With nine candidates already shaking hands and kissing babies in their push to deny Mayor Rahm Emanuel a third term, the leader of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus is still weighing his options. The Chicago Teachers’ Union is asking their members to make their voices heard in Springfield before the legislative session ends May 31 and Chicago officials prepare to take two more votes on the Obama Presidential Center.

After months of debate — and gallons of newspaper ink and millions of pixels — the debate over plans for the Obama Presidential Center moves to City Hall, with the Plan Commission scheduled to consider the massive proposal for Jackson Park Thursday. Plans for an affordable housing complex on the Far Northwest Side that created a firestorm of controversy will not move forward after being passed over by a state agency for tax credits, and Ald. Ariel Reyboras (30) said he is working to change the format of four planned hearings on proposals for police oversight after he acknowledge the first meeting did not go as planned.

The first of five hearings about several competing oversight ordinances Monday evening featured robust support for the measure proposed by Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) and complaints about the process, a new ad featuring Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson is set to air during your favorite cable television shows and aldermen moved to force a vote on a measure that would require city officials to prepare impact statements on big-ticket city projects.

With the next meeting of the City Council set for May 23, council committees will be in full swing this week. First up is a rare meeting of the Committee on Education and Child Development, which will hold a hearing about what city health officials can do to address trauma caused by violence in Chicago children.

The West Side is a little brighter after the installation of 42,000 whiter, crisper street lights as part of an effort to modernize Chicago’s streetlights, the confirmation hearing for a new member of the Ethics Board is on tap and retiring Cook County Clerk David Orr has one last date with a fish bowl.

Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot clears the decks to run for mayor, while Ald. Ariel Reboyras (31) calls his opponent a “bright young lady” and vows to concentrate on police reform. Charter school teachers join forces with the Chicago Teachers Union to mount a unified contract campaign.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson announces plans to hold a series of community meetings. Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot gets a boost as she weighs whether to run for mayor, and a political newcomer with a very famous last name is set to challenge an ally of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

The 2019 mayoral and aldermanic elections are shaping up to be a referendum not only on Mayor Rahm Emanuel's two terms in office, but a debate over the future of the city.

The $2.1 billion renovation of the Red and Purple CTA train lines on the North Side moved forward Tuesday, with the agency announcing its Final Request for Proposals to three contracting teams.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel unveiled his $10 billion budget plan for next year on Wednesday, a plan absent of any new major revenue source but heavy on big ticket investments, particularly for the Chicago Police Department.