Members of the finance committee Thursday. [City of Chicago livestream] 

A $5 million city grant program funded with tax-increment financing dollars to help restore a downtown corridor moved one step closer to final approval Thursday during a key City Council committee meeting.  

Members of the finance committee will meet Thursday at City Hall. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Finance on Thursday will get a first look at a portion of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to revitalize downtown’s LaSalle Street corridor that would offer a total of up to $5 million in city grants to businesses seeking to reactivate the corridor.

Aldermen meet in City Council chambers Tuesday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line] 

Members of two separate City Council committees on Tuesday approved measures that if approved by the full council next week would grant an estimated $4.5 million tax abatement to Flood Brothers Disposal for a new facility in the 14th Ward and allow the sale of one city-owned parcel in the 3rd Ward.  

Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33) speaks during a committee meeting Monday. [City of Chicago livestream]  

The City Council Committee on Health and Human Relations on Monday approved a measure (O2022-3993) meant to prohibit housing and employment discrimination or retaliation against people who have had abortions, received reproductive healthcare or gender-affirming care.  

Additionally during the Monday meeting, the committee approved a resolution (R2022-1417) supporting Iranian citizens' human rights movement and the encouragement of United Nations Human Rights Council intervention regarding human rights suppression and a resolution (R2022-332) calling for recognizing Roberto Clemente’s place of death in Loiza, Puerto Rico on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The City Council’s Housing Committee on Tuesday will consider the sale of a city-owned parcel and a lease agreement in the 41st Ward. Members of the Economic Development Committee are set to vote on a proposed property tax incentive for a business in the 14th Ward.

The Chicago Electoral Board during a meeting Friday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]  

The 2023 Chicago mayoral ballot is officially nine candidates long after a final decision Friday that candidate Frederick Collins, a Chicago Police officer, will not be listed on the ballot. 

Separately on Friday, Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26) filed paperwork with the Chicago Board of Elections withdrawing himself from the Feb. 28 election meaning he will be retiring after 14 years on the City Council.  

Chicago Chief Sustainability Officer Angela Tovar speaks to aldermen during a Jan. 6, 2023 meeting of the Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy. [City of Chicago livestream]

The City Council Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy on Friday appointed six people to the Urban Forestry Advisory Board 18 months after the creation of the board. 

The committee unanimously voted to appoint Jessica Vogt (A2022-165), James Semelka (A2022-164), Cindy Schwab (A2022-163), Daniella Pereira (A2022-162), Nuri Madina (A2022-161) and Rolando Favela (A2022-160). Each was given the opportunity to briefly speak about their background and goals for their time on the board.

Aldermen on Friday will consider appointments to the Urban Forestry Advisory Board. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]  

The City Council Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy is set to meet at noon Friday to consider six appointments to the Urban Forestry Advisory Board created in 2021.

Garcia, Johnson, Vallas leading race for Chicago Mayor

The Chicago Index, a collaboration between The Daily Line and Crain’s Chicago Business, conducted its second administration of the 2023 Race for Mayor survey from November 29 through December 14, 2022. A total of 1,757 Chicago residents were surveyed from a variety of sources, including subscribers to The Chicago Index’s panel, members of The Daily Line Chicago, subscribers to Crain’s Chicago Business,and via digital engagement on social media platforms

Results were weighted on age, region, housing tenure, race, ethnicity, and gender, so the sample was consistent with the demographics of Chicago. The margin of error was +/- 3%.

The survey shows Mayor Lori Lightfoot trailing challengers Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Brandon Johnson, and Paul Vallas. Garcia and Johnson are tied for first place, each receiving 25% of the vote, while Vallas and Lightfoot received 15% and 11%, respectively. All other candidates received 5% or less of the vote.

U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Cook County Comm. Brandon Johnson (D-1) speak at their respective mayoral announcements. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line and Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago]

Despite having the most name recognition among candidates, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is also the candidate that the most voters would be unwilling to choose in February’s mayoral election, according to a new Chicago Index survey.

That same survey also shows that progressive challengers U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Ill.) and Cook County Comm. Brandon Johnson (D-1) are the current favorites among mayoral candidates.

Screen shots from the ads of Brandon Johnson, Paul Vallas and Lori Lightfoot.  

The race for Chicago mayor notched up a level Wednesday with the launch of new TV ads from three candidates including the first for both former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas and Cook County Comm. Brandon Johnson (D-1). 

Members of the Chicago Electoral Board during a Dec. 22 meeting. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Five aldermanic candidates were officially removed from the Feb. 28 municipal election ballot last week after facing challenges to their petitions, shrinking some races even further with less than two months before the election.

The Logan Boulevard bike lane between Rockwell Street and Diversey Parkway. [Erin Hegarty] 

The Chicago Department of Transportation added more than seven miles of concrete curb protections for bike lanes throughout the city in 2022.   

Members of the Chicago Electoral Board meet Thursday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]  

The Chicago Electoral Board on Thursday adopted the recommendation that mayoral candidate Johnny Logalbo's nominating petitions are not "legally valid" for the reasons detailed in the two separate cases that were filed challenging his petitions. 

The decision shrinks the mayoral candidate pool for the Feb. 28 election down to 10.   

City officials on Thursday said they will issue an indoor mask advisory once the risk for COVID-19 spread in Chicago reached the “high” level. And the mayor responded to the third apparent death by suicide among Chicago police officers in the past two weeks.