“In our most recent history, the city saw the closure of predominantly Black schools where 1,000 Black children are still missing as a result of that horrific act. Two hundred twenty-three of them were West Siders,” he told the crowd before the Juneteenth flag was raised in Daley Plaza. “As we continue to see stores close, residents being forced out of the West and South sides of Chicago, fewer [have] access to options like heathy

The governor said he and Mayor Brandon Johnson are on the same page when it comes to violence reduction strategy. “There’s more emphasis on prevention than there ever has been before with the new mayor. And I’m grateful for that. I think, you know, lifting up communities that have been poor and left out is the best way for us to make an enormous difference going forward at lowering our crime rate,” Gov. JB Pritzker said.

“Every other day,” Pastor Donovan Price says of the crime scenes he visits. “I’m kind of almost getting used to some of the stuff that I would not like to get used to.” He can’t make it to every shooting. No one can. He has to choose, just like anyone, and prioritizes homicides and kids and mass shootings because the need is greater there, much as you can quantify the need for faith or prioritize. But the point is

“The Chicagoland Chamber is a pragmatic business group. We know that government, education, public safety, critical city services are not free. We know we have a pension liability of $37 billion. All of these things … require solutions. [But] we’re looking for reforms before revenue,” chamber president Jack Lavin said. He urged the mayor to “take a step back and look comprehensively” at the “fiscal cliffs” confronting the city, Chicago Public Schools and the CTA as federal stimulus funds dry up.

“…(W)hile the impact of property tax increases on individual homeowners and business owners is an important factor to consider, the new mayoral administration must also weigh the property tax in context of the City’s overall revenue needs and its competitiveness compared to other parts of the region.”

Ald. Anthony Napolitano opposed the event at the Oriole Park field house because migrants have camped out in parks ahead of other CityKey events and he wanted to avoid “disruptions” in the park, he said in a recent newsletter. He encouraged his constituents to call the City Clerk’s chief operating officer to get the agency to cancel the event. The popular city program has helped thousands of asylum seekers and refugees access IDs as they start new lives in Chicago.

Pension benefits for members of the City Council are calculated differently than for any other city employee. While city workers can receive as much as 70% of their average monthly salary, calculated based on their final four years of work, alderpeople can receive up to 80% of their salary after their retirement.

Prompted by a Crain’s report on local developer Sterling Bay pitching the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund to become an investor in the Lincoln Yards development, Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, will introduce a resolution at next week’s City Council meeting calling for a hearing in the Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development, which he chairs.He said the potential investment prompted him to wonder, “Why aren’t we doing that? Why aren’t some of our pension funds taking a look at investing in projects here in Chicago and creating economic development?”

Chicago is one of the most extensive users of TIF in the country, with more than a third of the city included in the program. Year by year, the share of property tax revenue that pours into TIF districts keeps growing, increasing by nine percent since just 2017, according to a report released earlier this

The Cook County and Chicago pilots were funded via the American Rescue Plan Act as part of coronavirus pandemic recovery efforts. At the Basic Income Guarantee Conference in June, Mayor Brandon Johnson said he’s committed to expanding the program, though he did not say how.

“The Illinois Supreme Court has directed judges to consider the unique circumstances of each case, rather than robotically apply state laws on continuances. When deciding whether to continue a case, judges use their discretion to consider, among other factors, the diligence of the prosecution or defense in requesting a continuance, the history and complexity of the case, the seriousness of the charges, witness scheduling, and the defendant’s rights to a speedy, fair and impartial trial.”