City zoning officials are set to conduct a lottery on Friday to decide which cannabis purveyors get dibs on the limited number of available spots city officials said recreational dispensaries can set up shop.

Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals will draw names from a list of 31 dispensary owners who are licensed by the state to sell cannabis across the Chicago region, including eight operators with city addresses.

The City Council’s Progressive Caucus Wednesday rejected Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposal to require employers to pay their tipped workers $2 more an hour starting next year as insufficient — rather than $15 an hour by 2021.

The battle over Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to triple taxes on some ride-hailing trips erupted Wednesday as Lightfoot accused Uber of “buying off black ministers” in an attempt to kill the plan set to generate $40 million for the city in 2020. But the mayor offered no proof to back up her accusation, which Uber said was "completely factually inaccurate."

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has one day left to salvage her push to get state lawmakers to help her stem the tide of red ink threatening to overwhelm the city’s budget by changing the rules for a Chicago casino.

Acknowledging that time is running out on her effort to convince state lawmakers to help her plug the city’s massive budget gap, Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled her Plan B Tuesday, detailing $50 million in cuts and a total property tax hike of $65 million.

Lightfoot traveled to Springfield Tuesday to lobby for her plan to change the city’s Real Estate Transfer Tax from a flat tax to a graduated levy so that the city could bank an additional $50 million to plug the city’s $838 million budget shortfall.

However, with no support from Republicans and a demand from progressive Democratic lawmakers that Lightfoot earmark some of the new revenue to reduce homelessness in Chicago, in the Real Estate Transfer Tax appears unlikely to pass both the Illinois House and Senate before the Veto Session is scheduled to end Thursday.

Lightfoot said she had not given up hope that the proposal would make it through the General Assembly.

Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett said she would plug the city’s remaining gap by revising the estimate of how much the city will save by refinancing $1.3 billion of the city’s debt. Instead of banking $200 million, the plan will save the city $215 million, Huang Bennett said.

The city will also save another $20 million by scaling back plans to fill positions left vacant after Lightfoot ordered a hiring freeze in August as the size of the city’s budget gap became clear, Huang Bennett said. Instead, the size of the city’s workforce will remain at the same level as it was in early 2019, she added.

Related: Lightfoot wipes out a quarter of city’s deficit by refinancing $1.3B in debt 

The city will save another $15 million by cutting spending in several departments, including the mayor’s office.

During the budget hearings, several aldermen criticized Lightfoot’s proposed expansion of the mayor’s office, which had been set to see it’s budget grow by $3.8 million and 30 positions.

Instead, the mayor’s office will grow by $2.6 million, and a number of planned new positions will not be created, Huang Bennett said. However, the she said the mayor will continue to move forward on new violence prevention, sustainability and risk management initiatives.

City officials could not immediately identify which planned positions would be eliminated and how many had been axed.

The city also revised its projections for health care spending to save $6 million, Huang Bennett said.

In addition, the city now expects to spend $2 million less on overtime for the Chicago Fire Department, Huang Bennett said.

Read all of The Daily Line’s coverage of Chicago’s 2020 budget

Those cuts and savings add up to approximately $50 million, enough to bridge the gap if state lawmakers leave Chicago’s Real Estate Transfer Tax unchanged.

But although most of the briefings for aldermen Tuesday focused on those cuts, several aldermen were shocked to hear that the city’s property tax levy will rise $65 million next year, including $18 million to reopen Chicago Public Library branches on Sunday afternoons and $15 million to capture property tax revenue from newly constructed homes and businesses.

The bulk of that increase — $33 million — was approved by aldermen in the spring, before Lightfoot took over from former Mayor Rahm Emanuel as part of an agreement to retire some of the city’s general obligation debt, Huang Bennett said.

Several aldermen told The Daily Line that they did not realize that they had approved a property tax increase. The jump was never discussed during City Council committee meetings or before the final vote.   

City officials did not immediately provide more information about the details about the measure that approved the property tax hike.

Even though the fate of the city’s Real Estate Transfer Tax will have the biggest impact on the city’s budget, Lightfoot said she was most focused on asking state lawmakers to change the tax and fee structure of a Chicago casino to make it more attractive to investors and operators, and she has renewed her request to allow the city to own the casino. However, the city isn’t counting on gaming revenue until 2021.

House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) said Lightfoot advocated for changes to the rules for a Chicago casino during a meeting of the Democratic Caucus.

