Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd, right, speaks to Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th, before a Chicago City Council meeting at City Hall on April 17, 2024. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration broke a City Hall taboo Thursday, advancing a massive development despite opposition from the local alderman.
And Johnson downplayed the rare breach of the council tradition earlier Thursday as simply a “conversation.” “The anti-business, quite frankly, the anti-Black and -brown policies that have created so much harm in this city, that day is over,” he said. “That’s why we’re working hard to bring real economic development to the people.”Waguespack told the Tribune before the vote that the developer “maxed out” on potential size and has been unwilling to compromise on density, height and cutting some of the 275 parking spots planned for the site, he said.
“We have not seen that,” he said. “And yet, what we are doing here is saying ‘Hey, let’s go full speed ahead on another project’ that basically ignores the issues.” “This is just one project, but it is an intentional step forward for the plan by Lincoln Park and the entire city of Chicago,” she said in an apparent nod to Lincoln Yards.