Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson is honored by the Cook County Board of Commissioners during his last meeting as a commissioner April 27, 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Cook County commissioners, county officials and other elected officials used the beginning of the monthly county board of commissioners meeting to honor Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson as he prepares to vacate his seat on the county board. 

“I’m not the mayor of the city of Chicago without this body,” Johnson said in an address to the board Thursday morning.

Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson speaks to the county board of commissioners while flanked by Board President Toni Preckwinkle April 27, 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved a measure allowing a land acknowledgement to be read at the beginning of meetings, revisions to a tax incentive for supermarkets in food deserts and a resolution calling for accountability for the company behind a train derailment in Ohio. 

The meeting was the last for Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson, who has represented District 1 on the commission for just over four years. Johnson joined his board colleagues at the beginning of the meeting while they presented and voted on a resolution honoring him, though he did not attend the remainder of the meeting.

Also during Thursday’s meeting, county lawmakers introduced a proposed ban on the sale and distribution of flavored nicotine products and protections for workers and tenants related to reproductive health and gender-affirming care decisions.

Two City Council committees will hold a joint hearing on asylum seekers Friday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line] 

Two City Council committees will hold a joint hearing Friday to discuss the status and costs of migrants arriving in Chicago. 

City Council is reorganizing its committee structure. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line] 

With just over two weeks to go before the new City Council and Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson are sworn into office, aldermen are working to solidify committee assignments and other components of committee leadership they hope will carry over into the next four years.  

Cook County Comm. Donna Miller announces legislation enacting a retail ban on flavored nicotine products in the county’s unincorporated areas during a news conference April 26, 2023. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line]

Cook County Comm. Donna Miller (D-6) will introduce an ordinance (23-2311) Thursday to ban the sale of flavored nicotine products in Cook County, mimicking a law already in place in Chicago. Miller announced the proposed law during a news conference Wednesday and touted support from the county sheriff, public health department and two colleagues on the board of commissioners.

Comm. Kevin Morrison (D-15) is pictured during a Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting in March. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The Cook County Board of Commissioners on Thursday will consider approval of a land acknowledgement for the beginning of meetings, revisions to a property tax incentive for grocery stores in food deserts and a resolution calling for accountability for the company behind the train derailment in Ohio earlier this year. 

County lawmakers are also expected to introduce legislation to outlaw the sale and distribution of flavored nicotine products and prohibit employment and housing discrimination based on reproductive health and gender-affirming care decisions.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on the council floor in October after giving her budget address. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

While half of the 10 positions under the city’s newly created Office of Climate and Environmental Equity are filled and a study analyzing the feasibility of re-establishing the Department of Environment is on track to come out in June, Mayor Lori Lightfoot will leave office next month without having brought back the standalone environment department despite it being one of her 2019 campaign promises. 

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx addresses the City Club of Chicago on Tuesday. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line] 

After serving two terms, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx will not seek reelection next year, she announced Tuesday while addressing the City Club of Chicago.  

Cook County Comm. Brandon Johnson is honored during the April 25 Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners meeting before he takes office as Chicago mayor next month. [Livestream]

The Cook County Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners honored outgoing Comm. Brandon Johnson (D-1), approved the appointment of an interim chief financial officer and approved other items from various committees during a Tuesday meeting.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle presides over a meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners in December 2022. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

County commissioners will meet in committees Wednesday to consider changes to a property tax incentive for supermarkets in food deserts, hear details of a countywide bike plan and consider approval of regular land acknowledgements during board meetings.

The city’s new re-entry resource website is above. [City of Chicago] 

Less than one week after the City Council passed an ordinance that allows people who were previously incarcerated to receive business licenses and participate in other business opportunities including city markets, Mayor Lori Lightfoot rolled out a new website with resources for Chicagoans returning home after being incarcerated.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot attended the opening of a new restaurant at Midway International Airport to celebrate the final phases of a modernization effort there. Three Cook County committees will meet Tuesday to conduct business ahead of Thursday’s board of commissioners meeting.

Aldermen are calling for a hearing on the city’s water bills. [Erin Hegarty/The Daily Line]

Two aldermen are calling on the city’s Department of Finance and Department of Water Management to attend a City Council hearing on water bills that are costing thousands of Chicagoans “money and a lot of stress.” 

The city has announced a multimillion-dollar investment over the next five years to convert its vehicle fleet to all-electric, and the state labor relations board has ruled against a vaccine mandate for city employees.

The Chicago Plan Commission approved proposed renovations for Metra’s Van Buren station. [Metra]

The Chicago Plan Commission met for more than five hours Thursday for its final meeting under Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration. 

During their meeting, commissioners approved a proposal from Metra to renovate the Van Buren commuter rail station just off Michigan Avenue near Grant Park. If approved by the City Council, changes to the station would include work on station waiting areas, expanded ADA access, an overhaul of a pedestrian tunnel, new shelters and platforms and improved access to Grant Park and the lakefront.