Aldermen will meet virtually Friday for a hearing on new ways to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line] 

Aldermen are set on Friday to hold a hearing on resources available to police officers and city employees who are dealing with the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposal to make permanent the city’s expanded outdoor dining program was held in committee Thursday after aldermen raised concern that they didn’t have enough involvement in the ordinance. The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability on Wednesday released a statement urging against the police department’s adoption of an overhauled gang database.

Aldermen in City Council chambers during Wednesday’s meeting of the Subcommittee on Chicago Recovery Plan [Erin Hegarty] 

Aldermen were updated Wednesday on the number of trees the city has planted as part of a multi-year plan meant to help Chicago recover from the pandemic.

Chicago Board of Elections Spokesperson Max Bever during the ballot placement lottery Tuesday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Ja’Mal Green will be listed first on the Feb. 28 ballot for the Chicago mayoral race so long as he can survive a challenge to the petition signatures he turned in last month.   

A City Council committee on Tuesday approved a property tax incentive for a grocery store in Humboldt Park. The budget committee is set to hold hearings on environmental justice and climate initiatives under the Chicago Recovery Plan. And another committee will consider granting funding for community gardens and school improvements. 

Ja’Mal Green speaks to reporters Monday after filing a challenge against Willie Wilson’s petition signatures. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]  

Five of the 11 candidates hoping to run for mayor in the Feb. 28 municipal election are facing challenges to the petition signatures they turned in last month. Mayor Lori Lightfoot escaped a challenge from any of the 10 people who are challenging her. 

Related: Ten candidates file petitions to challenge Lightfoot in 2023 mayoral election 

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle presides over a special meeting to swear in new members of the Board of Commissioners on Dec. 5, 2022. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The 17-member Cook County Board of Commissioners was sworn into office during a special meeting Monday morning. The board features four new faces and one fewer Republican commissioner. 

Board President Toni Preckwinkle took her oath of office shortly thereafter to be sworn in for a fourth term as the county’s top executive. Preckwinkle’s reelection set her up to be the longest serving board president since George Dunne, who served from 1969 to 1990. Preckwinkle took office in 2010.

A key City Council committee approved the sale of four city-owned parcels during a meeting Monday. And the city reached a $10 million settlement agreement with UberEats and Postmates.

The above map shows locations of the city’s current special service areas. [City of Chicago] 

The City Council Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday to consider the creation of three new Special Service Areas and amendments to other special taxing districts across the city. 

210 people filed petitions to run for an aldermanic seat. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

A total of 210 candidates filed petition signatures to run for an aldermanic seat across the city’s 50 wards and Monday marks the final day to file objections to get any of the City Council hopefuls kicked off the 2023 municipal ballot. 

And while this year’s more than 200 candidates may seem like a large number of people running for any office, it’s almost the exact average of the number of aldermanic candidates who filed petitions to run in the past four municipal elections. Still, with a big swath of alderman retiring at the end of this term or running for mayor, some say they expected this year’s aldermanic pool to be higher. 

The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Monday to consider the sale of four city-owned parcels and the acquisition of properties in the 3rd Ward. 

Members of the City Council Committee on Finance during a meeting Thursday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line] 

Black and Latino Chicagoans are denied mortgage loans at higher rates than white residents, and aldermen are pushing the city to take more drastic actions to penalize banks that engaging in such inequitable lending while also holding city assets.  

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas speaks to the Cook County Finance Committee on Oct. 25. [Cook County Board of Commissioners Livestream]

As property tax bills begin to hit Cook County taxpayers’ mailboxes, an analysis from the Cook County Treasurer’s Office found that while most property owners saw their taxes increase, the impact is uneven between residential and commercial payers. The office released a study Thursday which shows some gentrifying Latino communities experienced dramatic spikes in their bills, increasing as much as 46 percent, sparking worries about existing residents being priced out. 

“There are still inequities in our property tax system and we need to straighten it out,” Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said in a news release Dec. 1. 

The City Council Committees on Budget and Government Operations and Finance will hold meetings Thursday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line] 

The City Council Committee on Finance is set to meet at 9 a.m. Thursday for a subject matter hearing on municipal depositories. Aldermen will also hear an update on the city’s Workers’ Compensation program. 

Aldermen during the Zoning Committee meeting Tuesday. [City of Chicago livestream] 

Aldermen gave an initial OK to a proposal to build a 63-unit affordable housing development in Lincoln Square near the CTA’s Western Brown Line train station.