Chicago News
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Both during the signing ceremony for the marijuana legalization bill on Tuesday and in the many months of negotiations before HB 1438 passed the General Assembly in the waning days of its spring legislative session, supporters of the bill emphasized that the legalization was about more than just generating tax revenue — but was designed to address the disproportionate negative effects of the war on drugs on minority communities.
Gov. JB Pritzker celebrates the signing of the marijuana legalization bill Tuesday. [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
Stemming from that goal, the clearing of people’s criminal records of low-level marijuana charges is central to the cannabis legalization law. Expungements and pardons will available under the new law for approximately 700,000 arrest and conviction records belonging to approximately 315,000 people.
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Disgraced former 20th Ward Ald. Willie Cochran was sentenced to one year and a day in prison Monday, the 30th Chicago alderman to be convicted of corruption since 1973 and the third alderman of the ward to plead guilty after being charged with crimes.
“It’s never going to be right, not under these circumstances,” former 20th Ward Ald. Willie Cochran said. [A.D. Quig/The Daily Line]
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Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard dropped a $700 million bomb on Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s desk, days after she released a good news preliminary forecast that showed the county’s budget gap at a historic low of $18 million.
John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital [Cook County Health and Hospital Systems]
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Former Ald. Willie Cochran (20th) will be sentenced Monday.
KELLY BAUER/DNAINFO
Precisely 920 days after he learned from Ald. Ed Burke (14) on the floor of the City Council that he had been indicted for allegedly shaking down a local business owner and stealing $30,000 he collected to help people in his ward, former 20th Ward Ald. Willie Cochran will find out whether he is headed for jail.
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Eight candidates for the Illinois Supreme Court asked members of the Cook County Democratic Party to back their bids for the state’s highest court.
First District Appellate Court Judge Nathanial Howse makes the case for his candidacy for the Illinois Supreme Court to the Cook County Democratic Party. [A.D. Quig/The Daily Line]
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After the City Council’s most tenured black alderman saw her office raided by federal officials Wednesday, members of City Council’s Black Caucus Thursday declined to speculate about what would happen next in the federal investigation into Ald. Carrie Austin (34).
Ald. Jason Ervin (28) is the chair of the Black Caucus. [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line]
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Cook County Democrats convened all day Thursday for pre-slating — a chance for hopefuls to get facetime, answer stock questions about funding and win support from local committeepeople, and in Thursday’s case, to be put on notice about petition passing.
The pre-slating session that started Thursday continues Friday. [A.D. Quig/The Daily Line]
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Members of the Cook County Democratic Party will eschew their traditional River North steakhouse for a Bronzeville union hall Wednesday, as they gather to start the process of making endorsements for the 2020 elections.
Cook County Democratic Committeemen pose for a class picture, with the new Executive Committee front row in April 2018. [A.D. Quig/The Daily Line]
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The long-vacant former Sears store at North and Harlem avenues would be transformed into a mixed-use development with 313 homes as well as stores under a plan set to be considered Thursday by the Chicago Plan Commission.
A rendering of the proposed development at North and Harlem avenues. [29th Ward Office]
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"Today is the day, truly, that God has made, because he made us the star of the show," Ald. Carrie Austin said, with Mayor Lori Lightfoot looking on.
FBI agents searched Ald. Carrie Austin’s 34th Ward office Wednesday morning after obtaining a search warrant, officials said.
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Judges should be appointed after a transparent selection process that reflects Chicago’s racial and ethnic diversity, a group of Latino elected officials urged Tuesday.
"We have good candidates in our community and we need to raise them up,” Ald. Mike Rodriguez (22) said. [A.D. Quig/The Daily Line]
Ald. Tom Tunney. [46th Ward Office]