“She did a good job,” Madigan said. “There were several comments they had never seen a mayor of Chicago in a House Democratic Caucus. They were very pleased about that.”

Lightfoot said changing the rules for a Chicago casino will boost the entire state’s economy, a pitch she’s making to Downstate lawmakers.

Related: Lightfoot: Chicago casino study proves I was right about problems with state gambling law

“Being down here is important,” Lightfoot said, adding that she traveled to Springfield Tuesday to build relationships with members of the General Assembly and advocate for Chicago. “Many of them didn’t know me before I ran. I’m a blank piece of paper to many of them.”

Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for Gov. JB Pritzker, said the governor and the mayor “had another productive meeting and conversation this afternoon, and he remains committed to encouraging members of the General Assembly to support the mayor’s priorities.”

Lightfoot said she expected the changes for a Chicago casino to be voted on Wednesday.

The governor will sign a bill changing the tax and fee structure of a Chicago casino if it reaches his desk, Abudayyeh said late Tuesday.

“Over the past several days, staff from the city, both the House and the Senate and the governor’s office have discussed the contours of a proposal, and there has been broad agreement from the parties,” Abudayyeh said. “Our understanding is that legislators will be filing a bill shortly, and the governor would encourage lawmakers to support it.”

However, state officials have yet to assure city officials they will get the $163 million in reimbursements from the federal government for ambulance rides through the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services that Lightfoot is counting on.

Aldermen are set to take the first step toward approving the city’s $11.65 billion spending plan Tuesday, when they gather at 10 a.m. for a meeting of the full City Council and hold the required public hearing on the budget.

The City Council is scheduled to meet twice more before Thanksgiving to approve the budget, with the final vote set for Nov. 26.

Aldermen on Wednesday are set give final approval to a number of items:

• O2019-7985 — A labor agreement with the Policemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association of Illinois, which represents the Chicago Police Department’s sergeants, lieutenants and captains.


• O2019-8065 — A financial package to help A Safe Haven Foundation, a Lawndale-based nonprofit for veterans with substance use disorders at risk of homlessness, build a 90-unit affordable housing complex near Roosevelt Road and Sacramento Avenue.


• O2019-7127 — A lease agreement with U.S. Customs and Border Protection for data communications equipment at Midway International Airport.


• O2019-8101 — A lease and license agreement with Taking Flight Concessions LLC for concession and vending services at Chicago O'Hare International Airport Multimodal Facility.


• O2019-8006 — A measure from Ald. Marty Quinn (13) that would ban Airbnb or other home-sharing services from setting up shop in the 15th precinct of his ward.


• O2019-8021 — A measure from Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11) to ban home-sharing in the 31st precinct of his ward.


• O2019-8027 — A measure that would prohibit peddling in parts of the 3rd and 4th wards.


• O2019-6960; O2019-7999; O2019-6835 — Three measures to allow the sale of packaged liquor.


• A2019-69 — The appointment of Sulema Medrano Novak, a former Cook County assistant state’s attorney now working for the Smith Amundsen law firm, to the city’s Human Resources Board.


• A2019-96 — The appointment of Danielle Meltzer Cassel to the International Port District Board.


• A2019-95 — The appointment of Ivan Solis to the International Port District Board.


• (O2019-7925 — A measure to designate Chicago Avenue between Lake Shore Drive and Fairbanks Court in Streeterville for U.S.Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, Chicago native who died in July.


• Aldermen are also expected to approve several items related to Special Service Areas, which levy taxes to boost neighborhood shopping districts including appointments, budgets and the expansion of two districts in the 5th, 6th, 8th and 9th wards.

A key city panel on Tuesday cleared the way for the city to subsidize a 100-unit all-affordable housing complex in Logan Square, knocking down yet another hurdle the proposal’s years-long run-up to groundbreaking.

The proposal by Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. envisions a seven-story building on the site of a 1.43-acre city-owned parking lot at 2602-38 N. Emmett St.

A package of city subsidies and tax credits to build a 90-unit, six-story affordable housing complex designed to help senior veterans stay off Chicago’s streets is one step away from final approval.

The City Council’s Finance Committee unanimously endorsed the package (O2019-8065) to help A Safe Haven Foundation, a Lawndale-based nonprofit for veterans with substance use disorders at risk of homlessness, build the complex near Roosevelt Road and Sacramento Avenue.

Seventy-five of the units would be designated for veterans who qualify for federal rental assistance, while the other units will be leased to those earning less than 60 percent of the area median income. Two of the complex’s units would have one bedroom, while the rest would be studios, Housing Department Financial Analyst Barbara Taylor told aldermen.

