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 IllINOIS HiSTOrdCAL SURVEY 
 

 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Chicago^s Government 
 
 AN INTERPRETIVE SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 
 OF THE CHICAGO HOME RULE COMMISSION 
 
 BY 
 
 Rubin C. Cohn and 
 Gilbert Y. Steiner 
 
 THE INSTITUTE OF GOVERNMENT 
 
 and PUB 
 
BISTOHICAl SUWTY 
 
CHICAGO'S GOVERNMENT 
 
 The material reproduced in this booklet constitutes 
 most of Chapter XVI of the Report of the Chicago Home 
 Rule Commission, published for the Commission by the 
 University of Chicago Press as Chicago's Government , 
 and published simultaneously by the Press under the 
 title Modernizing a City Government. 
 
l5;i . 07' 
 
 XI I, M i^r^. S^fv* 
 
 L^ 
 
 CHICAGO HO^t RULE COMMISSION 
 Leverett S. Lyon, Chairman 
 
 Alderman Benjamin M. Becker 
 
 Alderman Nicholas J. Bohling 
 
 Joseph J. Cavanagh 
 
 Frank W, Cronin 
 
 Alderman P. J. Cullerton 
 
 Newton C. Farr 
 
 Alderman Thomas E. Keane 
 
 W. A. Mayfield 
 Donald F. itoore 
 John L. McCaffrey 
 William L. McFetridge 
 Frank C. Rathje 
 Robert R. Taylor 
 Arthur C. Wilby 
 
 Directors of Staff 
 
 Rubin G. Cohn 
 Gilbert Y. Steiner 
 
 Staff Associates 
 
 Jack M, Siegel 
 Glenn V. Gibson 
 Jack F, Isakoff 
 
 Research Associates 
 
 Lennox Moak 
 Charlton Chute 
 Murray Edelman 
 Donald Smithburg 
 Harland Stockwell 
 Lillian Egerton 
 
FCBEWCRD 
 
 The Chicago Home Rule Commission was organized on November 9, 1953, 
 subsequent to appointment by Mayor Martin H. Kennelly and confirmation 
 by the City Council. The impetus for creation of the Commission by city 
 ordinance came, at least in part, from a recommendation in the 1952 report 
 of the Committee on City Expenditures ("Little Hoover" Committee) that 
 steps be taken to adopt a modern charter for the City. In addition, the 
 1953 Illinois. General Assembly had debated, but failed to pass, a bill 
 providing for a comprehensive revision of the structure of Chicago's govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The fifteen members of the Home Rule Commission were leaders of 
 business, real estate and labor groups, and of the City Council. The 
 chairman, Leverett S. Lyon, was retiring chief executive officer of the 
 Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry, A distinguished scholar, 
 ivlr. Lyon had been Vice-President of the Brookings Institution, and Profes- 
 sor of Economics at the University of Chicago. Mr. Lyon gave virtually 
 his full time to the organizational and operational phases of the Com- 
 mission's work, 
 
 Rubin G. Cohn, Professor of Law, and Gilbert Y. Steiner, Research 
 Associate Professor in the Institute of Government and Public Affairs, 
 served as Staff Directors for the Commission, and, in that capacity, 
 wrote most of the report which has been published by the University of 
 Chicago Press both as "Chicago's Government" and as "Modernizing a City 
 
 iv 
 
Government." The Institute is pleased to reproduce, in substance, 
 Chapter XVI which was prepared jointly by Messrs. Cohn and Steiner, 
 and is used by permission of the publishers. 
 
 Royden Dangerfield, Director 
 
 Institute of Government and Public Affairs 
 
An Interpretive Summary _of the Report 
 of the Chicago Home Rule Commission 
 
 The substance of the report of the Chicago Home Rule Commission 
 is concerned with fulfilling the commission's somewhat nebulous directive 
 to "give consideration to possible changes in form and structure that may 
 he desirable for the advancement and modernization of Chicago's government 
 and investigate and make a thorough study of all possible ways and means 
 of securing the best measure of home rule for the government of Chicago." 
 
