Mayor Holds Veto Power as Bond Rules Override Fails

Chicago aldermen fell one vote short Wednesday of overriding Mayor Brandon Johnson’s veto of bond rules, leaving his administration’s authority to issue city debt unchanged. The 33-17 vote missed the 34 needed for a supermajority. Most City Council members had backed a requirement that 30 aldermen approve future bond issuances, rather than the current simple majority.

The vote exposed a fight over who controls money for libraries, streets, affordable housing and small-business support—and who can block it. Ald. Jason Ervin, Johnson’s floor leader, said the proposal would strip power from City Council majorities just as Black and Latino aldermen gain stronger control of the body.

“For as long as I can remember, 26 votes ruled the day in this body. That’s how democracy works: You win with the majority,” Ervin said. “It’s ironic that we only talk about independence and executive oversight when the person sitting up there looks like me.”

Who Gets to Set the Rules

Several white aldermen made exasperated faces, and some muttered as Ervin criticized the proposal as an effort to rob minorities of City Hall strength. “If you can’t beat people at their own game, you just change the rules,” said Ervin, who represents the mayor’s West Side 28th Ward. “We see that happening all over the country.”

Ald. Brendan Reilly, who appeared angry as Ervin spoke, argued that most major cities require a supermajority to authorize bond sales and that Chicago’s uniquely massive debt load demands “fiscal discipline.” “This isn’t about power, this is about good governance,” Reilly said. “No one here is going to hold up good community investment in anybody’s ward.”

Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, challenged Ervin’s argument, saying he was trying to “blame the evil white people who are not going to let African Americans and Latinos put sidewalks in their neighborhoods.” The floor debate turned racial power into a contest of competing claims, while the rule at issue concerned who could authorize borrowing for city projects.

Ald. David Moore, 17th, told his Black Caucus colleagues, “You’ll break my heart if you vote for this.” He said Black neighborhoods’ access to city infrastructure money was at stake. “I’ll never vote against my constituents,” he said.

Campaign Pressure, Veto Power

A publicity campaign paid for by One Future Illinois, an anti-Johnson political group, accompanied the effort to override Johnson’s veto. Residents who received automated texts called Moore urging him to vote against the veto. Moore said he told them there would be unintentional consequences. Asked how much his operation spent, One Future president Mike Ruemmler said he wasn’t immediately sure, then texted a meme of Austin Powers villain Dr. Evil making his “one million dollars” gesture.

Aldermen passed the ordinance 32-15 in late September, and Johnson vetoed it several days later. It was his fourth veto; the city’s previous two mayors never used one. The dispute showed the council’s growing independence and its limits when it disagrees with the Fifth Floor. The article said no record exists of aldermen overriding a mayoral veto in recent decades.

Johnson said last week that the ordinance threatened infrastructure investment in poor neighborhoods. In his rejection letter, he wrote: “Neighborhoods with the greatest infrastructure needs should not face additional barriers to securing essential public investment. Delaying infrastructure projects can increase construction costs, worsen deterioration, and ultimately cost taxpayers more.”

After Wednesday’s vote, Johnson said some council members were “still adjusting to a bold progressive agenda.” He said he was open to talking with the aldermanic bloc routinely aligned against him, and that aldermen were “conflating what could further democratize our city.” “Relationships have been hard... because I have asked people to do hard things,” he said.

Other Decisions, Other Costs

The council approved an historic $261 million police misconduct settlement proposed by Johnson’s administration, without debate. It resolves 16 lawsuits alleging disgraced Chicago Police Department Detective Reynaldo Guevara framed men for murder. The city still faces 23 pending Guevara cases, and lawsuits tied to him have already cost Chicago around $160 million. City lawyers argued that resolving the cases together could save as much as $400 million by avoiding costly verdicts, reducing legal costs and attorney fees, and minimizing payouts for each year plaintiffs spent behind bars.

Aldermen also approved a permanent, phased citywide expansion of Smart Streets. Automated cameras on city vehicles and CTA buses will catch drivers blocking bus stops, bus lanes and bike lanes; after warnings, tickets can cost up to $250 for a bike-lane violation. Bike and pedestrian safety activists had long sought the policy, which had operated as a pilot in only part of the city and was set to expire in December.

The council approved Johnson’s appointments of Tiheta Hinton and JuanPablo Prieto, while rejecting his appointments of Ramona Westbrook and John Bartlett to the Chicago Housing Authority board. The bond vote left the mayor’s veto standing. The council’s other decisions moved ahead through the same institutional machinery.