• Ald. Daniel La Spata (1) tweeted about a forum he sponsored alongside other progressive alders discussing the Additional Dwelling Unit pilot program. 

• Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) tweeted about the Chicago Works Capital Plan with the hashtag #letsgettowork. 

• Ald. Matt Martin (47) tweeted about a community meeting for a developer to “solicit community feedback” from neighbors around a potential housing development in the ward.  

• Comm. Scott Britton (D-14) tweeted, “Join President @ToniPreckwinkle, @KBMorrison15 and me for a discussion about the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance.”

• Chicago Public Schools is scheduled May 4 to hold the first of five virtual citywide community meetings to discuss and collect input on its “capital priorities” as the district develops its capital plan for fiscal year 2022, according to a CPS news release. All five of the meetings will be held next week with meetings in English set for 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. May 4 and 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. May 6. A Spanish-language meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. May 7. Those interested in participating can register to attend online. The meetings will be livestreamed on the CPS YouTube channel.

No announcements to report today.

Know something we ought to?  Share an update, announcement, or upcoming event with us through our submit a tip form.

Have a newsletter?  Add [email protected] to your distribution lists.

• Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the Pandemic Health Navigator Program Monday, which connects Illinois residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 with basic resources and services. The program, which the governor called “a crucial part of keeping our most vulnerable residents safe,” is already operating every Illinois region outside Cook County. The initiative partners with community health centers and civic organizations with the goal of drawing on preexisting connections to help vulnerable residents weather a COVID-19 diagnosis or extended isolation. Now that 56.8 percent of Illinois residents over the age of 18 have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Pritzker said Pandemic Health Navigators could also work to reduce vaccine hesitancy and help the state get closer to “herd immunity,” when 70 to 80 percent of the population is vaccinated.  

• Rep. Tom Weber (R-Lake Villa) posted to Facebook about legislation’s progress through the Illinois House, writing, “Friday was the deadline to pass bills out of the Illinois House. House Democrats saw 333 of their bills pass (a few bills also failed), while House Republicans were allowed just 74 bills to the floor for a vote, all of which passed.” 
• House Majority Leader Greg Harris (D-Chicago) tweeted “Today was Environmental Lobby Day in the General Assembly” while sharing an image of a screenshot.  
• Sen. Ann Gillespie (D-Arlington Heights) posted a legislative update on Facebook and Twitter.  
• Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield) tweeted an image from a recent drug take back effort in her district.  
• Sen. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) tweeted an image of a screenshot as she “met with a group of clean energy warriors.” 

• Ald. Brian Hopkins (2) wrote in his latest newsletter that he was “proud to see over 3,000 Pfizer vaccination shots administered” during a vaccination his office cohosted with Jewel-Osco Pharmacy in Old Town. 
• Ald. Michelle Harris (8) shared information about improvements to Chicago O’Hare airport, home repair resources and employment opportunities in her weekly newsletter. 
• Ald. Matt O’Shea (19) wrote in his latest newsletter that the 19th Ward Youth Foundation will host a community blood drive this Saturday at Marist High School. 
• Ald. Rossana Rodriguez (33) tweeted an RSVP link to an event discussing the city’s new Additional Dwelling Unit program, writing, “We need housing for our working families!” 
• Ald. Michele Smith (43) tweeted about a “Meet the Commanders” event she will co-host with area police chiefs, writing “learn tips from the Chicago Police Department and local leaders like me about how to keep your business, employees and neighborhood safe.” 
• Ald. Debra Silverstein (50) promoted an information session on the Restaurant Revitalization Fund on Twitter.  

• Ald Patrick Daley Thompson (11) wrote in his most recent newsletter about the ordinance meant to curb drag racing that City Council approved last week. “The Mariano’s Parking lot in the 12th Ward has been a major center for the drag racing activity for our community. The property management company announced they will be installing swing gates. The security will be able to open and close the gates to allow for delivery trucks on the property after hours. The plan is to have them installed by May 1st.” 

• Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) tweeted a photo and wrote “20 minutes into our annual #CleanAndGreen and we find this gun. #EnoughIsEnough” 
• Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) tweeted “instead of watching elon musk be "funny", why don't you take the bus?” 
• Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) in his most recent newsletter wrote about an ordinance he introduced last week that would make permanent the temporary caps on third-party delivery fees aldermen approved in November. “You may recall that 3rd party delivery fees were gouging consumers and damaging the reputation and bottom line of local restaurants as well, adding upwards of 30% fees to every bill,” Waguespack wrote. 
• Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33) tweeted “Theres no reason why we can’t create, support and expand the structures of care to address intercommunal violence. We need to stop relying on policing and carceral systems. The role of government needs to be to care for people not break them.” 
• Ald. Michele Smith (43) tweeted “I’m proud to join more than 1,200 fellow state and local elected officials from every state & DC calling on Congress to pass bold clean energy infrastructure package to enable us to fully recover while tackling the climate crisis.”

• Sen. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) tweeted images after she hosted a weekend cleanup event with other elected officials in her district.  
• Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) tweeted images from his district, saying “Out enjoying another opportunity to appreciate the people, history and beauty of the 17th District.”  
• Sen. Laura Ellman (D-Naperville) tweeted images after she hosted a cell phone donation effort over the weekend.  
• Sen. Dan McConchie (R-Lake Zurich) tweeted an image of an op-ed he wrote that was published in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend.  

• House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) tweeted images after he hosted a community shred event over the weekend.  
• Welch also tweeted images after he met with Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and others from the Rainbow Push Coalition over the weekend.

• The group of Black alderwomen who introduced the Anjanette Young ordinance, which would establish new search warrant standards for the Chicago Police Department, are scheduled to host a virtual town hall on the proposed ordinance beginning at 6 p.m. May 4. Attendees will also hear from “Chicagoans who have been harmed by these wrong raids,” including Young, according to the event invitation. Ald. Maria Hadden (49) is the lead sponsor of the ordinance that was introduced in February. Registration is available online. 

• Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago) is set to host virtual “Environmental Justice Roundtable” discussion on Monday at 6 p.m. Registration is required.  

Sen. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), Rep. Margaret Croke (D-Chicago) and Cook County Comm. Bridget Gainer (10) are hosting a park cleanup effort on April 25 at Kelly Park between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Volunteers are asked to sign up.  

Chicago is expanding vaccine access at city-owned sites to 16- and 17-year-old city residents, the city’s Department of Public Health announced Thursday. The teens “must have a parent or guardian present during their appointment” and may only receive the Pfizer vaccine, officials said. 

• Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) tweeted a link to a story about one of her bills, in which she is quoted saying, “My goal is to make sure that students from every (legislative) district in state have an opportunity to get to the University of Illinois if they are showing they are a good student.” 
• Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora) tweeted appreciation to her colleagues after the House approved HB 155 which she said “would allow menstrual hygiene products & diapers in SNAP and WIC!” 
• Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) tweeted an image of the House voting board after lawmakers approved a bill placing term limits on legislative leaders, adding, “I am proud to have co-sponsored this long overdue measure to help restore Illinois.”  
• Rep. Jonathan Carroll (D-Northbrook) shared an image of the House voting board on Instagram, adding “Things have come full-circle. I worked to remove Mike Madigan as Speaker of the House and now I supported a ten-year term limit for leadership.” 
• Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego) tweeted “New Day in IL.” 
• House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) tweeted “Promise made, promise kept! The House just passed HB 642 to enact term limits for House and Senate leadership, further cementing the term limits we adopted as House rules earlier this year. This is one way to restore confidence in Springfield and uplift new leaders.” 
• Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) tweeted “The only reason to block attempts at reform is to allow one party to produce a purely partisan map. Why else would they be hiding from this legislation now?” 
• Sen. Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) issued a statement after his bill seeking to create a journalism task force was approved by the Senate.  
• Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) tweeted “The Climate Union Jobs Act creates and protects thousands of well-paying jobs and preserves our state’s nuclear fleet all while reducing the state’s carbon energy footprint.”  
• Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) tweeted “Yesterday, my first bill was passed out of the Senate. SB 1861 would require the DOC to accept someone into the Impact Incarceration Program if it is part of the court’s sentencing order and the inmate meets the statutory eligibility requirements for the program.

