Frank Velez, left, testifies at a Committee on Public Safety confirmation hearing on May 9, 2025. [Livestream]

The City Council Committee on Public Safety on Friday approved the appointment of Frank Velez to serve as the next director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC).

The City Council’s pedestrian and traffic safety committee this week will hold a hearing on new speed cameras, and its workforce development committee will consider a measure that would allow applicants for city jobs without college degrees to still qualify in certain cases.

Chief Homelessness Officer Sendy Soto speaks during a press conference on May 6, 2025. [Livestream]

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Office of Homelessness this week announced it is seeking community input as it drafts a five-year plan to reduce, prevent and address homelessness in Chicago.

Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over a council meeting on Dec. 16, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council on Wednesday approved a measure to set up an independent corporation to serve as the developer for the city’s Green Social Housing program.

The City Council Committee on Public Safety on Friday will consider the appointment of a new director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC).

The City Council holds a meeting on Dec. 16, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council on Wednesday will consider final confirmation of two nominees to sit on the city’s ethics board and could give final approval to the creation of a development corporation for one of the city’s affordable housing development initiatives.

Peoples Gas President Maria Bocanegra speaks during a Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy meeting on May 5, 2025. [Livestream]

The City Council Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy on Monday held a hearing on the Illinois Commerce Commission’s (ICC) recent decision to end a Peoples Gas pipeline replacement program that was criticized as wasteful.

The Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight considers the appointments of Paul Berks and Cindy Medina-Cervantes, bottom right, to the ethics board on May 5, 2025. [Livestream]

The City Council Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight on Monday approved the appointment of two new members of the Chicago Board of Ethics.

Public Safety Chair Brian Hopkins (2) is pictured at a City Council meeting in April 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Public Safety punted on further discussion of Chair Brian Hopkins’ (2) ordinance to give Chicago police the power to implement temporary curfews to curb incidents of rowdy and sometimes violent “teen takeovers,” specifically those that have frequently occurred in Hopkins’ downtown ward and other areas of downtown during warmer months.

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas is pictured. [Provided]

The Cook County Treasurer’s Office’s latest study showed nearly $2 billion in property taxes were shifted to homeowners from business owners as a result of successful appeals by business owners over three years.

Public Safety Chair Brian Hopkins (2) is pictured at a City Council meeting in April 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Public Safety will reconvene on Monday and could consider a measure that would give police more power to impose emergency curfews to respond to large “teen takeovers” that occur downtown predominantly in the summer.

The City Council’s ethics and environment committees will meet Monday to hold a variety of subject matter hearings and to consider two board appointments.   

Bogdana Chkoumbova, CPS chief education officer, discusses first day of school at Excel Academy of South Shore on Monday, August 22, 2022. Chkoumbova announced she is leaving the district in June. (Mauricio Peña / Chalkbeat)

Bogdana Chkoumbova, the Chicago Public Schools chief education officer and outgoing CEO Pedro Martinez’s second-in-command, is leaving the district at the end of the school year.

The Trump administration opened an investigation Tuesday into Chicago Public Schools, alleging race-based discrimination related to the district’s recently released Black Student Success Plan.

The Chicago City Council Committee on Public Safety held off on voting on an ordinance Wednesday that would give the city more power to impose emergency curfews to respond to large teen gatherings.