Aldermen and advocates behind two proposals that would formalize civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department are hoping the most recent versions of their plans will finally make it to a City Council vote early this year.

The City Council Committee on Public Safety during its Tuesday meeting accepted modifications to proposals for a Chicago Police Accountability Council (CPAC) and another from Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability (GAPA), with committee hearings on each proposal expected later this month, according to Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29), chair of the committee.

News in brief: Lightfoot calls on feds for ‘exponential’ increase in vaccine doses; Tensions heat up over CPS partial reopening plan

Part of a report from Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas showing which Chicago properties have registered the biggest tax hikes since 2000, showing which residential properties have gone up most.

A Gold Coast condo charged with a $6,700 tax bill in 2000 was saddled with nearly $134,000 in taxes in 2019. The bill for a two-story house in Winnetka went from about $53,000 in 2000 to more than $675,000 19 years later. And an industrial building on Chicago’s Near West Side saw its tax burden multiply from $785.11 to $30,354 during the same period.

GAPA coordinator Desmon Yancy and CPAC leader Tamer Abouzeid in October spoke about their plans during a City Council Committee on Public Safety hearing.

After months of delays, aldermen are not wasting time in the new year moving toward a vote on a civilian oversight commission for the Chicago Police Department.

The City Council’s Committee on Public Safety is scheduled during its 11 a.m. meeting Tuesday to hear changes to two police oversight proposals: one from the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability (GAPA) and one for a Chicago Police Accountability Council (CPAC). 

Leaders of Metra, the Pace suburban bus agency and the Regional Transportation Authority joined Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Monday to mark the beginning of a three-year pilot program aimed at helping south-suburban residents with a “lack of affordable options” for getting around, Preckwinkle said.

The South Cook Fair Transit program will slash fares on the Metra Electric and Rock Island train lines to $2.50 per ride, matching the CTA’s rate. It will also more than double the frequency of bus service on Pace’s busy No. 352 line, which traverses the Southland.

Cook County officials are slated to demolish two buildings at the jail campus in Little Village later this year.

Air quality monitoring data will be available to neighbors during the demolition work.

LITTLE VILLAGE — Cook County officials will demolish two former dormitories at the county jail campus in Little Village this spring.

On Wednesday night, Cook County officials from the Bureau of Asset Management detailed demolition plans for two buildings at the complex at 2700 S. California Ave.

The county plans to demolish buildings known as Division 1 and 1A. The vacant buildings, built in the early 1900s, were deteriorating and were “costly” and difficult to maintain, said Earl Manning, director of Capital Planning & Policy with Cook County.

With the narrow passage of Chicago and Cook County’s pandemic budgets and the initial rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine behind them in 2020, officials this year are tasked with redrawing Chicago ward, Cook County district, Illinois General Assembly and congressional district maps.

Drawing new maps and redistricting across the country occurs every 10 years, following the decennial census count. The purpose of redrawing in its simplest form is to ensure equitable representation as the population of the state and cities waxes, wanes and shifts.

 

For the business leaders and property owners who were already sour on Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi and his wave of sweeping changes to the county’s tax assessment system, 2020 did little to put them at ease.

In April, Kaegi shocked property owners and other county officials when he announced his office would send new valuations to millions of property owners all across the county that took into account the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Kaegi pitched the overhaul of the office’s typical assessment system as a way to give property owners a more accurate read on how much they should owe in property taxes in 2021.

Aldermen took turns during a marathon hearing on Tuesday tearing into leaders of multiple city agencies for their handling of the botched 2019 Chicago Police raid on the home of Anjanette Young, challenging police leaders and investigators over whether their list of proposed policy changes would be enough to prevent future episodes of police abuse.

Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29) and Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6) last week called the unprecedented Christmas week hearing to demand answers over the raid, whose fallout has already led to the ouster of Chicago Corporation Counsel Mark Flessner.

Northwest Side Democratic officials voted unanimously Monday to appoint Cristina Pacione-Zayas, an education policy advocate and member of the Illinois State Board of Education, to fill the Illinois State Senate seat vacated by Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez.

A new bill filed on Monday seeks to allow the General Assembly to conduct business remotely during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and future emergencies.

Sponsored by Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago) and Sen. Robert Martwick (D-Chicago), the legislation (HB 5868) comes months after a similar measure narrowly failed in the House and just weeks ahead of the legislature’s anticipated return to Springfield.

A coalition of housing organizers and some aldermen are rallying in support of new city legislation proposed to help maintain affordable homes in the Pilsen and 606 area, but they say the measure’s impact will be muted unless merged with another plan that has been languishing without a vote in the City Council since July.

In the 2021 Chicago budget approved last month, city budget documents attributed $43 million of a $93.9 million property tax increase to a "loss in collection" shortfall.

At a November presentation, city Budget Director Susie Park said that this was “the result of a lawsuit that the city lost."

Aldermen are expected on Tuesday to grill representatives of city departments including the police department and Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) during a hearing on search warrants and search warrant procedures.

News in brief: Pritzker scales back COVID-19 briefings; Census participation exceeds 2010, other populated states; Senate releases 2021 session schedule