Finance Chair Pat Dowell speaks at a City Council meeting in June 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council finance committee on Monday will consider a fee waiver for an infrastructure project and multiple legal settlements, including a previously rejected settlement and a settlement to the company that owns the city’s parking meters. The Committee on Finance will meet at 10 a.m. in council chambers.

Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over a City Council meeting to pass the 2025 budget on Dec. 16, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The mayor’s office on Friday announced the members of the budget working group created by a mayoral executive order last month.

The group, which has been tasked with proposing solutions to the city’s “chronic budget gaps,” includes representatives from the business community, labor groups, nonprofits and several of the mayor’s allies on the City Council.

Mayor Brandon Johnson is pictured at a press conference on April 1, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

As Mayor Brandon Johnson passes the halfway point in his term, he sat down with The Daily Line to tout his administration’s achievements, express regret about insufficient communication and comment on how his legislative agenda will be shaped by the funding upheaval in the federal government. 

A group of City Council members are calling for the city to be more transparent about how it chooses businesses to occupy public commercial space on Chicago’s Riverwalk.

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25), chair of the housing committee, is pictured at a council meeting April 7, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate on Wednesday approved changes to the city’s rules for requiring economic disclosure documents from people seeking city actions and a lease renewal for a Department of Finance payment center, but it postponed a vote on the designation of a Far North Side ward for property tax incentive purposes.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42), who put forward the Chicago Park District-related ordinance considered Wednesday, is pictured during a council meeting Dec. 16, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation on Wednesday voted to approve an ordinance that would allow the city’s business affairs department to enforce the Chicago Park District’s concession regulations to crack down on illegal vendors.

A CTA logo and train are pictured.

The City Council Committee on Transportation and Public Way on Wednesday approved a resolution (R2025-0016638) urging Illinois state lawmakers to pass “a transit omnibus package that addresses the impending fiscal cliff faced by the [Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)], Metra and Pace with all haste, to hold ourselves accountable in providing this essential service to the people of the Chicago region.” 

Ald. Debra Silverstein (50), chair of the license and consumer protection committee, is pictured at a City Council meeting in October 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on License and Consumer Protection on Tuesday approved measures renewing a business permit for a delivery robot company, adding parts of Belmont Cragin and Hermosa to the city’s growing list of areas where intoxicating hemp sales are banned and strengthening disclosure and information requirements for short-term rental activity.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) is pictured at City Council on April 7, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Alderpeople on Tuesday approved an ordinance that would allow people without college degrees to qualify for certain city jobs in some cases if they have equivalent work experience.

Alderpeople on Wednesday will consider an ordinance to enforce parking prohibitions on park district property and a resolution urging the state to fund local public transit.

Ald. Debra Silverstein (50), chair of the license and consumer protection committee, is pictured at a City Council meeting in October 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on License and Consumer Protection on Tuesday will consider a measure adding parts of Belmont Cragin and Hermosa to the city’s growing list of areas where intoxicating hemp sales are banned and the renewal of a business permit for a delivery robot company. 

The committee will meet at 10:30 a.m. in Room 201A at City Hall.

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25), chair of the housing committee, is pictured at a council meeting Sept. 18, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate on Wednesday will consider changes to the city’s rules for requiring economic disclosure documents from people seeking city actions and a low affordability designation for a part of the city’s Far North Side.

The housing committee will meet at noon in council chambers.

Frank Velez, left, testifies at a Committee on Public Safety confirmation hearing on May 9, 2025. [Livestream]

The City Council Committee on Public Safety on Friday approved the appointment of Frank Velez to serve as the next director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC).

The City Council’s pedestrian and traffic safety committee this week will hold a hearing on new speed cameras, and its workforce development committee will consider a measure that would allow applicants for city jobs without college degrees to still qualify in certain cases.

Chief Homelessness Officer Sendy Soto speaks during a press conference on May 6, 2025. [Livestream]

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Office of Homelessness this week announced it is seeking community input as it drafts a five-year plan to reduce, prevent and address homelessness in Chicago.