Ald. Leslie Hairston (5) said she was concerned that the units, which come fully furnished and with their own kitchens, were too small.

“We’re not putting our best foot forward,” Hairston said.

The complex would include common spaces including a gazebo, computer room and a lounge, officials said.

Ald. Jason Ervin, whose 28th Ward is home to the the project site, said the development would breathe new life into North Lawndale and  the area across from Douglas Park.

“This area has long been vacant,” Ervin said. “This is an enhancement.”

The package set for final approval Wednesday includes $11 million in low-income housing tax credits from the Illinois Housing Development Authority; $1.7 from the city’s Low-Income Housing Trust Fund and approximately $403,000 in Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credits.

“I fully 100 percent support this,” Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38) said.

The proposal also includes a $4.5 million loan from the Midwest Tax-Increment Financing District, which covers nearly 2,000 acres in North Lawndale and East Garfield Park. That loan is to be paid back during the next 42 years, records show.

In addition, Home Depot will donate $500,000 toward the project and Commonwealth Edison will contribute $133,600 to the development, records show.

In October, the City Council agreed to sell the foundation seven city-owned parcels for the development for $1 per parcel. The properties were appraised at $875,000, records show.

Ald. Walter Burnett (27) said there are too many homeless veterans in Chicago.

“A lot of them just need a leg up to help them get started,” Burnett said, adding that he expected some of the residents to use the complex as temporary housing and move on to bigger apartments.

Burnett said the $21.2 million development would also spur economic activity on the West Side.

“I think it is a great thing,” Burnett said.

Leaders of the Cook County Forest Preserves District will be forced to make “major cuts” to popular programs and ecological restoration efforts if the system doesn’t get an infusion of cash next year, they told members of the county’s Board of Commissioners last week.

Aldermen are set to green light a package of city subsidies and tax credits to build a 90-unit, six-story affordable housing complex designed to help senior veterans stay off Chicago’s streets.

With two weeks of dawn-to dusk budget hearings behind them, aldermen are no closer to filling the city’s massive budget gap, nor to resolving several disputes that bubbled to the surface during the marathon sessions.

If former State Rep. Luis Arroyo  — who resigned after being charged with corruption — helps pick his own replacement, the Illinois House of Representatives may not seat that person, House Speaker Michael Madigan warned Monday.

By Cassie Walker Burke, Chalkbeat Chicago

Enrollment in Chicago Public Schools has shrunk further, down 1.7% this school year from the previous year. In all, the district lost 6,158 students, according to numbers released Friday.

The district’s final student tally for 2019-20 is 355,156. Click here to see enrollment numbers by school. 

But the year-over-year declines slowed considerably compared to past years, when annual drops topped 10,000 or more. The district credited higher numbers of students enrolling in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.

The city still holds on to the title of the nation’s third largest school system, behind New York City and Los Angeles and ahead of Miami Dade, which also saw its student population decline this fall to 347,069.

Student enrollment counts are important, because they determine how much money the district gets from the state, and how much individual schools get from the district. At the school level, per-student funding determines how many teachers a principal can hire, whether or not there are librarians and arts teachers, and how many programs are offered.



The figures reflect enrollment as of Sept. 30, the 20th day of school. That’s the official school census day throughout the state.

By race, the district saw 2% decrease in the largest student demographic — Latino students — but larger declines in the number of black students, continuing a decades-long trend. Black students dropped 3.5% from the year prior and a full 30% from a decade ago. Meanwhile, the number of white and Asian students inched up slightly.

Overall, the new enrollment figures show slight changes in the racial demographics of the district: Chicago Public Schools is now 47% Latino, 36% black, 11% white, and 4% Asian.

Chicago isn’t the only district shrinking. Statewide, Illinois schools lost 17,010 pupils — roughly 1% of enrollment — in the past year. The new statewide student tally is 1,984,519, according to new data from the Illinois Report Card. To blame are a declining birth rate, a slowdown in immigration, and population declines overall.

In Chicago, when schools gain students from the previous year, they get more money from the district in the form of mid-year adjustments. This year, those mid-year adjustments will total $13 million, the district said Friday.

When schools lose students, they don’t immediately lose funding, but they can lose it the following school year.

“While there are signs of encouragement,” said Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson, “we are fully committed to supporting school communities that are struggling with enrollment by providing additional resources through equity grants and a budgeting approach that promotes stability.”

