Chicago News
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JUL 02, 2026
City Hall is pictured. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]
The city has selected Bank of America to serve as its intermediary to help sell hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid traffic ticket debt to private buyers as part of a strategy that is aimed at contributing about $90 million toward closing the city’s 2026 budget gap.
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JUL 01, 2026
Cook County Board of Review Comm. George Cardenas (D-1) is running for Chicago mayor next year. [Cook County Board of Review headshot]
Cook County Board of Review Comm. George Cardenas (D-1) believes his previous tenure in city government is a key reason why he would be the best person to win the city mayor’s race next February.
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JUN 30, 2026
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Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks about the PRO ordinance at a press conference in Daley Plaza on June 29, 2026. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line]
The City Council’s housing committee on Monday heard from all sides of the debate around a major piece of legislation from Mayor Brandon Johnson that would add new protections and financial relief for renters facing lease non-renewals and increase transparency around corporate apartment building ownership.
It would also seek to improve the city’s ability to hold bad landlords accountable and increase housing stability for tenants.
“For too long, Chicago has lagged behind other cities. Past administrations have kept organizers at arm’s length while declining to implement critical protections that have yielded results across the country,” Johnson said at a Monday morning press conference in Daley Plaza announcing the introduction of the legislation. “Needless to say, relief is long overdue.”
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JUN 29, 2026
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) speaks at a launch event for his campaign for Chicago mayor at the Uptown Theatre on June 27, 2026. [Quigley campaign]
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) officially jumped into the Chicago mayor’s race Saturday, becoming the latest current elected official to seek to occupy the fifth floor.
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Renderings show phase one of the Woodlawn Central development. [Department of Planning and Development]
The Chicago Plan Commission last week approved a proposal for a multi-phase, mixed-use development in Woodlawn just a short distance from the recently opened Obama Presidential Center.
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JUN 26, 2026
The Committee on Finance conducts a hearing on the proposed parking meter rights transfer on June 25, 2026. [Livestream]
The firm seeking to purchase the rights to the city’s parking meters for the remainder of a 75-year lease attempted to butter up skeptical council members at a Thursday finance committee hearing, promising to be a better concessionaire than the current owners.
While the firm was grilled by some about its reported connections to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement methods, other alderpeople skeptical of the transfer directed more of their ire at the Department of Law and mayor’s office for their refusal to share key information with the City Council.
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JUN 25, 2026
Workforce Development Chair Mike Rodriguez (22) is pictured at a City Council meeting in March 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]
A subject matter hearing on a proposal to repeal the city’s legalization of video poker, slots, blackjack and similar machines was abruptly adjourned Wednesday just as aldermanic questions were getting underway.
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JUN 24, 2026
Mayor Brandon Johnson is pictured at a press conference on April 1, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]
Following a violent long weekend in Chicago, a coalition of faith leaders, anti-violence advocates and elected and city officials have renewed a longtime call for the creation of a city agency solely dedicated to reducing gun violence, and Mayor Brandon Johnson signaled Tuesday that he was open to engagement and discussions on the idea.
At the same time, the coalition has the support of two alderpeople who plan to introduce an ordinance ahead of the August City Council recess calling for the permanent establishment of the Department of Gun Violence Reduction to tee up conversations during the fall budget season.
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JUN 23, 2026
Renderings show phase one of The 78 project featuring the Chicago Fire Football Club stadium. [Chicago Department of Planning and Development]
Mayor Brandon Johnson is proposing the city reimburse the developers of the Near South Side site that will house the new Chicago Fire Football Club stadium for the cost of public infrastructure.
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JUN 23, 2026
The former Chicago Daily News building on the south branch of the Chicago River is pictured. [Chicago Department of Planning and Development]
The Johnson administration is aiming to landmark the former Chicago Daily News building as it undergoes a transformation to spur new business use.
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Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle gives her 2026 budget address on Oct. 9, 2025. [Office of the President]
Cook County is facing an estimated budget gap of $550.7 million heading into the 2027 fiscal year, according to a preliminary forecast released last week.
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JUN 18, 2026
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Ald. Anthony Beale (9) is pictured at a City Council meeting on Feb. 26, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]
The City Council on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted down a measure that would have banned so-called “sweepstakes machines,” some of which mimic video gambling terminals (VGTs), and did not take a vote on an ordinance that would establish a process allowing businesses seeking to install VGTs to obtain conditional approval for city licenses.
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JUN 18, 2026
Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over a City Council on Dec. 16, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]
The City Council on Wednesday approved the appointment of a new human rights commissioner, the purchase of a downtown bus depot and multiple measures to assist large developments bringing hundreds of new housing units.
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JUN 17, 2026
The City Council meets on April 15, 2026. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]
The City Council on Wednesday will consider proposals to ban so-called “sweepstakes machines” and establish a process by which businesses seeking state video gambling licenses can receive conditional approval for city licenses — both of which were previously deferred.
The council, which will meet at 10 a.m., will also consider confirmation of a new human rights commissioner, enhanced penalties for some cannabis-related offenses and the purchase of a downtown intercity bus station.
