Chicago News

  • The City Council’s Aviation Committee approved new regulations for drone operators in Chicago after more than two hours of public testimony and debate on the issue; a new fee for private shuttle services that take people to and from O’Hare and Midway Airports; and a new premium parking and reservation program.

  • The Cook County Board of Commissioners’ Committee on Finance meets today to take a number of tight votes on revenue options and amendments to be included in the full budget vote next week: changes to the amusement tax, an amendment doubling the proposed e-cigarette tax, new taxes on ammunition and hotel stays, plus a deal (and an amendment to that deal) to allow extra contributions to the County pension fund.

  • One item on the Aviation agenda introduced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel over the summer would create a new premium parking service program at O’Hare Airport. The item made it on the July 28th Aviation Committee agenda but was held in committee.

  • Several freshman aldermen are circulating ballot petitions for Democratic Ward Committeeman ahead of the November 30th filing deadline. Aldertrack has confirmed Aldermen Brian Hopkins (2), Gregory Mitchell (7), Sue Sadlowski-Garza (10), David Moore (17), Chris Taliaferro (29), and Carlos Ramirez-Rosa(35) are vying for the political office.

  • The Committee on Finance is holding a public hearing this morning regarding the creation of a new Special Service Area for the Jefferson Park community and the renewal of the Lincoln Park SSA.

  • Timed for today’s celebration of Veterans Day, a joint committee on Finance and Public Safety approved an ordinance yesterday categorizing attacks against military personnel in Chicago as hate crimes.

  • The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate met for more than three hours yesterday and approved Mayor Emanuel’s $12.4 million dollar parking lot sale, a land sale on the South Side that will pave the way for a new waste processing center that will produce renewable energy, and appointments to boards that oversee affordable housing. All lease agreements and land sales on the agenda were approved by voice vote. Ald. Joe Moreno’s (1) ordinance establishing height limits on exterior staircases to residential homes was re-referred to the Zoning Committee.

  • Progressive Caucus aldermen and child care workers held a last-minute press conference at City Hall yesterday calling on the General Assembly to pass a bill that would restore cuts Governor Rauner made to a state-run child care program.

  • Two ordinances that would designate attacks on military personnel as hate crimes will be taken up during a joint meeting held by the City Council’s Finance and Public Safety Committees at 10:00 a.m. this morning.

  • The Committee on Housing & Real Estate is expected to advance Mayor Emanuel’s plan to sell off four city-owned parking lots in River North for $12.4 million dollars.

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    CPS CEO Forrest Claypool wants to revoke the charters of four “chronically underperforming charter schools” currently listed on the Academic Warning List. Pending approval by the Board of Education, the following schools won’t have their charter renewed at the end of the current school year:

  • Public testimony turned into a die-in and shouting match at Tuesday’s Cook County Board of Commissioners hearing on the proposed FY2016 budget, with an unusual heated exchange between Commissioners Robert Steele (2) and Deborah Sims(10), and a young woman advocating for $2 million in funding for restorative justice programs across the county. Roughly 20 activists, many in orange tees from Community Renewal Society, participated. The group also staged a vigil at a public hearing in Skokie.

  • Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s proposed 3% expansion of the amusement tax, which would include activities like bowling, golf, and cable TV, seems dead on arrival after Finance Chairman John Daley said the votes just weren’t there at yesterday’s public hearing at the Board of Commissioners. The Board is expected to vote on Preckwinkle’s budget proposals in two weeks. She pitched the tax as a closure of loopholes without changing the underlying tax rate.

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    City Treasurer Kurt Summers projects his office will generate an additional $38 million in new revenue next year by investing more of the City’s cash on hand. Summers provided more details how he plans to do that, as well as giving a general update on the city’s investment portfolio during a public conference call yesterday afternoon.

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    October was a slow fundraising month for the City Council, while fundraising heavyweights Zoning Chairman Danny Solis (25), Finance Chairman Ed Burke(14), and downtown alderman and Vice Mayor Brendan Reilly (42) eased up during last month’s budget talks.