Chicago Department of Buildings Comm. Matthew Beaudet and Infortmation Technology Director Eric Tenfelde during a zoning committee on Tuesday

Aldermen unanimously advanced a proposal on Tuesday to crack down on “problem” building owners but grilled city officials over the long-promised technology upgrades needed to bring the measure to life.

The council’s Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards voted to endorse an ordinance (O2021-1193) sponsored by Mayor Lori Lightfoot that would widen the criteria used by the city’s Department of Buildings to add properties to the city’s “Building Code Scofflaw List.” Properties on the list are rendered ineligible for zoning changes, tax-increment financing assistance or land deals with the city.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended her request to call up the National Guard and issued a warning to would-be looters. And Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle hit back at Lightfoot after the mayor blamed the county courts for contributing to crime.

Ald. David Moore’s (17) proposal to rename Lake Shore Drive after Jean Baptiste Point DuSable is set for a hearing on April 29.

The proposal to rename Outer Lake Shore Drive after Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Chicago’s first permanent resident, won’t be on this month’s City Council agenda. The ordinance is due for a hearing later this month, but sponsor Ald. David Moore (17) on Monday warned against “any games” to further keep it from a vote.

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) chairs the City Council Committee on Finance.

City finance and budget officials would be required to publish monthly revenue reports under a measure that advanced to the full City Council floor Monday.

A page from a presentation on the updated Fulton Innovation District plan, projecting new development north of Lake Street [Department of Planning and Development]

A decades-old ban on residential development is set to be reversed this week for a 63-acre swath of Fulton Market, widening the spigot on the gush of development already pouring into the red-hot neighborhood.

Aldermen are scheduled during a 10 a.m. meeting of the City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards on Tuesday to consider lifting the prohibition on residential development in the Kinzie Corridor Overlay District along the north edge of Fulton Market, fulfilling a longtime request of developers and some neighborhood groups. The district is roughly bounded by Carroll Avenue, Ogden Avenue, Hubbard Street and Halsted Street.

Aldermen on Friday advanced a proposal targeting ‘recklessly driven’ motorcycles.

Aldermen gave unanimous approval Friday to an ordinance aimed at deterring motorcyclists from “recklessly” driving up and down Chicago streets, particularly downtown and along the lakefront.

Members of the City Council Committee on Public Safety approved the ordinance introduced by Ald. Pat Dowell (3) during the Friday meeting, during which aldermen also held a short discussion of Anti-Asian hate crimes and approved an ordinance adding gender identity to the protected classes covered under the city’s hate crime ordinance. 

Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson and Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson during a committee hearing on Friday.

Aldermen will wait at least one more week before voting whether to stand up a city-run digital “library” of police misconduct records stretching back nearly three decades, a system watchdogs call a necessary first step toward repairing the city’s frayed trust of its police department.

Chicago Chief Financial Officer Jennie Bennett [left] and Budget Director Susie Park during a Novermber budget hearing

Chicago’s Department of Finance would be required to publish monthly reports on the city’s cash intake under a proposal set for consideration on Monday.

The one-page ordinance (SO2020-5902), introduced by Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) last December, is set for consideration by the City Council’s Committee on Finance during its 10 a.m. meeting on Monday. If approved, city finance and budget officials will be legally bound to publish “monthly reports” on the department’s website that detail the city’s “total collections for each revenue category” from the previous month, plus the “variance” between actual revenues and those anticipated under the annual budget.

Ald. Chris Taliaferro chairs the committee on public safety.

The City Council Committee on Public Safety is scheduled to review police use-of-force policies, condemn hate crimes against Asian Americans and crack down on drag racing when they meet for the first time in three months at 10 a.m. Friday. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks during a news conference on Thursday

Mayor Lori Lightfoot staked her opposition on Thursday to an ordinance that would require the city to compile a public database of closed complaints against Chicago Police officers, a longtime demand of good government advocates and critics of the department.

The City Council’s committees on Finance and Public Safety are scheduled to convene together at 2 p.m. Friday to consider an ordinance (SO2020-3999) proposed by Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) and Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29) directing Inspector General Joseph Ferguson to publish a “searchable, downloadable digital repository” of closed misconduct complaints filed against sworn Chicago officers going back 27 years.

Members of the Plan Commission on Thursday heard a presentation on the first building proposed for the massive Lincoln Yards development.

Chicago Department of Planning and Development Comm. Maurice Cox commended developer Sterling Bay’s plans for an office building and riverfront features in the first phase of the 55-acre Lincoln Yards development as an example of “how you meet the water's edge."

Developer Sterling Bay unveiled plans for the nine-story building and adjacent riverwalk in a “courtesy” presentation during the Plan Commission’s Thursday meeting. No vote was taken on the development, and commissioners largely withheld any questions or comments. 

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle praised Jennifer “Sis” Killen’s appointment as the new superintendent of the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highway at the board’s Thursday meeting.

The county has only put about 2 percent of the federal money it has received related to the COVID-19 pandemic toward administrative costs, county Chief Financial Officer Ammar Rizki told commissioners during a Thursday board meeting.

Commissioners peppered county with questions regarding administrative costs that could soak up money from the March 2020 CARES Act before Rizki assured the board that only 2 percent of its CARES money had gone toward administrative line items, well under its 5 percent threshold for that kind of spending.

Ald. Harry Osterman (48) and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) during a housing committee meeting on Thursday

The graphic video of a Chicago police officer fatally shooting 13-year-old Adam Toledo sent shockwaves of grief and anger through the city on Thursday — including among aldermen, who froze their discussion of a high-profile housing ordinance with plans to return next week.

The City Council’s Committee on Housing and Real Estate was part-way through its meeting to consider Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposed overhaul (O2021-1226) of the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance when committee chair Ald. Harry Osterman (48) gaveled the meeting out for a 30-minute break timed with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability’s release of videos related to the shooting.

Cook County Board President joined leaders of the Cook County Land Bank Authority on Saturday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at an Englewood home

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is set to introduce a measure on Thursday that would tighten her administration’s oversight of the Cook County Land Bank Authority, which is in search of a new executive director following the departure of Rob Rose last month.

The ordinance (21-2677) would empower Preckwinkle to appoint Rose’s successor, whose confirmation would still be subject to a vote by the land bank’s board. Existing rules say the director should be appointed by the land bank board, whose members are appointed by Preckwinkle.

Chicago Housing Initiative executive director during a virtual news conference on Wednesday; Chicago Department of Housing Comm. Marisa Novara during a virtual committee hearing

A long-promised bid by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to overhaul one of the city’s signature affordable housing policies is set to meet its fate on Thursday, as stakeholders on all sides press to finesse last-minute concessions.