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CRMA

Chicago Retail Merchants Association

The Chicago Retail Merchants Association (CRMA), a committee of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, is dedicated to protecting the retail industry in the City of Chicago. Today, more than ever before, it is necessary for the retail industry to have a firm, solid footing in the activities of local government. CRMS serves as your voice in the City of Chicago and Cook County.

Lead by IRMA Vice President & General Counsel, Tanya Triche Dawood, CRMA serves as IRMA’s legislative arm in the City of Chicago and Cook County. Tanya has served on the Working Families Task Force, Minimum Wage Task Force, Food Access task force and Small Business task force to name a few.

Further, Tanya is an Executive Committee Member of the Chicago Bar Association’s Alliance for Women and former President of the Chicago Women in Government Relations. She earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Vanderbilt University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Michigan. Tanya is admitted to practice in Illinois and in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

City of Chicago

Retailers with locations in the City of Chicago must be represented not only at the state level, but the city level as well. At the close of 2015, there were 8,778 ordinance proposals filed in the Chicago City Council – each carefully analyzed by CRMA.

The City of Chicago is divided into fifty wards. Each ward is represented by an alderman who is elected by their constituency to serve a four year term. In addition to representing the interests of their ward residents, together the fifty aldermen comprise the Chicago City Council, which serves as the legislative branch of government of the City of Chicago. The legislative powers of the City Council are granted by the state legislature and by home rule provisions of the Illinois constitution. Within specified limits, the City Council has the general authority to exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs including, but not limited to, the power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals and welfare; to license; to tax; and to incur debt.

The Council meets continuously throughout the year, taking a break in August. While there is one scheduled meeting per month, leaders may call special meetings to take place at any time.

Cook County

Similar to Chicago, retailers with locations in the Cook County must be represented not only at the state level, but the county level as well. At the close of 2015, there were 5,237 ordinance proposals filed in the Cook County Board of Commissioners – each carefully analyzed by CRMA.

Cook County Demographics: The Cook County Board of Commissioners is the governing board and legislative body of the county. It is comprised of 17 Commissioners, each serving a four-year term and is elected from single member districts. Each district represents approximately 300,000 residents.

For each fiscal year, the board must adopt a resolution, termed the “Annual Appropriation Bill” in which the board appropriates funds for the operations of the County.

8778
ordinance proposals filed in Chicago City Council in 2015
5237
ordinance proposals filed in Cook County Board of Commissioners in 2015
14015
ordinance proposals analyzed in 2015 by CRMA
Interested in joining CRMA? An IRMA membership includes a CRMA membership.