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  • Concerned that smartphone-obsessed drivers are contributing to an epidemic of crashes caused by distracted drivers, two powerful aldermen will ask the Chicago Police Department to start using technology to crack down on those who text while driving.

  • More than a dozen current and former city employees told aldermen in blunt terms Wednesday the Chicago Water Department remains rife with racism and sexism — despite a scandal that toppled a commissioner and cost three high-ranking employees their jobs earlier this year.

  • Aldermen approved the redevelopment of a former Chicago Housing Authority site, a new 23-story building on Milwaukee in River West, and a new development near the Ravenswood Metra. Two of the biggest items on the Zoning Committee’s agenda were deferred and await Plan Commission approval, while one item notably absent from the agenda led to one couple getting ejected from the meeting and an alderman blocking an affordable housing organization on Twitter.

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    The Chicago Federation of Labor, the umbrella organization for Chicago and Cook County's labor unions, publicized a selection of endorsements in countywide races in the upcoming March 20 primary. The group neglected to endorse in a few key races, opting to write “TBD” for the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 10th, 11th, and 16th district races, and for county assessor.

  • Assessor Joe Berrios’ petition challenges against both Frederick “Fritz” Kaegi and Andrea Raila’s campaigns are expected to be overturned, the non-incumbents said Tuesday.

  • Another aftershock of the political earthquake caused by the decision of U.S. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez not to run for re-election to Congress hit City Hall Tuesday.

  • A plan to expand one of the few parks in Logan Square adjacent to the 606 — otherwise known as the Bloomingdale Trail — got the green light Tuesday from the Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation.

  • The City Council’s Committee on Transportation and Public Way meets at 10 a.m. today to consider approving dozens of permits to install planters throughout the Wicker Park business district as part of a beautification effort by the Wicker Park & Bucktown Chamber of Commerce.

  • Ald. Ricardo Muñoz (22) Tuesday invoked a rarely used rule to force the City Council’s Committee on Education and Child Development to hold a hearing on whether Chicago Public Schools officials improperly denied some special education students services they were entitled to under federal law. Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) said late Tuesday the mayor’s office has agreed to hold the hearing on Friday at 2:30.

  • Correction: A previous version of this story stated 24 wards allow private booting. The correct number is 30. 

    The Committee on License and Consumer Protection will jumpstart a stalled effort to hike the penalty for parking illegally in a private lot at its meeting at 11 a.m. today.

  • After months of revelations about rampant racism and sexism in the Chicago Water Department, the Human Relations Committee will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. today into the scandal that has already toppled a commissioner and cost three high-ranking employees their jobs.

  • City Council’s Zoning Committee meets at 10:00 a.m. today to consider increasing the floor area ratio of a massive riverfront property on Wacker, a redevelopment plan for four buildings on the corner of State and Adams downtown, and another mixed use development in the 27th ward.

  • A plan to expand one of the few parks in Logan Square adjacent to the 606 — otherwise known as the Bloomingdale Trail — is the only item on the agenda of the Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation.

    Introduced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, ordinance O2017-8585 would green light the expenditure of $105,000 in Open Space Impact Fees — money collected from developers of projects in Logan Square to ensure there is enough recreation space for new residents.

  • Chicago Teachers Union officials Monday tossed a wrench into the first high-profile project announced by newly named interim CEO Janice Jackson, announcing that they had challenged a plan to close four Englewood high schools in June.

    Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey said the teachers’ contract with the Chicago Public Schools prohibits any school closings — unless those schools can’t offer the classes students need to meet graduation requirements.

     

  • S&P announced Friday it revised its rating of Cook County's general obligation (GO) debt outstanding to negative from stable. Members of the Chicago Teachers Union will gather outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office this morning to present a six-point education program.