Chicago announced an increase in the number of young people hired through its summer jobs program, and the county received recognition for technological innovation and excellence for the fifth year in a row.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) is pictured at City Council on April 17, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

A downtown alderperson’s measure that could be used to block a planned swim in the Chicago River this fall was approved by the Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation on Wednesday.

Ald. Daniel La Spata (1), chair of the pedestrian and traffic safety committee, is pictured during a City Council meeting in 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety extended the length of a pilot program to automatically ticket drivers for parking infractions during a meeting Wednesday.

Ald. Matt Martin (47), who proposed the Ashland Avenue extension ordinance and represents the area, is pictured at City Council on June 12, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council’s Committee on Transportation and Public Way voted Wednesday to approve a measure (O2024-0009810) that gives the city’s permission to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to carry out its bus service extension on Ashland Avenue.

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25), chair of the housing committee, is pictured on June 12, 2024 at City Council. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate on Wednesday approved a reconveyance of five vacant lots and several affordable community designations.

Chicago Chief Information Security Officer Bruce Coffing speaks during a Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development on July 9, 2024. [Livestream]

The City Council Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development on Tuesday postponed for the second time an ordinance requiring city data to “be processed, stored, transmitted and disposed of” within United States jurisdiction in many but not all cases.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) speaks during a rules committee meeting on July 8, 2024. [Livestream]

A measure that would give members of the City Council access to real-time advice and information about council rules and procedure from Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) staffers was rejected by nearly half the council at Monday’s rules committee meeting.

The measure will remain in the committee, and the negative vote signaled peril for a companion ordinance in the council’s budget committee.

City Hall is pictured. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Committees and Rules on Monday will consider whether to move forward a resolution from Alds. Brendan Reilly (42) and Anthony Beale (9) related to the push to give the City Council its own legal counsel. 

The rules committee meets at 10 a.m. in council chambers.

Ald. Andre Vasquez (40), chair of the immigration committee, is pictured on June 12, 2024 at a City Council meeting. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Though Chicago is currently dealing with the fallout from thousands of migrants arriving in the city over the last two years, the City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights heard Tuesday about how to better prepare for migration if it becomes increasingly frequent as populations are driven from their home countries due to climate change.

“It is in our best interest as a city to discuss how to be prepared because the migration will continue,” said immigration committee chair Ald. Andre Vasquez (40).

Frank Calabrese, left, is suing Comm. Samantha Steele for wrongful termination. [Provided]

A former Cook County Board of Review employee has filed a whistleblower lawsuit that claims he was retaliated against for refusing to obey “unethical and unlawful” directives from Comm. Samantha Steele, a Democrat representing District 2 on the board.

The former employee and his attorney announced the complaint in a Tuesday news release.

Ald. Andre Vasquez (40), chair of the immigration committee, is pictured on June 12, 2024 at a City Council meeting. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council’s immigration committee on Tuesday will consider resolutions related to the U Nonimmigrant Status Program and for temporary legal status for Ecuadorian migrants. The committee will also hold a subject matter hearing on climate change-driven migration.

Some of the items on the agenda were slated to be considered at a Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights meeting last week, but the meeting was canceled. The committee will meet at 12:30 p.m. in council chambers Tuesday.

The city’s public safety committee will discuss transportation logistics for attendees of the Democratic National Convention next month, and the city’s new tipped wage and paid time off laws went into effect.

Chicago City Hall is pictured in 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

After filing a lawsuit against the city, a coalition of reproductive and LGBTQ rights organizations will get a permit to march in downtown Chicago ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in August to call on Democrats to codify abortion protections and fight back against other laws threatening the LGBTQ community.

At the same time, a court battle between the city and organizers seeking to march closer to the convention grounds at the United Center remains ongoing.

The Joint Committee on Health and Human Relations and Public Safety meets to discuss the 2023-2024 hate crimes report on Thursday, June 27, 2024. [Livestream]

The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has led to an increase in antisemitism and Islamophobia, the Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) concluded in its first annual report under the amended hate crimes ordinance. 

The City Council Joint Committee on Public Safety and Health and Human Relations received a presentation Thursday on the annual report, which covered reported instances of hate in 2023 and up to June 13 this year. 

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas attends 2024 budget hearings in October 2023. [Livestream]

Property tax bills for Tax Year 2023 for homeowners in the south and southwest suburbs of Cook County jumped significantly while businesses in the area got big breaks, an analysis by the county treasurer’s office released this morning shows.

That stark disparity is driven by a mix of higher home values, the elimination of a COVID-era assessment reduction and businesses successfully appealing their valuations before the Board of Review, according to the treasurer’s office.