IRMA's Featured Retailer

Light seems to catch every color, contour, surface, shape, and shade of stained glass as you walk into The Glass House in Decatur.

This unique craft and gift retail store has been a mainstay in this central Illinois city since 1985. Learn More

Sponsored Content
  • Renderings of the Department of Fleet and Facilities Management’s new Englewood Headquarters, courtesy of the City of Chicago.


    The Chicago Plan Commission approved zoning and site plans for two major capital projects Mayor Rahm Emanuel touted in his budget address this week.

    One application concerns a planned development designation for a new Department of Fleet and Facilities Management (2FM) headquarters at the former Kennedy-King College campus in Englewood. According to the zoning application, a portion of the campus reserved for a Sterling Bay commercial development  will be removed from the planned development boundaries that cover the former City College campus.
  • Progressive aldermen are demanding hearings over Chicago Public Schools’ special education practices, seizing on a long-held complaint about their lack of oversight of the city’s education board, and their position as the first stop for parents who want answers. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability released its first report since its launch in September, a day before the three year anniversary of the agency’s catalyst: Laquan McDonald’s death.

  • Mayor Rahm Emanuel unveiled his $10 billion budget plan for next year on Wednesday, a plan absent of any new major revenue source but heavy on big ticket investments, particularly for the Chicago Police Department.

    • Jesse Ruiz, the president of the Chicago Park District Board and a partner at Drinker, Biddle and Reath announced his intention to run for Illinois Attorney General Wednesday and launched a campaign website with a web ad commercial in English and Spanish. He is the second Chicago leadership defection in the AG race, as Civilian Office of Police Accountability Administrator Sharon Fairley announced her AG campaign earlier this month. Her exit leaves a gap at the brand new agency. Its interim Chief Administrator, retired Cook County Circuit Judge Patricia Banks, will likely testify on the department’s 2018 budget on Wednesday, Nov. 1.


  • The city’s watchdog released a report detailing firings and needed reforms at the city’s aviation and water departments on the eve of the mayor’s budget address, while Cook County’s lead prosecutor released data on 30,000 felony cases that passed through her office.
  • Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2018 budget set to be released today will include a two-year increase in the surcharge imposed on pickups by Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing platforms. The plan, leaked early Tuesday and later confirmed by Emanuel, is one of a few incremental fee increases to be built in next year’s spending plan.  

  • If Chicago imposed a flat income tax on commuters working within city limits, the city could generate an additional $420 million a year. If imposed only on non-Chicago commuters, $170 million could be generated. That is according to tax projections the Emanuel administration sent aldermen this week ahead of his 2018 budget release Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.
  • With Cook County struggling to find $200 million in additional revenues to fill its 2018 budget gap, the mayor and governor worked together to submit an application for Amazon’s second headquarters three days early, hoping to bring $341 billion in total spending to the Chicago area.
  • Fritz Kaegi, the first to jump in the race to take on County Assessor Joe Berrios, released his first online ad Monday. You can watch it here. The spot, which lasts just over a minute, plays up Kaegi’s progressive Hyde Park upbringing, flashing pictures of Mayor Harold Washington, and Kaegi holding a purple sign that reads “Illinois Needs Strong Unions.” It also shows images of Trump Tower, and Berrios at a press conference held to respond to a Chicago Tribune investigation of the assessment system. “We have a corrupt, pay-to-play system that’s giving massive tax breaks to some of the wealthiest property owners in Cook County,” he says in a voiceover. “I can restore integrity to the assessor’s office--I’ve spent my career as a financial analyst valuing assets and being a responsible steward of working people’s retirement and savings.” Kaegi, a financial analyst and portfolio manager, has already donated $310,000 to his campaign.
  • Aaron Bailey, our new CTO.


    Today we’re excited to announce that Aaron Bailey is joining The Daily Line as our Chief Technology Officer. This is a significant step for us as we prepare work to bring more data and better overall services to our subscribers.

    Especially for our readers, the future of news is in providing more and better data, since you tend to be already highly informed and are often just looking for that one piece of information that will change your decision making. We already have excellent data journalists on our team, as Rae Hodge just earned a Master’s Degree focusing on data journalism, and Claudia Morell has been employing some great tools as part of her regular reporting.

    We’ve got some big plans that involve adding new services for subscribers, so we’re bringing in Aaron, who has the development experience to bring them everything together.

    Our team first got to know him in 2004 as one of Chicagoist’s first writers and Aaron has an extensive background in digital news. He spent the last two decades at the intersection of media and technology, directing digital strategy for companies such as National Review, NBCUniversal and Washingtonian Magazine. Most recently, he founded and then sold 601am, a digital agency and software startup that provided solutions to media organizations and large publishers.

    Thank you again for reading and subscribing to The Daily Line. We love what we do, and we’re looking forward to bringing you some exciting work!

    Mike Fourcher

    Publisher
  • City budget plans provided to selected aldermen and advocacy groups by members of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration over the last two weeks indicate plans to increase amusement taxes for larger venues, a possible increase in rideshare fees, and expected savings from a new borrowing structure approved by City Council last week.
  • L to R – Joanna Klonsky, John Dunn, and Victor Reyes at WGN studios to discuss the mayor's 2018 budget. Credit: A.D. Quig


    This week on The Daily Line’s Aldercast, Publisher Mike Fourcher sits down with three City Hall insiders to talk about what’s coming down the pike with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2018 budget, set to be released Wednesday Oct. 18.

    They discuss whether the spending plan might address the city’s debt load and what impact Chicago's Amazon bid might have on the mayor’s plans. Aldermen have already approved a slew of tax increases since the Emanuel's second term and, as Cook County’s beverage tax repeal has made clear, Chicagoans are tired of taxes. So, where can the mayor turn next? Our guests this week:

    • Victor Reyes, a city lobbyist and partner at Reyes Kurson, and a one-time director of intergovernmental affairs for Mayor Richard M. Daley.

    • John Dunn, a city lobbyist, partner at McGuireWoods, and (also) a one-time director of intergovernmental affairs for Mayor Richard M. Daley.

    • Joanna Klonsky, who heads up Joanna Klonsky Communications Strategies and advises numerous groups, including the City Council Progressive Caucus.


    Have comments, questions, or pitches? Email us: [email protected].  
  • Another challenger to Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios has emerged. Andrea Raila, a senior tax analyst for Raila PC, a real estate tax appeals firm founded in 2013, submitted a D-1 earlier this week.

  • Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has tapped John Roberson as her new director of external affairs–the person who serves as go-between with outside and community groups. Roberson, who has a long history in the Daley administration, replaces Jonathan Buckner. Roberson’s previous gig was as chief of staff to Ald. David Moore (17).

  • City Council created a new, independent finance authority to issue debt using sales tax receipts on the city’s behalf on Wednesday. Credit: Claudia Morell


    In a divided roll call vote of 43 to 5, the Chicago City Council authorized the creation of a new, independent finance authority to issue debt on the city’s behalf. The ordinance takes effect immediately and authorizes the first round of borrowing, up to $3 billion in bonds secured by city sales tax revenue.