Meetings & Agendas
- Chicago
- Springfield
Fifteen alderpeople are calling for Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) to lose his position as chair of the housing committee as a consequence of speaking at a pro-Palestine protest last week where a protester burned an American flag.
The alderpeople have called for a special City Council meeting on April 1 to vote on a resolution to amend the City Council Rules of Order and Procedure to rescind his chairpersonship if the 25th Ward alderperson doesn't resign first.
Following the defeat of the Bring Chicago Home referendum, which would have allowed the City Council to retool the real estate transfer tax structure, the City Council Progressive Caucus said they understood and heard the message voters sent through their votes and will commit to improving trust in city government.
The ballot question, which would have raised the transfer tax on property sales above $1 million and decreased it on sales lower than $1 million, was defeated last week with 52 percent voting against the proposal.
As the Democratic Party primary for Cook County State’s Attorney comes down to the wire, a recount appears possible. The City Council’s immigration committee will consider legislation to make data on migrant shelter evictions public, and Chicago Park District workers authorized a strike amid contract negotiations.
Five Chicago Park District facilities currently serving as temporary shelters for migrants will be closed and returned to their intended use beginning March 30, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Monday.
Alderpeople got their first chance to ask questions about a proposal for the city to issue $1.25 billion in general obligation and Sales Tax Securitization Corporation bonds and use the proceeds to fund myriad investments in housing, cultural and economic growth citywide, but in a way that addresses historic disinvestment.
The City Council Committee on Finance will hold a hearing Friday afternoon on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $1.25 billion bond proposal, giving alderpeople the first chance to ask the administration questions about the mayor’s plan to broadly invest in housing and economic development.
Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) is planning to return to Springfield and continue serving in the House following her primary election defeat on March 19. The loss will end Flowers’ political career next January following 40 years in the General Assembly.
Republican incumbents for Congress and the Illinois House faced stiff primary challenges this year, but voters rewarded the incumbents, giving convincing approval to members of the Illinois House Freedom Caucus and a narrow victory to U.S. Rep. Mike Bost.
It wasn’t the best primary night for progressives in Chicago, but Graciela Guzman’s victory in the 20th Senate District was decisive after she tallied most of the votes in one of the most expensive races in Illinois.
Some non-citizens could be allowed to become firefighters in Illinois under a bill making its way through the House, which compliments legislation lawmakers approved last year that created a pathway for non-citizens to become police officers.
However, House Republicans are now backtracking their support for allowing non-citizens to join the police force.
Illinois lawmakers are expressing interest in expanding the state’s co-responder pilot program as they consider legislation to add McHenry County to the list of early participants.
“It is not an exaggeration to say that social media companies know more about our children than we do,” Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-Glenview) told the House Consumer Protection Committee Wednesday. “They have all this data, they’re collecting it, they’re targeting our children. The algorithms are designed to keep them laser-focused and on these apps. All we’re asking is that we not have open season on our children.”