Chicago News

  • As multiple federal investigations continue to roil Springfield, Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday called for state law to be changed to require those who lobby state lawmakers to disclose how much they are paid — and suggested that Chicago’s rules could be a template for the changes.

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  • City officials must do more after the number of hate crimes in Chicago rose 60 percent in 2019, aldermen told Human Relations Comm. Mona Noriega.

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  • Three developments — all approved within the last year — will nearly triple the number of affordable units produced under the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance since it went into effect in 2007, according to data released by the Chicago Department of Housing on Thursday.

    Developers have yet to break ground on the River District, The 78 and Lincoln Yards mega-projects. But if the builders follow through on their commitments to the city, their projects are set to collectively create 2,700 units of on-site or off-site affordable housing, eclipsing the 1,046 affordable units whose construction the evolving housing ordinance has forced to date.

  • Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates and President Jesse Sharkey answer reporters questions. [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line]
    The tentative agreement that ended an 11-day strike by the Chicago Teachers Union will cost the Chicago Public School district $33 million in 2020, officials announced Tuesday.

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  • Aldermen on Tuesday advanced contract agreements with the union that represents Chicago Police Department’s sergeants, lieutenants and captains.

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  • Tom Benedetto, legislative analyst with the Chicagoland Apartment Association, urges commissioners to give landlords more leeway in denying rental applications. [Alex Nitkin/The Daily Line]
    A set of “compromise” language added to the county’s Just Housing Ordinance on Tuesday may not be enough to end the tumultuous rulemaking process that has kept the law in limbo since commissioners overwhelmingly passed it in April.

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  • Health and Human Relations Chair Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6) meets with Dr. Allison Arwady, Mayor Lori Lightfoot's pick for health commissioner before Thursday's confirmation hearing. [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line]
    Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s pick for health commissioner spent five hours Tuesday trying to convince aldermen that the administration will expand mental health services in Chicago without reopening six clinics closed by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2011.

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  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.


    Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas asked the county’s Board of Commissioners to audit the Cook County Land Bank Authority, saying the agency has “made a shambles” of the treasurer’s semi-annual sale of delinquent properties.

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  • Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Police Supt. Eddie Johnson field questions from reporters. [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line]
    Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson kicked off Monday’s hearing on the department’s 2020 $1.5 billion budget by telling aldermen that the task of leading the more than 13,000-employee department has “taken a toll on my health.”

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  • Aldermen are set to get their first look at proposed contract agreements with the union that Chicago Police Department’s sergeants, lieutenants and captains on Tuesday — nearly two-and-half years after the labor agreement with rank-and-file officers expired.

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  • Newly re-elected Chief Judge Tim Evans addresses reporters. [Alex Nitkin/The Daily Line]
    Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans threw cold water on Sheriff Tom Dart’s proposal to give Evans control of the county’s electronic monitoring system, telling county commissioners on Monday that the proposal likely wouldn’t save the county money next year.

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  • Byron Sigcho Lopez at a 25th Ward candidate forum in Pilsen.
    MAURICIO PEÑA/ BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO


    Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) took aim Monday at the common practice of Illinois elected officials dipping into their campaign funds to pay for lawyers by filing a complaint with the Illinois State Board of Elections against his disgraced predecessor, former Ald. Danny Solis.

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  • Civic Federation President Laurence Msall fields reporters' questions at City Hall. [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line]
    Non-partisan fiscal watchdog group The Civic Federation gave a thumbs-up on Monday to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s $6.2 billion proposal for the county’s 2020 budget but warned that the county’s health system may be spending beyond its means.

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  • Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough is “absolutely” on pace to absorb the responsibilities of Recorder of Deeds Edward Moody by the end of next year, both officials told commissioners during separate budget hearings last week, but a lingering federal probe could complicate the process.

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  • Mayor Lori Lightfoot will ask aldermen Monday to replace former Ald. Ray Suarez (31) on the International Port District Board, where the ousted alderman landed after his stinging defeat in 2015.

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