A new study published by the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance claims that “aldermanic prerogative”—a customary practice that isn’t articulated anywhere in city law—is being used to reinforce the boundaries of Chicago’s historically segregated communities.
Local zoning committees created by aldermen and made up of homeowners in the ward can also limit and revise proposed plans for affordable housing, forcing developers to invest in new architectural plans and zoning requests. The study argues that aldermanic control over zoning policy has resulted in the disproportionate use of downzoning in predominantly white wards, citing that 55% of all downzonings since 1970 have happened in 14 majority-white wards.
In a July 17 letter to the Chicago Tribune, Michael Sullivan seemed to confirm this point when he argued against the study’s claims. He writes that aldermanic prerogative helps homeowners keep their alderman accountable. “No one should have any zoning authority in my neighborhood except my alderman,” Sullivan writes, “Let my alderman wear the collar for the zoning decisions in my ward. Then I can reward or punish him at the ballot box.”