 Governmental Structure and Form 
 
 In determining the specifics for inclusion in its consideration 
 - i changes in form and structure of Chicago's government, the commission 
 and its staff tended to be guided by three tests: (l) Has the issue been 
 a persistent one in Chicago's political or administrative history? (2) Is 
 the issue of sufficient importance to be a matter of concern in other 
 major American cities? (3) Does the issue appear with a high degree of 
 consistency in the business of Chicago's City Council or Mayor? These 
 tests were by no means absolute. However, they served as guides which 
 made it possible to delimit the scope of the inquiry into structure and 
 form of government. 
 
 One of the most persistent political issues in Chicago in the 
 twentieth century has been the question of the appropriate size and compo- 
 sition of the City Council. In concerning itself with this problem, the 
 attention of the Home Rule Commission was focused initially on size per 
 se , and on finding objective criteria to apply to the determination of 
 
bize. An examination of the size of representative bodies — particularly 
 legislative bodies — indicated that there is no optimum size for effective 
 deliberation or operation, and that there are no definitive criteria for 
 determining an appropriate size for an aldermanic constituency in terms 
 either of population or of area. Accordingly, the inquiry turned logically 
 to the considerations that created the present 50-ward, single member dis- 
 trict system. 
 
 The ward system was established to enable aldermen to service 
 their constituents. The nature of the service function has changed materi- 
 ally, however, in the last three decades as a consequence of the increased 
 professionalization of social service work, the development of service 
 activities by trade and labor associations, and the coming of the so-called 
 "welfare state." Taken together, these factors have made the service role 
 of the alderman that of an information officer, distinguishing between 
 governments and guiding his constitutents to the governmental agency re- 
 sponsible for some particular function or service. 
 
 The consequence is a conclusion that the existing 50-ward system 
 is an anachronism. It is not "evil" or necessarily inefficient, but it 
 was established to meet a situation that no longer exists. 
 
 The question of introducing "at-large" councilmen into the com- 
 position of the council was considered against existing evidence as to the 
 effects of such representation. There is no conclusive evidential support 
 for the belief that a "higher-caliber" councilman will be forthcoming from 
 the city at large than from a ward. However, there is no question but that 
 
3 
 dt-large councilmen would represent different combinations of interest 
 than do aldermen from wards. City-wide interests should have an opportunity 
 to compete, in open council, with ward interests. Public policy should re- 
 flect both interests, not because one is good and the other is evil, but 
 necause they are both important to Chicago. 
 
 In order to effectuate these conclusions, the commission recom- 
 mends that the number of aldermanic districts in the city be reduced to 25 
 and that the City Council be composed of 1 alderman elected from each of 
 these districts, plus 10 aldermen elected from the city at large. Elections 
 should continue to be on nonpartisan ballots. The commission recommends 
 appropriate General Assembly action and referendum approval, in order that 
 the number of aldermanic districts in the city be reduced. Formal action 
 by the council is not required. 
 
 The operation and procedures of the council are considered in 
 detail. The comirdssion expresses its belief in the desirability of delib- 
 erate action on ordinances, of roll-call votes covering a single subject 
 only, and of making a final disposition of business. It is pointed out 
 that the realization of these goals will necessitate a requirement that 
 council action be by ordinance, introduced by a bill which should be given 
 a title descriptive of the subject matter and printed prior to consideration; 
 that the omnibus roll call covering numerous council actions be discontinued; 
 and that measures not finally voted upon within two years after presentation 
 be considered officially lost. In addition, the proper functioning of the 
 council as a legislative body will require that the number and jurisdiction 
 
•■|G.; 
 
of council committees be adjusted so that members will serve on a maximum 
 of three committees and that committee jurisdiction be defined in terms 
 of the major departments of city government. 
 
