The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance today written by Mayor Rahm Emanuel that decreases the menu of city business licenses from 117 to 49. City Council members said the measure cuts red tape for small business owners. Arguably most interesting about the modest ordinance was Emanuel's praise of it the week of his one-year mayoral anniversary.

"I don't think anything could symbolize that milestone of one year more than the ordinance that we just passed," Emanuel said, noting that Chicago has more business licenses than other big cities.

The mayor has spent some of his first year on small measures to increase government efficiency, including the consolidation of city and county services, and raising revenue by going after people with unpaid traffic tickets.