The City Council Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation approved $75,000 in Open Space Impact Fee funds to expand an urban farm. And public hearings on three Special Service Areas draw support for extensions. 

Cook County Deputy Chief Information Officer Derrick Thomas [left] and Tyler Technologies executive Mark Hawkins speak during a meeting on Wednesday.

A long-delayed software upgrade designed to liberate Cook County’s tax offices from a decades-old computer mainframe will be delayed by at least another nine months, county technology officials told disgruntled commissioners on Wednesday. And in the meantime, officials suggested the tumultuous switch could put the county’s tax bills in jeopardy.

An ordinance set for consideration on Thursday would attempt to salvage the county’s Firearms Tax, but it still may not pass legal muster. [ripster8 on Unsplash]

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is proposing to reshuffle the county’s tax on guns and ammunition in an attempt to save the revenue stream after it was struck down by the Illinois Supreme Court last month. But the patch would still leave the tax unconstitutional, according to at least one court justice.

The CTA is earmarking billions of dollars for extensions and upgrades to train lines in its 2022 budget. [CTA/Flickr]

The CTA is moving forward with an ambitious budget for 2022 despite still-cratered revenues and ridership from the COVID-19 pandemic. Some highlights of the $1.7 billion spending plan include a permanent slash in the cost of multi-day passes, the introduction of more electric buses and continued upgrades for stations, tracks and other equipment. 

Cook County Health psychiatry department chair Joyce Miller [left] and Comm. Dennis Deer (D-2) during a meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Health & Hospitals Committee on Tuesday.

Cook County commissioners faced grim statistics on the county’s mental health crisis on Tuesday, as several department heads stressed surging demands for services and fears of potential burnout among city staff. 

Aldermen were set to consider a property tax incentive for the developer of the property at 2017 N. Mendell St., but the item was pulled from the agenda on Wednesday. [Department of Planning and Development/Twitter]

A tax incentive for a developer looking to bring a “cannabis farm” or dispensary to a property along the North Branch of the Chicago River near the Lincoln Yards mega-site that aldermen were set to approve Thursday was pulled from the agenda on Wednesday.

Chicago Department of Public Health Comm. Allison Arwady and Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez answer questions during a Facebook Live Q&A on Tuesday. [Facebook/Chicago Department of Public Health]

Cook County health officials are planning to roll out vaccinations for children as young as 5 starting on Monday, and Chicago vaccinations could get underway by the end of this week, officials said on Tuesday.

The city’s Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett addressed City Club members during a meeting Tuesday. 

Chicago’s Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett boosted various components of the city’s newly approved 2022 budget — including its moves to climb the city’s pension and debt ramps — to members of the City Club of Chicago during a Tuesday meeting. 

Left: Ald. Jim Gardiner Right: Local business owner James Suh poses for a portrait across the street from the Clarendale development, 4747 W. Irving Park Rd., at the Six Corners in Portage Park on Sept. 8, 2021. [Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago]

A business owner and Old Irving Park resident is suing Ald. Jim Gardiner (45) after leaked text messages showed the alderman used city resources in a revenge plot against him.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday that the Fraternal Order of Police is not “serious about getting a deal done” to get their members vaccinated.

A Cook County judge hit pause Monday on a requirement for Chicago’s police officers and supervisors to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of 2021, staking a partial but powerful legal victory for the Fraternal Order of Police in its challenge of the city’s vaccination rules.

Bike advocates talked about bike lanes and bike share programs on The Daily Line’s CloutCast podcast. [Alex Nitkin/The Daily Line]

Chicago workers are pushing toward the city’s goal to add or improve 100 miles of bike lanes between this year and 2022, but some transportation advocates are warning not all bike lanes are created equal and that improving bike safety is critical to getting more people to try travel on two wheels. 

Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26) was one of 25 aldermen who spoke up on the city’s vaccination rules during a special City Council meeting on Friday. [Alex Nitkin/The Daily Line]

The City Council voted overwhelmingly on Friday to reject an insurgent push to revoke Chicago’s vaccination mandate and tighten the council’s control of city human resources policy after more than two hours of impassioned debate over the measure’s legal, practical and moral implications.

Cook County Forest Preserve District Supt. Arnold Randall speaks during a Forest Preserve District board meeting on Oct. 5

The $136.6 million proposed budget for the Cook County Forest Preserve District will allow county officials to rebuild forest trails, repair picnic shelters and restore thousands of acres of natural habitat. But financial storm clouds will keep gathering on the district’s horizon while leaders wait to hear if voters throw it a financial lifeline next year, district Supt. Arnold Randall told county commissioners on Thursday.

Dozens of people gathered outside City Hall on Monday to rally against the vaccine mandate for city workers. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

The City Council is set to meet Friday for a special meeting at the behest of aldermen leading the effort to repeal Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s vaccination mandate for city employees.

Cook County Chief Financial Officer Ammar Rizki and Toni Preckwinkle chief of staff Lanetta Haynes Turner speak during a county budget hearing on Thursday.

Cook County leaders are leaning on an “executive leadership council” made up of department heads and consultants to iron out the details of how the county will spend its $1 billion windfall from the American Rescue Plan. But the ideas won’t be presented for public approvals until December — and even then, only “near-term initiatives” will be ready for consideration, county finance officials told commissioners Thursday.