About the Alderman   >  Leadership

Alderman Banks is a senior member of the City Council as well as the highest ranking Italian-American in the Council's history. As the long-time Chairman of the City Council Zoning Committee, he is responsible for overseeing all land development projects in the City.

Recently, Mayor Daley appointed Banks to lead the Zoning Reform Commission, a committee charged with rewriting the City's antiquated zoning codes. As Chairman of the Commission, Banks is largely credited with creating the City's downtown density bonus, an incentive program that has generated more than $12 million dollars for affordable housing developments in neighborhoods throughout the city.

Since the Zoning Reform Commission completed its work in 2004, Banks has been contacted by governments from as far away as the Ukraine who are using Chicago's new zoning laws as a model for their countries' land development standards.

Some of Alderman Banks' political leadership positions include:

• Chairman of the City Council Committee on Zoning
  
  
• Chairman of the Mayor's Commission on Zoning Reform
  
  
• Membership in the following City Council Committees: Aviation, Economic and Capital Development, Budget & Government Operations, Finance, Committees, Rules & Ethics, Housing and Real Estate
  
  
• Member of the Chicago Plan Commission
  
  
• Treasurer, Democratic Party of Cook County
  
  
• Chairman of the following slatemaking committees: 9th District Cook County Commission Slatemaking Committee, 10th Legislative District Slatemaking Committee, 11th Sub-Circuit Slatemaking Committee, 19th Representative District Slatemaking Committee
  
• Kups's Purple Heart Foundation's Cruise Committee:  Alderman William J.P. Banks is proud to serve on the Kup's Purple Heart Foundation's cruise committee. As always, he values the huge contributions our country's Veterans have made.  Kup's Purple Heart Foundation is a non-partisan 505(c)(3) organization dedicated to raising the public's awareness of the difficulties faced by our veterans, especially our disabled veterans, and also to helping support the organizations and facilities that care for our veterans. 

 Alderman Banks continues to support and honor our Country's Vets, and will continue to sponsor the Annual Flag Day Parade which he has for the past twenty plus years.  The attendance at this parade has continued to multiply over the years.  See Reflections.