Chicago News
-
MAY 07, 2020
-
MAY 06, 2020
Hilco Redevelopment Partners violated Illinois law and state pollution control regulations when its April 9 demolition of a smokestack at the former Crawford power station sent a cloud of dust over neighboring homes, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by state Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
-
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she was disappointed by the presence of groups of people gathering throughout the city last weekend despite her administration’s aggressive campaign to promote social distancing in the wake of COVID-19. She suggested that arrests and fines are potential measures the city could take in the coming weeks against people who continue to throw parties and promote large gatherings.
-
MAY 05, 2020
-
MAY 04, 2020
S&P Global Rating downgraded the credit outlook on Cook County’s debt from “stable” to “negative” as the county braces for an unknown budget gap this year in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing economic recession.
Analysts affirmed an A+ rating for the county’s general obligation bonds and an AA- rating for its sales tax revenue bonds, but the change in their outlook represents at least a one-in-three chance of a ratings downgrade during the coming months due to “unprecedented pressure facing the county from the rapid deterioration in the U.S. economy,” according to a report published by S&P on Friday. -
MAY 04, 2020
A judge ruled against a suburban emergency dispatch service in the group’s lawsuit against Cook County health officials. Meanwhile, Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans extended a suspension of most in-person court activity, as well as eviction and foreclosures. And city and state health officials announced they will stop accepting new patients at the makeshift hospital created inside McCormick Place.
-
MAY 01, 2020
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago police leaders on Thursday announced a new citywide staffing structure they said would bolster coordination between patrol officers and detectives. Meanwhile, city leaders celebrated a legal victory against President Donald Trump in a case that has been litigated since 2017. The mayor dug in on her non-binding “housing solidarity pledge” as activists have demanded stronger tenant protections ahead of the May 1 rent deadline. And looking ahead to budget season, Lightfoot vowed to consider laying off city employees only as a “last, last, last resort.” -
MAY 01, 2020
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks in October at an announcement of the INVEST South/West Initiative. (Provided)
Among the hundreds of items passed by the Chicago City Council at its April 24 meeting was funding for Mayor Lori Lightfoot's nascent INVEST South/West project.
Announced last October, the mayor's project aims to reinvigorate the West and South Sides, in part by jumpstarting local businesses. -
APR 30, 2020
Members of the Chicago City Council have been more willing to oppose Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s agenda than they were to stand in the way of her predecessors, but the heightened opposition has so far done nothing to stymie her agenda.
That was the conclusion of the latest “rubber stamp report” report released this week by University of Illinois at Chicago professor Dick Simpson, a former alderman and chronicler of Chicago history who has spent more than a decade keeping tabs on aldermen’s voting records. The report was co-authored by PhD candidate Marco Rosaire Rossi and author Thomas J. Gradel. -
APR 30, 2020
In the face of progressive forces calling for mass rent cancellation, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday announced her administration has coaxed a broad coalition of commercial lenders and landlord groups to sign onto a non-binding “solidarity pledge” promising all-around leniency in an effort to prevent people from being forced out of their homes amid the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Chicago Housing Solidarity Pledge calls on apartment owners to work out individualized payment plans for struggling tenants, and it asks housing lenders to defer mortgage payments and suspend foreclosures until at least May 31. While the city has no power to enforce the pledge, Lightfoot touted commitments from more than a dozen banking firms and three influential local landlord groups agreeing to its terms. -
APR 29, 2020
Certain industrial businesses would be required to consult their local alderman, hold public meetings and face a City Council committee before opening facilities that emit air pollution under an ordinance introduced this month by Ald. George Cardenas (12).
The ordinance (O2020-2217) would crank up requirements for any business that is seeking both a special-use permit from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals and an air pollution control permit, which is issued by the Chicago Department of Public Health in consultation with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The new rule would only apply to proposals located inside designated Planned Manufacturing Districts. -
APR 29, 2020
Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled a new grant program Tuesday targeted at keeping “micro-businesses” afloat during the stay-at-home order. Meanwhile, Cook County leaders announced they will extend their grace period for tax and fee collection by another month. And Chicago planning officials delayed scheduled meetings of the Chicago Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals for the fourth time since March.
-
APR 28, 2020
-
APR 28, 2020
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday announced the launch of Chi COVID Coach, a new resource to help people experiencing Covid-19 symptoms access testing and other forms of help. Meanwhile, a federal judge ordered Cook County officials to suspend multiple-person cells at the County Jail in most cases. And city health officials said dust from the planned demolition of the Crawford power station showed no signs of asbestos, but the site did test positive for traces of some toxic metals.
A young boy participates in an online lesson for his kindergarten class while schools remain closed to help slow the spread of COVID-19, Chicago, Illinois, April 3, 2020. Interim Archives/Getty Images
