Greater Englewood is split among six wards — more than any other neighborhood.

Greater Englewood is one of several communities throughout Chicago carved up into numerous wards and represented by multiple aldermen. While some of those aldermen agree with a prominent community group that wants ward boundaries to be redrawn so they more closely mirror neighborhood lines, others argue it is beneficial to Greater Englewood to be represented by the six aldermen who currently each claim a piece of the neighborhood.  

Maura McCauley speaks during a committee meeting Thursday. 

The one-month extension of a rental agreement between the city and a downtown hotel to use 175 rooms as shelter for single men experiencing homelessness cleared a committee hurdle Thursday.

An ordinance that would allow sports betting at the city’s ballparks and stadiums is set to escape a City Council procedural snafu on Friday. [Heather Maguire via Unsplash]

A proposal to legalize sports betting at Chicago’s ballparks and arenas is set to get back on track Friday, setting it up for potential passage later this year after it was knocked off course.

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) used a committee meeting Thursday to ask whether Chicago Board of Ethics members think the city should be involved in the Chicago Park District’s probe into sexual abuse among its lifeguards. Aldermen advanced an update to the city’s excavation rules. A group of aldermen sent a letter to city health officials asking them to impose a requirement for proof of vaccination in indoor spaces. And the City Council Committee on Contract Oversight and Equity is set to advance an extension of the city’s minority hiring program, weeks before the program is set to expire. 
 

Will Shih, a senior policy adviser to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, shows a map of the smaller downtown cannabis “exclusion area” proposed by a new ordinance

A divided City Council committee voted on Wednesday to advance a proposal from Mayor Lori Lightfoot to ease the path for new cannabis dispensaries to open in the city, sweeping aside critics who said city leaders should wait to see how the state’s chaotic licensing rollout shakes out before giving new operators a boost.

Aldermen on Thursday are set to consider extending an agreement with a downtown hotel for COVID-19 quarantine space amid the pandemic. [Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago]

Aldermen are set on Thursday to extend a contract with a downtown hotel that has served as a quarantine location for city and nursing home workers, and to approve the allocation of at least $900,00 in new grant money. 

A rendering of plans for the old Sears site at 4730 W. Irving Park Road. [Novak Construction/MG2 Architects]

This article was first published in Block Club Chicago.

The massive Six Corners Sears development cleared a major hurdle Wednesday, overcoming disagreement about the lack of affordable units which led to one alderman pushing to halt the project.

Attorney James Franczek (left) and Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22) during a virtual committee hearing on Tuesday

Aldermen voted unanimously on Tuesday to advance an eight-year, $600 million contract with Chicago’s rank-and-file police union, acknowledging the exchange of retroactive pay hikes for a laundry list of new accountability guardrails represented the best bargain the city was likely to reach.

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) [left] and Ald. Walter Burnett (27) speak during Tuesday’s housing committee meeting. 

Aldermen used a City Council committee meeting on Tuesday to air frustrations with the Chicago Housing Authority to board members before approving their reappointments unanimously.

An ordinance lowering barriers for new cannabis dispensaries to open in Chicago is set for consideration by the City Council zoning committee on Wednesday. [Unsplash]

Updated 9:25 a.m. Monday, Sept. 8: A freshly tweaked proposal to cut red tape for new cannabis dispensaries is set to come before aldermen on Wednesday, potentially easing the path for dozens of new pot entrepreneurs to set up shop in Chicago following this summer’s state-run license lotteries.

A $600 million, eight-year contract with the city’s rank-and-file police union is set for consideration by aldermen on Tuesday. [Kelly Bauer/Block Club]

A years-overdue, $600 million contract with the Chicago Police Department’s rank-and-file union is set for its first public audience with aldermen on Tuesday, setting off a balancing act for city budget officials looking for ways to foot the bill for officer pay raises.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot during a June news conference. 

Aldermen on Tuesday are set to consider the sale of multiple city-owned properties on the city’s South and West sides for various developments, including a plan to bring 100 affordable single-family homes to North Lawndale.

Pictured above is an automated no-touch shop at Midway Airport. A similar shop could be coming to O'Hare Airport.

Aldermen were divided on Thursday over a new concession agreement set to bring vending machines and an automated no-touch shop to O’Hare Airport, as members of the Latino Caucus said the city didn’t do enough to attract Hispanic firms to get involved.  

Potential new commissioners for the Chicago Park District Myetie H. Hamilton [left] and Modesto Tico Valle answered questions during a committee meeting on Thursday.

Aldermen used a Thursday City Council committee meeting to grill newly nominated commissioners for the Chicago Park District Board on the ongoing investigation into sexual abuse by lifeguards and other recent issues facing the park district. 

Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) looks on during discussions surrounding the creation of a civilian commission overseeing the Chicago Police Department during a City Council meeting on July 21, 2021. [Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago]

This article was first published in Block Club Chicago.

Text messages between Ald. Jim Gardiner (45) and a former aide show the Northwest Side leader blasting his critics and political opponents — and punishing an employee for helping a constituent who voted against him.