Dijana Cuvalo of the Department of Planning and Development presents plans during a committee meeting Monday for a Class L tax incentive to support the Morton Salt redevelopment

Aldermen swiftly advanced more than $19 million in tax incentives on Monday to boost four separate developments, including two new industrial warehouses on the Near South Side and a plan to transform a former West Town industrial space into a concert venue.

Former Inspector General Joseph Ferguson during a virtual City Council committee meeting in April. “On the basis of the existing record, I don’t have high confidence” in Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Supt. David Brown’s ability to oversee police reforms, Ferguson told the CloutCast last week.

Chicago’s City Council lacks the resources and wherewithal to be an effective check on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration, imbuing an “incredible concentration of power” in the mayor’s office, former Inspector General Joseph Ferguson said on The Daily Line’s CloutCast podcast as his city tenure came to a close.

CloutCast: Joe Ferguson on Chicago’s struggle for good government

Members of the City Council Latino Caucus speak during a press conference the morning of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s budget address. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

As budget negotiations heat up, leaders of the City Council Latino Caucus are hoping their proposal for a “Hispanic Inclusion Plan” will push the city closer to racial parity among city employees, particularly those in top leadership positions. 

Pictured above are models of designs for the 100 new affordable homes set to be built in North Lawndale. 

A sweeping plan to build 100 new affordable single-family homes in North Lawndale is one step closer to full approval after a City Council committee gave the proposal unanimous support on Friday.  

The Morton Salt shed at 1357 N. Elston Ave. would be turned into a concert venue with space for up to 4,000 people under a plan set to be boosted by city-backed tax credits. [Department of Planning and Development]

A ballyhooed proposal to convert the former Morton Salt shed in West Town into a 4,000-ticket concert venue and dining destination is set to clear another hurdle on Monday as aldermen consider awarding the developer a key tax break.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks during a news conference Thursday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

E-scooter companies officially got the greenlight on Thursday to come back to Chicago with the City Council’s approval of a citywide program for the controversial two-wheeled modes of transportation. 

The City Council rules committee is planning a hearing to consider overhauling the City Council's decennial remap process, but this year’s process is already well underway.

The City Council had been poised during a Friday afternoon hearing to consider pitches for an overhaul of the council’s once-in-a-decade remap — even as aldermen are already waist-deep in this year’s redrawing process. But the meeting was abruptly canceled on Thursday.

A Lime worker places scooters during the city's 2019 scooter pilot. [Hannah Alani/Block Club Chicago]

Up to 6,000 e-scooters will be scattered across the city next spring, potentially more than doubling soon thereafter, under an ordinance set for final approval by the City Council on Thursday.

Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson published a report Wednesday analyzing City Council committees. [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line]

Aldermen who chair City Council committees allowed committee employees to work on non-committee matters, including attending groundbreaking ceremonies in their wards, and some committees with the biggest budgets failed to maintain complete records, an investigation published Wednesday by Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson found. 

From left: Ald. Matt Martin (47), Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29) and Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6) speak during a committee meeting on Wednesday

Aldermen advanced a measure on Wednesday to make it easier for people to get their names taken off a police-held criminal registry — but not before agitating over being left in the dark on a long-awaited overhaul of the intelligence-gathering system.

Ald. Andre Vasquez (40) [left] and Ald. Matt Martin (47) discuss their proposed ordinance during a committee meeting Wednesday. 

A proposed expansion of a major city-backed grant program to include bars, small hotels and motels has some aldermen concerned that “nuisance” nightclubs and businesses could end up getting the grants.

Department of Buildings Comm. Matthew Beaudet details plumbing code updates for aldermen during a committee meeting. 

Updates to Chicago’s plumbing code that would expand the use of PVC plastic piping and make gender-neutral bathrooms more “usable” and “accessible” are now one vote away from final approval.  

From left: Ald. Daniel La Spata (1), Ald. Howard Brookins (21) and Ald. Walter Burnett (27) join representatives of Lime, Bird and Spin spoke during a Tuesday morning news conference touting an ordinance to legalize e-scooters. [Lime]

More than two years of tests, debates and handwringing over the safety and viability of e-scooters in Chicago are set to culminate Wednesday as the City Council weighs making the devices a permanent fixture of the city’s transportation network.

Small, independent motels like the Heart O’ Chicago Motel would be allowed for the first time to apply for Small Business Improvement Fund grants under an ordinance up for consideration on Wednesday. [Tim on Flickr]

A major city-backed grant program is set to be expanded to cover businesses once considered too “seedy” for public help, according to the sponsor of an ordinance up for consideration on Wednesday.

The City Council’s rules committee voted to set two separate proposals from Ald. Anthony Beale (9) back on track, but Beale wants the items approved this week. The public safety committee is set to meet Wednesday afternoon, but a previously scheduled hearing on ShotSpotter has been kicked to next month. And the council’s budget committee is set to advance the appointments of two key senior city officials.