Ald. Anthony Beale (9) is pictured during a City Council meeting Dec. 16, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on License and Consumer Protection on Thursday delayed a vote on a proposal to allow retail food establishments, such as restaurants and cafes, to allow dogs on their premises if they choose and paused a measure to legalize video gambling in Chicago.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle presents her 2026 Forest Preserve District budget proposal on Oct. 8, 2025. [Office of the Cook County President]

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Wednesday unveiled a $194.1 million budget for the Cook County Forest Preserve District for 2026. The president’s proposed budget marks a more than $4.78 million, or 2.5 percent, increase compared to the previous year’s adopted budget.

Health and Human Relations Chair Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33) is pictured during a council meeting in February 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Health and Human Relations on Thursday will consider the appointment of a permanent family and support services commissioner and hold a hearing on improving animal welfare services. 

The committee will meet at 10 a.m. in council chambers. 

A Chicago Fire Department emblem is pictured. [File photo]

The City Council Committee on Workforce Development on Tuesday swiftly approved a tentative collective bargaining agreement between the city and Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2, placing the city one step closer to resolving four years of contract negotiations.

The contract agreement was approved without any questions from committee members. It will be considered by the full City Council next week for final approval.

Housing Chair Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) is pictured at a City Council meeting on June 12, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate on Tuesday approved a property tax break-related designation for Sterling Bay’s recently approved residential development in Lincoln Park, a lease agreement to allow the city’s electric vehicles to charge in two downtown parking garages and the sale of multiple city lots.

Housing Chair Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) is pictured at a City Council meeting on June 12, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate on Tuesday will consider a property tax break-related designation for Sterling Bay’s recently approved residential development in Lincoln Park, a lease agreement to allow the city’s electric vehicles to charge in two downtown parking garages and the sale of multiple city lots.

The committee will meet at 12:30 p.m. in council chambers.

A Chicago Fire Department emblem is pictured. [File photo]

The City Council Committee on Workforce Development on Tuesday will consider advancing a long-awaited, new collective bargaining agreement for the union that represents Chicago firefighters.

Ald. Daniel La Spata (1) attends a council meeting on Feb. 19, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

A joint City Council committee on Friday voted down a proposed pilot program for city-sponsored sidewalk snow plowing, defeating the measure after the proposal had sat in limbo for months. 

The Joint Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety and Transportation and Public Way voted it down 13-4 even after being presented with a scaled-down version of what a working group had recommended.

Ald. Daniel La Spata (1) talks with reporters about the request for Plow the Sidewalks pilot program funding in the 2025 budget on Dec. 2, 2024. [Provided by Better Streets Chicago]

A joint City Council committee on Friday will vote on a measure that would implement a pilot program for city-sponsored sidewalk snow removal. 

City Council is pictured in March 2024. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line]

For the second time in several years, alderpeople will consider changing City Council rules to require substitute ordinances and directly introduced legislation to be available for public viewing ahead of consideration and votes by members.

Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 30, 2025. [Livestream]

State and local officials joined Related Midwest, real estate firm CRG and tech leaders Tuesday to break ground on the first phase of Quantum Shore Chicago, which will be a 440-acre technology and innovation district on the old U.S. Steel South Works site along the Chicago lakefront. 

The first phase of the project will be anchored by PsiQuantum, a Palo Alto, California-based company promising to build the first “million-qubit scale, fault-tolerant” quantum computer in the country in Illinois. 

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) is pictured at a City Council meeting in May 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

A Northwest Side alderman has introduced a resolution that calls on state lawmakers to allow the city to move its municipal elections in alignment with statewide general elections as a way to drive up turnout and drive down costs.

Ethics Chair Matt Martin (47) is pictured at a City Council meeting on June 12, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight on Wednesday will hold two subject matter hearings on recent Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports. The committee is set to meet in council chambers at 10 a.m. 

Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43) is pictured at a City Council meeting in November 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line] 

A Lincoln Park alderman on Thursday introduced a proposal that would allow restaurants and cafes to accept dogs inside their establishments if they choose. Ald. Timmy Knudsen’s (43) ordinance would formally legalize and regulate the practice that is currently outlawed but often selectively enforced.

Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over a City Council meeting on Dec. 16, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council on Thursday gave final approval to a broad end to the city’s ban on accessory dwelling units (ADUs) but delayed votes on a measure that would legalize video gambling and a measure meant to protect outdoor employees from extreme heat.