CPS CEO Pedro Martinez speaks at City Hall on Nov. 16, 2021. [Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago]

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) House of Delegates, the union’s elected governing body, issued a unanimous vote of no confidence in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Pedro Martinez on Monday night, the latest development in a reported effort to oust the CPS executive. But Martinez has earned a flurry of public support as the mayor and teachers union try to get rid of him.

The city’s watchdog issued a report calling on additional municipal campaign finance reforms following passage of an ethics ordinance by the City Council last week, and the county announced millions of dollars in grant awards to help cannabis businesses start and operate.

Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over a City Council meeting on Sept. 18, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The acoustic gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter went offline Sunday night, and Mayor Brandon Johnson that same day announced the city had issued a request for information (RFI) from companies to begin to evaluate potential replacements.

Cook County Comm. Bridget Gainer (D-10) chairs a workforce committee meeting on Sept. 18, 2024. [Livestream]

The Cook County board is considering the creation of a relief fund for property taxpayers whose bills have spiked beyond what they are able to pay.

At a County Workforce, Housing and Community Development Committee hearing on Wednesday, commissioners talked about the idea as something the county can do in the short term to address increasingly unaffordable property tax hikes for some residents while potential action at the state level plays out.

CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. speaks at City Club of Chicago on Sept. 19, 2024. [Livestream]

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) President Dorval Carter Jr. gave a speech at City Club of Chicago on Thursday afternoon in which he touched on his desire to establish a network of dedicated bus lanes citywide, recent instances of gun violence on the system and efforts to hire more staff and obtain more funding from the state to improve service. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over a City Council meeting on Sept. 18, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The mayor said he plans to veto the City Council’s latest attempt to retain the acoustic gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter — an ordinance approved Wednesday. 

“Clearly, the legal dynamic of this ordinance has left me of no choice but to veto it,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said during a news conference after the vote. "But I am committed to making sure that we are coming up with a collaborative approach to find systems that will actually work."

Ald. Matt Martin is pictured at a council meeting June 12, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council on Wednesday finally approved an ordinance that codifies an existing ban on lobbyists donating to the campaign accounts of sitting mayors, thus giving the Chicago ethics board enforcement power over the ban. The measure, sponsored by ethics chair Ald. Matt Martin (47), also extends the prohibition to all mayoral candidates.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) is pictured at City Council on Sept. 18, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council on Wednesday approved a replacement zoning committee chair, an ordinance to incentivize the construction of data centers in the city and the appointment of a new chief procurement officer. The council also gave final approval to an anti-gentrification ordinance for the Northwest Side and a controversial appointment to the civilian police oversight commission.

The police and fire committee holds a hearing on Angel Rubi Navarijo's appointment to the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability on Sept. 17, 2024. [Livestream]

A staffer for 48th Ward Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth is one step closer to becoming a board member of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) after his nomination was stalled twice over four months over concerns the dual role would be a conflict of interest.

The appointment of Angel Rubi Navarijo, Manaa-Hoppenworth’s neighborhood services and public safety director, was approved by the Committee on Police and Fire on Tuesday. The City Council will consider Navarijo’s nomination for a final vote Wednesday.

Mayor Brandon Johnson is pictured during a City Council meeting in June 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council on Wednesday is expected to take final votes on a replacement zoning committee chair, an ordinance to incentivize the construction of data centers in the city, the appointment of a new chief procurement officer and an ordinance increasing Open Space Impact Fees. 

Several alderpeople are also expected to force a vote on an ordinance that would allow the police superintendent to bypass the mayor’s authority and renew the expiring ShotSpotter contract, and they have called for a special meeting to approve it if it’s not passed during the regular meeting. The council meets at 10 a.m.

Ald. Walter Burnett (27) is pictured during a City Council meeting on June 12, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council’s Committee on Committees and Rules on Monday approved the appointment of a new zoning committee chair. If approved Wednesday by the City Council, it would end a more than 10-month vacancy.

Finance chair Pat Dowell is pictured during a City Council meeting on June 12, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Finance on Monday approved millions of dollars in tax-increment financing (TIF) and other financial assistance for housing developments and a park project and millions of dollars to settle lawsuits involving alleged police misconduct. But the committee delayed a vote on a controversial expansion of the TIF district in Pilsen.

Finance Committee Chair Pat Dowell is pictured in March 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council finance committee on Monday will consider an $11.6 million legal settlement, an expansion of the tax increment financing (TIF) district in Pilsen and millions in TIF dollars to various projects citywide. The Committee on Finance will meet at 10 a.m. in council chambers.

Board of Review Comm. George Cardenas, bottom left, testifies at a Committee on Housing and Real Estate meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. [Livestream]

The City Council’s housing committee on Wednesday held a hearing on a proposal to rein in property tax bills for homeowners that are seeing taxes increase beyond what they can pay.

Cook County Board of Review Comm. George Cardenas (D-1) presented his proposal for a property tax bill “circuit breaker” program that would link tax bills to a household’s ability to pay and provide state credits to cover the portion of taxes that exceed a certain threshold based on the household’s income.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) speaks about his data residency ordinance during a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line]

An ordinance that would incentivize the construction of data centers within state and city of Chicago limits was approved by a key City Council panel Wednesday after it was considered for the third time in four months. 

The Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development voted to approve the latest version of Ald. Gilbert Villegas’ (36) ordinance (SO2024-0008201), which would require city data to be stored within the United States in many cases, with some discretion, and which the 36th Ward alderperson says will attract data centers to the state and city and increase revenue. Ald. Daniel La Spata (1) was the only no vote.