The news that Wal-Mart advocates are looking to avoid a committee vote on the project lends credence to rumblings about some unusual parliamentary maneuvers that may be employed to push the project through City Council.
Word on the street: Wal-Mart allies are looking to go around the zoning committee, which was likely to shoot down the project, in favor of taking the issue directly to the full City Council.
Almost every ordinance passes through a committee before hitting the council floor. But an alderman can propose to suspend the rules and bring an ordinance to the full council, says Kristine Williams, spokeswoman for City Clerk Miguel Del Valle.
The full council then would have to both approve a suspension of the rules and also vote yes on the ordinance itself.
A suspension of the rules is rarely invoked, usually for urgent matters like meeting a federal grant deadline or non-controversial items like honoring retired firefighters.
The chief of staff for Alderman Anthony Beale, Wal-Mart’s key backer on the council, would not comment on whether Beale would support a suspension of the rules.
I'll keep you posted as I do more reporting on this.