City Hall is pictured. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

A pending plan to have Bank of America serve as an intermediary to bundle and sell hundreds of millions of dollars in outstanding city traffic ticket debt owed by Chicagoans has fallen through, according to a memo obtained by The Daily Line.

The development could make it harder to realize roughly $90 million in revenue that the current city budget is partially balanced on and could increase the likelihood of a forecast revenue shortfall.

The Ainslie Arts Plaza is pictured. [Chicago Department of Transportation Instagram]

The City Council Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation on Tuesday approved multiple allocations of Open Space Impact Fee funding to community garden and plaza projects but did not advance an effort to call for a downtown park property to be named in honor of the pope. 

The approved items will go before the City Council next week. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over a City Council meeting on April 15, 2026. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday revealed the city is eyeing a potential $130 million revenue shortfall this fiscal year as multiple new revenue sources implemented in the council-driven 2026 budget have failed to materialize, confirming fears expressed by the city budget team last winter. 

Members of the coalition that crafted and approved the rival budget plan reiterated their arguments that the blame rests with the mayor and his administration for failing to timely and properly implement the policies the coalition included.

Ald. Nick Sposato (38), chair of the Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation, is pictured during a City Council meeting on October 11, 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation on Tuesday will consider a measure calling for a downtown park property to be renamed for the pope and myriad open space fee expenditures for community garden and plaza projects.

The committee will meet at 1 p.m. in council chambers.

Housing Chair Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) is pictured at a City Council meeting on April 7, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate on Wednesday will consider multiple sales of city land for new homes on the South and West sides, the transfer of ownership of a senior living facility and changes to how the city doles out financial assistance for affordable developments.

Notably absent from the agenda is Mayor Brandon Johnson’s sweeping update of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance known as the Protecting Renters Ordinance, which received a housing committee hearing last week after being directly introduced into committee. 

Related: Protecting Renters Ordinance introduced to housing committee 

The committee will meet at 12:30 p.m. in council chambers.

Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43) is pictured at a City Council meeting in November 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council’s ethics committee on Tuesday is set to consider a proposal that would prohibit city officials and employees from making money from prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket through the use of confidential and proprietary information. 

The Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight will meet at 11 a.m. in Room 201A at City Hall.

Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks about the PRO ordinance at a press conference in Daley Plaza on June 29, 2026. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line]

The City Council’s housing committee on Monday heard from all sides of the debate around a major piece of legislation from Mayor Brandon Johnson that would add new protections and financial relief for renters facing lease non-renewals and increase transparency around corporate apartment building ownership. 

It would also seek to improve the city’s ability to hold bad landlords accountable and increase housing stability for tenants.

“For too long, Chicago has lagged behind other cities. Past administrations have kept organizers at arm’s length while declining to implement critical protections that have yielded results across the country,” Johnson said at a Monday morning press conference in Daley Plaza announcing the introduction of the legislation. “Needless to say, relief is long overdue.”