Chicago News
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Correction (Aug 17, 2018): Some of our data used for Garry McCarthy's fundraising were included by mistake, over-representing donations from Illinois and under-representing donations from Chicago and Illinois. We have updated our figures and the chart below.
As former CPS CEO Paul Vallas officially jumps in the fray, Police Board President Lori Lightfoot (maybe) creeps closer to announcing her bid, and mayoral ally Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30) gears up for a potentially formidable fight, it’s as good a time as any to set the baseline for what will be an expensive 2019 cycle.
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Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Shomari Legghette's name.
One day after mayoral candidate Paul Vallas called violence in Chicago under Mayor Rahm Emanuel a “national disgrace,” Emanuel spotlighted an effort to crack down on auto thefts and carjackings. Changes at the Cook County State's Attorney's office will bring new leadership to the prosecution of Shomari Legghette. The city is also moving forward with plans to re-hire a four-legged maintenance crew at O'Hare Airport.
Two goats munch on weeds along the fence outside O'Hare Airport. Credit: Heather Cherone, The Daily Line
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The 80 branches of the Chicago Public Library are not staffed sufficiently to meet the needs of library users and community residents, an audit released Wednesday by Inspector General Joseph Ferguson found.
In 2012, budgets cuts proposed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and approved by the Chicago City Council prompted the elimination of more than 26 percent of the total workforce, including 146 part-time library pages, who were charged with sorting and shelving books, according to the audit.
While some page positions have been restored, total staffing is down 182 positions from 2011, according to the audit. 75 percent of department’s $74 million budget is spent on personnel costs, city data shows.
That has meant that clerks and librarians are routinely forced to do tasks “outside their job descriptions and for which they are overqualified,” according to the audit.
Read the full audit here.
In addition, library officials failed to properly apply their own criteria when determining staffing levels, which is determined by the number of visitors, circulation volume, computer usage level, population and the number of schools in its area, according to the audit.
Nearly 19 percent of libraries were not staffed properly using those criteria, according to the audit. In addition, the audit found that Chicago Public Library officials should consider another 10 factors when determining staffing levels, as recommended by the American Library Association.
Because many branches are understaffed, “many positions perform many roles,” a branch manager told investigators, according to the audit. That results in “personnel spending time on activities that could be done more cost-effectively by employees holding other titles.”
A system-wide analysis of staffing levels is required, according to the inspector general’s office.
In response to the audit, library officials agreed to revise its staffing plan, and adopt a policy implementing its findings. However, library officials rejected the inspector general’s recommendation to share the plan with all employees and involve the library board and community members in developing it.
Chicago Public Library spokesman Patrick Molloy said the library "has made significant strides in recent years, shifting from a uniform branch staffing process to a more responsive approach based on community needs and library usage."
"We appreciate the feedback from the [inspector general] and are always open to suggestions on how to maximize efficiency and effectiveness in our service to the community," Molloy said in a statement. -
MAY 03, 2018
The 2019 mayoral and aldermanic elections are shaping up to be a referendum not only on Mayor Rahm Emanuel's two terms in office, but a debate over the future of the city.
Paul Vallas announces his run for mayor of Chicago Wednesday. Credit: Heather Cherone, The Daily Line
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Chicago officials are doing a better job of making sure that contracts are awarded to firms owned by black, Latino and female Chicagoans — but the effort is still not good enough, three powerful aldermen said Tuesday at the City Club of Chicago.
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Outgoing Assessor and Cook County Democratic Party Chairman Joe Berrios has started and shuttered eight committees in his decades in politics, marking his time in various positions of power in county and state politics and his ability to shift massive amounts of money to support himself.
Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios addresses Democratic Committeemen at the party’s leadership meeting in April 2018. Credit: A.D. Quig, The Daily Line
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Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s committee, Preckwinkle for President, raised $820,000 and spent $1 million in her campaign for a third term, outpacing former Ald. Bob Fioretti’s spending 4:1. Unlike other colleagues racing for seats on the county board, Preckwinkle ended the first quarter of 2018 with $95,000 in the bank, and an additional $40,000 rolling in after she was selected to helm the Cook County Democratic Party.
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The access to the city's network of 2,700 surveillance cameras have been tightened since an audit by Inspector General Joseph Ferguson found the system may have been accessed by unauthorized personnel and used inappropriately, according to a follow-up audit released Monday.
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APR 30, 2018
UNLOCKEDDear Reader,
We are excited to announce new ownership and a bright future for The Daily Line. Our primary investors, Don and Jay Vincent, are taking the reins to ensure that TDL continues providing critical coverage to its subscribers while realizing the vision of its founders and investors.
We are thrilled to know that The Daily Line’s reporters will remain part of the team as the new leadership sees them as the cornerstone of the company and the fabric of TDL. Frankly, TDL’s reporting is best in class amongst its peers.
A special thanks to A.D. Quig, Rae Hodge and Heather Cherone along with all of those who have contributed so meaningfully to this publication since its early days as Aldertrack, especially our founding reporter, Claudia Morell, now at WBEZ.
Please know, as founders, we know this business is in great hands and we have prepared it well for it’s future. Chicago and Springfield need this publication. The new owners believe that too.
TDL’s reporters along with its new leadership leave us confident that Chicago and Springfield can count on The Daily Line to provide compelling and in-depth coverage of what will undoubtedly be the most expensive gubernatorial election in history and a competitive fight for the future of Chicago and Illinois well into the future.
Thank you for being our readers. The fact is, you all made this possible.
Sincerely,
Jimm, Mike and Ramsin
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The race for Assessor was unsurprisingly the most expensive county campaign of the March primary, with all three candidates spending $4.6 million over the past six months, according to filings made with the Illinois State Board of Elections. The two challengers to incumbent Joe Berrios loaned themselves $1.8 million.
The race wasn’t only costly to the candidates – the Chicago Board of Elections also estimated spending at least $225,000 on additional printing costs due to election authorities removing, then restoring Andrea Raila as a valid candidate.
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As promised last week, Mayor Rahm Emanuel released the names of a selection committee to pick retiring Ald. Mike Zalewski’s (23) replacement. He and City Clerk Anna Valencia also got another press hit for Valencia’s top project, the municipal ID card, dubbed CityKey.