The district announced in the spring a small school grant program that will disburse $31 million among 219 elementary and high schools with struggling enrollment.

Amid a district-wide expansion of preschool for 4-year-olds, the district reported 1,421 more 4-year-olds to total 14,300, offsetting a similar-sized drop in the number of 3-year-olds. As part of its universal pre-K expansion, the district has reduced the number of half-day classroom slots for 3-year-olds in lieu of expanding the number of full-day seats for 4-year-olds.

The number of students enrolled in charters declined slightly, from 54,569 last year to 53,415 this fall. Similarly, the number of high schoolers enrolled in alternative or “options” schools also dipped, from 2,317 last year to 2,176, the district said Friday.

Chicago closed 50 schools in 2013 because of low enrollment, then district leaders agreed to a moratorium on school closings for five years. Once the moratorium lifted, the district announced a plan to shutter 4 high schools in Englewood and open a new $85 million high school to replace them. The new high school, Englewood STEM, opened this fall with an inaugural freshman class of 414.

National statistics tend to lag behind local ones, but public school enrollment was still growing, albeit slowly, according to the most recent data from the National Center on Education Statistics.

Here’s how the five largest districts in the country stack up: New York City schools latest public count was 1,126,501 for last school year, followed by Los Angeles Unified (557,560 for K-12). Chicago comes in third, followed by Miami Dade at fourth (347,069), and Clark County, Nevada, at fifth (320,703 for K-12).

Some districts include pre-K in their tallies, while others don’t. Chicago includes pre-K in its final numbers.

A national search is underway for the next superintendent of the Chicago Police Department — but it won’t be former Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck.

Beck made his Chicago debut Friday at City Hall, alongside Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the man he will replace on an interim basis in January, CPD Supt. Eddie Johnson.

Beck took himself out of the running for permanently taking the $260,044-a-year job, telling reporters that he had asked his wife and the “answer was no.”

Beck promised to “stick to his word” and not seek to stay on permanently, but would instead try to make Chicago a safer city.

“This is a great opportunity for me to make a difference in a big city that I think is a beautiful city that has so much opportunity for progress,” Beck said. “I didn’t take this to fill a resume or to make money or any of that. I took this because this is my calling. This is what I do.”

Lightfoot said the permanent superintendent may well be chosen from within the CPD’s ranks.

“We have great talent in our department,” Lightfoot said.

While former Mayor Rahm Emanuel went around the Police Board to tap Johnson to take the reins of the Chicago Police Department in 2015, Lightfoot said she would follow the rules.

Chicago Police Board President Ghian Foreman — who served as the board’s No. 2 when Lightfoot was president — said the nationwide search would begin immediately. The board is charged with selecting three finalists, and submitting them to the mayor to make a final pick.

Lightfoot said Beck was the “perfect interim selection for what Chicago needs at this moment.”

Lightfoot has appointed three members of the nine-member board: Paula Wolff, John P. O’Malley Jr. and Matthew C. Crowl. Wolff and O’Malley were first appointed by Emanuel.

Lightfoot cast Beck as a leader in the mold of Johnson — a patrol officer who rose to the highest rank after decades of service. Beck, who became a police officer in 1977, became LAPD chief in in 2009 and retired in June 2018.

“This department can be the change,” Beck said. “This department can be the glue that binds the city together, and not the powder that tears it apart.”

Beck called Johnson a friend several times during the half-hour news conference, and said he would continue his legacy and rely on his expertise.

Johnson returned the compliment, lauding Beck as a standup law enforcement officer.

Ald. Carlos Ramirez Rosa (35) tweeted that Beck assured aldermen he would not apply for the permanent job. Ramirez Rosa said he would not support Beck as a permanent chief, citing his record in Los Angeles.

Lightfoot vowed to pick “the best person for the foreseeable future,” Lightfoot said in an interview with the Sun-Times Friday.

The next superintendent of the Chicago Police Department must have experience running a “big and complicated” organization who can “motivate the troops” and “understands the value of constitutional policing.”

Two Wall Street credit rating agencies gave the tentative agreement between the city and the Chicago Teachers Union their stamps of approval, while a third warned that the deal “will widen a structural gap” facing the Chicago Public Schools.

Cook County Democratic Party Chair Toni Preckwinkle acknowledged Friday she can not stop former State Rep. Luis Arroyo — who resigned after being charged with corruption — from leading the process that will pick his own replacement.