“…(W)hoever is elected mayor will face the bleak reality that Governor Pritzker and State Attorney Foxx remain in office.”

It’s not just that 14 of its 50 members have either departed, opted to run for mayor or decided not to seek reelection. It’s who is leaving and the decades of institutional knowledge the Council is losing. There’s also the question of how progressive, aggressive and persistent their replacements will be, or whether the newbies will be moderate, passive and willing to be led by the mayor.

Illinois law allows high-performing charter schools to apply for up to 10-year renewal terms. Chicago Public Schools, which oversees and funds charter schools in the city, has historically issued five-year contract renewals. Campuses were given less than five years if they did not meet standards in all three areas: academic, financial and operational, which includes how well it meets the needs of students in special education and students learning English.

The Office of Inspector General — which investigates instances of adult-on-student sexual abuse and misconduct — is aware of 13 instances when district schools, charter schools and vendors that have launched investigations into sexual misconduct allegations without contacting the inspector general or the CPS Office of Student Protections and Title IX.

“Cities like New York, Philadelphia and Atlanta have all recently boasted financial perks from promoting their bonds to amateurs as feel-good investments. Analysts say the nationwide trend is likely here to stay, even as its benefits in Chicago and elsewhere so far have been tepid — and even as some governments push in the other direction.”

Evita Duffy of The Federalist noted the irony in the mayor’s advice, given the victims that are shouldering the burden of the crime surge are the communities that she, and far-left District Attorney Kim Foxx, claim to protect – minorities. “They are all day preaching to us about equity and making policies around equity, and yet the people that are being hurt the most, by the way, that the city is run, are poor minorities.”

One incident in District 3’s South Shore highlighted the response time problem. Data show someone called the police at 4:30 a.m. after a fight spilled out into the street. At 4:58, a crash occurred, about 27 minutes after the first 911 call about the earlier assault. At 5:35 a.m., a police officer arrived at Jeffery Pub, 64 minutes after the initial 911 call. Tavis Dunbar, 34, was charged with murder after killing three men whom he hit with his car after a brawl outside the club.

“The Cook County annual tax sale has been robbing South and West side homeowners of their assets for far too long,” said Sarah Brune, of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago. She added, “Even those who administer the tax sale agree that it’s time for change.” The annual tax sale has been shown to have significant disparate impacts on Black and Brown communities.

Not approved for human use, the drug is “frequently found mixed with deadly opioids, like fentanyl, and has been detected in mixtures containing cocaine, heroin, and a variety of other illicit drugs,” according to a statement from the Drug Enforcement Administration Chicago Field Division.

In 2010, the city spent $13 million annually on mental health treatment. In 2023, the budget calls for $89 million to be spent providing mental health care. Part of that funding came from COVID-19 relief packages from the state and federal governments, and will not be available beyond 2024.

“We’re not back to where we were pre-COVID. And we really need to have (an) understanding of Chicago being a safe and prosperous place for people to do business,” Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation said, later adding: “We have not seen the level of growth that some of the large cities have seen.”

The $1.8 billion operating budget for 2023 is slightly larger than the $1.7 billion budget last year but relies on $390 million in federal relief funds to help cover a shortfall as ridership remains low. CTA has about $1.2 billion of federal relief funding that will help the agency through 2026.

“This has been a theme forever and ever,” said Tracy Robinson, chief executive of Canadian National Railway. “The railroads come into an area, and the community builds up around them, and then we have trouble living together.”

“Violent crime is definitely something to worry about,” Robert “Wes” Wheeler Jr. said. “It is not an easy problem to solve and it requires evolving to what that threat looks like…I’m living here too and I feel it too. It’s just not acceptable that that’s what we’re dealing with.”

Of the over two dozen equity fund initiatives – including the guaranteed income pilot – what is top of mind for Chief of Staff Lanetta Haynes Turner is reforming the property tax system, reentry work, and developing an equity-centered grant-making strategy for grassroots BIPOC-led organizations to deliver services in marginalized communities.