Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson published a report Wednesday analyzing City Council committees. [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line]

Aldermen who chair City Council committees allowed committee employees to work on non-committee matters, including attending groundbreaking ceremonies in their wards, and some committees with the biggest budgets failed to maintain complete records, an investigation published Wednesday by Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson found. 

From left: Ald. Matt Martin (47), Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29) and Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6) speak during a committee meeting on Wednesday

Aldermen advanced a measure on Wednesday to make it easier for people to get their names taken off a police-held criminal registry — but not before agitating over being left in the dark on a long-awaited overhaul of the intelligence-gathering system.

Ald. Andre Vasquez (40) [left] and Ald. Matt Martin (47) discuss their proposed ordinance during a committee meeting Wednesday. 

A proposed expansion of a major city-backed grant program to include bars, small hotels and motels has some aldermen concerned that “nuisance” nightclubs and businesses could end up getting the grants.

Department of Buildings Comm. Matthew Beaudet details plumbing code updates for aldermen during a committee meeting. 

Updates to Chicago’s plumbing code that would expand the use of PVC plastic piping and make gender-neutral bathrooms more “usable” and “accessible” are now one vote away from final approval.  

From left: Ald. Daniel La Spata (1), Ald. Howard Brookins (21) and Ald. Walter Burnett (27) join representatives of Lime, Bird and Spin spoke during a Tuesday morning news conference touting an ordinance to legalize e-scooters. [Lime]

More than two years of tests, debates and handwringing over the safety and viability of e-scooters in Chicago are set to culminate Wednesday as the City Council weighs making the devices a permanent fixture of the city’s transportation network.

Small, independent motels like the Heart O’ Chicago Motel would be allowed for the first time to apply for Small Business Improvement Fund grants under an ordinance up for consideration on Wednesday. [Tim on Flickr]

A major city-backed grant program is set to be expanded to cover businesses once considered too “seedy” for public help, according to the sponsor of an ordinance up for consideration on Wednesday.

The City Council’s rules committee voted to set two separate proposals from Ald. Anthony Beale (9) back on track, but Beale wants the items approved this week. The public safety committee is set to meet Wednesday afternoon, but a previously scheduled hearing on ShotSpotter has been kicked to next month. And the council’s budget committee is set to advance the appointments of two key senior city officials.

Sports betting would be legalized at Wrigley Field and four other sports venues under an ordinance proposed by Ald. Walter Burnett (27). [wallyg on Flickr]

A City Council vote on whether Chicago should legalize sports betting will have to wait  following the cancelation of a meeting that was scheduled for this week on the topic.

Aldermen are set to rescue two of Ald. Anthony Beale’s (9) proposals from the Committee on Committees and Rules. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Two proposals from Ald. Anthony Beale (9) are set to be rescued on Tuesday from the City Council’s rules committee and reassigned to their respective committees for discussion and a potential vote. 

Corporation Counsel Celia Meza answers questions from Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) during a budget hearing on Friday.

Dozens of critical positions remain unfilled in the Chicago Department of Law, complicating the department’s efforts to fend off lawsuits that cost the city’s taxpayers tens of millions of dollars every year. And uncompetitive salaries are making it harder to address the shortage, the city’s top lawyer told the City Council on Friday.

Harold Washington Library. “It would be wonderful” if the Chicago Public Library took on its own capital budget for building construction and maintenance, library system Comm. Chris Brown said Friday. [Facebook/Chicago Public Library]

The Chicago Public Library system has no dedicated funding source for new construction or maintenance of its 81 citywide locations — and that should change, the head of the system and multiple aldermen said Friday.

CDOT Comm. Gia Biagi answers questions during a budget hearing on Friday. 

A new division of Chicago’s Department of Transportation would oversee key transportation agreements starting next year, including the city’s growing contract for the Divvy bike share program and an agreement for a planned e-scooter program, transportation officials told aldermen on Friday. 

Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson addresses the City Council during a budget hearing Thursday evening. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Chicago departments have been slow or worse at fixing issues exposed by Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s office, threatening to put the watchdog’s work to waste, he warned aldermen during a Thursday evening budget hearing.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle highlighted non-police public safety measures and a guaranteed income pilot in her budget address on Thursday.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Thursday trumpeted alternatives to policing and a new guaranteed income program as highlights of the $233 million in new federally backed spending she is proposing to include in the county’s 2022 budget plan.

A coach house on Chicago’s Northwest Side. [Lichter Realty]

Aldermen used the city’s Department of Housing budget hearing to prod housing officials on how new initiatives, like the legalization of coach houses, and ongoing recovery efforts are helping grow affordable housing and ensure Chicago residents can stay in their homes.