For two hours, the Council’s Committee on Human Relations heard passionate public testimony from advocates, immigrants, and Muslim- and Arab-American residents who came out in full support of two resolutions–one reaffirming the city’s role as a “Welcoming City”, and the other committing to denounce any anti-immigrant or anti-Muslim policies that may be considered under a Donald Trump presidency.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel reported receiving nearly $400,00 in campaign contributions, including checks from 15 attorneys at the law firm DLA Piper, eight executives at Exelon, and $50,000 in two separate checks from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134 in September.

In response to president-elect Donald Trump’s past comments on immigration, the Council’s Human Relations Committee meets today to consider to symbolic resolutions reaffirming the city’s stance as a “welcoming city” for immigrants.

Meet all five candidates hoping to unseat 4th Ward Alderman Sophia King in a special election next February. Appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel this past Spring, Ald. King details how she plans to hold on to the seat at a time when her challengers try to label her as a flack for the Mayor. Education advocates and Chicago Public School officials blast Gov. Bruce Rauner for vetoing a bill that would have provided CPS with some much needed cash, $215 million, to make its next payment to the teachers’ pension fund. We’ve also got all the details on the massive new transit TIF the City Council approved this week. The largest TIF in city history, it’l levy a portion of property taxes from homes and businesses around the Red Line to help pay for a $2.1 billion modernization effort of the century old system. The federal government is pitching in half the cost.

CPS CEO Forrest Claypool characterized Gov. Bruce Rauner's December 1, 2016 veto of $215 million devoted to teacher pensions as "reckless and put Chicago's public school children at risk." Credit: A.Q. Quig

On Thursday, Gov. Bruce Rauner blew a potentially massive hole in Chicago Public Schools’ budget by vetoing a $215 million payment to CPS, which passed by a bipartisan State House budget agreement last June. That money would have covered a portion of its FY 2017 payment to the Chicago Teacher’s Pension Fund (CTPF), due next summer. Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the action “reckless and irresponsible,” and “no way to run a state.” CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said the move might violate civil rights laws.

The City Council unanimously approved a redevelopment agreement establishing a new transit TIF around a 5.3 mile stretch along the CTA’s Red and Purple Line, solidifying a local revenue source needed to capture a $1.1 billion grant from the federal government. The special TIF district, which has a 35-year term, will help pay for a portion of the CTA’s $2.1 billion plan to upgrade Chicago’s busiest and oldest train line, increasing capacity by 30%.

While Mayor Rahm Emanuel waits to announce his replacement pick for City Clerk Susana Mendoza, practically every Latino politico in Chicago has some piece of the rumor mill declaring their front runner status. And since Clerk Mendoza will be sworn in as Illinois Comptroller Mendoza on Monday, December 5, it seems likely Mayor Emanuel will make and announce his choice soon.

The Committee on Housing and Real Estate worked through all 22 of its agenda items in short order on Tuesday, and with few questions from aldermen. The most time was spent hearing details of a new duck boat tour venture in the 25th Ward that hopes to bring 50 more jobs to the city. All items passed unanimously by voice vote, save one item DPD requested be held involving the construction of a cell phone tower on a city site (More details in Tuesday’s preview).  

New downtown housing developments within a block of public transit would no longer be subject to limits on the number of studio apartments under an ordinance the Council’s Zoning Committee approved.

The City Council’s Housing Committee’s 22-item agenda includes a new appointee to the Chicago Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, a $1 sale of a property valued at $1.5 million for a revamped daycare center, and one of the final steps to establish a duck boat tour company along the Chicago River.  

Ahead of a crucial full City Council vote Wednesday, city and Chicago Transit Authority officials detailed plans again on Monday to establish a new transit-oriented TIF along a northern section of the Red Line. The goal is to capture an approximately $1 billion federal grant to cover half the phase one cost of CTA’s Red and Purple Line Modernization Plan (RPM).

Monday’s City Council Finance Committee subject matter hearing was the second and final public hearing on the plan. Another Finance Committee hearing was held last Monday. The city, in conjunction with the CTA, has held 16 public hearings in impacted neighborhoods. No vote was taken at either Finance Committee meeting–the ordinance establishing these new 35-year TIFs will be directly introduced to the full City Council and subsequently voted on Wednesday. The TIF falls within a half mile radius of the CTA’s Red and Purple Line, from North Avenue to Devon Avenue.

A rezone to facilitate construction of a new medical marijuana dispensary in Rogers Park, a proposal to eliminate restrictions on the number of studio apartments allowed in downtown projects near public transit, and four Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) projects are on tap for the Council’s Zoning Committee this morning.

This post was updated on Monday, November 28, 2016 to include comment from Vasyl Markus.

Vasyl Markus, Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s Special Assistant for Government Affairs, has tendered his resignation, effective January 2, 2017. In an email sent to commissioners Wednesday afternoon, Brian Hamer, Preckwinkle’s Chief of Staff, noted the “challenging position.” Markus, the president’s go-between with commissioners, has served in the position for less than half a year, saying his skill set is more suited for policymaking than legislative affairs. He will be stepping down just after passage of the President’s “grueling” $4.4 billion FY 2017 budget, which included the narrowest of votes on the penny per ounce soda tax, and after the abrupt exit of Ernest Brown, who headed the county's Department of Homeland Security.

As the city rushes to establish a matching local revenue source to receive a nearly $1 billion federal grant by the end of the year, administration officials briefed aldermen on the City Council’s Finance Committee on the financing plan for the first phase of the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) Red and Purple Line Modernization (RPM) Plan.

4th Ward special election candidates file petitions Monday, November 21, 2016 at the Chicago Board of Elections. (Credit: A.D. Quig]

Five candidates have submitted their petitions for the special election to fill the Fourth Ward aldermanic seat so far, less than 100 days shy of Election Day on February 28. Three challengers to incumbent interim Ald. Sophia King, who was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel this past spring, lined up outside the door of the Chicago Board of Elections just before 9:00 a.m. Monday to turn in thousands of signatures gathered since August: Marcellus Moore Jr., Ebony Lucas, and Gregory Seal Livingston. One other, Jack Taylor, filed just after the morning rush. All noted their own independence and a perception that Ald. King, a mayoral appointee, is lacking it.