Chicago News
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At a Monday morning event at the Union League Club of Chicago, mayoral hopeful Paul Vallas outlined what he believed were the failures of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration to address crime, while a suit filed Monday argues there are too few affordable housing units accessible for those with disabilities. And Chicago wins an ignominious distinction, again, as public hearings on police oversight start Tuesday evening on the South Side.
Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas briefs reporters on his public safety plans at the Union League Club, May 14, 2018. Credit: A.D. Quig, The Daily Line
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Cook County commissioners will gather for committee meetings beginning at 11 a.m. Tuesday. They will receive updates on pending suits and settlements in executive session, including Chief Judge Timothy Evans’ deal with the county over the $200 million in budget cuts. Both sides say “discussions are ongoing,” with some union employees pushing back against a demand for 10 furlough days to avoid layoffs and local aldermen against closure of a North Side branch court.
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Update: We have included prior disclosures that mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot made as president of the City's Police Board, as well as Mayor Rahm Emanuel's 2017 statement. In addition, the story now refers to disclosures as Statements of Financial Interests, in keeping with the practice of the city's ethics board.
City law requires aspiring aldermen and mayors to disclose information about their finances to the public — and statements of financial interests have begun to roll in as candidates launch their bids for City Hall.
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MAY 14, 2018
With the next meeting of the City Council set for May 23, council committees will be in full swing this week. First up is a rare meeting of the Committee on Education and Child Development, which will hold a hearing about what city health officials can do to address trauma caused by violence in Chicago children.
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Former Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot Thursday became the 10th candidate to challenge Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s bid to hang on to the fifth floor office at City Hall for a third term. The flood of aldermanic candidates also continued, with challengers filing in the 29th 39th and 46th wards, while defeated Cook County assessor candidate Andrea Raila geared up to push for new election filing rules.
Former Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot announces her campaign for mayor of Chicago. [A.D. Quig/The Daily Line] -
A new survey proves the need for the City Council to pass a law requiring employers to give workers at least two weeks' notice of their schedules and pay them more for last-minute changes, according to a group of aldermen and union leaders who gathered Thursday at City Hall.
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Ald. Michelle Harris (8) withstood criticism from residents of her South Side ward over a senior housing facility in her ward, ultimately winning the Zoning Committee’s approval. The four-hour meeting also saw passage of several large items that cleared the Plan Commission last month – a revamp of ComEd’s facility in the 33rd Ward, a People’s Gas relocation in the 39th Ward, a few transit oriented developments, and changes to the city’s zoning board of appeals.
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Mayor Rahm Emanuel reveled in an honor for the city’s selective enrollment high schools while a fresh face moved one step closer to joining the Chicago Board of Ethics. Former Police Board President Lori Lightfoot is expected to make her run for Chicago mayor today, aiming to be the standout progressive voice in a crowded field.
Stephanie Cox-Batson, second from left, laughs with Ethics Board Director Steve Berlin, second from left, and Aldermen Michelle Harris (8), left, and Greg Mitchell (7.) [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line] -
Proposals to prevent another drawn-out petition challenge like the one that plagued the primary election for assessor this year are expected to be released this week, Cook County Clerk David Orr said Tuesday.
“We are going to be making an announcement about that in the very near future,” Orr said. “Everything of course has to be decided by the legislature. Certain things happen not because of the process but because of the individuals involved.”
Candidates Andrea Raila and Fritz Kaegi were locked in a petition battle until the very last days before the March 20 primary election, which Raila said hobbled her candidacy and would discourage female and non-wealthy candidates from running for office. Kaegi brought a unique challenge against Raila’s petitions, alleging a pattern of fraud that led to a weeks-long fight and an appellate judge ultimately ruling Raila should be on the ballot.
Chicago election authorities agreed change is needed.
“We've publicly called for a shorter time-frame for early voting and an earlier filing period,” Chicago Board of Elections spokesperson Jim Allen said in an email, echoing his earlier comments that 40 days of early voting was a “Biblical” number. “So have election jurisdictions elsewhere in the state, particularly the reduction in Early Voting back to the original 15 or 22 days before Election Day.”
Chicago delayed its early voting because of unresolved petition challenges.
The Chicago Board of Elections estimated it spent at least $225,000 on additional printing costs due to election authorities removing, then restoring Raila as a valid candidate, Allen said.
Editorial boards of both the Tribune and Sun-Times have called for early voting changes, not only inspired by the Raila/Kaegi fight, but Attorney General Candidate Scott Drury’s petition challenge. While early voting was scheduled to start Feb. 8, some election authorities were unsure whether to begin early voting, or whether to include or exclude Drury from ballots.
While Drury won his appeal on Feb. 16, Raila’s appeal allowing her back on the ballot wasn’t granted until six days before primary election day, and led to confusion at several polling places.
“Winnebago County began early voting on schedule; its county seat, Rockford, did not,” the Tribune’s Editorial Board wrote. “In St. Clair County, voters were told they could cast paper ‘proof’ ballots while appeals were pending, but they’d have to come back and vote again if the certified ballot turned out different. Other jurisdictions offered no do-overs, warning voters that if their candidate was eventually bounced, the vote wouldn’t count.”
