Chicago Public Health Comm. Olusimbo Ige is pictured during a press conference on migrant housing on Jan. 29, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The Committee on Health and Human Relations held an introductory hearing with Chicago Department of Public Health Comm. Olusimbo Ige, giving alderpeople the chance to ask questions of the new health commissioner in a public forum for the first time since she was appointed. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed Ige last fall after he terminated Allison Arwady in August. Whether or not Ige should receive a confirmation vote from the City Council became a point of contention during Tuesday’s hearing.

The historic Hoyt building is pictured. [Commission on Chicago Landmarks]

A City Council panel gave the OK to a tax incentive for a project to rehabilitate and reuse a vacant historic building in the Cermak Road Bridge District.

Alderpeople will on Wednesday consider adding a new exemption to the city’s paper and plastic bag tax law and consider approving the annual special events ordinance. Additionally, the council’s finance committee will consider approving millions of dollars in police-related legal settlements.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36), the chair of the Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development, is pictured in May 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development will meet Tuesday morning and consider appointments and reappointments for multiple Special Service Areas, a resolution calling for a hearing on data storage security and a tax incentive for the redevelopment of the historic Hoyt Building. 

The committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. in council chambers.

Chicago Public Health Comm. Olusimbo Ige is pictured during a press conference on migrant housing on Jan. 29, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Alderpeople on Tuesday are expected to hold their first hearing with acting Chicago Department of Public Health Comm. Olusimbo Ige, who was appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson to lead the health department last fall.

Chicago's skyline is pictured in this file photo.

Following a monthslong public outreach campaign, city planners are likely to prioritize additional pedestrian-only streets, public safety, outdoor spaces and affordable housing when crafting the 20-year update to the guiding document for the downtown area.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) attends a City Council meeting in October 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The mayor and 15 alderpeople are backing legislation (O2024-0007305) that would effectively ban current forms of natural gas energy from being used for heating or appliances in new construction.

Advocates say it’s a necessary first step, as about 68 percent of Chicago’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the built environment. While having a limited effect on existing buildings, the legislation is seeking to make sure the emissions share doesn’t increase with new developments. 

But another group representing more than half the City Council is supporting a measure that calls for a cost analysis of the proposal before any decisions are made.

A vehicle parked in a Chicago bike lane. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Acting Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) Comm. Tom Carney said the city aims to begin a pilot program this summer to use cameras to deter drivers from endangering cyclists and pedestrians by parking in bike and bus lanes and in crosswalks.

Carney’s comments were made during a subject matter hearing on the city’s Complete Streets Ordinance at Tuesday’s Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety meeting.

Ald. Anthony Beale (9) said he's opposed to the Bring Chicago Home ballot measure because he's worried it could stymie investment in Black communities like those in his ward. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

A Far South Side alderperson and a member of the Cook County Board of Review spoke out against the Bring Chicago Home proposal during a virtual meeting hosted by the Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance (NBOA) on Tuesday.

The outside of City Hall is pictured in this file photo. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Contracting Oversight and Equity will meet Wednesday and consider two ordinances, including one to audit the city’s adherence to its contracting equity goals on an annual basis. The contracting committee will meet at 11:30 a.m. in City Council chambers.

Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29) is pictured during a City Council meeting in October. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Alderpeople on the Committee on Police and Fire on Monday debated a proposal to raise the retirement ages for sworn members of the police and fire departments by two years — a proposal on which the city’s police and fire department disagreed.

Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29), the committee chair and sponsor of the ordinance, told The Daily Line the proposal could be split due to the departmental divide, but a vote is not yet slated. Taliaferro’s earliest estimation for a vote was March. 

The City Council Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety will hold a hearing on the city’s Complete Streets Ordinance on Tuesday, and the mayor announced an appointment to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority.

Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29) is pictured during a City Council meeting in October. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Police and Fire will meet Monday morning to consider an ordinance that raises the retirement ages for police officers and firefighters and an ordinance establishing a comprehensive staffing analysis for the police department. 

The committee will also hold a subject matter hearing on a report on the city and police department’s progress toward consent decree compliance covering the first half of 2023.  

The Chicago Police Department emblem outside of Chicago's public safety headquarters is pictured in this file photo. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

A judge ordered a stay of Chicago Police Board disciplinary proceedings on Wednesday following the City Council declining for the second week in a row to hold a second vote on a provision of the city’s new contract with the Chicago police union that would give officers facing serious discipline the chance to have their cases decided in private proceedings.

Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez speaks to reporters after giving her “State of the Clerk’s Office” address in 2021. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Incumbent Cook County Circuit Clerk Iris Martinez is facing a primary opponent who has more cash on hand and is outspending her despite the clerk’s campaign raising more outside money than her opponent in the last three months of 2023, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections last month.