The City Council met at City Hall on Thursday. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council on Thursday approved a measure allowing Chicago to accept $33 million in federal grants to help the city pay for shelter and services for migrants, and a separate measure granting the city permission to purchase property on the Northwest Side that could house up to 550 migrants. 

The federal grant funding ordinance spurred a brief discussion as some alderpeople raised concerns that the city has not received federal grants for other urgent issues facing Chicago including flood damage from July storms. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson answers questions from Chair Sean Connolly at the Economic Club of Chicago on Sept. 7, 2023. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Mayor Brandon Johnson spoke about his policy goals just past the one-hundredth day of his term in office to business leaders at the Economic Club of Chicago Thursday night.

Following prepared remarks, Johnson answered questions on issues affecting the city such as public safety, education and economic development. He also touched on what to expect from his first budget proposal, which is expected to be unveiled in several weeks. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson during his first City Council meeting. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

With more than three months of experience leading the city and working with Chicago’s 50 alderpersons under his belt, Mayor Brandon Johnson told The Daily Line he is confident his leadership style of listening to and collaborating with the City Council is permeating to other level of city government and its sister agencies.

A Chicago encampment highlighted in the OIG report. [Department of Family and Support Services]

A program coordinated by the city’s Department of Family and Support Services successfully provides rapid rehousing for unhoused Chicagoans living in encampments who want to pursue permanent housing, an audit from Chicago’s Office of Inspector General found.  

The audit also found city workers are giving residents in encampments proper notice before disposing of abandoned items and that the city did not permanently displace any residents living in encampments during the time under review. 

Chicago's skyline is pictured in this file photo.

As the city experiences its latest heat wave, officials with the city’s health department are waiting for the results of a heat study conducted last month that could provide crucial information about how to prevent and mitigate heat-related deaths and illnesses in the city.

In April, Chicago was among 18 communities selected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to participate in this year’s urban heat island mapping campaign, a project NOAA has undertaken since 2017 and which is funded through the NOAA Climate Program Office, according to a NOAA spokesperson.