News in brief: Emissions decline from large buildings, but schools lag; Chicago ‘probably will’ see delay in Johnson & Johnson vaccine: Arwady 

News in brief: Emissions decline from large buildings, but schools lag; Chicago ‘probably will’ see delay in Johnson & Johnson vaccine: Arwady

Instead of fusing all their ideas together, proponents of two competing proposals to enact civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department struck a compromise last month by asking voters to chose which version they like better.

The new proposed measure, called the Empowering Communities for Public Safety Ordinance, is endorsed by advocates of the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability (GAPA) and Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) proposals — neither of which is supported by Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

News in brief: City opens ‘state of the art’ West Pullman firehouse; Lightfoot says she wants casino ‘entertainment district;’ BACP fires warning shot at businesses 

News in brief: City opens ‘state of the art’ West Pullman firehouse; Lightfoot says she wants casino ‘entertainment district;’ BACP fires warning shot at businesses

The city of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department continue to miss deadlines set out in the federal consent decree established in March 2019, a semi-annual report from Independent Monitor Maggie Hickey shows.

Planning department Deputy Comm. Kathy Dickhut presenting an update on the “We Will” plan during a March 18 Chicago Plan Commission meeting

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Ald. Pat Dowell (3), a former city planning official who now chairs the City Council’s Committee on Budget and Government Operations, had a simple question for leaders of the Department of Planning and Development about their forthcoming “We Will” plan during a budget hearing last fall.

“We will what?” Dowell asked planning department Comm. Maurice Cox in November. “Plan for a better downtown? We will plan for a better neighborhood? …That's not clear.”

News in brief: Two new mass vaccination sites to open April 5; City launches human trafficking awareness campaign 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot (middle), Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson (right) and Ald. William Burnett (left) observe a classroom during their tour Feb. 11 at William H. Brown Elementary School. AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar, Pool

CPS CEO Janice Jackson also said the district will soon announce how families will be able to opt in for in-person learning when CPS' fourth quarter starts.

CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot aMayor nd public schools chief Janice Jackson celebrated as some students returned to classrooms Thursday, the first day kids are back after officials struck a deal with the Chicago Teachers Union to reopen schools.

The deal was called a “disgrace” by CTU President Jesse Sharkey, who said it didn’t go far enough to protect teachers, students and school communities during the coronavirus pandemic. The union said 67.5 percent of its members who voted approved of the plan, and the majority of CPS families are opting to keep their students at home for now.

News in brief: Two new mass vaccination sites to open April 5; City launches human trafficking awareness campaign

The chair of the City Council Committee on Public Safety abruptly canceled two consecutive monthly meetings after stating an intention at the beginning of the year to meet more frequently. Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29) told The Daily Line on Tuesday he still plans to meet twice per month, but grappling with other committees to schedule virtual meetings has  presented more challenges than scheduling in-person meetings.

The committee responsible for considering significant new legislation on civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department and reforms to police search warrant procedures has not met since January.

Cook County may pause on ‘long overdue’ ethics overhaul as state legislation hangs in wait 

Cook County commissioners and at least one government watchdog praised a raft of updates officials have in store for the county’s ethics code, but they may hit pause while they wait for a cue from state lawmakers, they said Monday. 

Cook County Comm. Larry Suffredin (D-13) said at the end of Monday’s brisk 30-minute meeting of the county board’s Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee that he plans to introduce a “new draft” next month of his ordinance (20-4404), which would tighten county rules on nepotism, sexual harassment and other ethical red flags. 

City, unions launch new vaccination site; Lightfoot says stimulus spending plan may not go before City Council until June 

Suffredin to air out proposed county ethics overhaul Monday ahead of potential April vote 

More than a year after a proposed update to Cook County’s Code of Ethics emerged in a cloud of controversy, commissioners are preparing to adopt a version of the changes as soon as next month.  

Cook County Comm. Larry Suffredin (D-13) is set to convene a hearing of the county Board of Commissioners’ Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee at 1:30 p.m. Monday for a public hearing on his proposed suite of updates (20-4404) to the county’s ethics rules. The commissioner is inviting leaders from a panoply of good government watchdog groups, plus current and past members of the county’s Board of Ethics, to testify with their thoughts. 

‘Long overdue’ committee would demand ‘design excellence’ from major Chicago developments 

An advisory committee being assembled under the city’s Department of Planning and Development will add a “peer review” component to the development process and ensure “design excellence” in some Chicago developments, planning officials announced this month. 

The Chicago Plan Commission discussed the new advisory Committee on Design during its March 18 meeting, and the city has created a website where those interested can learn more about becoming one of 15 members, all of whom will be appointed by planning department Comm. Maurice Cox.