Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks during a news conference Wednesday.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, Gov. JB Pritzker, other local political leaders and members of various industries continued pushing for the federal government to fast-track work authorization for asylum seekers.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle speaks at Morton College in Cicero on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. [Office of the Board President]

Cook County officials were joined by federal emergency management officials this week to announce the opening of four disaster recovery centers for victims of severe flooding that occurred in Cicero, Berwyn, parts of Chicago and Stickney during storms over the Fourth of July weekend.

It’s the latest in a series of actions taken to help affected households get back on their feet.

Department of Water Management Comm. Andrea Cheng speaks during a committee meeting Tuesday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Leaders of the city’s water management and finance departments on Tuesday attempted to allay concerns from alderpersons and Chicago residents about “astronomical” water bill increases residents are receiving, some of which suggest households are using more water than the Shedd Aquarium.  

City officials chalked much of the expensive water bills up to issues with water meter readings and human error.

John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital is pictured in this file photo.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Tuesday announced she has secured funding from the federal government to help a Cook County hospital upgrade critical equipment to care for infants.

The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate met on Monday. [City of Chicago livestream]

City officials are looking to the City Council for approval to buy property near the North Branch of the Chicago River in the 39th Ward that could soon house as many as 550 migrants.

Cook County Comm. Tara Stamps is the new Democratic county commissioner representing District 1 following Brandon Johnson's election as Chicago mayor. [Office of Comm. Tara Stamps/claudia zunophoto.com]

Cook County Comm. Tara Stamps (D-1) shares many traits with her predecessor Mayor Brandon Johnson, who she was appointed to replace in June after the now mayor vacated his county board seat. Stamps, like Johnson, is an educator, an organizer, a progressive and a parent. 

While she wants to embody what she described as the best of what Johnson brought to his time as a county commissioner, she is also hoping her unique perspective and political background allow her to affect policy change from the grassroots level up.

A City Council committee is set to hold a hearing on lessening the burden of water bills on Chicagoans. And Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security to streamline work authorization for asylum seekers. 

A key City Council committee on Monday will consider a proposal to buy property from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) to operate a migrant shelter.

The county’s independent revenue forecasting body has finalized its annual set of recommendations, and the Cook County Board of Review has begun the 2023 tax session in the hopes of combatting delays that have affected tax bills in recent years.

Mayor Brandon Johnson during his first City Council meeting. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

With more than three months of experience leading the city and working with Chicago’s 50 alderpersons under his belt, Mayor Brandon Johnson told The Daily Line he is confident his leadership style of listening to and collaborating with the City Council is permeating to other level of city government and its sister agencies.

File photo

Mayor Brandon Johnson on Thursday announced the city filed a lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai for failing to include “industry-standard engine immobilizers” in multiple vehicle models sold in the United States, “resulting in a steep rise in vehicle thefts, reckless driving, property damage, and a wide array of related violent crimes in Chicago,” according to a  news release from the mayor’s office.

A Chicago encampment highlighted in the OIG report. [Department of Family and Support Services]

A program coordinated by the city’s Department of Family and Support Services successfully provides rapid rehousing for unhoused Chicagoans living in encampments who want to pursue permanent housing, an audit from Chicago’s Office of Inspector General found.  

The audit also found city workers are giving residents in encampments proper notice before disposing of abandoned items and that the city did not permanently displace any residents living in encampments during the time under review. 

Chicago's skyline is pictured in this file photo.

As the city experiences its latest heat wave, officials with the city’s health department are waiting for the results of a heat study conducted last month that could provide crucial information about how to prevent and mitigate heat-related deaths and illnesses in the city.

In April, Chicago was among 18 communities selected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to participate in this year’s urban heat island mapping campaign, a project NOAA has undertaken since 2017 and which is funded through the NOAA Climate Program Office, according to a NOAA spokesperson.  

Advocates for Bring Chicago Home held a rally at City Hall in July. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line]

Details of the latest version of the Bring Chicago Home proposal to raise the city’s real estate transfer tax to eradicate homelessness are being presented to alderpersons this week after supporters said Mayor Brandon Johnson backed details of the proposal that’s been years in the making.

Cook County received its second ratings upgrade in a matter of years, and the county’s Independent Revenue Forecasting Commission will meet and consider a report of recommendations to the board of commissioners ahead of budget season.