Chicago News
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Aldermen are set to expand the city’s anti-loitering ordinance for the first time in nearly 20 years, after the Public Safety Committee approved a measure authored by Ald. Jason Ervin (28) designed to crack down on prostitution.
“We’re looking to get people some help,” Ald. Jason Ervin said. “This is another piece of the puzzle.” [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line] -
Preparing for his bid for a third term on the fifth floor of City Hall, Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed widening the city’s transit-oriented development to include bus lines with high ridership. Chicago will continue to enjoy its time in the spotlight, with 10 television shows set to film in the Windy City, officials say. Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis retired from the classroom, but will stay on in her union post, for now.
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The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois took aim at the Chicago Police Department’s use of Twitter and Facebook, filing a lawsuit demanding answers the group said city officials have refused to provide. Cook County property tax bills are online — and officials are ready to take your money. Inspector General Joseph Ferguson slammed the city’s budget office for doing a poor job keeping tabs on fees.
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Aldermen will once again consider a measure that would use the city’s anti-loitering laws to crack down on prostitution, two months after concerns about whether the ordinance would withstand a legal challenge prompted a delay.
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The redevelopment of the former Salvation Army Freedom site was the Chicago Plan Commission’s only divided vote on Thursday, with members of the public chiming in about a lack of parking and union wages for construction workers. Commissioners also pushed developers about on-site affordable units at a new building planned for the busy commercial area around North and Clybourn, and greenlit a People’s Gas facility on the city’s Southwest Side.
Her voice thick with emotion, Zoning Administrator Patricia Scudiero paid tribute to her fellow commissioners and promised that she would not return to City Hall to lobby them on projects. [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line] -
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The Chicago Plan Commission has a crowded agenda for its meeting set to start at 10 a.m., including a new building across from People’s Gas Training Facility on the Southwest Side, the redevelopment of an old Salvation Army Center into near West Side apartments, and a new development in the North Branch Industrial Corridor.
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A familiar face will return to City Hall to run the city’s procurement office as part of a shuffle caused by the resignation of Aviation Commission Ginger Evans. Aldermen will weigh tax breaks for three Chicago businesses, and the council’s Progressive Caucus demanded hearings on Chicago Public Schools officials handling of a sexual abuse scandal.
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Some homeowners near the popular 606 elevated trail are one step closer to getting some financial help from the city, as aldermen voted to approve a new grant program to help pay for exterior repairs. One alderman pressed city officials to develop more help for homeowners whose property values suddenly surge.
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Aldermen have a full set of committee meetings on tap — but a proposal to rename Balbo Drive for Civil Rights icon Ida B. Wells is now in limbo, and won’t be heard by the Transportation Committee. Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans stepped down after three tumultuous years, and will be replaced by a City Hall veteran. The city’s use of a gang database faces a legal challenge filed by Northwestern University’s MacArthur Justice Center.
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City Council’s Housing and Real Estate Committee meets at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday to consider a revamp of one third of the Chicago Housing Authority’s Board, a plan to maintain homes for long-time residents near the 606 trail, and a road widening designed to allow better access to Chicago’s newest neighborhood.
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Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle offered her usual sobering warning at a briefing with reporters Monday designed to look ahead to the 2019 budget, anticipating it will be “difficult and challenging.”
Cook County budget projections show stagnant revenues and growing general fund expenses in the out-years, owed in part to the repeal of the county's beverage tax in 2017. [Cook County]
