Cook County’s nearly 450 tax-increment financing (TIF) districts reaped a record $1.6 billion from property taxpayers last year. The TIF program lets cities freeze the level of property taxes that are delivered to local governments within specific areas, and divert all new tax growth into special funds that city administrators can tap for construction projects in those areas for 23 years. Designed to kick-start private development in struggling neighborhoods, the tool has drawn increasing criticism for siphoning hundreds of millions of dollars to fast-growing areas already attractive to developers, forcing school districts and other local governments to

Lightfoot opponent Paul Vallas calls it an improper mixing of police and politics. “And I just think that given the shortages that we’re experiencing in the police department, that the exempt ranks would be better used on actual policing. And so at the end of the day, whether it’s the schools or whether it’s the police department, she appears to be politicizing both institutions.”

State police credit more patrols and better use of technology, like license plate readers and helicopters.

“More so even than New York, where stop-and-frisk as a strategy arguably originated, Chicago offers a valuable case study for understanding the practice. At its peak, the city was conducting more than 700,000 stops a year—more than New York City ever did, though New York is three times the size of Chicago. “

“He took it from $400,000 value to $1.2 million value in one sweeping action,” Nas Badger, a Pilsen resident, said of Assessor Fritz Kaegi. “Caused our tax bill to go from $7,000 to $20,000.”

“All [Lightfoot campaign] staff have been reminded about the solid wall that must exist between campaign and official activities and that contacts with any city of Chicago or other sister agency employees, including CPS employees, even through publicly available sources, is off limits. Period,” the campaign said.

“Because the mayor has the ultimate authority over the Chicago schools, teachers may feel coercion in this ask from the mayor’s campaign or fear negative consequences for lack of participation,” Colleen K. Connell, executive director of the ACLU of Illinois, said.

Inserted into a bill creating a $400 million large business attraction fund was language barring “economic incentives to a professional sports organization that moves its operations from one location in the state to another location in the state.”

“Reporting of chronic truants as transfers, dropouts or simply as missing, is a district-wide problem, the (inspector general’s) report found in its analysis of data from the 2018-19 school year, the last year before the pandemic. Schools presumably did this…to avoid being penalized under the district’s school quality rating system.”

About 15 migrants — primarily from Venezuela — are staying at the center until Friday, when they will be moved to another location, according to a migrant who said he arrived there Monday.

The plan, also called Chicago’s Front Yard Reimagined, will provide guidelines for improving the famed Downtown park’s role as a public space and destination. The framework plan was last updated in 2002.

The first email to City Colleges instructors urging them ask their students to volunteer for the Lightfoot campaign was sent Aug. 19, 2022; The second was sent Monday. The email sent in August prompted at least one instructor to file a complaint with the City Colleges’ ethics office. It is unclear whether that complaint prompted an investigation,

“There doesn’t seem to be any intent to do wrongdoing here, but it was certainly inappropriate,” political analyst Laura Washington said. “You don’t ever mix politics with government. You don’t ever ask a government agency that you oversee to get involved in your political campaign.”

Jerel Taylor, 30, is a high school graduate who works full time for a safe street patrol in Humboldt Park, the lawyer said, adding that he also works for the CeaseFire anti-violence group. Taylor’s record includes five felony convictions for narcotics-related offenses since 2018, according to prosecutors.

Under Lausch’s leadership, federal prosecutors in Chicago have brought charges in several prominent corruption cases, including a sweeping racketeering indictment against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

The adult daughter of Ald. Derrick Curtis was shot in the leg last week during a concealed carry class taught by her father — the same alderman who shot himself in the hand last October.

The email says participants in the “externship program” would be expected to contribute 12 hours per week to the Lightfoot campaign and students could earn “class credit…We’re simply looking for enthusiastic, curious and hard-working young people eager to help Mayor Lightfoot win this spring.”

“This is deeply, deeply problematic,” said former Inspector General Joe Ferguson. Ethics ordinances in the city of Chicago prohibit the use of public resources for non-official purposes, and email addresses are included as part of that ordinance.