The price tag is significantly more than the $16.8 million Belveron, one of the nation’s largest owners of affordable housing, paid for the 1920s-era buildings in 2019. “The buyer is going to want a return on their investment, and the only way I see you can make a profit is to increase the rent,” said community organizer Dixon Romero.

McCormick Place officials said, in the first quarter of 2023, hotel room stays generated from events were up 70% from last year, and attendance to conventions was 77% higher. Events through the end of the year are expected to have a $1.2 billion impact on the economy.

Approximately 784 men, women and children are living on floors in Chicago police stations across the city as of Tuesday, officials said. That has risen more than 55% in two weeks, an indication the humanitarian crisis facing the city continues to accelerate.

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez was appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s predecessor Lori Lightfoot, but during his inaugural speech, Johnson called out different education leaders by name, including Martinez, saying: “I need you. We can do this together.”

“A University that maintains a culture of free expression while also respecting the dignity of its students, neighbors, and others around the world is certainly conceivable,” the coalition of student groups wrote. “So long as racist ideologues like Stephens are being hosted at Class Day ceremonies, however, there will remain a long way to go toward achieving this goal.”

As Ald. Emma Mitts becomes chairman of the Contract and Compliance Committee, with promises to promote equity in city contracting, Ald. Pat Dowell becomes the first African American female to chairman of the Finance Committee. She said, “This is especially challenging because Mayor Johnson has said that he’s committed to not raising property taxes. We definitely need to find other ways to bring financial resources into the city’s coffers.”

“A good rule of thumb in economic policy is that if you want more of something, you should lower its costs. If you want less of something, then you should increase its costs. By taking one of the most heavily taxed jurisdictions in the country, and then slapping $800 million worth of new taxes on top of that, (Mayor Brandon) Johnson is making it clear what kinds of things he wants less of. He wants fewer large companies in his city, fewer tourists, fewer people with expensive homes, and fewer hotels.”

A group lead by Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez has identified four unused buildings at Daley College that could house up to 600 migrants. But their announcement was interrupted by members of a group called Ex Cons for Community and Social Change, who said homeless Chicagoans, especially Black residents, are being ignored: “They use us to fill prisons and graveyards.”

Two years after the creation of a specialized carjacking task force, numbers from the Cook County sheriff’s office show law enforcement agencies in and around Chicago are recovering nearly 9 out of every 10 carjacked vehicles. Despite the progress, city data show the arrest rate for carjacking in Chicago is still below 10%.

All told, the health system is anticipating at least a $40 million loss this year. There’s the cost of running the clinic for migrants and the possibility more health services will be needed as this population continues to swell. The state stopped contributing money to the clinic in February. Add to that, Cook County Health is bracing for a deluge of low-income patients losing their public Medicaid health insurance and becoming uninsured, yet still needing treatment

Ald. Raymond Lopez described the mayor’s reorganization plan as a “pitfall,” noting the final list of committee assignments and chairmanships was not distributed to aldermen until a few minutes after Wednesday’s meeting had begun.

“‘Build the wall’ hasn’t been a sentiment often heard in South Side Chicago. But someone held a sign calling for the barrier, while other residents shouted ‘Close the border’ and the like, during a community meeting in South Shore about a former high school potentially getting turned into a facility for immigrants lacking permanent legal status.”

CME Group Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy cautioned that the fleeting business community could create a “big issue” for Chicago. “If these buildings are vacant, where do they think they’re going to get their revenue from on real estate taxes and income taxes and things of that nature? They’re going to do it through a $12 billion proposed program that was sent out by supposedly some of the mayor’s allies. It just is not sustainable and it doesn’t work.”