Chicago News
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JUN 22, 2017
The Mendoza Family gathers to testify for their two-flat upzone in Zoning Committee Thursday.
Zoning Committee forged through four hours of testimony Thursday to approve dozens of zoning changes and the first precinct bans on room sharing through online platforms like Airbnb. While much of the meeting’s pace was kept to a slow walk because of repeated testimony by Leading Citizen George Blakemore, almost an hour of testimony came from more than a dozen Jefferson Park residents. They turned out to oppose a planned 13-story mixed use building on Lawrence and Lipps Avenues, near the Jefferson Park Transit Center. -
JUN 22, 2017
The Cook County Democratic Party will meet Thursday and Friday for their “pre-slating” meeting, an opportunity for candidates of countywide and statewide offices to make their pitches to the 80 Ward and Township Committeemen, as they seek the County Party’s endorsement. The speeches, open to the media at 134 N. LaSalle, in the 7th floor conference room, promise to deliver drama and a couple of political shifts. The County Party will hear candidate’s pitches this week, then meet again on August 10 and 11 to vote on slating.
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JUN 22, 2017
Ever since he defeated Esther Saperstein for 49th Ward alderman in 1979, David Orr has held elected office. But Wednesday afternoon, the 74 year-old Cook County Clerk called a press conference to announce that when January 2019 rolls around, he’ll be retiring, since he won’t run for reelection in 2018.
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Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s appointment to the Chicago Park District to replace Juan Salgado–the new head of Chicago City Colleges–is up for Special Events Committee consideration Thursday. The mayor tapped millionaire real estate manager David A. Helfand to finish Salgado’s term on the Parks Board, which expires June 30, 2022.
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In addition to the 50 pages of regular agenda items slated Thursday, Transportation Committee Chairman Anthony Beale (9) is urging the city’s Department of Transportation to follow federal guidelines and use post-consumer recyclable materials in roadway projects.
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JUN 22, 2017
Ald. Michael Scott (24) will chair the selection committee tasked with appointing a replacement for his mentor, Cook County Comm. Robert Steele, who passed away Monday morning. The district that he and his mother, former Cook County Board President and Commissioner Bobbie Steele, represented for decades spans both the city’s South and West Sides and covers 19 wards. Only two committeemen hold more than 10% of the weighted vote, which sources speculate could lead to a fraught nomination process.
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Homeowners in much of the 13th Ward would be barred from listing their property on Airbnb as mandated in several ordinances that’ll be reviewed by the Zoning Committee Thursday.
Though the City Council approved regulations for the online room sharing company nearly a year ago, this package of ordinances submitted by local Ald. Marty Quinn (13) marks the first effort by an alderman to impose a blanket ban.
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JUN 22, 2017
Council installed a digital countdown clock Wednesday for public testimony.
Lacking a quorum, the Council’s Rules Committee delayed a vote Wednesday on a court-mandated measure that would allow 30 minutes of public comment at monthly City Council meetings. Only 16 of the committee’s 50 members were present for the morning meeting, nine shy of a quorum.
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The Council’s License Committee advanced the appointment of a new commissioner for the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP), a crackdown on prostitution rings that front as massage parlors, and updated staffing rules for self-serve laundromats.
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The Council’s License Committee will consider the nomination of a new commissioner for the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) Wednesday, the city agency that administers and drafts rules and regulations for city licenses. Mayor Emanuel has recommended his Deputy Chief Operating Officer Rosa Escareño to the post.
Proposed regulations for massage parlors (dubbed “Operation Hot Towel.” ), staffing requirements for coin-operated laundries, and nine liquor license amendments are also slated for review today.
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JUN 20, 2017
Members of the public would be given the opportunity to testify at the monthly City Council meetings under a rule change the Council’s Rules Committee is scheduled to consider Wednesday. But with testimony capped just at three minutes a speaker, the rules would likely give only 10 members of the public the opportunity to address the full City Council and the mayor. Rules for implementation would be up to the Sergeant-at-Arms and his deputies.
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JUN 20, 2017
When the city announced the first awardees of a new grant program aimed at spurring economic activity in depressed commercial corridors, neighborhoods with some of the highest unemployment and poverty rates in the city–West Englewood, Fuller Park, and Oakland, among others–were noticeably absent. While more than 700 applied to get a piece of the pie, 25 businesses located in wards represented by some of the mayor’s allies fared noticeably well.
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Second District Cook County Commissioner Robert Steele has died, Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office confirmed Monday afternoon. Steele had been suffering from complications from diabetes, and had had several hospital stays recently. The cause of his death was not immediately released. He was 55 years old, just a few days shy of his 56th birthday on June 29.
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JUN 20, 2017
Chicago aldermen, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office, and state lawmakers are putting pressure on Governor Bruce Rauner to address an increase in reported hate crimes by urging him to sign legislation that’d strengthen the state’s hate crimes law and to fill vacancies on an existing state commission tasked with enforcement. The parties gathered at City Hall on Monday to discuss a resolution Ald. Pat Dowell (3), Chair of the Council’s Human Relations Committee, directly introduced to her committee urging action.
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JUN 19, 2017
The Council’s Committee on Human Relations meets Monday to demand that Governor Bruce Rauner address “alarming rates” of hate crimes reported in Chicago.
