Chicago News
-
Mayor Rahm Emanuel reveled in an honor for the city’s selective enrollment high schools while a fresh face moved one step closer to joining the Chicago Board of Ethics. Former Police Board President Lori Lightfoot is expected to make her run for Chicago mayor today, aiming to be the standout progressive voice in a crowded field.
Stephanie Cox-Batson, second from left, laughs with Ethics Board Director Steve Berlin, second from left, and Aldermen Michelle Harris (8), left, and Greg Mitchell (7.) [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line] -
Proposals to prevent another drawn-out petition challenge like the one that plagued the primary election for assessor this year are expected to be released this week, Cook County Clerk David Orr said Tuesday.
“We are going to be making an announcement about that in the very near future,” Orr said. “Everything of course has to be decided by the legislature. Certain things happen not because of the process but because of the individuals involved.”
Candidates Andrea Raila and Fritz Kaegi were locked in a petition battle until the very last days before the March 20 primary election, which Raila said hobbled her candidacy and would discourage female and non-wealthy candidates from running for office. Kaegi brought a unique challenge against Raila’s petitions, alleging a pattern of fraud that led to a weeks-long fight and an appellate judge ultimately ruling Raila should be on the ballot.
Chicago election authorities agreed change is needed.
“We've publicly called for a shorter time-frame for early voting and an earlier filing period,” Chicago Board of Elections spokesperson Jim Allen said in an email, echoing his earlier comments that 40 days of early voting was a “Biblical” number. “So have election jurisdictions elsewhere in the state, particularly the reduction in Early Voting back to the original 15 or 22 days before Election Day.”
Chicago delayed its early voting because of unresolved petition challenges.
The Chicago Board of Elections estimated it spent at least $225,000 on additional printing costs due to election authorities removing, then restoring Raila as a valid candidate, Allen said.
Editorial boards of both the Tribune and Sun-Times have called for early voting changes, not only inspired by the Raila/Kaegi fight, but Attorney General Candidate Scott Drury’s petition challenge. While early voting was scheduled to start Feb. 8, some election authorities were unsure whether to begin early voting, or whether to include or exclude Drury from ballots.
While Drury won his appeal on Feb. 16, Raila’s appeal allowing her back on the ballot wasn’t granted until six days before primary election day, and led to confusion at several polling places.
“Winnebago County began early voting on schedule; its county seat, Rockford, did not,” the Tribune’s Editorial Board wrote. “In St. Clair County, voters were told they could cast paper ‘proof’ ballots while appeals were pending, but they’d have to come back and vote again if the certified ballot turned out different. Other jurisdictions offered no do-overs, warning voters that if their candidate was eventually bounced, the vote wouldn’t count.” -
MAY 09, 2018
The West Side is a little brighter after the installation of 42,000 whiter, crisper street lights as part of an effort to modernize Chicago’s streetlights, the confirmation hearing for a new member of the Ethics Board is on tap and retiring Cook County Clerk David Orr has one last date with a fish bowl.
-
Less than 24 hours after Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot resigned to set up a widely expected announcement that she will run for mayor in 2019, Mayor Rahm Emanuel named her replacement.
Chicago Police Board Vice President Ghian Foreman will take Lightfoot’s place. He has served on the board since 2010, is the executive director of the Greater Southwest Development Corp., and was also former managing partner of the real estate firm Maktub Development, which “focused on inner city development.” He now plays a similar role as managing partner of Washington Park Development Group.
“Ghian Foreman has deep roots in Chicago and has served the Chicago Police Board with distinction and dedication,” Emanuel said in a statement. “I am confident he will lead the board forward responsibly and in the best interest of all Chicagoans, and I thank him for his service to our great city.”
Foreman thanked Emanuel for having confidence in him. According to economic disclosure forms filed with the city, Foreman owns three firms that has done business with the city and serves on the boards of the Southwest Organizing Project, artist Theaster Gates’ Rebuild Foundation and the Chicago Rehab Network.
“As the department continues down the road of reform, I am proud to serve our great city by leading the Chicago Police Board forward and helping to strengthen accountability and build bonds of trust between officers and residents in every community,” Foreman said.
Emanuel nominated Paula Wolff, the director of the Illinois Justice Project, to fill the seat let vacant on the board by Foreman’s promotion. Her appointment must be approved by the City Council. Emanuel also tapped Wolff to lead the committee to find the new head of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. The three-member committee selected Sydney Roberts, who won City Council approval late last month.
“If confirmed, I look forward to serving every resident of Chicago and continuing to strengthen the bonds of trust between communities and the officers sworn to protect them,” Wolff said. “While the Chicago Police Department continues to make important reforms, I look forward to engaging with Chicagoans in every community and doing my part to contribute to a safer and stronger city.”
