Lake County Gazette

The Waukegan City Council has voted to override Mayor Ann B. Taylor's veto of a resolution aimed at hiring separate legal counsel for the city council. The original resolution, passed on Jan. 21, was vetoed by Taylor, but the council voted on February 18 to overturn her decision.

According to the council's February 18 agenda packet, a motion was adopted by a narrow 5-4 vote to authorize the selection of legislative legal counsel for council members. Taylor had indicated her intention to veto this motion. The Illinois Municipal Code outlines procedures that required the council to consider whether to override the veto during its February 18 meeting. A successful override required two-thirds of the aldermen (six out of nine) to vote in favor. Aldermen Sylvia Sims Bolton, Jose A. Guzman, Juan A. Martinez, Victor M. Felix, Keith E. Turner, and Michael Po. Donnenwirth voted for the override, while Aldermen Lynn M. Florian and Thomas J. Hayes opposed it.

Taylor said she vetoed the original motion due to concerns about funding allocation, as no funds had been appropriated for this expense. She argued that additional legal counsel was unnecessary since the city's corporation counsel already works with all aldermen and expressed concerns about potential political motivations behind the motion.

Stew Weiss, corporation counsel, explained in an attachment to the agenda packet that a roll-call vote was necessary for reconsidering the vetoed motion. A two-thirds majority of currently serving aldermen would make the motion effective immediately, regardless of mayoral approval.

The Lake County Gazette reported on February 8 that Taylor mentioned Capital Improvements as the only source of funding for additional legal counsel for the council. During the February 3 meeting, she expressed her belief that residents prioritize street maintenance over providing attorneys for aldermen and noted that Elrod Friedman, representing the city as corporation counsel, spends more time with aldermen than in her office.