From the Sun-Times:

Council gives city clerk thumbs up
He wants meetings broadcast live

November 9, 2006
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
Calling it a "stroke of genius," Chicago aldermen approved Mayor Daley's new running mate Wednesday in a unanimous vote that could pay dividends for voters: Newly appointed City Clerk Miguel del Valle plans to shine the light on the City Council.

Through live streaming video of City Council meetings and an Internet tracking system that allows voters to chart the progress of legislation, del Valle plans to duplicate in Chicago what is already routine in Springfield.

"Chicago should be on the cutting edge of transparency, and I will work to make that happen," del Valle said.

The decision to forge ahead with live broadcasts of council meetings follows years of delay stemming from where to position the cameras.

Aldermen have privately complained that a camera free to pan the floor could paint an unflattering portrait of inattentive aldermen.

Focusing on the speaker
"The primary concern of legislators was how will the camera pick up the individual," del Valle said. "We have it so it only picks up the speaker.

You certainly don't want to be seen reading the paper or sleeping. But the camera shot can be tight enough to zero in on the speaker."

Del Valle, a champion for Hispanic political empowerment who has been at odds with Daley over the years, was appointed last month to replace convicted City Clerk Jim Laski.

On Wednesday, Rules Committee Chairman Richard Mell (33rd) hailed the appointment as a "stroke of genius," apparently because it undercut possible mayoral challengers Luis Gutierrez and Jesse Jackson Jr.

"Mayor, mayor, mayor, what do you have up your sleeve?" said Ald. Billy Ocasio (26th).

Ald. Burton F. Natarus (42nd) was less subtle about the political significance of the del Valle appointment.

"Somebody who was thinking of running for mayor tried to make a similar appointment and was rejected. All of the sudden, that individual who wanted to run for mayor has sort of gone into the clouds somewhere," Natarus said of Jackson's failed efforts to persuade Ocasio and Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd) to join a Jackson ticket.

By anointing a lifelong progressive with a working relationship -- but no longstanding ties to the Hispanic Democratic Organization at the center of the city hiring scandal -- Daley will avoid unflattering questions about his running mate in the event there are more indictments.