Bio
Investigative reporter with @BetterGov and @PolitiFactIL // prev. @AP // proud @KnoxCollege1837 and @UISPAR alumActivists protest the Lincoln Yards and The 78 developments April 10 outside City Hall. (Hannah Alani/Block Club Chicago)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot last month unveiled long-awaited plans she said would restructure how Chicago subsidizes massive private developments with tax dollars originally intended to fight urban blight.
Lightfoot’s administration said the changes were a first step toward fulfilling the mayor’s campaign promise to impose “rigorous standards that eradicate waste and abuse and ensure investments in economically distressed neighborhoods” for the controversial tax increment financing program.
Lightfoot pushing to make TIFs more equitable but changes lacking for critics she’s tried to win over
By Kiannah Sepeda-Miller , Better Government Association.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s naming of an urban planner to guide her environmental agenda is receiving positive reactions from activists and community leaders. Nevertheless, they remain wary about whether the city’s new chief sustainability officer will be given enough power and resources to make meaningful change.
As a candidate, Lightfoot promised to revive a fully operational city department of environment to tackle pollution after former Mayor Rahm Emanuel disbanded the unit to cut costs. While Emanuel said environmental enforcement would be dispersed to other city agencies, a 2019 Better Government Association investigation found inspections and citations plummeted during his tenure.
‘Only Time Will Tell’ If Lightfoot’s Sustainability Czar Can Move the Needle on Environmental Justice
Bio
Investigative reporter with @BetterGov and @PolitiFactIL // prev. @AP // proud @KnoxCollege1837 and @UISPAR alum
