Some are calling it a ‘major win for local democracy’. Others say all it will achieve is ‘silencing Māori voices’. Last week, the government announced it would legislate to remove voting rights for all unelected members on council committees.

<p>At least 22 City Council members say they plan to reject the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2026/05/18/chicagos-parking-meters-could-be-sold-again-under-deal-requiring-city-council-approval" >sale of Chicago parking meters</a> to a New York investment firm, after accusing Mayor Brandon Johnson of withholding critical information from the Council and secretly agreeing to a June 30 deadline to authorize the transaction.</p><p></p><p>In a sharply worded letter to the mayor delivered Monday, the coalition of alderpersons said their decision to block the transfer of city parking meters from Chicago Parking Meters LLC to Stonepeak Partners is not based on the merits of the deal, but "on the fact that your administration has systematically withheld the information necessary for proper evaluation." </p><p>“Your administration agreed to a binding timeline on behalf of the City of Chicago without informing the body that must vote on the underlying transaction. This is not a procedural technicality. It is a fundamental failure of the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of city government,” the letter states.</p><p>In a statement released Monday, the Johnson administration maintained that the June 30 date is “not a deadline for Council action,” only the date by which the city must “report on Council’s progress.” The date does not change the City Council’s “independent authority over its review, determination or timeline for consideration” of the proposed meter transfer.</p><p>Johnson's office stated that the mayor introduced the ordinance authorizing the sale to Stonepeak “at the earliest practicable opportunity” after completing “procedural steps necessary to fulfill its obligations” in the concession agreement.