Since Mayor Rahm Emanuel took office in 2011, aldermen have been on the defensive regarding their power. The latest attempt to retain some of that power is taking place along a stretch of 71st Street in the 5th Ward.

If Chicago wants to alleviate poverty and economic inequality, the city needs to reform its zoning laws to allow more building – not institute a new tax on development.

As Chicago’s population shrinks, Houston is set to overtake the Windy City as the third-largest city in America. Illinois’ slumping economy is a major reason for that, but the cities’ different zoning rules show how regulations can promote growth – or stifle it.

Affordable-housing mandates are sold to voters as a way to balance development with the need to build housing for the least well-off. In reality, these mandates add to the barriers that prevent developers from making housing more affordable and give rise to corruption in Chicago.

Bad zoning laws drive up the cost of home ownership and put a middle-class lifestyle out of reach for too many Chicagoans.

City zoning policies serve to keep many neighborhoods segregated. These rules also keep lower-income residents of all races out of popular areas, allowing city officials to shape who can live where and making housing more expensive.

Should the right to open a new business be put up to a public vote? At a meeting this week in Geneva, Ill., aldermen voted to reject tattoo artist Ramiro Guillen’s plan to open a tattoo parlor on Randall road because of opposition from other business owners. And, one alderman speculated, because of stereotypes about...