West Cook News

A proposed deal between the City of Chicago and electricity company Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) brokered by Mayor Lori Lighftoot was blocked from advancing during a city council meeting held on Wednesday, according to a WTTW article published on Thursday.

The agreement, which was made in early January, is being criticized for its alleged failure to require ComEd to stop charging late fees and disconnecting services for customers who are behind on their bills, something that Lightfoot had initially demanded in a September 2020 letter.

Before Lightfoot presented the deal to council, Lightfoot released a joint statement with ComEd where she stated that the agreement, which called for a $100 million investment to combat climate change, was "a big win for Chicago" that will "accelerate an equitable transition to clean, renewable energy." ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones also referred to the deal as a "win-win."

Lightfoot had asked council to hold the final vote on March 1, one day after she and various city alderpeople are asking voters for new four-year terms in office. However, Alderman Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) used a parliamentary maneuver to block the deal from advancing to a joint committee made up of the council's Finance and Environmental Protection and Energy committees. Vasquez argued that a vote on the proposed deal shouldn't be held until the beginning of a new office term in May, and accused Lightfoot of attempting to rush the vote.

"This all sounds like old Chicago to me," Vasquez said.