Meetings & Agendas- Chicago
- Springfield
Discover A Darkness Lovely in Galena, where co-owners Robyn Davis and Ted Williams blend metaphysical treasures, handmade art, books, and unique gifts with the town’s haunted history.
From immersive displays to ghost tours and storytelling events, their one-of-a-kind boutique offers an experience that celebrates the beauty and mystery of the night.
The Office of Public Safety Administration (OPSA) at a budget hearing last Thursday responded to aldermanic concerns about its ongoing goal to realize the cost savings and efficiencies it was meant to generate when the office was set up nearly seven years ago.
The mayor told the City Council on Tuesday that he’s reworking his proposals to institute a new corporate head tax and raise the tax on the lease of personal property as he works to reach the necessary number of votes to pass a budget.
The city Department of Law (DOL) on Tuesday gave alderpeople at a budget hearing an overview of its efforts to continue to improve recovery of the outstanding fines, penalties and tickets owed by people and businesses.
The Chicago Office of the Inspector General (OIG) discussed the reasoning behind a proposed decrease in its allocated workforce next year during a budget hearing with alderpeople on Thursday.
Chicago Board of Elections leaders apologized Monday for a coding error that left voters in some precincts without ballots on Election Day during a budget hearing in which alderpeople spent most of the time pressing them on long lines, missing equipment and poor communication with City Council members ahead of the February 2027 municipal election.
The board is requesting $48.45 million for 2027, an increase of $20.59 million, or 73.87 percent, over this year, according to the Council Office of Financial Analysis. The increase reflects the Feb. 23 municipal election, the April 6 runoff and preparations for 2028.
Next year’s board budget is about $8 million less than the $56.6 million the board received in 2023, the last mayoral election year, according to the city’s budget overview.
Chief Procurement Officer Sharla Roberts faced a flurry of aldermanic ire at a Monday budget hearing after she walked back a previous announcement of a forthcoming program to temporarily test a bevy of gun violence detection and response technology that could potentially replace the city’s former ShotSpotter acoustic gunshot detection system.
Chicago Department of Human Resources (DHR) Comm. Tiheta Hinton, who was confirmed by the City Council last month, responded to questions on Monday about progress implementing savings opportunities and better handling of employee data during a departmental budget hearing.
Alderpeople on Friday pressed Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) officials on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed expansions of the city’s summer youth jobs program and homelessness services, questioning how a $24 million boost for youth jobs would be spent and how the department serves people experiencing homelessness.
Johnson’s 2027 budget proposal includes the additional $24 million for Chicago Youth Works, which the mayor’s office said would fund a record 40,000 paid positions, as well as an additional $15 million for DFSS’ homeless services.
The start of the fall veto session of the 104th Illinois General Assembly is less than a week away, running from Nov. 17-19 and Dec. 1-3, where a slate of legislation on prominent and controversial issues is expected to come before state lawmakers.
From data center regulation to the fate of the Chicago Bears, these are five items to keep an eye on as legislators converge on Springfield next week:
A week after the 2026 midterm election, it’s clear that the blue wave that catapulted Democrats to victory across the U.S. trickled down to Illinois, where the Democratic supermajority in both chambers of the legislature has extended to record margins in the modern era.
But how much did Democratic enthusiasm and ire at Republicans carry candidates for the state’s executive offices, all of which have been held by Democrats for at least a decade? The answer: a lot.
Illinois will not immediately enforce a legislative ban on hemp products set to take effect this week against a group of businesses engaged in a lawsuit to block the law, the state said in a court filing.
An industry group that represents hemp farmers, manufacturers and retailers has sued the state of Illinois in federal court with the goal of blocking the implementation of a state law that is set to limit the sale of most hemp-derived products to dispensaries.
Less than 24 hours after more than two dozen of his House Democratic colleagues publicly called for new leadership, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) said Thursday evening that he would not seek another term as speaker.
A large coalition of Illinois House Democrats are signaling that they will revolt against House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) when the General Assembly is sworn in in January.