Chicago News
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APR 30, 2020
Members of the Chicago City Council have been more willing to oppose Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s agenda than they were to stand in the way of her predecessors, but the heightened opposition has so far done nothing to stymie her agenda.
That was the conclusion of the latest “rubber stamp report” report released this week by University of Illinois at Chicago professor Dick Simpson, a former alderman and chronicler of Chicago history who has spent more than a decade keeping tabs on aldermen’s voting records. The report was co-authored by PhD candidate Marco Rosaire Rossi and author Thomas J. Gradel. -
APR 30, 2020
In the face of progressive forces calling for mass rent cancellation, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday announced her administration has coaxed a broad coalition of commercial lenders and landlord groups to sign onto a non-binding “solidarity pledge” promising all-around leniency in an effort to prevent people from being forced out of their homes amid the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Chicago Housing Solidarity Pledge calls on apartment owners to work out individualized payment plans for struggling tenants, and it asks housing lenders to defer mortgage payments and suspend foreclosures until at least May 31. While the city has no power to enforce the pledge, Lightfoot touted commitments from more than a dozen banking firms and three influential local landlord groups agreeing to its terms. -
APR 29, 2020
Certain industrial businesses would be required to consult their local alderman, hold public meetings and face a City Council committee before opening facilities that emit air pollution under an ordinance introduced this month by Ald. George Cardenas (12).
The ordinance (O2020-2217) would crank up requirements for any business that is seeking both a special-use permit from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals and an air pollution control permit, which is issued by the Chicago Department of Public Health in consultation with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The new rule would only apply to proposals located inside designated Planned Manufacturing Districts. -
APR 29, 2020
Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled a new grant program Tuesday targeted at keeping “micro-businesses” afloat during the stay-at-home order. Meanwhile, Cook County leaders announced they will extend their grace period for tax and fee collection by another month. And Chicago planning officials delayed scheduled meetings of the Chicago Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals for the fourth time since March.
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APR 28, 2020
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APR 28, 2020
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday announced the launch of Chi COVID Coach, a new resource to help people experiencing Covid-19 symptoms access testing and other forms of help. Meanwhile, a federal judge ordered Cook County officials to suspend multiple-person cells at the County Jail in most cases. And city health officials said dust from the planned demolition of the Crawford power station showed no signs of asbestos, but the site did test positive for traces of some toxic metals.
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APR 27, 2020
During a chaotic and free-wheeling virtual meeting Friday, the City Council approved a measure granting Mayor Lori Lightfoot temporary emergency spending powers and rebuffed an alderman’s proposal to meet more often, narrowly overriding more than 20 aldermen who fought the mayor on both fronts.
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APR 27, 2020
Cook County is staring down a budget hole of at least $260 million this year — and that’s under the “best-case scenario” in which the economy returns mostly to normal in June, officials said Friday.
The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act passed by Congress last month is likely to ease the county’s financial burden by covering some $100 million in expenses for items directly related to fighting Covid-19 in Cook County, but that does nothing to address the steep drop-off in taxes and other revenue the county is already tallying. -
APR 24, 2020
photo courtesy of the Cook County Board of Commissioners
Cook County leaders on Thursday narrowly approved a measure to expand the county’s contract with an independent consultant hired to help boost participation in the U.S. Census, shaking off opposition from commissioners who lashed the company for its handling of the multimillion-dollar outreach effort. -
APR 24, 2020
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APR 24, 2020
Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled a Covid-19 Economic Recovery Task Force on Thursday comprising elected officials, CEOs, labor leaders and nonprofit chiefs.
The task force will advise the Lightfoot administration over the “the next several weeks” and will be led by Sam Skinner, a Republican and former Chief of Staff to President George H.W. Bush. Skinner has served as the “point person for numerous emergencies and crises”, including natural disasters and terrorist bombings, according to a press release from Lightfoot’s office accompanying the announcement. -
APR 23, 2020
The Chicago City Council passed just two items from its 119-page agenda for their virtual meeting Wednesday before Mayor Lori Lightfoot moved to delay the meeting in light of what she called a “shameful” and “selfish” backlash to an ordinance that would have concentrated her administration’s power to approve coronavirus-related expenses. -
APR 23, 2020
UNLOCKEDThe Cook County Board of Commissioners is set to take stock of the devastation that the coronavirus crisis has wreaked on the county’s finances when it reconvenes for the first time in more than a month on Thursday.
Board members are scheduled to accept a report (20-1114) on the first-quarter operations of the Cook County Health and Hospital system when they gather for a virtual meeting via Microsoft Teams at 10 a.m. Thursday. Commissioners are scheduled to get back together at 1 p.m. Thursday for a meeting of the Cook County Forest Preserve District board. -
APR 23, 2020
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APR 22, 2020
City buildings department officials are temporarily letting the developer behind the botched Little Village smokestack demolition get back to work. Event planners announced a wave of festival cancelations for May and June. And Mayor Lori Lightfoot rolled out $7.5 million in funding for community groups for “violence interruption” efforts.