• Ald. Daniel La Spata (1) tweeted that state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz’s (D-Chicago) “affordable housing bill is a solution for Chicago's housing crisis. This bill sets our city on a solid path to long term, affordable housing that will keep families in their homes.” 
• Ald. Sophia King (4) tweeted Thursday marked the “5th public meeting to discuss the quality of life concerns at O’Reilly's Auto Parts, located at 4719 S. Cottage Grove.” 
• Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) tweeted “It is important to be factual and Mayor Lightfoot continues to avoid research based solutions that target the root causes of violence faced by Chicago residents.” 
• Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33) tweeted “Yesterday I had parent-teacher conference about Marcel’s progress. It’s been such a hard year for our little ones learning foundational skills. I have been so moved by the commitment of my child’s teachers and how far he has come even under these conditions. Thank you teachers” 
• Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) tweeted “This pandemic has devastated small businesses throughout this country. Here in Chicago, the City Council took action passing the largest rewrite of our laws to assist those small businesses trying to survive. Help is on the way.” 
• Ald. Tom Tunney (44) wrote in his latest newsletter that a follow-up community meeting is anticipated in June on residential input on the preliminary design of North Lake Shore Drive in Lakeview. Tunney linked to a newsletter detailing resident feedback.

• Sen. Robert Peters (D-Chicago) is championing a new bill, SB654, which would “require elementary schools to guarantee daily time for supervised, unstructured, child-directed play for all students in kindergarten through eighth grade.” In a press release, Peters said “Physical activity is a crucial part of a child’s development, and since children spend most of their time at school, all schools should offer recess.”  

• Sen. Michael Simmons (D-Chicago) tweeted, “My name is Mike Simmons. And I’m a Black Man. All my life I’ve been a threat yet somehow I have survived. All I want is for our society to stop killing black men and women and gender non-binary folx so that we can survive in America. It’s so basic. Stop killing my people.” 

• Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest) is introducing SB1905, which would create the Family and Fertility Disclosure in Health Insurance Act. The act would mandate that insurance companies make public in writing a list of services related to fertility treatments for which they will or will not reimburse patients. 

• Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford) tweeted, “equal representation on our community college trustee boards is needed, not just racially - but geographically as well. That's why I'm happy to have passed HB3145 out of the House today.” The bill would change the election process for community college trustees by mandating that they be elected by trustee district instead of community college districts.  

• Rep. Maura Hirschauer (D-someplace) tweeted, “it is extremely meaningful to pass my 1st bills out of the House, HB1742 & HB1739, during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I am proud to carry these bills & will continue to work with @ICASA_endrape to change the culture around sexual assault & hold perpetrators accountable.”

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced Wednesday that public museums throughout the state can begin applying for capital grants. Applications are due by July 16, with qualifying projects eligible for grants between $25,000 and $750,000.  

• Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) tweeted about the first in-person City Council meeting in more than a year, writing “Different side of the room but back in the chamber. That’s works for me” with a flexing emoji. 

• Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) tweeted a photo of himself in City Council, writing “just out here waiting for the Mayor to call the Empowering Communities for Public Safety ordinance for a vote.”

• Ald. Walter Burnett (27) shared a raft of COVID-19 vaccination events and rent relief opportunities in his newsletter.   

