IRMA's Featured Retailer
We Are Retail: M.D. Trains
M.D. Trains in downtown Woodstock is a full-service hobby shop owned by Matt Drennan, offering model trains, cars, and collectibles for hobbyists of all ages.
The store has become a welcoming community hub for those with a passion for railroading and model building. From vintage finds to modern supplies, M.D. Trains has it all for nostalgic and creative collectors.
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City officials are scheduled to green-light a trio of multimillion-dollar construction proposals for Fulton Market on Thursday, leaving the spigot open on a gush of new commercial development overtaking the former meat-packing district.
Left: A 21-story tower planned for 1400 W. Randolph St. Right: A 10-story building planned for 1440 W. Randolph St. [Provided]
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JAN 23, 2020
A bid by the Cook County Board of Commissioners and President Toni Preckwinkle to increase their power over the county’s independent health system board could make the search for a new CEO more difficult — especially if the change take away its ability to offer severance pay, the health board’s chair said on Wednesday.
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Republicans in Chicago will have few chances to make their mark during the March 17 primary, with most GOP candidates either running uncontested or headed for likely defeats at the hands of their Democratic opponent in November.
Mike McAuliffe and Amie Kessem. [Submitted photos]
But one race in the city’s 41st Ward could have big implications for a burgeoning Republican movement on the Northwest Side, as well as the fight to defend the party’s last remaining state house seat within city limits.
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JAN 22, 2020
Ald. Daniel La Spata (1) did not gather enough signatures to appear on the primary ballot in his race to be the Democratic committeeperson in his ward, election officials ruled on Tuesday.
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JAN 22, 2020
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Mayor Lightfoot tours 345 Art Gallery with owner Corry Williams PASCAL SABINO / BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
Applications are now open through the end of February for $10 million in new business development grants provided by the city’s Neighborhood Opportunity Fund program.
The grants will be a driving force behind Mayor Lori Lighfoot’s INVEST South/West initiative to support equitable development in commercial corridors on the South and West sides. The city recently unveiled changes to the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund program that aim to make the program more accessible to the businesses that could benefit most from the money. -
JAN 21, 2020
Three candidates filed to run for the position of Democratic Committeeperson in Chicago’s 1st Ward this year, and two candidates declared for the position in the 9th Ward. A free-for-all of mutual petition challenges may prevent any of their names from being printed on the March 17 primary ballot, pending a hearing by the Chicago Board of Elections on Tuesday.
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The Illinois State Board of Elections is set to decide on Feb. 19 whether Illinois elected officials can dip into their campaign funds to pay for lawyers to represent them in criminal probes, as several lawmakers find themselves at the center of investigations swirling around City Hall and the state Capitol.
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JAN 20, 2020
Ten Democratic candidates vying for seats on the Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago’s Board of Commissioners have emerged from a frenzy of petition challenges and will appear on the March 17 primary ballot, elections officials ruled.
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New rules that require nonprofit organizations to register as lobbyists do not apply to grassroots groups or residents who press city officials on issues they are concerned about, according to three advisory opinions issued by the Chicago Board of Ethics.
The Chicago Board of Ethics discusses. rules requiring lobbyists for nonprofit groups to register with the city. [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line]
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s bet that she could save the city at least $200 million in 2020 by refinancing $1.5 billion of the city’s debt paid off — and the deal will allow city officials to bank another $100 million to be used to fill the city’s projected budget gap in 2021, finance officials announced Friday.
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JAN 17, 2020
An employee of the Cook County Forest Preserves District should be punished for using his government job to sell two district vehicles to himself, a county watchdog wrote in a report issued Thursday.
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Aldermen who send out newsletters or have websites to communicate with constituents and city residents should not use them to promote their bids for re-election or raise money, according to a decision from the Chicago Board of Ethics.
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JAN 17, 2020
Recreational weed got even more expensive after the Cook County Board of Commissioners approved a measure on Thursday to impose its own tax on the drug, even as some commissioners raised questions about how the revenue would be spent.
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JAN 17, 2020
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A draft proposal aimed at preventing displacement in Woodlawn announced by the city’s Housing Department Thursday would leave out key elements of a community benefits agreement ordinance already endorsed by 29 aldermen.
The new proposal would apply only to census tracts within three-fifths of a mile of the Obama Presidential Center, as opposed to the proposed community benefits agreement which would apply to all properties within a two-mile radius of the center. While Woodlawn would be included in the plan, most of South Shore and Washington Park would not. -
Plans to build the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park will have an “adverse impact” on Jackson Park, the Midway Plaisance and the city’s Park Boulevard System, all of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to a finalized federal review released Thursday.
A rendering of the proposed Obama Presidential Center. [City of Chicago]
