Sharone Mitchell, Jr. during a meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners’ Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee on Wednesday.

Sharone Mitchell, Jr. will use his six-year term as the next Cook County Public Defender to help “actualize” the county’s phase-out of cash bail, he told commissioners during a confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

Mitchell’s appointment is set for a final vote during Thursday’s regular meeting of the county Board of Commissioners, priming him to take over as the county’s top defense lawyer on April 1. Commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday to advance his appointment out of the board’s Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

News in brief: CPAC and GAPA coalitions reach agreement on police oversight ordinance; Snow removal ordinance set for consideration

The 12-story affordable housing building proposed near the intersection of Lake Street and Damen Avenue.

The Chicago Plan Commission is scheduled Thursday to consider three proposals in the 27th Ward, including a 12-story “affordable housing high-rise” and an indoor Esports stadium proposed for the 3rd Ward. 

Plan commissioners will take up the proposal (O2020-3720) from Brinshore-Michaels to amend the planned development on a portion of the Westhaven Park development site that was once the Henry Horner Homes public housing Development and is currently owned by the Chicago Housing Authority. The Henry Horner Homes development was demolished in 2006.

News in brief: CPAC and GAPA coalitions reach agreement on police oversight ordinance; Snow removal ordinance set for consideration 

Ald. Daniel La Spata (1) and Ald. Nicholas Sposato sparred over booting during a meeting of the City Council Committee on License and Consumer Protection on Wednesday.

Two aldermen called on Tuesday for a citywide reassessment of regulations around car booting, but they faced pushback from colleagues who defended the controversial practice used to punish parking violators.

The debate unfolded during a meeting of the City Council’s Committee on License and Consumer Protection before members of the committee unanimously approved an ordinance (O2021-735) by Ald. Daniel La Spata (1) to abolish the practice of booting in his Northwest Side ward. If approved by the full City Council next week, the 1^st Ward will join 17 other wards in which it is illegal for companies to attach wheel locks to cars.

Land trust renewal ordinance breaks through following gush of support from nonprofits 

A measure designed to stretch the life of a city-backed affordable homeownership program secured a near-unanimous endorsement from a City Council Committee on Tuesday after a chorus of nonprofit housing advocates voiced their support. 

The ordinance (O2021-446), introduced in January by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on behalf of the Chicago Department of Housing, would restart the clock on city-imposed 30-year affordable housing covenants every time each home changes hands. It only applies to for-sale homes administered through the Chicago Community Land Trust, a city-backed nonprofit designed to forge a path to homeownership for low- and middle-income residents. 

Tax incentive to rehab Bridgeport warehouse gets OK; home business ordinance stalls 

Aldermen on Tuesday gave their OK to a class 6(b) tax incentive that would help a developer rehab an “industrial loft building” in the 11th Ward and lease it out to 11 other small businesses.  

The application for the tax incentive (O2021-752) comes from Delaware-based Tara Management Co., who plans to lease the building at 1100 W. 37th St. to Bubbly Dynamics, operator of The Plant business incubator in Back of the Yards, who in turn would sublease out the rehabbed space to 11 small businesses, John Edel, president of Bubbly Dynamics, told aldermen Tuesday. 

County must step up efforts to vaccinate nonwhite suburbanites: commissioners 

Cook County health officials vowed on Tuesday to expand access to COVID-19 vaccinations among Black and Latino suburbanites amid prodding from commissioners who said those efforts have so far fallen short. 

About 21 percent of residents in the county’s north and northwest suburbs have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to data presented Tuesday by leaders of the Cook County Department of Public Health. But just 13.7 percent and 16.2 percent of residents have respectively been vaccinated in the county’s more diverse south and west suburbs. 

O’Hare, Midway in line for $87M in federal grants set for appropriation Wednesday 

Aldermen are set Wednesday to consider designating more than $100 million in new and carried-over federal COVID-19 grants to the city’s airports and to three city departments.  

The City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations is scheduled to consider the appropriations (O2021-747) ordinance during its meeting scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. 

News in brief: Cook County launches ‘My Shot’ vaccine campaign; Chicago Department of Housing releases Racial Equity Impact Assessment; Mendoza announces tax relief

Aldermen to consider loosening restrictions on home businesses 

Aldermen are scheduled Tuesday take up a proposed ordinance that would make it easier for solo entrepreneurs to run their businesses out of their homes.  

The City Council Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development will consider the ordinance (O2021-332) proposed by Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36), who chairs the committee. The committee will also consider approving new property tax incentives for two businesses.  

Affordable homeownership renewal ordinance set for reconsideration Tuesday 

Aldermen are scheduled Tuesday to take a second pass at a measure designed to stretch the longevity of a city-backed affordable homeownership program.  

The ordinance (O2021-446), introduced in January by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on behalf of the Chicago Department of Housing, would restart the clock on city-imposed 30-year affordable housing covenants every time each home changes hands. It only applies to for-sale homes administered through the Chicago Community Land Trust, a city-backed nonprofit designed to forge a path to homeownership for low- and middle-income residents. 

News in brief: Cook County launches ‘My Shot’ vaccine campaign; Chicago Department of Housing releases Racial Equity Impact Assessment; Mendoza announces tax relief 

Industrial zoning ordinance passes committee after fresh concessions to industry 

Aldermen on Monday overwhelmingly advanced a proposal by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to tie more regulations around new industrial development, breaking a five-month stalemate following multiple revisions aimed at softening the measure’s impact on developers. 

Aldermen passed the “Industrial Air Quality and Zoning” ordinance (O2020-4590) out of the City Council’s Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards in a 14-4 vote, with opposition from Ald. Anthony Beale (9), Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22), Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) and Ald. Maria Hadden (49).  

Cook County in line for nearly $1B in federal stimulus, putting Preckwinkle’s equity goals to the test 

The federal government is about to rain $998 million in direct aid on Cook County, facing county leaders with immense questions about the region’s priorities as they look to unwind the county’s mammoth criminal justice infrastructure and build an economic recovery centered on racial equity. 

The staggering aid package is more than double what the county received in federal aid last year and represents almost 15 percent of the entire budget county leaders allotted for 2021. It stands apart from about $1.8 billion coming to the city of Chicago and $7.5 billion headed to Springfield, plus billions more headed to Chicago-area schools and public health agencies.