The flag of Cook County flies outside the county building. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Cook County officials on Monday launched a $3 million program funded through federal COVID-19 assistance to help residents install green energy systems on their homes.

The program is launching at the same time as the county considers legislation that would protect certain commercial property owners from property tax increases based on their use of solar energy.

Chief Larry Snelling answers questions during a committee meeting Friday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

After spending three hours asking him about his stance on officer wellness, recruitment and the federal consent decree, members of a key City Council committee on Friday voted unanimously to send the appointment of Larry Snelling as the next superintendent of the Chicago Police Department to the full council for approval Wednesday. 

Comm. Dennis Deer (D-2) speaks during a Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting on Sept. 21, 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line.]

Cook County commissioners introduced a measure to hold a hearing on Cook County Health’s use of staffing agencies, a measure to hold a hearing on missing and murdered Black women and a measure calling for opioid settlement funds to be used to fight trauma and substance abuse Thursday.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle presides over a meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 21, 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to accept grant funding to assist asylum seekers, but Board President Toni Preckwinkle noted it was a one-time allotment as the county continues to spend millions per month to care for new arrivals.

A rendering of the building proposed for 200-208, 222 N. Halsted St. in the 27th Ward. [City of Chicago presentation]

A proposal to build a 36-story building with more than 400 residential units near the intersection of Lake and Halsted streets on the Near West Side will now go through the City Council approval process after the Chicago Plan Commission gave the development its stamp of approval Thursday.

Mayor Brandon Johnson (left) and Larry Snelling, chief of the Chicago Police Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism, speak during a news conference in August [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Larry Snelling, chief of the Chicago Police Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism, will undergo likely rounds of questions from alderpersons Friday as a City Council committee takes a first vote on whether to confirm him as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s pick to lead the Chicago Police Department.

The above shows an example of GardaWorld’s soft-sided shelters. [City of Chicago contract document] 

With Chicago's inking of a nearly $29.4 million contract with GardaWorld last week to provide temporary housing for migrants, city officials are planning to move migrants currently housed at police district stations and O’Hare and Midway airports into the potential new shelters before temperatures drop. 

Proponents of eliminating the tipped minimum wage held a news conference Wednesday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

With approval from a key committee Wednesday, the City Council will vote early next month on a proposal to phase out the so-called subminimum wage for tipped workers in Chicago over the next five years.

Cook County lawmakers hold a meeting in March 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Following two hours of discussion and despite some concerns, most county commissioners Wednesday voted to authorize a program that provides assistance to residents with past-due water bills and helps municipal water utilities reduce their own debts to their suppliers.

A rendering of the building proposed for 200-208, 222 N. Halsted St. in the 27th Ward. [City of Chicago presentation] 

The Chicago Plan Commission on Thursday is set to consider a short agenda that includes a proposal for a 36-story building with more than 400 residential units near the intersection of Lake and Halsted streets on the Near West Side. 

The flag of Cook County flies outside the county building in downtown Chicago. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The Cook County Board of Commissioners will meet Thursday and consider approval of grant funding to assist asylum seekers, a program to coordinate health and social services and numerous collective bargaining agreements.

Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) speaks during a news conference in June. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Members of the City Council on Wednesday are expected to take a first vote on a tweaked proposal to phase out the so-called subminimum wage that is currently paid to Chicago’s tipped workers.

A seal for the Forest Preserves of Cook County is pictured on a podium during a July 2023 board meeting. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line]

The Board of Commissioners for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County met at the Crabtree Nature Center in Barrington Tuesday and approved a contract to complete various picnic shelter repairs, approved the purchase of more than two dozen new vehicles and approved the latest report on model policing under the forest preserves’ police department.  

The board also introduced new legislation, including changes to the preserves' ban on bottled water purchases and an extension of the district’s fee schedule.

Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks during a news conference Monday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Pollution disproportionately affects Chicago’s South and West sides, and polluter industries are moving from the city’s white neighborhoods to Black and Latinx communities, a report released Monday shows.

Cook County’s flag is pictured flying outside the county building in downtown Chicago. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Various county committees will meet Wednesday to consider new rules for the county ethics board and a program to assist residents with unpaid water bills. Committees will also receive reports on the COVID-19 pandemic and on efforts to recruit and retain county employees.