Pilsen, 606 ‘deconversion’ ordinances set for approval as potential demolition fee follow-up looms 

A pair of hard-fought ordinances aimed at preventing the loss of affordable apartments in gentrifying parts of the city is set to clear a crucial hurdle on Tuesday, as advocates say they are closing in on a follow-up proposal that would take their campaign even further. 

Under the companion ordinances (O2020-6206, O2020-6207) introduced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, developers would need to apply for zoning changes in order to create single-family homes in parts of the Pilsen and the Near Northwest Side that are zoned for multi-family housing. Long advocated by the Logan Square Neighborhood Association and other housing organizers, the measures are designed to slow the conversion of small, naturally-affordable apartment buildings into million-dollar single-family homes. 

$56M O’Hare project sails through committee after contractor elevates Black-owned construction firm 

Aldermen pushed forward a $56 million proposal on Monday to boost O’Hare Airport’s cargo freight capacity, signaling a fresh vote of confidence in the city’s chosen contractor months after council members blasted the firm over its record on hiring workers of color. 

Members of the City Council Committee on Aviation voted unanimously to approve a 35-year lease agreement (O2020-3997) with Aeroterm so it can build and operate the final phase of its Northeast Cargo Campus expansion on the airport grounds. Separately on Monday, aldermen on the council’s Committee on Finance voted unanimously to authorize the city to issue bonds (O2020-3996) to cover the cost of the project. 

Aldermen blast Metra over minority hiring, station maintenance before approving Fulton Market TIF agreement 

Aldermen on Monday nearly scuttled a deal allowing Metra to use tax-increment financing (TIF) for a study on railroad crossings in Fulton Market after they tore into the transit agency over its record on hiring minority-owned firms and the deteriorating condition of some of its stations.  

The City Council Committee on Finance during its meeting on Monday eventually approved the intergovernmental agreement (O2020-6213) with Metra among several other ordinances, but aldermen shelved an ordinance (O2020-5785) waiving permit fees for construction, demolition and renovations of public buildings undertaken by Chicago Public Schools and its contractors. 

The Chicago Office of the Inspector General on Friday published a memo it wrote to the Chicago Police Department with “urgent” recommendations on how to improve its warrant execution policies. [Office of the Inspector General]

Chicago Police will tighten their intelligence-gathering policies in an attempt to prevent more botched warrant executions like the February 2019 raid that targeted Anjanette Young, the city’s top police leader told a city watchdog last week.

Aldermen demand answers on spike in carjackings: like ‘something out of a video game’ 

Aldermen on Friday took turns demanding answers from police on all aspects of carjackings and suggested strategies to combat the sharp uptick in the crime that has bedeviled Chicago and other cities across the country in the past year. 

The City Council Committee on Public Safety held a five-and-a-half hour subject matter hearing on the issue after Chicago was beset by carjackings, some violent, in 2020 with the trend continuing this year.  

Aldermen to take 2nd pass at $56M O’Hare Airport contract hobbled over lack of diverse hiring  

Aldermen are poised on Monday to revisit a $56 million agreement to expand O’Hare Airport’s cargo capacity four months after the measure hit a wall amid backlash from aldermen who cried foul over the contractor’s poor record on hiring Black-owned firms.  

The City Council Committee on Aviation is scheduled during a 2 p.m. meeting on Monday to take up a 35-year lease agreement (O2020-3997) with Aeroterm so it can build and operate the final phase of its Northeast Cargo Campus expansion on the airport grounds. City aviation officials have credited two earlier phases of the project, completed in 2016, with expanding the airport’s cargo freight capacity by 20 percent. 

News in brief: Hearing on increased carjackings will include range of law enforcement officials; Lightfoot wants Biden to prioritize more COVID vaccines

Aldermen on Thursday approved a $9.8 million tax abatement for a warehouse in the 12^th Ward.

Aldermen approved a $9.8 million tax incentive for an already-built and occupied warehouse in Back of the Yards over the vocal objections of one alderman.

Members of the City Council Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development voted to approve the request from Michael Tadin Jr. of Marina Crossing Owner LLC for a class 6(b) property tax incentive for the 633,000-square-foot industrial warehouse and distribution center at 2075 W. 43rd St. In the 12^th Ward.

The Morton Salt shed at 1357 N. Elston Ave. would be turned into a concert venue with space for up to 4,000 people under a plan approved Thursday.

A $30 million plan to transform the Morton Salt industrial shed in West Town into a concert venue and dining destination took a leap forward Thursday after earning a unanimous endorsement from the Chicago Plan Commission.

Chicago-based Blue Star Properties and prolific Goose Island developer R2 Companies are proposing to redevelop (O2019-7968) the four-acre site at 1357 N. Elston Ave. along the Chicago River North Branch while keeping the iconic exterior structure intact, even landmarking the building so that the “Morton Salt” logo and umbrella girl illustration remain to greet concertgoers.

News in brief: Hearing on increased carjackings will include range of law enforcement officials; Lightfoot wants Biden to prioritize more COVID vaccines 

Aldermen on Thursday will consider granting a $51 million, 12-year tax break for the rehabilitation of a downtown office tower alongside a handful of smaller tax credits for new industrial proposals around the city.

A proposal to convert a vacant Jefferson Park firehouse into a brewery and taproom with upstairs apartments cleared one of its final hurdles Wednesday.

Members of the City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate unanimously voted during their Wednesday meeting to approve the sale of the property (O2020-5755) at 4841 N. Lipps Ave. to Ambrosia Homes for $208,000, which would be put in an escrow account to fund environmental remediation of the property.

A new 99-unit mixed-income apartment complex proposed next to the 43^rd Street CTA Green Line station in Bronzeville is among the largest of five projects set for consideration by the Chicago Plan Commission during its 10 a.m. meeting on Thursday.

‘Final step’ to converting Jefferson Park firehouse to brewery, apartments to be considered by aldermen  

Work to convert a Jefferson Park firehouse into a brewery and tasting room with apartments on the top floors could finally kick into gear this year if aldermen approve the sale of the property to the developer this month. 

The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate during its Wednesday meeting will consider the “negotiated as-is sale of City-owned property at 4841 N. Lipps Ave.” to Ambrosia Homes. According to the ordinance (O2020-5755), the sale is contingent on the developer removing environmental hazards, including lead paint and asbestos, from the property. 

Aldermen press health officials on vaccines, other grant funding as loose timeline emerges for citywide shots 

Chicago health officials will soon release information on how city workers can sign up for COVID-19 vaccine doses, they told anxious aldermen during a committee meeting Tuesday. 

The city is “getting very close” to widening its pool of residents eligible for vaccines beyond health care workers and nursing home residents and will then “make announcements about how people can sign up” for shots through an online platform, Chicago Department of Public Health Deputy Comm. Christina Anderson told members of the City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations.