Ward Referendum Questions

At a glance

• What: Aldermen introduced a series of resolutions on September 23, 2026 to put advisory questions to voters in their wards at the February 23, 2027 election, all referred to the Committee on Committees and Rules.
• Topics: Whether the city should use Western Avenue from Howard Street to 79th Street for bus rapid transit (26th Ward, Fuentes; 40th Ward, Vasquez); whether the Illinois Department of Transportation should run an open public process on the future of North DuSable Lake Shore Drive (43rd Ward, Knudsen; 44th Ward, Lawson; and the 45th, 46th and 48th Wards); whether the 40th Ward supports ranked-choice voting for Mayor, Treasurer, Clerk, Alderperson and District Councilors (the resolution says runoffs cost the City $20 million); and whether the 40th Ward supports a data center moratorium (see Data Center Regulation).

Sources

• City Council journal, September 23, 2026, Volume II: https://chicityclerk.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public-1/reports/2026_09_23%20Journal%20of%20the%20Proceedings%20Vol.%20II.pdf
• Journal pages 50509 to 50528.

Log

2026-09-23 - City Council

Introduced and referred. No votes.