As part of Brooks’ fundraising campaign, the pastor lived on a roof for the better part of a year. The effort was originally supposed to last 100 days — including through Chicago’s bitter winter — but it ended up persisting for 345 days as Brooks fought to reach the $30 million goal. There, he conducted daily sermons his Rooftop Revelations.

Ald. Jeanette Taylor voted in favor of the agreement — paving the way for her colleagues to do the same — though you’d never know it from how she admonished the railroad. “Norfolk Southern, who got rich off of the backs of slaves,” resisted “giving this community the little things that they’re asking for,” Taylor said, referring to her demand for an ironclad agreement of jobs and contracts for Englewood residents.

ComEd proposed a plan to raise rates over four years. In the first year, customers would pay roughly $6 more a month on their bills. By 2027 they would pay $17 dollars more a month. “That’s a lot of money. And I do think that it this couldn’t come really at a worse time,” said David Kolata, the executive director of the Citizens Utility Board.

It’s a surprising case because apartments stand out as one the strongest property sectors in Chicago, with few visible signs of financial distress. Many office buildings, meanwhile, are struggling, especially along LaSalle Street, the longtime heart of the city’s financial district. Amid its troubles, city officials and many developers are touting office-to-apartment conversions like the one at 29 S. LaSalle as the primary strategy to revive the storied street.

“Vouchers and school choice will force competition between public, private/parochial, and charter schools. That competition will be the only means to break CTU’s grip on the status quo and give children, especially those in poverty, a chance.”

The ordinance is meant to “discourage drivers from illegally parking in places that put our most vulnerable users at risk: folks on bikes, folks walking, folks in wheelchairs,” transportation commissioner Gia Biagi said. Under the measure, the city would install cameras on city vehicles and street poles in two pilot areas Downtown to identify parking violators and mail them a ticket.

Ald. Andre Vasquez said a vote should not take place on the agreement until after the new term begins in May, and accused the mayor of attempting to rush a vote. “This all sounds like old Chicago to me,” Vasquez said, noting that the Environmental Protection and Energy Committee does not have a chair.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel embraced pension reform late in his mayoral term, asking that the Illinois Constitution be changed to allow it. Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently said it is time the city and its labor unions “get to the table, make some hard choices, but do the right thing” to guarantee the pensions promised to city employees and retirees are “actually available.”

It’s a critical effort after a year that has seen the Windy City and its suburbs lose giants including Ken Griffin’s Citadel, plane maker Boeing Co., manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. and local offices of Tyson Foods Inc. At the same time, violence is sparking outrage among residents and slowing a recovery of Chicago’s downtown after the Covid-19 pandemic.

On a year over year basis Chicago area single family home prices still rose at a healthy clip – 7.7% to be exact – but that’s way down from the peak of 13.1% back in June and almost at a 2 year low. But what is interesting is that home prices in the rest of the country, which rose at a much faster rate over the last couple of years, are now falling faster than the Chicago area. Consequently, Chicago now ranks 7th out of 20 metro areas in terms of annual appreciation.

“That’s something that all hospitals are going to have to be aware of, and we’re already making plans to start to address that,” said Michael Bauer, medical director of Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital. “I’m talking about what the hospitals are getting to provide that level of care, and that really is a big concern. Not just to us. It should be a big concern to everyone because we need to ensure the financial stability of all the healthcare institutions.”

An expansion of a freight yard where oceangoing containers are moved from railcars to trucks faces a crucial vote Wednesday, a sign of the third-largest U.S. city’s importance as a rail hub and the challenges of running a railroad in a dense urban area.

“Right now, CPD is not doing their part to let the registrants follow the law,” retired police commander Patricia Casey said. “They are short-staffed right now. They are down approximately half the number of persons they had several years ago, and registrations are growing.”

House Bill 1238, and corresponding legislation in the Senate, would allow taxpayers the opportunity to catch up on delinquent tax bills. “The disparities have to do with if you become delinquent, you have to be able to pay that delinquent bill in full before the tax sale,” said state Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin. “This would create a payment plan, which would give many more homeowners the opportunity to stay in their homes….We’re not affecting the budget at all.”

“One of these ideas is to hold universities accountable to the city of Chicago…(UChicago’s Graduate Student United) organizers are thinking about how a contract could stipulate that certain contributions to the Hyde Park community be required from UChicago. At NUGW, another possibility is to require financial transparency from the university, especially around huge new investments such as stadiums.”