 Many of the procedural changes deemed desirable by the comjmission 
 can be achieved by council action without the need for state legislation 
 or referendum approval. Other recommendations in this field will require 
 action by the General Assembly, and still others will also require referen- 
 dum approval by the city's voters. Twenty-three specific recommendations, 
 together with a note regarding necessary steps for implementation, are set 
 forth at the conclusion of the discussion of procedures of the council, 
 
 A second major area in the consideration of structure and form 
 of government is concerned with legislative-executive relationships. These 
 relationships are first examined in the field of fiscal and budgetary con- 
 trols. An analysis of the city's present budget operations and a comparison 
 of those operations with generally accepted criteria for effective fiscal 
 and budgetary activity leads the commission to recommend that the city 
 adopt an executive-type budget, developed by the mayor's office and repre- 
 senting the coordinated program plan which the mayor porposes for the 
 oudget year. It is the commission's view that the adoption of an executive- 
 oudgot plan would fix responsibility for planning, facilitate development of 
 coordinated program planning, help to attain consistency and uniformity in 
 estimates, and strengthen the executive function. 
 
 An executive-budget plan will require that the position of budget 
 director be transferred from the finance committee to the mayor's office. 
 
1^ bt most effective, the office of budget director should be enlarged tc 
 provide for sections responsible for (l) preparation of budget estimates and 
 control of appropriated funds; (2) administrative analysis, and management- 
 improvement studies; and (3) budget reporting. 
 
 It is recommended that a performance-type budget be adopted in 
 lieu of the present line-item appropriations to objects. The important dif- 
 ference that such change would make is that the present line-item object 
 detail would not be incorporated into the appropriation ordinance itself. 
 The present procedure makes each of the detailed object estimates a legal 
 limitation. 
 
 The executive budget and the performance budget are the principal 
 fiscal recommendations developed. Sundry related recommendations are de- 
 tailed, however, including some dealing with classification of accounts, 
 transfers in the budget, performance reporting, capital budgeting, and 
 other matters of this character. 
 
 The consideration of legislative-executive relationships is sub- 
 sequently carried into the so-called "quasi-administrative" powers presently 
 exercised by the council. The fields of activity in which these quasi- 
 administrative powers are most evident are traffic controls, purchasing 
 and contract approval, zoning administration, and the issuance of driveway 
 and similar permits. In each of these fields it was deemed important to 
 determine whether administrative control by the City Council or by an execu- 
 tive department would better insure that all residents of the city could 
 expect equal treatment of applications for municipal services or in the 
 imposition of controls. 
 
Applying this test, together with an evaluation of the effect of 
 these activities on council operations and aldermanic responsibility, brought 
 the commission to the following conclusions and recommendations: (l) Routine 
 traffic matters, of which the designation of one-way streets is an illustra- 
 tion, should be made the concern of the Bureau of Street Traffic, guided 
 by standards developed by the council. (2) The present requirement for 
 council approval of contracts in excess of $2,500 should be repealed. 
 (3) Amendments to the zoning ordinance should be subject to Plan Commission 
 recommendations, and where the council acts contrary to such recommendations, 
 the reasons should be spread upon the council Journal . (4) Variations from 
 the zoning ordinance should be the exclusive responsibility of the Board 
 of Zoning Appeals, subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review 
 Act. The statutes should be amended to incorporate appropriate standards 
 to guide the Board of Zoning Appeals. (5) The issuance of driveway and 
 related permits should be handled by the Department of Streets. The de- 
 partment should be guided in its operations by standards laid down by the 
 council in a general ordinance. 
 
 The phase of the commission's study dealing with the mayor's 
 office inquires into the several major activities which are believed to be 
 the responsibility of the mayor, including relationships with his political 
 party, with the public in general, administrative management, and the devel- 
 opment of civic policy. The commission gave particular attention to an 
 important trend in large American cities toward the use of a professional 
 municipal administrator. Experience with the mayor-administrator plan in 
 
 Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and other cities is 
 considered, with a view to determining appropriate uses of such an administrator. 
 
7 
 
 The commission concludes that it is in the field of municipal ad- 
 ministration that the desirability of assistance to the mayor most strongly 
 suggests itself. Accordingly, it is recommended that the position of ad- 
 ministrative officer be created and that the officer be charged with respon- 
 sibility for administrative management of all city departments under the 
 control of the mayor. The administrative officer, as conceived of in this 
 report, should be an appointee of the mayor, subject to removal by the mayor. 
 Certain desirable safeguards, in the form of formal qualifications and 
 council confirmation, are spelled out in detail. 
 
