“The crux of Johnson’s public-safety strategy is the enactment of his wider economic and social program. And that will depend on the enactment of a suite of new taxes on the wealthy, including a hike on both the hotel tax and the real estate transfer tax on expensive properties, and a 3.5 percent income tax on Chicagoans making six figures, with the sweetener of freezing property taxes. That in itself will entail a fierce political battle, with the specter of capital flight looming above it all. The stakes are high.”

The mayor-elect described the approach he’s expecting as a layered one. “That means the business community has a seat at the table to help formulate our plans. Obviously, those individuals and organizations that are committed to violence intervention and prevention — I should say violence prevention, rather — that those individuals and institutions have a seat at the table.”

In the past, they have voiced concerns about principals unionizing, arguing that as managers, school leaders do not belong at a bargaining table. However, the district did not actively oppose the bill that ultimately allowed Chicago Public Schools principals to unionize. “The pandemic and the responsibilities that grew during the pandemic raised additional awareness about the value of having union rights,” one principal said.

“One thing that can be said is that the violence that occurs in Chicago today is having an effect on all of us,” said Capt. Jonathan L. Tippet, commanding officer of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division.

Rich Guidice said the search for large shelter alternatives has already included Metro South Hospital, the Chicago Tribune printing plant complex at 700 W. Chicago Ave., a facility at 75th and Pulaski and a host of shuttered Chicago Public Schools that have been “out of commission for a long time.” Most — with the exception of Wadsworth Elementary and South Shore High School — turned out to be too costly, and South Shore residents have filed a lawsuit to stop using the high school building as a shelter. The $51 million in surplus funding the City Council’s Budget Committee has

He wrote, in part, “Mayor Johnson understands every Chicagoan in every neighborhood wants strong schools, safe streets, and the opportunity to shape our city’s story – and it’s future. He knows young people deserve a choice and a chance – most importantly, to go to school thinking of their studies, not their safety. He sees the resident with limited income but unlimited potential. He believes the challenges facing Chicago are no

In the coming months, employers in Illinois and Chicago will be subject to specific requirements, all of which are the results of new laws passed at either the state- or city-level.

But there are no two sides to what happened to Chicago police Officer Aréanah Preston. What happened here should chill every Chicagoan’s bones.

“Behind the lauded free-speech declaration is a standard-issue progressive institution.”

The “respite center” in Little Village’s Piotrowski Park is expected to handle about 150 people. “We have another center that’s due to open pretty soon right up the street and they have opened a little already and they’re already overpacked,” said Pastor Herman Jimenez.

Among the changes in the new bill are a restructured oversight board that would approve incentive agreements with the Bears; The bill removes language that would have given the board zoning authority over the site. The latest version also adds Schaumburg a proposal to share revenue generated on the site from state sales tax, hotel tax and liquor taxes and a new 3% surcharge on sports betting revenue, which was intended to help Arlington Heights and surrounding communities pay for infrastructure improvements.

Kaziah Burks, 14, said that the unreliability and safety concerns surrounding public transit make taking full advantage of what the city offers difficult for young people. “Sometimes I see that my friends … miss out on a lot of opportunities where they can better themselves or better what they’re trying to do for the community and for what they love.”

During a conversation early in the pandemic, a jail employee explained the challenges of fighting the virus: “If we give [inmates] bar soap, they make weapons out of it. If we give them liquid soap, they drink it. If we give them hand sanitizer, they set it on fire.” But Terry Sturgis, a 25-year-old who’s been in jail since January on gun charges, may be the first to think about alternate uses for the metal bands that hold COVID masks tight to the nose.

Matt Paprocki, of the Illinois Policy Institute: “People hear Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson calling mid-April’s ‘wilding’ episode, which saw hundreds of teenagers descend on downtown with some of them smashing car windows and two being shot, a display of ‘silly’ behavior. That, plus Johnson’s previous ‘defund’ the police rhetoric does little to inspire residents and the business community things will get better during the next four years. That has to change. If people don’t feel safe enjoying Chicago, the exodus will be compounded by avoidance.”

City Council still doesn’t have a formal onboarding and transition process for new alderpeople. Different groups have tried to fill the gap — and compete for influence.