At the top of the Police Board’s agenda is the fate of Chicago Police Officer Robert Rialmo, who fired the shots that killed Quintonio LeGrier, 19, and bystander Bettie Jones, 55, in 2015.
Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson overruled a determination by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability that Rialmo acted without justification and should be fired.
Johnson ruled the shooting was justified because LeGrier was carrying a baseball bat and posed a threat to the officers. Jones was standing behind LeGrier when she was shot and killed.
After Chicago Police Board member Eva-Dina Delgado overturned Johnson’s decision, Rialmo’s fate now rests with the entire board. -
Four transit-oriented developments are on the agenda for the Zoning Committee, which is set to meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Together, the new buildings would feature 69 units, but just five parking spaces for cars.
- O2018-2324 — A five-unit building would get an additional four units at 314-18 S. Halsted St. in the 27th Ward. The complex would have no parking spaces, since it is close to the Halsted station on the CTA Blue Line.
- O2018-2386 — An 18-unit building would be built at 3500 N. Clark St., not far from Wrigley Field in the 44th Ward. Plans call for a Culver’s to be built on the first floor of the building, which would offer five parking spaces.
- O2018-2298 — A 30-unit building would be built at 1730 N. Greenleaf Ave. in the 49th Ward. Plans call for two stories to be added to what is now the two-story Ethiopian Community Center and the facade restored. The complex would have no parking spaces since it is close to the Rogers Park Metra station.
- O2018-2326 — A 12-unit building would be built at 1812-14 W. Division St. in the 1st Ward. The complex would have no parking spaces — but enough parking for 12 bicycles — since it is close to the Division station on the CTA Blue Line.
Aldermen will also consider:- O2018-2516 — A 62-unit senior housing complex at 4801-59 S. Cicero Ave. in the 14th Ward.
- O2018-2329 — A new two-story field service center for People’s Gas at 4227 W. 35th St. with 417 parking spaces in the 22nd Ward.
- O2018-2298 — A new four-story, 39-unit building with 35 parking spaces and shops on the ground floor to replace a service station at 4757 N. Ashland Ave. in the 47th Ward.
- O2018-3182 — Landmark designation for West Pullman Elementary School, which was shuttered in 2013. The massive structure is set to become affordable apartments for seniors, and the designation will allow those working to redevelop the massive property at 1917-11951 S. Parnell Ave. to qualify for tax credits.
- O2018-2339 — Legislation that would add two alternate members to the Zoning Board of Appeals and allow them to vote on items if a regular member of the five-member board is not present. All members of the board are appointed by the mayor, and have expertise in the building trades or real estate. Department of Planning and Development spokesman Peter Strazzabosco said the alternate members are needed to prevent items from being deferred when only three board members are present. The alternates would be named by the mayor and approved by City Council for four-year terms, Strazzabosco said.
-
MAY 08, 2018
Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot clears the decks to run for mayor, while Ald. Ariel Reboyras (31) calls his opponent a “bright young lady” and vows to concentrate on police reform. Charter school teachers join forces with the Chicago Teachers Union to mount a unified contract campaign.
-
Less than two months after the City Council passed a measure pushed by several Downtown aldermen designed to protect the privacy of condominium owners, the ordinance is back on the agenda for the meeting of the Housing and Real Estate Committee set for 9:30 a.m. Monday.
-
-
MAY 07, 2018
Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson announces plans to hold a series of community meetings. Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot gets a boost as she weighs whether to run for mayor, and a political newcomer with a very famous last name is set to challenge an ally of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
-
-
Correction (Aug 17, 2018): Some of our data used for Garry McCarthy's fundraising were included by mistake, over-representing donations from Illinois and under-representing donations from Chicago and Illinois. We have updated our figures and the chart below.
As former CPS CEO Paul Vallas officially jumps in the fray, Police Board President Lori Lightfoot (maybe) creeps closer to announcing her bid, and mayoral ally Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30) gears up for a potentially formidable fight, it’s as good a time as any to set the baseline for what will be an expensive 2019 cycle.
-
Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Shomari Legghette's name.
One day after mayoral candidate Paul Vallas called violence in Chicago under Mayor Rahm Emanuel a “national disgrace,” Emanuel spotlighted an effort to crack down on auto thefts and carjackings. Changes at the Cook County State's Attorney's office will bring new leadership to the prosecution of Shomari Legghette. The city is also moving forward with plans to re-hire a four-legged maintenance crew at O'Hare Airport.
Two goats munch on weeds along the fence outside O'Hare Airport. Credit: Heather Cherone, The Daily Line
