Members of the Urban Forestry Advisory Board met Thursday at City Hall. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Tree trimming crews in Chicago have been able to trim more than triple the number of Chicago trees this year compared to 2022 under the city’s new grid-based system. 

Malcolm Whiteside, head of the forestry bureau under the city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation, announced the status of the tree trimming program during a meeting of the city’s Urban Forestry Advisory Board Thursday. 

The city of Chicago is suing Vision Property Management for unfair and deceptive practices related to selling and leasing properties. A group of community advocates and an alderman are urging the city’s landmark commission to landmark St. Adalbert Church in Pilsen. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks during a news conference Wednesday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday pushed back against the notion that migrants were being moved out of a police station in the South Loop in preparation for the upcoming Lollapalooza music festival set to begin in Grant Park on Thursday. 

O’Hare Airport was recognized by a travel magazine for its dining experience for the fourth year in a row, and the county treasurer released a guide to help educate the public about how property tax administration works. Mayor Brandon Johnson told reporters on Wednesday he is taking a “deliberative” approach in selecting the new police superintendent.

Ald. Maria Hadden (49) speaks during a committee meeting last week. [City of Chicago livestream]

The deadline for the City Council to approve a referendum question for the 2024 General Primary Election asking Chicagoans if they support the so-called Bring Chicago Home proposal is Jan. 2, and the lead sponsor of the proposal is confident the measure will pass by the end of the year. 

Alderpersons largely voiced support last week for the Bring Chicago Home proposal that would increase the real estate transfer tax for the sale of properties over $1 million and put the revenue toward affordable housing and homeless services. 

Related: Alderpersons voice support during housing committee hearing on Bring Chicago Home proposal 

During a Tuesday news conference, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announces a deal to supply 24 percent of the county’s electricity using a new solar plant near Springfield beginning in 2025. [Office of the President]

County officials announced the county’s first power purchase agreement with a new solar energy facility Tuesday. The agreement to supply solar energy to the county is expected to make a dent toward achieving the county’s clean energy goals.  

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced the deal to purchase electricity from the Double Black Diamond Solar farm during a news conference joined by Jamie Meyers, deputy chief for the County Bureau of Asset Management, County Chief Sustainability Officer Deborah Stone, Comm. Maggie Trevor (D-9) and Comm. Frank Aguilar (D-16).  

Officials from Swift Current Energy and Constellation Energy, the developer of the solar site and retail supplier respectively, were also present.  

Less than 7 percent of the more than 100 eligible cases referred to a pilot program that uses mediated discussion to resolve police misconduct cases underwent mediation, and even fewer than that ended in an agreement or resolution, an investigation by the city’s Office of Inspector General found. 

The pilot program was launched in October 2022 under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot and was mandated as part of the federal consent decree. The program was established with the Center for Conflict Resolution and uses dialogue between the complainant and the accused police officer facilitated by a neutral mediator to address police misconduct complaints.

The Forest Preserves of Cook County seal is pictured on a podium during a July 2023 board meeting. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line]

The Forest Preserves of Cook County have begun to take advantage of millions of dollars in new revenue stemming from a property tax levy increase authorized by voters last fall.

The forest preserve district is using the additional funds to make headway on projects and initiatives that were previously constrained by budgetary tightness, district spokesperson Carl Vogel told The Daily Line. 

Advocates that make up a coalition supporting Bring Chicago Home rallied in the lobby of City Hall Thursday ahead of the hearing on the proposal. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line] 

Though the city has floated a marginal rate structure and at least two exemptions for the Bring Chicago Home proposal, a coalition of groups pushing for the real estate transfer tax increase are still set on a flat tax.

Bring Chicago Home proposes to raise the real estate transfer tax by 1.9 percent on property sales over $1 million and use the new revenue to fund affordable housing and services for people experiencing housing instability.  

The city activated its Heat Watch program in response to extreme temperatures Friday, and the county medical examiner’s office is celebrating an award for organ and tissue donation.

Advocates that make up a coalition supporting Bring Chicago Home rallied in the lobby of City Hall Thursday ahead of the hearing on the proposal. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line] 

Alderpersons largely voiced support Thursday during a hearing on Bring Chicago Home, the proposal to raise the real estate transfer tax on property sales over $1 million and use that new revenue to fund affordable housing and services for people experiencing housing instability. 

The subject matter hearing was held during a meeting of the City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate. Alderpersons who spoke overwhelmingly supported the tax hike as a means to fund homelessness solutions. The policy would need to be approved by Chicago voters via referendum before it could become law. 

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi addresses the County Board of Commissioners during a mid-year budget hearing Wednesday. [Livestream]

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi told county commissioners his expectations for hiring throughout the rest of the year and answered questions about recent property tax bill delays during a mid-year budget hearing Wednesday.

The City Council will hold a hearing on a policy proposal to raise funds to provide housing and other services for homeless residents, and the county’s preliminary budget gap will grow following agreements with some labor unions representing county workers.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart speaks at a news conference in Springfield in support of carjacking legislation in 2022. [Ben Szalinski]

During a mid-year budget hearing Tuesday, Cook County commissioners heard from the county sheriff about the decrease in certain instances of crime in Chicago’s River North neighborhood as a result of the office’s presence but also about the office’s ongoing hiring difficulties.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s remarks to the County Finance Committee were among multiple presentations made by county agencies and departments Tuesday, the first of two days of mid-year budget hearings. 

Cook County experienced a record number of overdose deaths from opioids last year, and the county’s environment department is celebrating an award for its unique recycling plant created largely through federal relief funding.