 The coimiission directed its staff to include a recommendation which 
 the staff had made to the commission, to the effect that a small staff, pro- 
 lessionally trained in economics, public administration, and political science, 
 be added to the mayor's office, to aid in the continuing development and 
 improvement of civic policy and the general organization of the city's govern- 
 ment. A belief behind this staff recommendation was the view that it is in 
 the consistent development of civic policy that a mayor, fulfilling his 
 other responsibilities with high competence, finds it most difficult to 
 give adequate forward-looking thought. 
 
 Home Rule 
 
 The second major area of the commission's responsibility is an 
 analysis of "all possible ways and means of securing the best measure of 
 home rule" for the City of Chicago. "Home rule" is not defined in the or- 
 dinance creating and specifying the duties of the commission. Staff in- 
 terpretation, however, concurred in by the commission, viewed the language 
 
8 
 as a directive to give primary consideration to constitutional heme rule 
 as a possible technique for granting greater powers of local government to 
 the city. This has been done. The analysis is directed mainly to a con- 
 sideration of the adequacy of Chicago's powers of local government in the 
 four primary areas of (l) structure and form of government, (2) services, 
 (3) police powers, and (4) revenue powers, under the existing pattern of 
 legislative grants, and a comparison of the scope or extent of such powers 
 exercised by cities operating under constitutional grants of hone-rule 
 powers. The recommendations are based upon the results of this comparative 
 analysis. 
 
 Preliminary to formulating any recommendations, the commission 
 report treats of the general meaning of home rule; analyzes the legal and 
 constitutional status of cities as governmental units; designates the methods 
 by which powers are granted by the state to cities, namely (l) by constitu- 
 tional provisions, (2) by statutory enactment, and (3) by a combination 
 of constitutional and statutory methods; and defines the four principal 
 areas in which powers are customarily granted to cities. It is concluded 
 that home rule is a relative concept. 
 
 An analysis of constitutional home-rule provisions in a selected 
 series of states notes the conceptual differences underlying such grants, 
 and places particular emphasis upon the powers reserved to the legislature 
 which affect the autoncsny of the cities. The analysis supports the view, 
 consistently reiterated in the report, that home rule is a relative concept 
 which has no precise political or legal meaning. 
 
9 
 
 It is emphasized that there is a need for a revaluation of the 
 constitutional home-rule concept before it can become a useful technique 
 of adjusted state-city relationships. Noted are some of the sensitive polit- 
 ical determinations which must be made as a basis for an effective consti- 
 tutional home-rule formula, and the difficulties which attend such determinations 
 
 The analysis is developed to the conclusion that Chicago's powers 
 of local government in the area of structure and form of its government are 
 inadequate, both in relation to other municipalities in the state and to 
 municipalities in constitutional home-rule states. No power of self-determina- 
 tion or selection among different forms of government exists in the Chicago 
 government or electorate. It is also developed that it is in this area that 
 constitutional home-rule grants have been particularly, if not exclusively, 
 effective in freeing municipalities from dependence upon the state legislatures. 
 
 While a constitutional amendment might be a satisfactory means of 
 giving a greater degree of freedom in making changes in the form and structure 
 of the city government, it was concluded that this constitutional procedure 
 was not desirable and would not be effective in the other fields of municipal 
 government with which the commission was concerned. This being the case, 
 the commission concluded that it would not be desirable to recommend an 
 effort to obtain a constitutional grant of added power for this purpose alone, 
 accordingly, the commission recommended that legislative authority be sought 
 by way of amendment to Article 21, Revised Cities and Villages Act (Chicago's 
 "little charter"), permitting the Chicago City Council, or the Chicago 
 
10 
 
 electorate by the initiative process, to propose changes in the form and 
 structure of city government, subject to referendum approval, but without 
 the necessity of prior state legislative approval. The recommendation fur- 
 ther proposes that this .Teg- slntive amendment be postponed to the 1957 
 session of the Illinois General Assembly, by reason of the fact that this 
 approach is not wholly free from legal doubt. Rather than risk a judicial 
 holding of the illegality of the entire amendment incorporating other changes 
 recommended by this report, a risk which would be engendered by the comming- 
 ling of the provisions concerning local powers to change the form and struc- 
 ture of government, the commission determined to recommend a postponement 
 in the effectuation of this proposal until the 1957 session of the Illinois 
 General Assembly. 
 
