CITY HALL — The City Council passed new limits on public comments at council committee hearings, limiting speakers to three minutes per item.
The measure passed the full City Council Wednesday after being approved by the Rules Committee earlier in the day.
The proposal was held up last week after some aldermen were leery of creating the "perception" that they were trying to discourage public comment.
That debate resurfaced Wednesday when Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) tried to amend the final proposal by limiting members of the public to three minutes of comment per meeting, not per item on a committee agenda.
Ald. John Arena (45th) immediately objected, calling that "Draconian" and saying it would have "a chilling effect on the public."
Arena said, "We're telling you we don't want to hear from you."
Ald. Michelle Harris (8th), chairman of the Rules Committee, emphasized that the ordinance specified it was at "the discretion of the chair" — or whatever alderman was leading a committee hearing.
Ald. Carrie Austin (34th), chairman of the Budget Committee, echoed that, saying, "The chair is the one who wields the control." Austin announced her intention to vote against Hopkins' amendment, even after she was told by a member of the gallery to "shove it up your a--" at a joint committee meeting Tuesday on police reform.
Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) argued in favor of the new restrictions citing "taxpayer money and the waste of time."
The rules have been dubbed the George Blakemore rules after Blakemore, a frequent Council critic. He did not attend Wednesday's committee meeting. Allan Mellis was the only member of the public to speak, and likewise stressed the "discretion of the chair" element as acceptable. He cited the heavy gavel of Ald. Edward Burke (14th), chairman of the Finance Committee.
"When Chairman Burke says, 'Wrap it up,' you wrap it up," Mellis said.
Harris asked Hopkins to drop his amendment, and when Hopkins agreed the ordinance passed the committee by a voice vote without opposition.
"Maybe we should call this the Wrap It Up Rule, not the Blakemore Rule," Burke said.
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