CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Approve the 2026 Legislative Priorities
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DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office
SUBMITTED BY: Marcie Schatz, Assistant to the City Manager
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
NA
BACKGROUND:
Legislative Review Process
In order to improve transparency on legislative issues, the City Council approved a Legislative Review Process in January 2025 (attached). This process improved alignment between staff and City Council, increased transparency, and provided a clear process for how the City engages in legislation. Staff plans to utilize the same process in 2026.
Staff presented two City Council agenda items and issued nine Manager's Memorandums in 2025 to report legislative activity and position statements.
2025 Legislative Activity Summary
The City Council approved the 2025 legislative priorities at the January 21, 2025, meeting. Consistent with previous years, staff focused on forwarding the City's legislative priorities and focusing on bills that are (in)consistent with a legislative priority or principle and would have a substantive impact on the municipality. Most often, this is a position of opposition against bills that usurp municipal authority.
In 2025, the City submitted over 80 witness slips on 25 bills. As needed, the Mayor also contacted legislators regarding pensions, IDOT funding, and the City's legislative priorities.
Other 2025 legislative highlights include:
* Mayor Wehrli is the co-chair of the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference (DMMC) Legislative Committee. Councilwoman Gibson and City staff also participate.
* Staff from the Legal Department and City Manager's Office are active members of the DMMC FOIA working group. The efforts of this group focus on record modernization and reducing abuses of the FOIA system, especially related to body cameras, while also maintaining transparency. Successes this year include limiting physical posting of requirements at administrative offices ...
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