Nearly 1 in 4 hospitalizations for heroin occurred on the West Side. West Side hospitalizations make up 35 percent of Chicago’s total, compared to 7 percent for the North Side. The rate of heroin overdose deaths in Chicago is much higher than in any other part of the region, including the suburbs. African-Americans die at higher rates from heroin overdose than whites do across the state.

“The mayor and his CPS CEO should go after the big banks that ripped off the city and the schools,” they wrote. Comment: Never mind if they would have a case for doing that or if the numbers would make much of a difference.

“Chicago is launching a creepy new campaign to blanket the mega-city in more surveillance through its Array of Things, creating a network of (at least) 500 sensors devices that will be shared in a growing Big Data cloud.” “But in reality, Chicago is a failing, gang-infested and corrupt city that epitomizes the collapse of America. These sensors, and the thousands of other surveillance cameras and input devices are erecting an electronic concentration camp inside the nation’s most chaotic and unruly areas.”

“Go ahead and ask your questions. But you might not like my answers. I’m not politically correct, and I’m not liberal.”

The Chicago PMI reflects the health of the manufacturing sector in the Chicago area.

If that means bringing in the National Guard — some people have said, ‘Bring in the National Guard.’ We’ve discussed that. We’ve analyzed it,” Rauner said. “In fact, it may exacerbate the other problems. So, nobody thinks that’s a good idea.”

The number of retirees drawing six-figure pensions from the city of Chicago’s largest public retirement fund is rising fast, a Better Government Association analysis finds. As of March, there are 222 retirees collecting pensions of at least $100,000 a year from the Chicago Municipal Employees Annuity and Benefit Fund (MEABF), a 61 percent increase from just a year earlier. The group of six-figure pensioners is three times as large as the number four years ago.

An individual story. In just a couple of days, he will be making the one-way drive from Chicago to Indiana. Comment: I don’t get what Rob Paral is talking about when he says the population loss is nothing new. He says Illinois has been losing population since 1950. Not true, as linked here. It’s recent. It is true for Chicago, though the shrinkage has worsened recently.

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is once again relying on borrowed money to help pay its bill for this year.

The changes will include the creation of a new deputy inspector general responsible for auditing the entire police accountability system and identifying bad practices by the police. The proposal also recommends that the current agency responsible for investigating police misconduct be replaced by a new agency that will have civilian input in the selection of its head.

Another stock exchange wants to slow down trading, saying some rapid-fire firms have found a way to exploit slower orders, scaring investors away from its market.

Taxpayers spent $7.6 million last year to cover the costs of separate office staffs for each of the 17 Cook County commissioners and President Toni Preckwinkle.

Paul Hansen, president of the Illinois Coin Laundry Association, branded the new tax designated by the mayor to shore up the Municipal Employees pension fund “immoral” because of the disparate impact it would have on low-income residents who can least afford it.