Housing Comm. Marisa Novara, top right, speaks about changes to the 2015 Affordable Requirements Ordinance during a housing committee meeting Tuesday. [City Council Livestream]

The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate approved a transfer of former city land between Rush University Medical Center and the Chicago Blackhawks and an amendment to the 2015 Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO) during its Tuesday morning meeting.

Chicago is set to hold the Democratic National Convention next year, the first time the party has held its nominating convention in the Windy City since 1996. Meanwhile, another tight aldermanic race on the North Side has come to a formal close.

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) is seen during the workforce committee meeting Monday. [City Council livestream]

The City Council Committee on Workforce Development on Monday approved a collective bargaining agreement with the union representing public sector employees and approved a measure revising and updating the salary schedule for some non-union senior management staff. 

Both the ordinance containing the labor agreement and the separate salary measure would raise pay for city workers, including department commissioners and some other staff who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement.  

Ald. Harry Osterman (48), who chairs the City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate, is pictured during a City Council meeting in June 2022. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate will consider an amendment to the 2015 Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO) during a Tuesday meeting. 

The committee will also consider an amended land sale agreement with Rush University Medical Center.

Cook County Comm. Brandon Johnson, who will become Chicago mayor in May, is see during a board of commissioners meeting on March 16, 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson has not decided when he will relinquish his seat on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, but he said it’s likely he will make one final appearance at the April board meeting in a few weeks before he takes office on the fifth floor of City Hall in May. 

In an interview Friday with The Daily Line, Johnson reflected on his time as a county commissioner for District 1, having served a little more than one full term before winning the election for Chicago mayor last week. 

Related: Brandon Johnson wins mayoral election, becoming fourth Black person to hold the office

Aldermen on Monday will vote on a collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Workforce Development is set to vote Monday on the city’s contract with AFSCME Council 31, the labor union that represents thousands of city workers.  

Applications for those seeking to become Chicago’s next police superintendent opened Friday. And the chair of the City Council’s Rules committee has requested that aldermen submit their preferred committee assignments by Tuesday.

Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson shakes hands with Mayor Lori Lightfoot at City Hall Thursday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line] 

Less than 48 hours after declaring victory in a close election, Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson met with Mayor Lori Lightfoot on the Fifth Floor of City Hall Thursday.  

After meeting for about 90 minutes, Johnson told members of the press he was “deeply humbled” by Lightfoot’s “gracious reception.” 

A City Council race on the West Side still has no clear victor days after polls closed, and the apparent loser in a North Side race has refused to concede pending the complete counting of all mail-in ballots.

Chicago’s next mayor Brandon Johnson, a former middle school teacher and union organizer, will be the first in recent memory with children in the Chicago Public Schools and the last with mayoral control of the district. [Alex Wroblewski / Getty Images]

Brandon Johnson took an unconventional path to becoming Chicago’s next mayor.

A decade ago, Johnson, 47, was teaching middle school at Jenner Academy of the Arts, which served mostly low-income Black students from the Cabrini-Green public housing complex. In 2012, he became an organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, and in 2018, he was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners. 

Now he will be the first mayor in recent memory with children in Chicago Public Schools and the last to have control of the school system before it transitions to an elected school board. 

Members of the City Council meet at City Hall. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

When the Chicago City Council is sworn in on May 15, at least 13 new aldermen will pledge to represent their wards for the next four years as the council as a whole shifts younger and more progressive. 

The swell of new faces brings with it an increase in the number of women, the first time two Asian American women have been elected to City Council, an increase in the number of LGBTQ aldermen, one new Democratic Socialist and a bump in the number of progressive-backed aldermen. 
 

County Commissioner Brandon Johnson speaks at a mayoral runoff rally March 30, 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Cook County Comm. Brandon Johnson (D-1) will vacate his seat on the county board of commissioners when he becomes Chicago’s next mayor in May.  

The process for selecting a replacement to serve on the board will come down to a panel of local Democratic Party officials but also tees up a special election for the soon-to-be-open seat in 2024.

Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson smiles upon the crowd during his victory speech Tuesday evening. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Cook County Comm. Brandon Johnson (D-1) will be the city’s next mayor after defeating former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas in a contentious runoff election. Johnson will become the fourth Black mayor.

The City Council will look different after the new aldermen are sworn in May 15. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]  

All three incumbent aldermen appointed last year by Mayor Lori Lightfoot appeared victorious Tuesday night in their bids to keep the City Council seats, unofficial election results show.  

And while embattled incumbent Ald. Jim Gardiner (45) finished the night ahead of his challenger Megan Mathias, an attorney, by about 11 percentage points, incumbent Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29) was ahead of his challenger CB Johnson by only 63 votes with one precinct left to report. 

Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson greet commuters at different CTA stations Monday. [Erin Hegarty, Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line] 

With one day left to get out the vote in the mayoral election, both former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas and Cook County Comm. Brandon Johnson (D-1) made campaign stops across the city Monday as they made their final case to voters why they are the best to lead Chicago. 

Both Johnson and Vallas greeted commuters at different CTA stops. The safety and reliability of public transportation has been a major issue this campaign season.