 If a subsequent judicial test of the legality of this proposal 
 results in its sustainment, no further action would be necessary. If on 
 the other hand, the proposal is held invalid, then resort to constitutional 
 amendment would be proper. Since there is a serious legal doubt whether 
 a constitutional amendment could be submitted to the people by action of 
 the 1955 Illinois General Assembly (by virtue of the 1953 proposal for a 
 reapportionment amendment), the delay involved in the recommendations offered 
 is not so serious as it may at first appear. 
 
 The commission report next considers the services available to 
 the people of Chicago through the agency of the city government and the 
 several independent governmental units and agencies operating within or 
 partly within the territorial limits of the city. It concludes that the 
 
powers are substantially adequate tor Chicago's needs, that legislative 
 grants of powers are readily securable from the legislature, and, further, 
 that a grant of constitutional home-rule powers would not increase the 
 measure of local autonomy in many important service areas, by virtue oi 
 judicial holdings that such areas involve matters of state concern. 
 
 For these reasons it is recommended that such additional service 
 powers as Chicago may need in the future be sought by way of legislative 
 rather than constitutional grant. It is further recommended that a commis- 
 sion be established by the state legislature to investigate the need for 
 the integration of a number of services afforded to the citizens of Chicag.-! 
 by the city government, by other governmental agencies within Chicago, and 
 oy those which extend beyond the boundaries of the city. 
 
 The commission considers the scope and adequacy of the police 
 powers vested in the government of Chicago under legislative grant, and 
 further considers the extent of police powers vested in cities under con- 
 stitutional home-rule grants. The analysis concludes (l) that Chicago has 
 a substantial measure of police power and that it has no great difficulty 
 in securing additional legislative grants of such powers, except in the 
 lield of licensing for regulatory purposes; and (2) that constitutional 
 home-rule cities enjoy substantially no greater measure of power in this 
 area than do cities operating under direct legislative grants of authority. 
 
 Upon the basis of the foregoing, the recommendations deny the 
 need of a constitutional grant of home rule in the field of police powers 
 and suggest a legislative amendment in 1955 of Article 21 of the Revised 
 
12 
 Cities and Villages Act, applicable to Chicago only and subject to referendum 
 approval of the Chicago electorate, granting police power in the broader 
 terms employed in the 1907 Chicago charter proposal, but expressly negating 
 that such grant involves the power of licensing for revenue purposes. 
 
 The revenue powers of the City of Chicago are analyzed and con- 
 trasted with those of cities operating under constitutional home-rule grants. 
 The analysis finds no material difference in status except in several limited 
 instances. 
 
 The analysis further discloses that Chicago has been relatively 
 successful in securing property tax powers from the legislature but markedly 
 unsuccessful in securing broadly based nonproperty tax powers. It notes 
 that a number of other major cities have a greater measure of power in the 
 nonproperty field, legislatively granted, than does Chicago, 
 
 Because constitutional home-rule grants have not been generally 
 effective in increasing municipal power in the revenue area, the commission 
 concluded that there is no reason to suppose that such grants in the Illinois 
 Constitution would materially aid in solving the revenue problems of Chicago. 
 Accordingly, the commission does not recommend that an effort be made to 
 obtain constitutional home rule in the interests of revenue for Chicago. It 
 does recommend that authorization be asked of the legislature either for a 
 permissive tax statute listing a series of powers, with authority in the city 
 government to levy any or all of the taxes specified, or, as an alternative 
 power, to levy one or more, but less than all, of the taxes specified. 
 
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