Chicago News
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SEP 15, 2017
Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool told aldermen and staff in closed door briefings Thursday, that the school district had a “balanced budget” but avoided answering specifics, according to those present. Following the briefings and speaking anonymously, half a dozen Aldermen and staff told The Daily Line that the district’s budget seems far from balanced, and could have as much as a $674 million budget gap. Aldermen seeking answers were stymied by CPS staff in the briefings, and were frustrated with the lack of answers. -
SEP 15, 2017
While four new Chicago and Cook County campaign accounts were created this past week, the biggest news was the creation a mayoral exploratory committee for former Chicago police superintendent Garry McCarthy. Because committee chair, Brian McCormack, was not answering calls or texts to his cell phone yesterday, The Daily Line was unable to confirm whether or not the committee was created at McCarthy’s behest.
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SEP 15, 2017
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On this week's Aldercast from The Daily Line, we’re going futuristic. Our publisher, Mike Fourcher, joined transportation experts from different realms–rideshare, parking, planning, and business–to get their takes on how cars, transit, and changing travel habits will change Chicago, and how Chicago changes them.
Panelists for our event, How Transportation Will Change Chicago:- Matt Sullivan, Head of Supply, Spot Hero
- Mike Reever, Acting President, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
- Prashanthi Raman, Director of Public Policy, Lyft
- Audrey Wennink, Director of Transportation Policy, Metropolitan Planning Council
Our thanks to lead sponsor Mac Strategies, and to Outreach Experts, Resolute Consulting, and WGN Radio for their help in making this event possible. -
The Cook County Board referred a repeal of the sweetened beverage tax to the Finance Committee Wednesday, delaying a showdown vote for at least a month. Ahead of his motion to delay, Comm. Sean Morrison (R-17) summarized his disappointment, “Ultimately, nobody wanted an up and down vote today more than myself, with the exception of nearly 90% of the constituents who oppose this regressive tax. I recognize that there is no political will here today to take up a repeal vote.”
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City Clerk Anna Valencia, CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. and Chicago Public Library Chief Executive Officer Brian Bannon
Chicago’s planned municipal ID card will also serve as a transit and library card, the first of several public and private partnerships City Clerk Anna Valencia hopes to solidify ahead of December’s planned rollout.
On Wednesday afternoon, Valencia joined CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. and Chicago Public Library Chief Executive Officer Brian Bannon at the transit authority’s downtown headquarters for the announcement.
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SEP 13, 2017
The Council’s Zoning Committee is meeting for the second time this week to consider a slate of mayoral appointments and reappointments to various land-use boards.
An ordinance that would penalize developers or homeowners who buy and flip properties near the elevated 606 trail made an appearance on the original agenda but was later cut.
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Wednesday could be a long day for County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and commissioners. Dozens are expected to testify in person on the day’s most controversial business–the introduction of the beverage tax repeal. Commissioners also have 151 pages of settlements and court cases to approve, millions in contracts to refer to committee, and President Preckwinkle is also headline speaker at a City Club of Chicago breakfast at 7:30 a.m.
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County drama Tuesday morning swirled around the expected introduction of a beverage tax repeal ordinance Wednesday: whether the ordinance would be referred to committee or whether repeal proponents would go for a vote on the floor; whether hundreds would come to testify before the board, which Democrats might flip their vote in support of a repeal, and how another vote on the tax might play in the 2018 elections.
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Interest groups fighting the sweetened beverage tax held a rally Tuesday morning outside the Thompson Building, with more than 200 waving signs and calling for a full repeal at Wednesday’s Board meeting. Commissioners Richard Boykin (D-1), Pete Silvestri (R-9), John Fritchey (D-12), Tim Schneider (R-15), Jeff Tobolski (D-16), and Sean Morrison (R-17) were all in attendance. Comm. Bridget Gainer (D-10) was expected to join, but did not.
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SEP 13, 2017
Two widely supported resolutions demanding swift action against the Trump Administration’s plan to dissolve current protections for some undocumented residents will be considered by the City Council’s Human Relations Committee.
Last Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his intention to retire an executive order President Barack Obama signed in 2012 that granted temporary relief to undocumented minors living in the U.S.
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September Event: How Transportation Will Change Chicago
Autonomous vehicles, the future of transportation, and how legislators should respond to the rapidly shifting transportation landscape was the subject of a Daily Line panel discussion Tuesday night at Hotel Monaco. You can hear the full conversation on this Friday’s episode of The Aldercast.
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After the morning’s consent calendar consideration, a group of commissioners backing a beverage tax repeal–Sean Morrison (R-17), Richard Boykin (D-1), John Fritchey (D-12) and Jeffrey Tobolski (D-16)–will join “hundreds of Cook County residents, consumers, retailers, restaurants, employees and business owners” at a pro-repeal rally in the Thompson Center plaza at 10:30 a.m.
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SEP 12, 2017
