Aldermen line up behind guaranteed income: ‘2021 is our New Deal moment’  

A growing group of aldermen led by Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) are calling on city finance officials to set aside a piece of the forthcoming federal rescue package for direct cash payments to struggling Chicagoans. 

Villegas wants to peel off up to $50 million from the $1.8 billion due to the city from the American Rescue Plan Act to pilot a “guaranteed income program for those who need help the most,” he said during a meeting of the City Council Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development Thursday. Villegas, who chairs the committee, used the two-hour meeting to showcase support for direct-payment programs among policy researchers and officials from other cities. 

News in brief: Senate approves bill legalizing to-go cocktails until 2024; Pritzker issues warning about COVID-19 variants 

Next round of financial assistance for Illinois renters, landlords expected to be ready by May 

Renters and landlords in Illinois struggling to meet their obligations due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be able to apply for additional financial assistance in the coming months, lawmakers were told Wednesday.  

Illinois Housing Development Authority executive director Kristin Faust told members of the House Housing Committee the recent passage of two federal COVID-19 relief bills will provide hundreds of millions of dollars to struggling renters and homeowners in Illinois.   

News in brief: Aldermen to hold hearing on guaranteed income proposal; Reparations Subcommittee to hold first meeting Thursday; Transit Board approves $1.75M to settle case in which bus driver struck bicyclist in 2019 

Lightfoot launches fund, working group aimed at helping small and diverse companies working with the city 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduced a series of measures on Wednesday aiming to help support small minority- and women-owned companies that contract with the city. 

The three new initiatives include a $25 million Vendor Impact Fund through which minority- and women-owned businesses will get preferential access to Paycheck Protection Program and Small Business Administration loans. Businesses owned by veterans or people with disabilities will also get priority in the fund. 

Commissioner vows ‘ambitious’ arts and culture agenda as funding lacks for Taste of Chicago 

Chicagoans still should not expect big-ticket events like Taste of Chicago and the Air and Water Show to run their typical course this year, but city leaders are still a long way from any official decisions about this year’s slate of summer events, officials told aldermen Wednesday. 

Aldermen in the City Council Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation unanimously approved an ordinance (O2021-781) on Wednesday granting the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events legal authority to partner with vendors and sell tickets to dozens of major festivals and other summer events. The ordinance is a routine annual legal checklist item, but this year is far from typical, facing department leaders with a set of hard choices. 

Reform advocate tapped to succeed Campanelli as next Cook County Public Defender 

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle tapped Illinois Justice Project director Sharone Mitchell, Jr. to be the county’s top defense lawyer, replacing current Public Defender Amy Campanelli with a like-minded advocate for decarceration and criminal justice reform. 

Mitchell is set on April 1 to begin a six-year term at the helm of the $81 million office charged with representing most defendants in the county’s sprawling court system. County commissioners scheduled a special meeting for 10 a.m. Friday to confirm the appointment. 

Ratings agency improves outlook for Illinois in another positive economic indicator 

Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposed Fiscal Year 2022 budget and better-than-expected economic conditions in Illinois have resulted in a leading credit rating agency improving the state’s outlook.  

S&P Global Ratings said Tuesday it was revising its outlook on Illinois from “negative” to “stable.” 

City to open the door to summer festivals as event roster remains in flux 

Aldermen are scheduled Wednesday to lay the legal groundwork for the city to sponsor a full array of summertime cultural events this year, even as it remains unclear how many events will be held in person as the city tries to emerge from the pandemic this year. 

The City Council Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation is set to consider the 10-page event authorization ordinance (O2021-781) during its 11 a.m. meeting on Wednesday. The routine annual measure empowers the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events to sell tickets, enter into contracts with vendors and impose fees for cultural touchstones like the Chicago Blues Festival and Chicago Air and Water Show. 

More than half of United Center vaccination slots unfilled as officials shift to ‘targeted’ approach  

Contradicting earlier reports that all of the vaccination appointment slots available at the United Center were filled, officials said on Tuesday that tens of thousands of appointments have not yet been taken but will be filled with a more “targeted” and “equity” approach.  

Gov. JB Pritzker, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Department of Public Health Comm. Allison Arwady announced the open slots alongside other local and federal officials Tuesday morning at the United Center, where they marked the opening of the massive vaccination site set to administer 6,000 vaccines per day for at least the next eight weeks. Arwady said the site will ultimately deliver about 336,000 shots of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine meaning about 168,000 could be vaccinated at the United Center in the next eight weeks. City officials originally projected 110,000 shots would be available at the United Center. 

Group launches plan to establish independent advisory commission to redraw Chicago’s 50 wards 

A group advocating for an independent commission to redraw Chicago’s 50 wards launched an initiative Tuesday to create the commission, but some aldermen who support remapping reform still see most of the power resting in City Council’s hands.  

The 13-member Chicago Advisory Redistricting Commission will work with “neighborhood and good government groups” to collect community input and draw a ward map CHANGE Illinois and advocates hope “will win support in the City Council,” Madeleine Doubek, the organization’s executive director, said Tuesday.  

News in brief: Pritzker blames FEMA for last minute United Center change; Chicago Medical Society urges Pritzker to veto bill 

Pritzker signs education overhaul pushed by Illinois Legislative Black Caucus 

Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday signed the second pillar of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ agenda from the January lame duck session, kickstarting an overhaul aimed at improving equity and eliminating systemic racism in the state’s education system.  

Joined by members of the Black Caucus for an in-person bill signing at Proviso East High School in Maywood, Pritzker said the passage and his signature of HB 2170 align with his personal history of supporting improvements to education, including early childhood education, in Illinois. 

News in brief: Lightfoot announces White Sox and Cubs fans can attend games this season; United Center vaccination site to open Tuesday after appointment confusion 

First round of major Invest South/West plans unveiled as city lags behind 2019 funding goals 

City leaders on Monday raised the curtain on more than $67 million in new developments planned through the Invest South/West program, cementing the first round of major projects planned as part of the mayor’s signature economic development initiative.  

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday that the city has so far committed about $70 million in direct city funds to Invest South/West projects, a fraction of its October 2019 goal to sink more than $750 million into the program within three years. The mayor acknowledged that her administration has “got a little ground to make up” to reach its goal, but she said the public funds invested so far have already drawn $300 million in private investments to the 10 South and West Side neighborhoods targeted by Invest South/West. 

News in brief: Discover opening call center in shuttered Chatham Target store; Commission takes step to landmark Morton Salt shed 

News in brief: State partnering with safety net hospitals, FQHCs; New mass vaccination sites announced; Hastings outlines campaign 

News in brief: Hastings to run for Secretary of State; Cook County Cannabis Commission to meet Wednesday; Johnson & Johnson vaccine headed to state 

News in brief: State leaders to testify at Cook County Cannabis commission; Advocates call on aldermen to consider COVID-related housing proposal  

News in brief: House virtual hearings begin; transportation bills advance to House floor; Lausch ‘grateful’ for being retained as US attorney