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After 2 ½ years of negotiations, aldermen stood one by one to praise Lightfoot for muscling through the measure — and convincing skeptical aldermen and vehemently opposed business groups to get on board the train.

Employers in Chicago will be required to provide their employees with “fair and equitable” work schedules or face hefty fines under the most expansive predictive scheduling ordinance in the country.

“Chicago is the hometown of the American labor movement,” Reiter continued. “And I am proud to see this city standing tall as a leader when it comes to protecting its workers. I look forward to continuing to make sure Chicago is the most pro-worker city in the country. And with a team like the one you see here with us today, I’m certain we’ll make that a reality.”

The measure adds Chicago to the growing list of cities imposing regulations that protect employees against unpredictable work hours that make it difficult for them to plan for child care, go to school, work a second job or have confidence that their paychecks will cover their bills.

Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza, 10th, the daughter of labor leader Eddie “Oilcan” Sadlowski, oversaw negotiations as chair of the Workforce Committee. She wiped away tears as Mayor Lori Lightfoot celebrated the “big, big lift” of passing the ordinance that has been in the works for more than two years.

Last night, an updated version of the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance was introduced in the Chicago City Council. Prior versions of this ordinance were proposed in 2017 and 2018, but failed to gain traction.  

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s era of reform has begun with a big victory. On Wednesday, May 29, Lightfoot set the stage for historic change at City Hall as the City Council approved her entire list of aldermen who will serve as new chairmen of the council’s 18 committees.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot snagged a major victory Wednesday, elevating her City Council allies to key leadership roles and putting her political rival in his place.

A day before Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was set to preside over her first City Council meeting, the former federal prosecutor on Tuesday again took aim at curbing aldermanic power and promised to push long-stalled ethics reforms.

Declaring that “deliberate policy choices made in decades past by people in power in this town” have impoverished much of the South and West sides, Mayor Lori Lightfoot today laid out an extensive—and, in part, controversial—agenda as to how she intends to reverse that inequity.