• Ald. Rossana Rodriguez (33) tweeted, “Today @taylorfor20th and I introduced a Res. calling for all of aprox 1.9B in funds from the ARA plan to be allocated towards healing and recovery. 281M in CARES discretionary funding were given to CPD and $68 million was unspent at the end of 2020. We need to fund care.” 

• Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) tweeted about actions supporting the Empowering Communities Public Safety Ordinance, writing “thank you @mrdannyglover for lending your voice to the people's ordinance for community control of police #ECPSNow.” 

• Ald. Andre Vasquez (40) tweeted, “So not only is legislation obstructed, so is speech apparently. Our city deserves more democracy and less impediments to police accountability and justice here in Chicago” following Mayor Lori Lightfoot's refusal to let Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) speak about the Empowering Communities for Public Safety ordinance at City Council. 

• Ald. Harry Osterman (48) tweeted about the just-passed Affordable Requirements Ordinance: “This new framework will ensure that the ARO is a significant tool in the toolbox when it comes to increasing affordable units throughout the City.”  

• Ald. Maria Hadden (49) tweeted about the Affordable Requirements Ordinance: “As the lead sponsor on the Chicago Inclusive Housing Ordinance with @chi_housing, I know that the ARO reform being passed today is a big improvement from what we had. It's also not strong enough on some of our biggest unmet needs,” she wrote.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot named Lester Barclay as chair of the Chicago Transit Board, according to a Wednesday news release. Barclay is currently board chair of the Chicago Transit Authority Citizen Advisory Board and has served on various other city boards and civic organizations capacities. Lightfoot also named Ric Estrada to serve on Metra’s Board of Directors. Estrada is currently CEO of Metropolitan Family Services. Both nominations are subject to City Council approval. 

• Sen. Robert Peters (D-Chicago) tweeted, “George Floyd should still be with us. Today's verdict provides some justice to his family, but there's more organizing to do to win real safety and justice for all. AT the end of the day, public safety belongs to the people.”   

• Sen. Donald DeWitte (R-St. Charles) is backing SB2137, an amendment to the Nursing Home Care Act. The measure would mandate options for virtual visits at senior and long-term care facilities. In a press release, DeWitte said “this legislation is timely given the significant challenges these facilities and their patients have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic."  

• Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) tweeted, “George Floyd’s murder reignited the fight for justice across this country in the never-ending hope that someday justice might be found. This verdict will not undo the tragedy & suffering.” 

• Rep. Amy Grant (R-Wheaton) posted to Facebook about a visit to St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Winfield, writing “in the Governor’s budget proposal, this incredible program is in jeopardy.” 

• Sen. Laura Ellman (D-Naperville) tweeted about the forthcoming Restaurant Revitalization Fund: “Do you own a bar, restaurant or food service business? A new @SBA Restaurant Revitalization Fund is coming soon, providing funding to eligible businesses to cover pandemic-related losses.” 

• Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) tweeted about the nascent One Central project, writing “How many neighborhoods does Chicago have? 77 and a possible? I would love to see some robust investment in the neighborhoods that already exist before we take off creating new ones that there may not be a need for.” 

• Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford) tweeted about legislation that would permit special license plates for tinted windows, writing, “a disabled Marine veteran reached out to my office asking for legislative help to allow him to have a special license plate for tinted windows because he, along with many of our vets, suffers from traumatic brain injury with light sensitivity. Now the bill goes on to the Senate!”

Illinois State Board of Elections executive director Steve Sandvoss will retire on June 30, officials announced Tuesday. Earlier this month, Sandvoss, who joined the agency in 1988, was placed on paid administrative leave after he reported he was the victim of an online extortion attempt. An internal board investigation determined none of the agency’s data or systems had been compromised, according to a statement issued Tuesday. Sandvoss’s forthcoming retirement was announced Tuesday during a meeting of the Illinois State Board of Elections. He did not virtually attend the meeting, with interim executive director Bernadette Matthews filling in as head of the agency until a permanent replacement is named.