Mayor Chris Clark boots aldermanic critics from City Council meeting

Mayor Chris Clark directed Harvey Police Department officers remove two outspoken alderpersons from a City Council meeting last month as calls for clarity surrounding a crisis on Halsted Street where some tenants were erroneously boarded up inside their homes.

A handful of officers escorted Alderwoman Colby Chapman (2nd) and Alderman Tracy Key (4th) out in the final minutes of the meeting following a discussion of the incident, which thrust Harvey into the national spotlight. 

The Council was only scheduled to discuss a tax levy and surplus sale of city-owned parcels, which will soon be listed on the city’s website for public transparency and interested buyers, Clark said. Early on, Key moved to add a discussion about the board-up crisis into the meeting agenda, which was limited to two minutes per alderperson.

“There’s something going on in that building, but the one thing that wasn’t going on was maintenance. And the other thing that wasn’t going on was inspections,” Clark said. Forthcoming policy changes will help deter future problems, Clark said, “but when I bring an ordinance before you, Tracy Key, Colby Chapman, I wish you would read it. And after you read it, I wish you would support it.”

Chapman had already used her time, but proceeded to speak once more. Clark shut her down, chiding her and Key in reference to a special meeting where they asked questions about items already outlined in an ordinance regulating unscheduled bus stops.

Afterward, Clark, who taunted Chapman on her way out, gave a monologue in front of Chicago television news crews before adjournment to seemingly gaslight his critics—both on the Council and in the community.

‘Progress’

“I don’t try to be perfect. I try to believe in the God who perfects my imperfections,” Clark said. “I’ve never promised you perfection. I’ve only promised you progress. That was it.”

The move to leverage police to remove political opponents aligns Clark with a larger historical trajectory—even if milder, by nature.

In the 1990s, Harvey alders filed a lawsuit alleging Mayor Nick Graves used police heads to scare away Council hopefuls when vacancies arose. Clark has twice directed officers to escort City Treasurer Aisha Pickett from executive session while allowing non-elected mayoral staffers to attend without issue.

Larger concerns have arisen during Clark’s second term, off to a tumultuous start.

He abruptly fired former City Administrator Timothy Williams in May 2023. Nicholas Greifer, head of economic development, left a month prior, according to his LinkedIn. Michelle Elzey resigned as finance director last fall. 

A man died on city-owned property, which Harvey is seeking millions of dollars in state and federal money to redevelop. And the $1.7 community hub and police precinct project is stalled amid a renewed contractor search. 

“You know, this city was going through tremendous changes between 2003 and 2019, and it seemed like nobody had anything to say,” Clark said. Community activist groups such as Har-V Community Coalition, which criticized the Eric J. Kellogg administration, is now defunct. Harvey alderpersons unsuccessfully attempted to seek county, state, and federal intervention.

“When the previous administration ran this city into the ground, people were so quiet. Maybe you were scared of them. Was that it?”

After his 2019 election, Clark occasionally wore a bulletproof vest. He now has a private security detail and a fence surrounding his home.

The Council’s thoughts on Halsted Street fiasco

Alderwoman Telanee Smith (3rd) went off on a tangent about delinquent property taxes and city-owned properties. “I would like to know where we could get all of this energy and media involved when we have to identify the businesses that owe the city millions of dollars,” Smith said. 

Harvey’s property tax collection rate buoys around 51%, according to county records. That, coupled with steep population decline, creates a greater strain to perform basic city services. To that end, residents have complained about superior experiences in neighboring, more affluent communities. 

Smith, who once openly laughed and gawked at a resident who complained Harvey’s financial paperwork is shady, also took aim at Ryan Sinwelski. Clark removed him from the planning commission, a mayoral-appointed volunteer body, last fall when Sinwelski publicly lamented secrecy in Harvey governance.

“I looked up 300-someting properties in my ward. I brought them to my ward meeting, who all owns those properties. And out of those, only two of them belonged” to Harvey, Smith said. Federal funds secured through Congresswoman Robin Kelly’s office bankrolled the demolition of one property, Smith said.

Residents have complained Harvey isn’t transparent about which parcels of land are city-owned versus private-owned. 

Alderman Tyrone Rogers (6th), who the day prior erroneously and shyly told FOX32 Chicago no residents were boarded inside their apartments, seemed confident about last Friday’s events as he launched into a bedlam during Monday’s meeting. 

Skyline DKI performed the board-up.

Rogers exclaimed that Harvey wasn’t at fault and acted “responsible in this particular situation,” he said. Rogers was briefly interrupted before he burst into an uproar. “Hear me good! I didn’t interrupt you, and don’t interrupt me!”’

Alderwoman Shirley Drewenski (1st) stated no police were present at the incident on Halsted Street. According to the city’s statement at the time, Harvey Police Department officers were present and conducted wellness checks.