Renderings of the proposed apartment development at 1338 W. Lake St. are pictured. [Chicago Department of Planning and Development] 

At the first meeting of the city’s Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards in almost three months, alderpeople largely dug out from a backlog and advanced rezoning requests that created more than 1,900 units of housing overall, new Zoning Chair Gilbert Villegas (36) said.

The Committee on License and Consumer Protection meets on May 5, 2026. [Livestream]

The City Council Committee on License and Consumer Protection on Tuesday approved an ordinance banning so-called sweepstakes machines.  

The committee approved the measure over the opposition of the city’s business affairs department. 

The CPD emblem is pictured on the Chicago public safety headquarters. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Alderpeople at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Budget and Government Operations and Police and Fire on Tuesday pressed Chicago Police Department (CPD) and Office of Public Safety Administration (OPSA) leaders on overtime spending and medical leave policies, as well as the current status of a program to flag the early warning signs of mental health issues in officers.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36), the council's new zoning chair, is pictured at a City Council meeting on April 15, 2026. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards on Wednesday will convene for the first time in nearly three months after Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) became the zoning chair in April, ending a monthslong pause in business. 

Related: Villegas hopes to integrate technology, speed up bureaucratic processes as zoning chair

The committee now must catch up on scores of items that have piled up, and Villegas has said items introduced in April will be saved for a second meeting on May 19. The committee will meet at 10 a.m. in council chambers. 

Ald. Anthony Beale (9) is pictured during a City Council meeting on Feb. 26, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on License and Consumer Protection on Tuesday will take up an ordinance that would crack down on so-called sweepstakes machines, which exist in a legal gray area and have taken advantage of Chicago’s previous prohibition on video gambling machines.

The license and consumer protection committee will meet at 12:30 p.m. in Room 201A at City Hall.

The CPD emblem is on the Chicago public safety headquarters. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

A joint meeting of the City Council’s police and fire and budget committees on Tuesday will hear about the spending this year by the Chicago Police Department on overtime as well as the latest on returning injured officers and firefighters to duty quicker.

The joint committee will meet at 10 a.m. in council chambers.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36), the council's new zoning chair, is pictured at a City Council meeting on April 15, 2026. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

A Northwest Side alderman will convene the first City Council zoning committee meeting in a matter of months next week after his surprise ascension to the chairmanship of the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards broke a monthslong impasse.

Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43) is pictured at a City Council meeting in November 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Participating in online prediction wagering services, such as those offered by Kalshi or Polymarket, could soon be regulated for Chicago officials and employees if a proposed measure is passed by the City Council.

Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over a City Council meeting on April 15, 2026. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council could soon take up its latest sweeping update to the city’s construction code that aims to alleviate the burden on building residential developments, update outdated safety and technical standards and make the city's buildings more energy-efficient.

Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the appointment of a former federal prosecutor and utility company audit compliance officer pick to succeed former Inspector General Deborah Witzburg Monday.

City Budget Director Annette Guzman is pictured at a press conference on April 1, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Alderpeople at a budget committee hearing Monday heard updates on the status of new revenue tools and cost-saving and efficiency initiatives included in the 2026 city budget. They also learned that the firm that issued a report recommending various cost-saving and revenue-generating measures has been retained to implement many of the report’s policies.

City Budget Director Annette Guzman is pictured at a press conference on April 1, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council’s budget committee on Monday will hold a hearing on the administration’s progress implementing various efficiencies, cost-recovery measures and savings strategies that are called for in the 2026 budget.

The Committee on Budget and Government Operations is slated to meet at 10 a.m. in council chambers.

Ald. Walter "Red" Burnett (27) speaks with Ald. Andre Vasquez (40) during a City Council meeting on April 15, 2026. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line] 

Despite the City Council’s failure to override Mayor Brandon Johnson’s veto of a measure that would halt the One Fair Wage Ordinance, the council is still pondering a temporary freeze in the five-year escalator that will close the gap between the tipped and minimum wage. 

Drake Warren is the Democrats' nominee for Cook County Board of Commissioners in District 10. [Campaign]

The likely next Cook County commissioner to represent District 10 hopes that his recent victory opens the door for more urbanists and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds to pursue politics.

Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43) is pictured at a City Council meeting in November 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

A Lincoln Park alderman last week introduced an ordinance that would give religious assemblies, like churches and synagogues, permission to rent out their parking lot space during off-hours when there aren’t services and the lots sit empty.

The proposal is pitched as a way to help the houses of worship add an extra stream of revenue by taking advantage of scarce parking.