Homes sales in the Chicago metro area last month dropped by about 40 percent compared to May 2019, and home prices went flat. The sales declines in both the city and the larger metro area were considerably larger than the nationwide figure. Home sales in May dropped by 26.6 percent across the U.S. from a year earlier.

“Where we think about pools and beaches, the water itself is not a concern for COVID spread,” the mayor said. “The risk is that people who breathe on each other have the ability to spread the virus…Unless we get into a heat emergency, we don’t have a plan to have pools open, and beaches are not open yet.”

“The true irresponsible parties here are Berrios, Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan — who runs a tax appeals law firm — and a small club of other tax lawyers, including Chicago Ald. Ed Burke (14th). For years, they quietly worked hand in hand to undervalue commercial properties at the expense of residential properties.”

“Of course you also have to worry about how to reopen the city without setting off an increase in COVID-19 cases. But reducing violent crime comes first. It always must come first. If Chicagoans are afraid to leave their homes and afraid of being hit by stray bullets inside their homes, hygiene lectures rapidly lose their effectiveness.”

“People point to the federal government’s financial support, but the Paycheck Protection Program doesn’t support Broadway, or Broadway In Chicago. We’re too big for PPP and too small for any major federal support. For those grateful theaters that received PPP, it ends this month even as theaters remain shut down indefinitely. The city and state are working on guidelines for this sector, but the federal government is silent on support for theater.”

“There’s no easy button to cutting murders down to 300 or below,” Supt. David Brown said. “What I will say, if New York can do it, if LA can do it, there’s no reason why Chicago can’t do it. And we have to believe we can do it.”

According to CPS, in 2018 72 out of the district’s 93 high schools had school resources officers. That’s 77 percent. All of which, opted to keep those SROs in place for the latest school year.

Though the average residential tax bill in the north and northwest rose just 1.1 percent this year from 2019, the average bill for commercial and industrial properties rose nearly 16 percent, according to Crain’s.

“What I’ve learned is that the cultural dysfunction in the Police Department is so deep that it’s going to take enormous effort to disrupt it. You’ve probably seen the story of the officers in the campaign office of Bobby Rush. These — I pick my words carefully — idiots are trying to spread a defense that Bobby Rush invited them into his office.”

The following industries will open for the first time at the beginning of phase four in Chicago: indoor seating in bars and restaurants, museums and zoos, performance venues, summer camps and youth activities.