Details

Committee meetings

Mon 03/31 - Joint Committee: Public Safety; Police and Fire

Tue 04/01 - Committee on Public Safety

Wed 04/02 - Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy


All upcoming events

Latest Council Meeting

At the latest City Council meeting on Mar 12th, council members took action on 850 pieces of legislation, including 140 that are non-routine.

One of the more unusual aspects of Chicago City Council is the volume of ordinances that are introduced and passed every month. Most of these are routine items like sign permits, damaged vehicle claims, sidewalk cafe approvals and honorifics.

To help sort through all of this, we classify all legislation and tag it appropriately. If something doesn’t look like a routine piece of legislation, we tag it as Non-Routine to make it easier to discover.

Non-Routine Activity

Communication F2025-0015773 None

Determination Certificate of City of Chicago regarding Revolving Line of Credit Agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association as to Revolving Line of Credit Agreement of December 29, ...

3/12/2025 - Introduced
Non-Routine Unclassified

Communication F2025-0015791 None

Determination Certificate of City of Chicago regarding Revolving Line of Credit Agreement with RBC Capital Markets LLC and Royal Bank of Canada as to Note of December 28, 2023, aggregate ...

3/12/2025 - Introduced
Non-Routine Unclassified

Report F2025-0015836 Active

Judgment and Settlement Report for month of February 2024

3/12/2025 - Introduced
Non-Routine City Matters Settlement Agreement

Ordinance O2025-0015977 Active

Amendment of Municipal Code Chapter 2-28 by adding new Section 2-28-080 establishing position of City Historian

3/12/2025 - Introduced
Non-Routine City Matters Municipal Code

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Since the last council meeting

After Mar 12th, City Council introduced 86 new pieces of legislation, including 13 that are non-routine.

Non-routine legislation introduced

Ordinance O2024-0010070 Passed

Collective Bargaining Agreement with International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 700 (Supervising Police Communication Operators/SPCSOs) and City of Chicago

12/27/2030 - Signed
Non-Routine City Matters Labor Agreement

Placed On File F2025-0016048 Active

Resignation of Alderperson Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward)

4/16/2025 - Introduced
Non-Routine Unclassified

Ordinance O2025-0016084 Active

Amendment of Annual Appropriation Ordinance to transfer of funds within 31st Ward Aldermanic Expense Account for Year 2025

4/16/2025 - Introduced
Non-Routine City Matters Annual Appropriation

Ordinance SO2024-0012999 Active

Amendment of Municipal Code Section 5-8-020 regarding prohibited discriminatory acts, and Chapter 6-10 regarding housing accommodations, connected services, city policy, definition modification ...

3/19/2025 - Recommended to Pass
Non-Routine City Matters Municipal Code

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