Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) and IPI Chicago Policy Center Executive Director Austin Berg are pictured at the Chicago Charter Symposium on Monday, March 24, 2025. [Jess Plowman/Chicago Policy Center]

Civics nerds, good government advocates and some members of City Council attended a symposium at Northwestern University School of Law Monday morning to hear about the push for Chicago to establish its own charter, an endeavor that bills itself as at least part of the solution to some of city government’s recurring issues, such as dysfunction and corruption.

The symposium was organized by the Illinois Policy Institute’s Chicago Policy Center.

The former Abbey Pub location at 3420 W. Grace St. is pictured in application materials submitted by Stadium Sports Inc. [Zoning Board of Appeals website]

The Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) on Friday approved measures to accommodate a live music venue in Irving Park, an affordable housing development in Woodlawn, a hair salon in Logan Square, a residential development in Lake View and a new seafood restaurant in Back of the Yards.

Mayor Brandon Johnson holds a press conference on March 18, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The Chicago Board of Education on Thursday did not vote on a budget amendment that could have provided some of the funding necessary to pay Chicago a $175 million pension fund payment for non-teacher Chicago Public Schools (CPS) employees, nor did it vote on an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) amendment to finalize the payment to the city.

Exterior renderings for the mixed-use development Sterling Bay plans to build at 350 N. Morgan St. are shown. [Chicago Department of Planning and Development presentation]

The Chicago Plan Commission on Thursday approved rezonings and planned development amendments to accommodate mixed-use developments in the Loop, Fulton Market and Edgewater.

Ald. Julia Ramirez (12), vice chair of the health and human relations committee, top right, addresses the committee about her resolution on anti-hate trainings on March 19, 2025. [Livestream]

The City Council Committee on Health and Human Relations on Wednesday approved appointments to the Chicago Board of Health and a measure to prohibit discrimination based on someone’s actual or perceived association with a person from a protected class.

Mayor Brandon Johnson holds a media availability on the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund contribution from CPS on March 18, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The city’s finance team is recommending that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) engage in short-term borrowing to cover its required contribution to the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund (MEABF), the pension fund that mostly includes CPS non-teacher employees.

Mayor Brandon Johnson and the leaders of his finance and budget offices participated in a press conference Tuesday to lay out the case for how the school district should come up with the funds to cover the payment and other labor-related costs facing CPS.

Health and Human Relations Committee Chair Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33) is pictured at a City Council meeting on Feb. 26, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Health and Human Relations on Wednesday will consider appointments to the Chicago Board of Health and a measure to prohibit discrimination based on someone’s actual or perceived association with a person from a protected class.

The health and human relations committee, which will meet at 10:30 a.m. in council chambers, will also hold subject matter hearings on hate and discrimination in Chicago and on the federal detention of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. 

Exterior renderings for the mixed-use development Sterling Bay plans to build at 350 N. Morgan St. are shown. [Chicago Department of Planning and Development presentation]

The Chicago Plan Commission on Thursday will consider rezonings and planned development amendments to accommodate mixed-use developments in the Loop, Fulton Market and Edgewater. The commission will also hear presentations from the city’s planning department on the draft plans for revitalization and economic development along three major commercial corridors.

The plan commission meets at 10 a.m. in council chambers.

Ethics Committee Chair Matt Martin (47) is pictured at a City Council meeting in June 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight on Tuesday will meet to hear the city’s inspector general present the office’s report for the fourth quarter of 2024 and discuss an advisory the office released last month regarding Department of Water Management (DWM) work that failed to comply with Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) regulations and a lack of public transparency about the issue.

The ethics committee will meet at 10 a.m. in Room 201A at City Hall. 

City Clerk Anna Valencia is pictured during a meeting in council chambers in April 2022. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

City Clerk Anna Valencia on Wednesday introduced a resolution (R2025-0016044) calling for the establishment of a Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight subcommittee tasked with analyzing the appointment process for the board members and executives of city sister agencies.

Mayor Brandon Johnson holds a post-City Council press conference on March 12, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The Mayor’s Office of Reentry announced two major actions aimed at addressing the financial insecurity experienced by residents returning to society after being released from incarceration. 

“We know that reducing recidivism rates is critical to building safer communities and disrupting the cycle of incarceration,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a news release Thursday. “These initiatives, led by our Office of Reentry, are part of our strategy to ensure that our returning residents have the resources that they need to overcome the enormous hurdles they face as they return to our neighborhoods.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over a City Council meeting March 12, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council on Wednesday voted down a broad ban on the sale of new fur products within city limits while approving a new business affairs commissioner, settlements related to police pursuits and use-of-force and city assistance for a Native American-focused housing development.

Chicago Public Schools headquarters on Jan. 15, 2025. (Laura McDermott for Chalkbeat)

Chicago’s new school board is considering an amendment to the school district’s $9.9 billion budget that aims to address a short-term budget quagmire.

Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over a City Council meeting on Dec. 16, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council on Wednesday will consider final approval of a ban on the sale of most fur products, a police misconduct settlement stemming from an excessive force investigation, a housing development catering to Indigenous culture and a new community arts center.

The council, which meets at 10 a.m., will also vote on whether to confirm a permanent head of the business and consumer affairs department and six new members of the city’s culture and arts advisory council.

The Rector Building, with its "Weather Bell" sign hanging at the corner, at 79 W. Monroe St. is planned to be adaptively refurbished into a mixed-use development. [Department of Planning and Development presentation]

The City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards on Tuesday approved a landmark designation for one of the downtown office buildings planned to be converted into mixed-income housing through a city initiative but delayed approval of a large new apartment tower in Lincoln Park.