Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) speaks during a rules committee meeting on July 8, 2024. [Livestream]

A measure that would give members of the City Council access to real-time advice and information about council rules and procedure from Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) staffers was rejected by nearly half the council at Monday’s rules committee meeting.

The measure will remain in the committee, and the negative vote signaled peril for a companion ordinance in the council’s budget committee.

City Hall is pictured. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Committees and Rules on Monday will consider whether to move forward a resolution from Alds. Brendan Reilly (42) and Anthony Beale (9) related to the push to give the City Council its own legal counsel. 

The rules committee meets at 10 a.m. in council chambers.

Ald. Andre Vasquez (40), chair of the immigration committee, is pictured on June 12, 2024 at a City Council meeting. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Though Chicago is currently dealing with the fallout from thousands of migrants arriving in the city over the last two years, the City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights heard Tuesday about how to better prepare for migration if it becomes increasingly frequent as populations are driven from their home countries due to climate change.

“It is in our best interest as a city to discuss how to be prepared because the migration will continue,” said immigration committee chair Ald. Andre Vasquez (40).

Frank Calabrese, left, is suing Comm. Samantha Steele for wrongful termination. [Provided]

A former Cook County Board of Review employee has filed a whistleblower lawsuit that claims he was retaliated against for refusing to obey “unethical and unlawful” directives from Comm. Samantha Steele, a Democrat representing District 2 on the board.

The former employee and his attorney announced the complaint in a Tuesday news release.

Ald. Andre Vasquez (40), chair of the immigration committee, is pictured on June 12, 2024 at a City Council meeting. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council’s immigration committee on Tuesday will consider resolutions related to the U Nonimmigrant Status Program and for temporary legal status for Ecuadorian migrants. The committee will also hold a subject matter hearing on climate change-driven migration.

Some of the items on the agenda were slated to be considered at a Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights meeting last week, but the meeting was canceled. The committee will meet at 12:30 p.m. in council chambers Tuesday.

The city’s public safety committee will discuss transportation logistics for attendees of the Democratic National Convention next month, and the city’s new tipped wage and paid time off laws went into effect.

Chicago City Hall is pictured in 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

After filing a lawsuit against the city, a coalition of reproductive and LGBTQ rights organizations will get a permit to march in downtown Chicago ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in August to call on Democrats to codify abortion protections and fight back against other laws threatening the LGBTQ community.

At the same time, a court battle between the city and organizers seeking to march closer to the convention grounds at the United Center remains ongoing.

The Joint Committee on Health and Human Relations and Public Safety meets to discuss the 2023-2024 hate crimes report on Thursday, June 27, 2024. [Livestream]

The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has led to an increase in antisemitism and Islamophobia, the Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) concluded in its first annual report under the amended hate crimes ordinance. 

The City Council Joint Committee on Public Safety and Health and Human Relations received a presentation Thursday on the annual report, which covered reported instances of hate in 2023 and up to June 13 this year. 

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas attends 2024 budget hearings in October 2023. [Livestream]

Property tax bills for Tax Year 2023 for homeowners in the south and southwest suburbs of Cook County jumped significantly while businesses in the area got big breaks, an analysis by the county treasurer’s office released this morning shows.

That stark disparity is driven by a mix of higher home values, the elimination of a COVID-era assessment reduction and businesses successfully appealing their valuations before the Board of Review, according to the treasurer’s office.

Ald. William Hall (6), chair of the revenue subcommittee, is pictured at a City Council meeting in November. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Finance Subcommittee on Revenue held its inaugural meeting on Wednesday but did not propose any of the myriad tax or fee policy proposals presented in a survey circulated among City Council members last week. 

The subcommittee, chaired by first-term Ald. William Hall (6), was formed in October and tasked with finding new revenue sources for the city.

Renderings show the proposed 29-unit apartment building that will replace the buildings currently at 3627, 3631 and 3633 N. Sheffield Ave. [44th Ward website] 

The City Council zoning committee on Tuesday advanced a development proposal to replace three historic residences outside Wrigley Field with a 29-unit apartment building.

But two other major projects — one development proposed next to the planned Bally’s Casino and a Sterling Bay development near the planned Lincoln Yards — were deferred, along with several other big housing project proposals.

City Hall is seen in a file photo.

The City Council Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights on Wednesday will hold the first subject matter hearing under a measure passed this spring that calls for alderpeople to receive regular tallies of migrants evicted from city-run shelters under its 60-day shelter stay policy.

The committee will meet at 11:45 a.m. in council chambers.

The county announced a $20 million investment in stormwater management projects countywide, and the city’s revenue subcommittee will discuss strategies for bringing in new dollars to the city’s coffers on Wednesday.

Acting zoning chair Bennett Lawson is pictured in October 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards will meet Tuesday to consider a proposal to replace three historic residences next to Wrigley Field with an apartment building, consider approval of the Sterling Bay development opposed by the local alderperson and consider approval of a new residential development along the west branch of the Chicago River.

The zoning committee will meet at 10 a.m. in council chambers.

President Toni Preckwinkle gives her 2024 budget address in October 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Cook County is projecting a $218.2 million budget gap for Fiscal Year 2025, county officials said Tuesday, and although County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she wouldn’t speculate much about how she intends to close the gap before the fall, she said taxes, fees and layoffs were not on the table.

The board president expressed confidence in the county's finance team to construct balanced budget plan as usual and said she wasn't losing sleep over the upcoming budget.