Meetings & Agendas
- Chicago
- Springfield
More than 30 aldermen have signed on to a proposal from Ald. Matt O’Shea (19) that would give new Chicago police officers up to a $10,000 signing bonus or the same amount in assistance for first time homebuyers who serve in the department.
Aldermen overwhelmingly approved a plan to move forward with Bally’s $1.7 billion blueprint for a Chicago casino, more narrowly endorsed Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s curfew crackdown plan and threw another hurdle in front of a proposed ethics crackdow during a marathon City Council meeting on Wednesday.
Departing Ald. Michael Scott (24) is on track to benefit from a city-backed land deal in his own ward shortly after he leaves office that would allow him to and his wife Natashee Scott to buy a pair of vacant lots adjoining their North Lawndale home.
The alderman has defended the move as above board, saying he had no personal involvement in the pair of land sales that his wife pursued through Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration so that his young children can enjoy a safe outdoor play space in the shadow of their home. And planning officials in Lightfoot’s administration also say the pending sales cross no legal or ethical lines.
Still, the Scotts were able to take advantage of a city-led appraisal that undercut nearby property values, and of a city program that offers discounts to property owners who buy publicly owned parcels next-door to them.
This article was first published in Block Club Chicago.
City Council members blocked a vote on an ordinance to downzone the site of the beloved St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church in Pilsen, setting off a heated exchange between Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th).
Alds. Nicholas Sposato (38th) and Ariel Reboyras (30th) moved to defer and publish Sigcho-Lopez’s proposal during Wednesday’s meeting, meaning it won’t go before City Council for a full vote until next month.
Aldermen on Tuesday supported a colleague’s proposal to downzone a shuttered Pilsen church as a way to slow any proposed redevelopment despite warnings from the city’s law department and the Archdiocese of Chicago that the move could invite a lawsuit against the city.
A normally routine re-referral of a proposal out of the City Council’s rules committee led to confusion and an unusual roll call vote on Tuesday an alderman attempted in vain to further delay a proposal that would allow the booting of cars citywide.
Ameren customers are facing a price hike of more than $600 on their electric bills during the next year, but there’s little lawmakers can do to help bring costs down as they debate the role that a 2021 clean energy law plays into the reasons for the price hike.
The six Republican candidates for governor took questions on live TV Tuesday night for the first time this year to share their vision for Illinois. As the candidates pushed policy positions or defended their records, some statements require a deeper explanation of the issue and what candidates are pledging to address.
Illinois’ Republican candidates for governor covered a wide range of issues in a pair of fast-paced forums Tuesdays night as issues of gun violence, inflation and taxes hang over the state.
Legal contribution limits have been busted in the primary races for the 2nd Supreme Court District, setting up another expensive election cycle for a Supreme Court seat two years after voters removed a justice from the state Supreme Court following an expensive advertising campaign.
Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-Chicago) is trying to fend off primary challenger Tina Wallace in her newly drawn 19th House District on Chicago’s Northwest Side. It’s the second consecutive election LaPointe has faced an opponent within her own party after being appointed to the seat in 2019.
Rep. Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside), a 13-year veteran of the Illinois House and chair of the House Revenue and Finance Committee, is trying to fend off a challenge from Abdelnasser Rashid, a former aide to Chuy Garcia’s 2015 campaign for mayor of Chicago and to former Cook County Clerk David Orr.