Chicago News
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The odds that the only Chicago Republican to serve in the General Assembly will keep his seat grew exponentially stronger after his Democratic opponent abruptly dropped out of the race. Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced he would give $150,000 to groups working in North and South Lawndale, and mayoral candidate Paul Vallas announced his first big wave of donations. In other action, City Clerk Anna Valencia made her bid for a full term as clerk official.
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Ripple effects caused by the closure six years ago of half of the city’s mental health clinics can still be felt on the city Southwest Side, a coalition of neighborhood organizations said during a City Hall news conference Thursday.
Ald. Toni Foulkes (16) said she regretted her vote to close six mental health clinics. [A.D. Quig/The Daily Line] -
Mayor Rahm Emanuel continued to raise campaign cash at a blistering pace — even as two national magazines spotlighted two of his challengers. The man whom Emanuel defeated to win another term as mayor is set to appear Thursday with U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi — marking Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s ascension to the heights of national Democratic politics.
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Two months after winning the democratic primary to take over the Cook County Assessor’s Office, Fritz Kaegi sits at a plastic folding table at his campaign headquarters.
The 10th floor office’s rooms in the shadow of the Chicago Board of Exchange were once covered in stacks of challenger Andrea Raila’s petition papers. Now the office is nearly empty. Kaegi’s team is moving out of campaign mode and into transition mode. While his message of ethics and reform is much the same, the tone has changed.
In one of the most in-depth interviews he’s given since that win, Hyde Park native and wealthy Oak Park resident Kaegi refers multiple times to outgoing Assessor Joe Berrios’ graciousness despite his loss. He gives President Toni Preckwinkle’s steadfast support of Berrios during the campaign wide berth. He is optimistic about his ability to shift both the practices and the perception of the assessor’s office, even as Lake View and Rogers Park township homeowners express sticker shock, with more likely to come. -
Mayor Rahm Emanuel Wednesday unveiled what is sure to be a major plank of the platform he hopes will win him a third term — free preschool for all 4-year-olds in Chicago. At the same time, a political action committee linked to the Chicago Teachers Union dropped the first independent expenditure in the mayoral campaign to oppose Emanuel’s re-election. Activists from the Southwest Side planned to gather at City Hall Thursday to call for more mental health services in Hispanic communities.
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The battle over city rules dictating where food trucks can dish out their savory and sweet dishes — and for how long — is headed to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Cupcakes for Courage food truck owner Laura Pekarik sued the city over a 2012 ordinance. [Institute for Justice] -
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The Chicago Teachers Union unleashed a no-holds-barred video that slammed Mayor Rahm Emanuel for his handling of the Chicago Public Schools, while Emanuel continued to far outpace his rivals in the race to stockpile cash for the 2019 mayoral election. Cook County officials mourned the death of Dr. Donna Alexander, the administrator of Cook County Animal and Rabies Control and 27 aldermen — including seven committee chairmen — backed a bid to rename Balbo Drive for Ida B. Wells.
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By the time Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) began to speak at Friday’s City Council meeting, he knew that his effort to block plans to earmark approximately $20 million for a state-of-the-art training facility for police officers and firefighters had failed.
Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38) releases balloons as he votes for the new police training facility. [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line] -
Mayor Rahm Emanuel celebrated milestones for two of his most high-profile initiatives — one designed to reduce crime, and the other to spur economic development on the South and West sides. Meanwhile, the Fraternal Order of Police Local 7 celebrated the fact that their City Hall protest on Wednesday caught the attention of President Donald Trump — and prompted him to again tweet criticism of Emanuel.
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Ald. Mike Zalewski (23) bid farewell to Council colleagues late Friday afternoon after 23 years on City Council and more than 40 working for the city.
Ald. Margaret Laurino (39) was one of many to pay tribute to Ald. Mike Zalewski (23) on Friday. [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line]
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The Chicago City Council will meet Friday afternoon to finish off the business left undone after a move by Alds. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35) and David Moore (17) Wednesday to block a vote on funding for a new police and fire training facility triggered an abrupt end to the meeting and the scheduling of a special meeting. The big questions for observers — will any votes change on the training academy? And will Alds. Carrie Austin (34) and Emma Mitts (37) make good on their threats of retaliation against the freshmen aldermen?
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Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios touted his office’s new assessment model on Thursday, saying it is “a huge step” toward addressing the regressivity identified in both Chicago Tribune/ProPublica Illinois reporting and an independent analysis commissioned by the county.
