Chicago News

  • The first of five hearings about several competing oversight ordinances Monday evening featured robust support for the measure proposed by Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) and complaints about the process, a new ad featuring Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson is set to air during your favorite cable television shows and aldermen moved to force a vote on a measure that would require city officials to prepare impact statements on big-ticket city projects.

    The crowd at the first hearing on police oversight objected to the format of the hearing, which did not include details of several competing proposals. [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line]
    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • At a Monday morning event at the Union League Club of Chicago, mayoral hopeful Paul Vallas outlined what he believed were the failures of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration to address crime, while a suit filed Monday argues there are too few affordable housing units accessible for those with disabilities. And Chicago wins an ignominious distinction, again, as public hearings on police oversight start Tuesday evening on the South Side.

    Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas briefs reporters on his public safety plans at the Union League Club, May 14, 2018. Credit: A.D. Quig, The Daily Line


    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • Motorists who drive downtown and hope to avoid having to feed the meter for short errands could face a $300 fine for double parking, under a measure reached after a compromise between Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) and Ald. Daniel Solis (25.)

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s effort to encourage mobile businesses by creating a new permit for the firms on wheels will get its first hearing at the meeting of the Committee on License and Consumer Protection set for 11 a.m. Wednesday.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • Cook County commissioners will gather for committee meetings beginning at 11 a.m. Tuesday. They will receive updates on pending suits and settlements in executive session, including Chief Judge Timothy Evans’ deal with the county over the $200 million in budget cuts. Both sides say “discussions are ongoing,” with some union employees pushing back against a demand for 10 furlough days to avoid layoffs and local aldermen against closure of a North Side branch court.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • Update: We have included prior disclosures that mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot made as president of the City's Police Board, as well as Mayor Rahm Emanuel's 2017 statement. In addition, the story now refers to disclosures as Statements of Financial Interests, in keeping with the practice of the city's ethics board.

    City law requires aspiring aldermen and mayors to disclose information about their finances to the public — and statements of financial interests have begun to roll in as candidates launch their bids for City Hall.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • With the next meeting of the City Council set for May 23, council committees will be in full swing this week. First up is a rare meeting of the Committee on Education and Child Development, which will hold a hearing about what city health officials can do to address trauma caused by violence in Chicago children.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • Former Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot Thursday became the 10th candidate to challenge Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s bid to hang on to the fifth floor office at City Hall for a third term. The flood of aldermanic candidates also continued, with challengers filing in the 29th 39th and 46th wards, while defeated Cook County assessor candidate Andrea Raila geared up to push for new election filing rules.

    Former Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot announces her campaign for mayor of Chicago. [A.D. Quig/The Daily Line]
    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • All probationary police officers must now wear and use body-worn cameras after a thwarted investigation into whether a training officer used racial slurs and profane language during a call for help, according to city records.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • A new survey proves the need for the City Council to pass a law requiring employers to give workers at least two weeks' notice of their schedules and pay them more for last-minute changes, according to a group of aldermen and union leaders who gathered Thursday at City Hall.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • Public Safety Chairman Ariel Reboyras scheduled five meetings across the city to gather input from Chicagoans on how the Chicago Police Department should be reformed — and how police misconduct should be handled.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • Mayor Rahm Emanuel will have four candidates to choose from when he makes his pick to replace 23rd Ward Ald. Mike Zalewski, who is retiring at the end of May.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • Ald. Michelle Harris (8) withstood criticism from residents of her South Side ward over a senior housing facility in her ward, ultimately winning the Zoning Committee’s approval. The four-hour meeting also saw passage of several large items that cleared the Plan Commission last month – a revamp of ComEd’s facility in the 33rd Ward, a People’s Gas relocation in the 39th Ward, a few transit oriented developments, and changes to the city’s zoning board of appeals.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • County Clerk David Orr has proposed three big changes to countywide elections in the last months of his term, and all three require approval from the Illinois General Assembly.

    To Read More Please Login or Join
  • Mayor Rahm Emanuel reveled in an honor for the city’s selective enrollment high schools while a fresh face moved one step closer to joining the Chicago Board of Ethics. Former Police Board President Lori Lightfoot is expected to make her run for Chicago mayor today, aiming to be the standout progressive voice in a crowded field.

    Stephanie Cox-Batson, second from left, laughs with Ethics Board Director Steve Berlin, second from left, and Aldermen Michelle Harris (8), left, and Greg Mitchell (7.) [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line]
    To Read More Please Login or Join