Chicago News
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OCT 05, 2017
The City Council’s Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on an ordinance establishing a separate corporation to issue debt on behalf of the city at lower interest rates, as well as authorization for the first round of borrowing: $3 billion in bonds backed by sales tax revenue.
The ordinance creates an entity insulated from the city to borrow on its behalf. The obligation and the associated fees of paying off the borrowing are not secured by the City’s full faith and credit, as has been the case with past debt issuances.
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Criminal justice stakeholders in Cook County gather after a press conference announcing receipt of a $1.85 million grant to reduce jail populations and track the county's bond reform process. Credit: A.D. Quig
On Wednesday, the Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation awarded a $1.85 million grant to criminal justice stakeholders in Cook County to reduce the jail population, divert certain nonviolent offenders away from the criminal justice system, and track efforts to remind defendants about their dates in court.
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Karen Sheley, Director of Police Practices for the ACLU of Illinois, details lawsuit against city of Chicago. Credit: Claudia Morell
The local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday to demand court intervention in the Chicago Police Department’s ongoing efforts to overhaul its use of force policies and training.
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Mayor Rahm Emanuel has selected Cook County Circuit Court Judge Patricia Banks to serve as the new chief administrator for the city agency in charge of handling cases of police misconduct. On Monday, Civilian Office of Police Accountability Administrator Sharon Fairley officially formed a campaign committee for Illinois Attorney General, leaving a leadership vacuum at the agency less than a month after its official launch.
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Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson presents findings from an OIG audit of the Chicago Police Department's overtime practices on October 3, 2017. Supt. Eddie Johnson stands behind. Credit: A.D. Quig
Just weeks before Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson is set to make his 2017 budget request to aldermen, Inspector General Joe Ferguson released an audit blasting the department’s overtime practices.
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The Council’s Health Committee approved a big jump in fines for illegally dumping trash or construction debris on vacant lots. City health and sanitation officials say the aim is to deter frequent offenders, control costs, and reduce pollution and pests.
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OCT 04, 2017
Ald. Anthony Beale (9) has updated his plan to require fingerprinting of Uber and Lyft drivers and impose caps on surge pricing ahead of Wednesday’s meeting of the City Council’s Transportation Committee, which he chairs. The new ordinance is scheduled for a direct and introduction and vote.
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Two resolutions denouncing the Trump Administration, financing for the expansion of an existing community garden in Bowmanville and a slew of mayoral appointees to a city board that handles veterans issues are slated for review Wednesday.
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OCT 04, 2017
City Council security removed two Logan Square residents from Tuesday’s Zoning Committee after they accused a zoning attorney and the Council’s Zoning Chair Danny Solis (25) of pay to play.
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Ald. Michelle Harris (top row, fourth from left) and Human Rights Commissioner Mona Noriega stand on the Council chambers’ steps after the Workforce Committee passed the so-called “Hands Off, Pants On” ordinance on Oct. 2, 2017. Credit: A.D. Quig
Hotel workers clad in red UNITE HERE shirts broke into applause Monday morning after quick passage of an ordinance mandating hotels outfit their employees with panic buttons they can push in case of sexual harassment or assault from guests. Hotels must also create an anti-sexual harassment policy and post it publicly. The Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL), UNITE HERE Local 1 and lead sponsor Ald. Michelle Harris (8) celebrated the move as a union-business victory to protect workers who are largely women of color and immigrants.
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A proposal from Mayor Rahm Emanuel would impose stiffer penalties on companies or individuals caught illegally dumping trash. The proposal is one of two from the mayor on the Health and Environmental Protection Committee's agenda Tuesday. The second item aims to promote healthier food purchases by city departments.
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OCT 03, 2017
UNLOCKEDThe City Council’s Committees on Aviation and Finance are having a second meeting near Midway Airport to discuss the Department of Aviation’s program to soundproof nearby homes.
One ordinance requests the presence of Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans to detail how CDA is addressing those concerns. The other ordinance requests an explanation from Evans for not attending the previous off-site meeting.
The latter item, co-sponsored by Finance Chair Ed Burke (14) and Ald. Marty Quinn (13), is in response to Evan’s absence at similar Aug. 23 hearing held at the Hale Park gymnasium. “Such an obstruction in a legal setting may elicit a finding of contempt within the applicable jurisdiction and venue,” the ordinance reads.
Tuesday’s meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Mayfield Banquet Facility. More than 10,000 homes near Midway have taken advantage of the Residential Sound Insulation Program (RSIP) administered by CDA. Residents have recently issued complaints of odors emanating from windows installed as part of the program. -
Union West, a pair of 15-story high-rises with a total of 358-units, is among several project for the West Loop and Near West Side awaiting review by the City Council’s Zoning Committee Tuesday. A joint venture of ZOM Living and Verde Communities is behind the project that has garnered a significant amount of public opposition from neighborhood residents, including at the September Plan Commission meeting.
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The Council’s Workforce Committee meets this morning to consider an ordinance that would require hotels to equip some of their employees with panic buttons. Under the proposal, hotels would have to provide the buttons free of charge to all employees who work in guests’ rooms. It’s aimed at protecting housekeepers and other hotel workers who work alone in guest rooms and restrooms from being sexually assaulted by guests.
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This week on The Daily Line’s Aldercast, we go back to our original format to bring you three of the week’s big stories. Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill ensuring abortion access if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, but outraged members of his own party and in the anti-abortion community. Cook County Comm. Richard Boykin announced he’s not challenging Toni Preckwinkle for Board President in 2018, and Ald. Walter Burnett (27) scuffles with aldermen opposed to a pilot anti-gentrification program.
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