The flag of Cook County flies over the county building in downtown Chicago. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The Cook County Board of Ethics and Commission on Social Innovation will both hold meetings Thursday. The ethics board will discuss a case report in executive session and the social innovation commission will hear from a guest speaker.

Additionally, the Board of Directors of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System will hold meetings of its Finance Committee and its Quality and Patient Safety Committee.

Mayor Brandon Johnson during a City Council meeting. [Don Vincent]

Chicago is facing a $538 million budget shortfall heading into 2024, and Mayor Brandon Johnson is holding onto his promise that he won’t raise property taxes to fill the hole.  

The forecasted budget gap came as part of Johnson’s first-ever budget forecast released Wednesday. 

Members of the zoning committee met Tuesday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Members of the City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards gave an initial OK to more than 2,200 new residential units spread among various developments across the city during their meeting Tuesday, Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), who chairs the committee, said at the close of the meeting. 

Cook County Comm. Bridget Gainer (D-10) is pictured during a county board meeting in March. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

A measure that would exclude solar energy systems from property tax assessments was held in the Cook County Business and Economic Development Committee during a Tuesday meeting, with action not expected on the measure until next month.

Additionally, the county’s Technology and Innovation Committee approved an intergovernmental agreement and contract amendment. 

The City Council later this week will vote on an ordinance allocating $33 million in federal grants for migrant services. A key City Council committee on Tuesday approved a property tax incentive for a data center coming to the Illinois Medical District.

The City Council Committee on Finance met on Monday. [City of Chicago livestream]

A key City Council committee on Monday approved a $25 million payment to settle a lawsuit brought against the city by two men who were wrongfully convicted of murder in 1993 and were later issued certificates of innocence after one man spent 22 years in prison and the other man spent 12 years in prison.  

A rendering of the development proposed for 1633 N. Halsted St. [City of Chicago presentation] 

The City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards on Tuesday will meet for the first time since June to consider dozens of proposed developments including a nine-story,  mixed-use building in Lincoln Park near the Steppenwolf Theatre.

Cook County Comm. Bridget Gainer (D-10) is pictured during a meeting in March 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

During a meeting of the Cook County Business and Economic Development Committee Tuesday, county commissioners will consider an ordinance that would exclude solar energy systems from non-residential property tax assessments. 

The measure would help incentivize developers and property owners to install solar energy systems on buildings — helping the county increase green energy use — by eliminating the fear it will affect their property tax bills.

The county’s technology, tax delinquency and human relations committees will also hold meetings on Tuesday. 

As the city approaches budget season, alderpersons on Tuesday will hear how departmental budget hearings will play out this year. And the economic development committee will vote on agenda items that were delayed last week.

Ald. Pat Dowell (3), chair of the finance committee, is pictured at a City Council meeting in March 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line] 

The City Council Committee on Finance will meet Monday at 10 a.m. and consider matters related to the mayor’s office, housing department, law department and planning and development department.

A key committee vote to confirm the city’s next police superintendent did not occur Friday after being canceled the day before, and the city government announced a pilot program to provide fresh food to Austin residents would be extended.

Mayor Brandon Johnson answers questions from Chair Sean Connolly at the Economic Club of Chicago on Sept. 7, 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Mayor Brandon Johnson spoke about his policy goals just past the one-hundredth day of his term in office to business leaders at the Economic Club of Chicago Thursday night.

Following prepared remarks, Johnson answered questions on issues affecting the city such as public safety, education and economic development. He also touched on what to expect from his first budget proposal, which is expected to be unveiled in several weeks. 

The City Council transportation committee held an item that would put new limits on the public installation of Little Free Libraries, and the workforce development committee approved three dozen collective bargaining agreements.

Active Transportation Alliance organizer W. Robert Schultz III (top right) testifies in favor of an ordinance making the city study fatal traffic crashes during a pedestrian and traffic safety committee meeting Sept. 6, 2023. [Livestream]

The City Council Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety on Wednesday approved legislation calling on the city’s transportation department to compile and study fatal traffic crash data on a regular basis and use the information gathered to pose policy solutions.

With the committee’s approval, the item will be considered by the full City Council Sept. 13. 

The City Council Committee on Education and Child Development met Wednesday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Alderpersons heard directly from leaders of Chicago Public Schools Wednesday during a rare evening meeting of the City Council Committee on Education and Child Development. 

The 5:30 p.m. meeting drew former CPS employees, members of organizations that work with CPS and Chicago Teachers Union members to watch the meeting in-person and speak during public comment.