The Morton Salt shed at 1357 N. Elston Ave. would be turned into a concert venue with space for up to 4,000 people under a plan approved Thursday.

A $30 million plan to transform the Morton Salt industrial shed in West Town into a concert venue and dining destination took a leap forward Thursday after earning a unanimous endorsement from the Chicago Plan Commission.

Chicago-based Blue Star Properties and prolific Goose Island developer R2 Companies are proposing to redevelop (O2019-7968) the four-acre site at 1357 N. Elston Ave. along the Chicago River North Branch while keeping the iconic exterior structure intact, even landmarking the building so that the “Morton Salt” logo and umbrella girl illustration remain to greet concertgoers.

News in brief: Hearing on increased carjackings will include range of law enforcement officials; Lightfoot wants Biden to prioritize more COVID vaccines 

Aldermen on Thursday will consider granting a $51 million, 12-year tax break for the rehabilitation of a downtown office tower alongside a handful of smaller tax credits for new industrial proposals around the city.

A proposal to convert a vacant Jefferson Park firehouse into a brewery and taproom with upstairs apartments cleared one of its final hurdles Wednesday.

Members of the City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate unanimously voted during their Wednesday meeting to approve the sale of the property (O2020-5755) at 4841 N. Lipps Ave. to Ambrosia Homes for $208,000, which would be put in an escrow account to fund environmental remediation of the property.

A new 99-unit mixed-income apartment complex proposed next to the 43^rd Street CTA Green Line station in Bronzeville is among the largest of five projects set for consideration by the Chicago Plan Commission during its 10 a.m. meeting on Thursday.

Expanded ‘Welcoming City’ ordinance advanced: ‘A long time coming’ on Lightfoot campaign promise 

Advocates for undocumented immigrants celebrated a string of substantive and symbolic victories Tuesday as aldermen advanced a measure to firm up protections for foreign-born residents on President Donald Trump’s last full day in office. 

During their first-ever meeting, the members of the City Council Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights voted unanimously to approve a proposal by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and a handful of aldermen to eliminate carve-outs in the city’s 2012 “Welcoming City” ordinance that allowed police to cooperate with federal immigration agents in some limited cases. The newer ordinance strikes language that allows such cooperation in cases that involve any suspect who has an “outstanding criminal warrant,” has been charged or convicted of a felony or “has been identified as a known gang member either in a law enforcement agency's database or by his own admission.” 

‘Final step’ to converting Jefferson Park firehouse to brewery, apartments to be considered by aldermen  

Work to convert a Jefferson Park firehouse into a brewery and tasting room with apartments on the top floors could finally kick into gear this year if aldermen approve the sale of the property to the developer this month. 

The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate during its Wednesday meeting will consider the “negotiated as-is sale of City-owned property at 4841 N. Lipps Ave.” to Ambrosia Homes. According to the ordinance (O2020-5755), the sale is contingent on the developer removing environmental hazards, including lead paint and asbestos, from the property. 

Aldermen press health officials on vaccines, other grant funding as loose timeline emerges for citywide shots 

Chicago health officials will soon release information on how city workers can sign up for COVID-19 vaccine doses, they told anxious aldermen during a committee meeting Tuesday. 

The city is “getting very close” to widening its pool of residents eligible for vaccines beyond health care workers and nursing home residents and will then “make announcements about how people can sign up” for shots through an online platform, Chicago Department of Public Health Deputy Comm. Christina Anderson told members of the City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations. 

Council approval of Smart Lighting Program exposed communication, transparency issues in city ‘legislative process,’ watchdog finds 

A report published Tuesday by Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson seized on the City Council’s approval of the Smart Lighting Program as an example of problems the office has observed when it comes to communication and transparency with aldermen over items that require their vote. 

Ferguson “conducted an inquiry” into the role the since-disbanded Chicago Infrastructure Trust had in the legislative process that ultimately led to the City Council voting in 2017 to approve the contract for the Smart Lighting Program to modernize the city’s street light system, according to the report, which summarizes investigations conducted by the watchdog office during the final quarter of 2020. While hiccups in the council approval process did not necessarily constitute wrongdoing, a series of communication issues exposed “management problems” among some city agencies, Ferguson wrote. 

Lightfoot’s PAC rakes in cash from unions and delivery apps, shells out for aldermen who supported 2021 budget  

Select aldermen in leadership positions who supported Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 2021 pandemic budget and worked to ensure the spending plan addressed key issues for their caucuses benefitted with donations from Lightfoot’s political action committee during the last quarter of 2020, new campaign finance records show.  

Aldermen who support the mayor received a total $1,500 from Lightfoot’s Light PAC, which according to filings was established “to support candidates whose goals reflect those of the Committee.” 

Expanded ‘Welcoming City’ ordinance set for Tuesday committee vote after fresh additions 

A long-promised proposal by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to reinforce city protections for undocumented immigrants is primed for a vote Tuesday after a fresh round of revisions that advocates say will further strengthen the measure. 

An updated version of her proposal to close loopholes in Chicago’s “Welcoming City” ordinance is set to be the first order of business for the City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which the council created at Lightfoot’s urging as part of last year’s budget approval. The committee is set to hold its inaugural meeting at 2 p.m. Tuesday. 

Logan Square dispensary, Blue Line power station approved by Zoning Board

A second Logan Square weed dispensary could soon open in a former bank building after a key city permit was approved Friday. 

The Zoning Board of Appeals approved a special-use permit for Chicago-based PharmaCann to open a dispensary under its Verilife brand in the Logan Square Trust & Savings Bank building, 2551 N. Milwaukee Ave. 

News in brief: Tickets for speeding 6 MPH over limit begin March 1; Moore moves to sanction Reilly over O’Brien endorsement; COVID variant found in Illinois; Brookins sues ethics board 

News in brief: Lightfoot nudges Pritzker on reopening bars, restaurants;  Aldermen OK open space projects in Lincoln Square, South Deering; Andersonville dispensaries set for Zoning Board approval 

Cook County leaders revel in elimination of cash bail, see path to further shrinking jail population 

The leaders in charge of Cook County’s multibillion-dollar jail and courts system praised state lawmakers’ vote this week to phase out the use of cash bail, saying the new law will push forward bail reform efforts they have already pursued for years. 

Prohibiting judges from assigning money bond starting in 2023 was a key plank of the sweeping criminal justice reform package approved by the General Assembly on Wednesday. The bill (HB3653), which Gov. JB Pritzker has indicated he will sign, also ends the practice of “prison gerrymandering” and includes a host of measures aimed at reining in police abuses.