“In Chicago, Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx has been called out for not telling the truth during the Jussie Smollett debacle…Meantime, just last month Foxx had to remove the head prosecutor from her vaunted ‘conviction integrity unit’ from a case because the prosecutor faces a misconduct motion for hiding evidence in a case in which a police officer was murdered…In Chicago, layers of deception emanate from the prosecutor’s office.”

Sales of new homes in the Chicago area dropped to their lowest total in 12 years in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a new report. Builders sold 677 homes in the 10-county Chicago metropolitan area in the last three months of the year. That’s the lowest sales figure for any quarter since fourth-quarter 2010, when the same number of homes sold.

The presentation to alderpeople included promises of at least $520 million for “hundreds of energy & equity community benefit projects to advance the 2022 Climate Action Plan,” which promises to reduce carbon emissions in Chicago by 62% by 2040.

Chronic absenteeism in Chicago Public Schools is on the rise: nearly 45% in 2022, according to state data. That compares to a statewide rate of 30%. The rate is even higher among Chicago’s low-income students, with 49% missing at least 10% of their schooling, according to Illinois State Board of Education data. The pandemic and 17 months out of the classroom appear to have seriously aggravated the problem.

“A randomized controlled study of READI Chicago released last year found that men who had participated in its 18-month program were nearly two-thirds less likely to be arrested for a shooting and nearly one-fifth less likely to be shot than men with similar backgrounds who had not been offered a place…Such programs help those who are fortunate enough to be enrolled, but what about all the other young men in the neighborhood?”

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said that she believes, with Kelly already facing a lengthy prison sentence, her office’s limited resources would be put to better use pursuing other cases of sexual assault and sexual abuse.

A video of Lightfoot dancing along to a drumline at the city’s Lunar New Year parade Sunday caused one Twitter user to say: ‘Since [Lightfoot]’s term began, Chicago has suffered 2,278 homicides and over 9,000 shot. Since January 1, the city has endured 41 homicides and 194 shot. Yet here Lightfoot is blissfully dancing and asking voters to return her to office. Lightfoot is detached from reality.’

“The First Amendment is a double-edged sword,” library director Josephine Tucci said. “And it’s being used as a sword right now. Instead of a right, it’s used almost as a weapon to silence other people.”

Chicagoans are proud to stand by the working man and woman. They support collective bargaining, labor unions and pension funds. That backing is accompanied by a healthy dose of skepticism, though, especially when their taxpayer dollars are on the line.

Each time, according to police, the offenders drove up in a vehicle and stopped in the street near the victims, who then exited the vehicle to demand property from the victims while armed with a gun.

“I guarantee there will be no shortage of work” negotiating complex and large-scale zoning deals, said neighboring Ald. Brendan Reilly. The areas between Van Buren and Kinzie and from the Chicago River to the Kennedy Expressway are the next rumored “hot spot” for development, Reilly said, because of its proximity to the Loop and Fulton Market. Somewhat lost amid the excitement of the new 34th Ward is the fact that it was carved out of the Far South Side, as many Black residents who live in the neighborhoods have moved out of the city.

Among states reporting the data, Illinois led the nation with 284,720 electricity shutoffs and 82,496 gas shutoffs during the first 10 months of 2022, the report said, citing records from the Illinois Commerce Commission. ComEd was singled out for criticism, with the groups putting it in its “Hall of Shame” for increasing disconnections even as it campaigned for and won rate increases.

Last weekend, at least 30 people were shot, seven fatally, in shootings across the city, police said.