CPD response to unrest ‘failed both the public and its own front-line members’: watchdog 

A scathing report from Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson found the Chicago Police Department was “under-prepared and ill-equipped” to handle the protests and unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd last summer, and that “senior leadership failed both the public and its own front-line members.” 

While responding to unrest during the pandemic was “daunting,” the police department and city’s responses “were marked, almost without exception, by confusion and lack of coordination in the field” stemming from failed “intelligence assessment[s],” “major event planning, field communication and operation, administrative systems and, most significantly, leadership from CPD’s highest ranks,” according to a news release from Ferguson. 

An architect shows a rendering of the first phase of the planned Bronzeville Lakefront mega-development

Members of the Chicago Plan Commission on Thursday heaped praise on a $6 billion, multi-decade endeavor to redevelop a 71-acre swath of the city’s Near South lakefront, calling it a model for urban planning and community involvement. They also accepted at face value the developer’s vow to sharpen its long-term hiring commitments amid pressure from a major hospitality union.

Commissioners unanimously voted to approve a planned development application (O2020-3001) for the “Bronzeville Lakefront” mega-development, the first in a long line of public approvals that will be needed to bring the endeavor to fruition before its projected 2041 completion date.

A rendering of the new businesses and roof decks coming to The Fields site at the Logan Square and Avondale border. [credit: Chicago Department of Planning and Development]

Some commissioners echoed concerns about gentrification but ultimately approved the developer's plans, setting the stage for a film production studio on the Northwest Side.

AVONDALE — The developer behind The Fields project at the Logan Square and Avondale border won approval from a key city panel Thursday to redevelop part of its campus, setting the stage for a new film production studio on the Northwest Side even as some community members tried to block the decision.

The Chicago Plan Commission on Thursday approved New York-based developer Knickpoint Venture’s plans to add a 50-foot-tall building, two roof decks, more retail space and several sound stages for a planned film production studio to the 1.5 million-square-foot site at 4000 W. Diversey Ave.

Ald. Pat Dowell (3) on Wednesday delayed a vote on pandemic relief funding, and Department of Public Health Deputy Comm. Tina Anderson outlined an agreement with Rush University Medical Center for genomic sequencing.

Aldermen on Friday will consider allocating December federal stimulus dollars for endeavors including COVID-19 vaccinations and emergency rental assistance. Aldermen will also consider rolling over $68 million in CARES Act funds into 2021.

The City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations is scheduled to resume its recessed meeting from Wednesday at 1 p.m. on Friday to consider the various pandemic-related spending proposals.

Gov. JB Pritzker released his proposed FY 2022 budget on Wednesday.

Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday proposed a $41.6 billion budget that maintains current spending levels and is less reliant on anticipated revenue from the federal government than last year, instead depending on diverting certain revenues and closing corporate loopholes.

The host of financial maneuvers and higher-than-anticipated revenue collections are among the main drivers leading the Pritzker administration to boast about having a balanced budget with no tax increases, all while Illinois continues to face the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A graphic rendering of the Bronzeville Lakefront mega-development proposed on the site of the Michael Reese Hospital campus

A years-in-the-making plan to build a new mini-neighborhood on a 71-acre swath of the city’s Near South lakefront is set to clear a major hurdle on Thursday as the Chicago Plan Commission considers plans for the “Bronzeville Lakefront” mega-development on the site of the former Michael Reese Hospital.

When completed in approximately 2041, the Bronzeville Lakefront campus is planned to include nearly 7,000 units of new homes, plus millions of square feet of office, retail and research space. The plan is one of seven applications set for consideration by the plan commission during its 10 a.m. meeting on Thursday.

News in brief: Aldermen approve tax incentives; Indoor dining restrictions eased again 

‘Epidemiological specimen collection’ program, energy efficiency grant set for committee consideration 

Aldermen on Wednesday are set to consider a proposal from the city’s Department of Public Health that would modify the section of city code regarding “epidemiological specimen collection and analysis.” 

The ordinance is proposed for consideration during the City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations’ 10 a.m. meeting Wednesday. The proposal will be directly introduced by the public health department, but the text of the ordinance was not available late Tuesday and no additional information was posted on the agenda. 

Affordability renewal ordinance stalls amid questions about city-backed homeownership program 

A City Council committee punted approval of an ordinance designed to stretch the staying power of a city-backed homeownership initiative on Tuesday as aldermen raised questions about the underlying program. 

The ordinance (O2021-446), introduced last month by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on behalf of the Chicago Department of Housing, would restart the clock on city-imposed 30-year affordable housing covenants every time each home changes hands. It only applies to for-sale homes administered through the Chicago Community Land Trust, a city-backed nonprofit designed to forge a path to homeownership for low- and middle-income residents. 

An ordinance up for consideration Tuesday is designed to extend the life on affordability covenants tied to homes sold through city housing programs.

Affordable housing covenants imposed by city programs would renew more frequently under a measure set for consideration by aldermen on Tuesday.

The ordinance (O2021-446), introduced last month by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on behalf of the Chicago Department of Housing, is scheduled for a vote by the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Real Estate during its 10 a.m. meeting.

As Chicago gears up to redraw boundaries of its 50 wards, leaders of Chicago’s Aldermanic Black Caucus and City Council Latino Caucus have a goal to keep communities in their wards together and to retain or expand the number of council seats they currently hold.

The aldermen put a high priority on maintaining their power to shape policy in the City Council and ensure their constituents’ needs are met and their concerns are addressed. Using the 2020 census data to redraw the wards in such a way that keeps the communities they represent together gives the caucasus a better chance of ensuring they hold onto seats.

Aldermen overwhelmingly approved a proposal allowing Mayor Lori Lightfoot to remake the Chicago Board of Health, overcoming concerns from multiple members of the City Council’s Democratic Socialist caucus who said the measure should be amended to carve out more room for public participation.

The ordinance (O2021-458) vacates all nine seats on the board and allows the mayor to re-nominate them or replace them. The reconstituted board would have nine members each serving three-year terms, staggered so that three members’ terms expire each year.

Ald. Maria Hadden (49) was an unlikely champion of Indian religious minorities, until a groundswell of her South Asian constituents alerted her to human rights abuses perpetrated at the hands of India’s government, she said. Her months-long effort culminated on Thursday, when her colleagues voted to advance her resolution (R2020-583) condemning religious violence in the world’s largest democracy.

Even less likely was that her predecessor, former Ald. Joe Moore (49), would become one of her fiercest adversaries in the effort.

The city’s Streets and Sanitation commissioner agrees with some aldermen and recycling advocates that the department could use help from another city department to make sure large apartment and office buildings separate recyclables, he said Wednesday.

Members of the City Council Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight and the Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy on Wednesday grilled streets and sanitation department leaders, Inspector General Joseph Ferguson and Chief Sustainability Officer Angela Tovar on why the city’s recycling program for large buildings is not being properly enforced.

News in brief: Chicago, suburban Cook chart out ‘roadmap’ to restaurant expansions; aldermen approve aviation security labor agreement