The City Council unanimously approved a redevelopment agreement establishing a new transit TIF around a 5.3 mile stretch along the CTA’s Red and Purple Line, solidifying a local revenue source needed to capture a $1.1 billion grant from the federal government. The special TIF district, which has a 35-year term, will help pay for a portion of the CTA’s $2.1 billion plan to upgrade Chicago’s busiest and oldest train line, increasing capacity by 30%.

While Mayor Rahm Emanuel waits to announce his replacement pick for City Clerk Susana Mendoza, practically every Latino politico in Chicago has some piece of the rumor mill declaring their front runner status. And since Clerk Mendoza will be sworn in as Illinois Comptroller Mendoza on Monday, December 5, it seems likely Mayor Emanuel will make and announce his choice soon.

The Committee on Housing and Real Estate worked through all 22 of its agenda items in short order on Tuesday, and with few questions from aldermen. The most time was spent hearing details of a new duck boat tour venture in the 25th Ward that hopes to bring 50 more jobs to the city. All items passed unanimously by voice vote, save one item DPD requested be held involving the construction of a cell phone tower on a city site (More details in Tuesday’s preview).  

New downtown housing developments within a block of public transit would no longer be subject to limits on the number of studio apartments under an ordinance the Council’s Zoning Committee approved.

The City Council’s Housing Committee’s 22-item agenda includes a new appointee to the Chicago Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, a $1 sale of a property valued at $1.5 million for a revamped daycare center, and one of the final steps to establish a duck boat tour company along the Chicago River.  

Ahead of a crucial full City Council vote Wednesday, city and Chicago Transit Authority officials detailed plans again on Monday to establish a new transit-oriented TIF along a northern section of the Red Line. The goal is to capture an approximately $1 billion federal grant to cover half the phase one cost of CTA’s Red and Purple Line Modernization Plan (RPM).

Monday’s City Council Finance Committee subject matter hearing was the second and final public hearing on the plan. Another Finance Committee hearing was held last Monday. The city, in conjunction with the CTA, has held 16 public hearings in impacted neighborhoods. No vote was taken at either Finance Committee meeting–the ordinance establishing these new 35-year TIFs will be directly introduced to the full City Council and subsequently voted on Wednesday. The TIF falls within a half mile radius of the CTA’s Red and Purple Line, from North Avenue to Devon Avenue.

A rezone to facilitate construction of a new medical marijuana dispensary in Rogers Park, a proposal to eliminate restrictions on the number of studio apartments allowed in downtown projects near public transit, and four Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) projects are on tap for the Council’s Zoning Committee this morning.

This post was updated on Monday, November 28, 2016 to include comment from Vasyl Markus.

Vasyl Markus, Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s Special Assistant for Government Affairs, has tendered his resignation, effective January 2, 2017. In an email sent to commissioners Wednesday afternoon, Brian Hamer, Preckwinkle’s Chief of Staff, noted the “challenging position.” Markus, the president’s go-between with commissioners, has served in the position for less than half a year, saying his skill set is more suited for policymaking than legislative affairs. He will be stepping down just after passage of the President’s “grueling” $4.4 billion FY 2017 budget, which included the narrowest of votes on the penny per ounce soda tax, and after the abrupt exit of Ernest Brown, who headed the county's Department of Homeland Security.

As the city rushes to establish a matching local revenue source to receive a nearly $1 billion federal grant by the end of the year, administration officials briefed aldermen on the City Council’s Finance Committee on the financing plan for the first phase of the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) Red and Purple Line Modernization (RPM) Plan.

Five candidates have submitted their petitions for the special election to fill the Fourth Ward aldermanic seat so far, less than 100 days shy of Election Day on February 28. Three challengers to incumbent interim Ald. Sophia King, who was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel this past spring, lined up outside the door of the Chicago Board of Elections just before 9:00 a.m. Monday to turn in thousands of signatures gathered since August: Marcellus Moore Jr., Ebony Lucas, and Gregory Seal Livingston. One other, Jack Taylor, filed just after the morning rush. All noted their own independence and a perception that Ald. King, a mayoral appointee, is lacking it.

A Cook County Chancery Court judge ordered an additional hearing for one count and promised rulings next month for five others regarding a preliminary injunction charging the City Council has repeatedly violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA). Plaintiffs Andy Thayer and Rick Garcia charge they and other protesters were kept from attending the May 18 and June 22 City Council meetings because city employees packed the Council gallery, preventing members of the public from getting in. Monday’s hearing was a follow up to one held in October.

A subject matter hearing on the city’s plan to designate new transit-oriented TIFs along the northern portion of the CTA’s Red and Purple Line, from the Belmont to Howard stops, is on tap for the Council’s Finance Committee today. It’s one of two subject matter hearings on city’s effort to create new transit-oriented TIFs, which the state approved this summer, to help the city secure a federal grant to fund phase one of the Red and Purple Line Modernization (RPM) Plan.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office released a progress report Monday afternoon on the city’s police reform efforts in the past year, the same day the Chicago Police Department closed out a public comment period on its newly proposed use of force guidelines.

The Chicago City Council and Cook County Board both approved their respective budgets for next year. Chicago’s $8.2 billion plan passed without a peep of dissent or debate, while Cook County’s $4.4 billion budget passage was a bit more… dramatic. We’ve got the highlights from both in this week’s episode.

A group of O’Hare Airport workers voted to walk out on the job sometime during the holiday season, says a spokesman from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1. The workers, which are employed by five companies contracted by airlines and the city, are not part of a collective bargaining unit, but are threatening a walkout as part of a drive for a $15-per-hour minimum wage and better working conditions.