The lawsuit was filed three years ago by the Board of Education, saying Weiss and his business partner were in breach of contract in their deal to use 10 school parking lots during off hours for paid parking. Weiss — a son-in-law of Joseph Berrios, the former Cook County assessor who also formerly chaired the Cook County Democratic Party — was found guilty by a federal jury June 15 of bribing then state-Rep. Luis Arroyo and then-state Sen. Terry Link.

There were a few instances of late-night mayhem after the parade last year, including a shooting and a stabbing, as well as crowds of younger people overtaking the streets near the Belmont CTA station. This year, the “most experienced” officers are scheduled through Sunday night, and undercover officers are assigned to work within crowds of people watching the parade.

“We are known as a welcoming city, we have an ordinance as such, and now this is building the infrastructure to be able to operationalize that concept,” said Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first deputy chief of staff. “We’re looking to partner with our community-based organizations so that they can staff our temporary shelters. They can also support the case management needed to be able to identify the permanent housing solutions, and we partner with the state to be able to cover six months of rental assistance so that individuals can start their life in Chicago and be on a

Since August of last year, Texas has bused more than 8,200 to New York City and more than 2,600 to Chicago. While many have criticized Gov. Greg Abbott for his busing strategy, the Democratic-led city of El Paso has transported more people to New York City and Chicago than the state has this year. According to El Paso’s “Migrant Situational Awareness Dashboard,” the city has arranged the transportation of 13,972 people to New York City and Chicago as of June 23, via plane, train and charter bus.

“As we stare out from our train car, I ask Johnson about the theory, held by some within the progressive movement, that too much activism and policy is focused too explicitly on race and not enough on building broader class consciousness. It’s a criticism he rejects as we pass some of Chicago’s Blackest and most neglected blocks. It’s impossible, he tells me, to separate this inequity from the lived reality of race.”

“While there have been some improvements in scope and transparency since the office was created, the Council Office of Financial Analysis needs to be strengthened significantly to make it a more meaningful resource to City Council members.”

In his 2017 lawsuit, David Cerda alleged many of the accessible seats were among the “worst views” in the ballpark, too small, not properly dispersed and relegated disabled patrons to isolated areas. The judge, who visited Wrigley Field during the trial, took a different view: “The site visit impressed upon the Court the variety of locations and views on offer for patrons who require accessible seating, as well as that ‘friendly confines’ feeling that is unique to Wrigley Field.”

Two of the priciest suburban office properties to change hands in the past decade are adding to the pile of buildings in distress or on the financial brink in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Johnson put no business people on his pension advisory panel. “That is exactly what many in business circles fear. That Johnson will smilingly take any financial offerings they choose to make in summer jobs, etc., and then ram through anything more he wants. It’s too early to say that for sure. But denying a key interest group a seat at the table, even at this stage, is not a good sign.”

Juan Carlos Silva left his native Venezuela in 2020. He spent months in Colombia and Ecuador, passed through Brazil and Chile, carrying his art supplies with him, and finally arrived in Chicago from San Antonio, Texas, last month. The 46-year-old former military man is staying in the lobby of the 22nd District Police Station in Morgan Park, and lending his talents to the Edna White Community Garden, next door to the police station, volunteering to paint the garden’s sheds and benches.

David Greising, of the Better Government Association: “What these two proposed projects most have in common is their reliance on local governments to make them happen. And what the local governments need to keep in mind is that they, not their would-be coliseum constructors, have the controlling seat in negotiations.”

Researchers found that people who defrauded the government for pandemic relief poured money into housing markets, driving inflation in some areas. Fraud didn’t occur uniformly across the U.S. Illinois’ Cook County, where Chicago is located, saw suspicious loan rates around 30%, compared with 10% in New York County, which consists of Manhattan, and Los Angeles County.

In 2013, Chicago closed 50 nearly empty schools. Since then, the Chicago Teachers Union has barred charters and other schools from using these empty buildings to provide schooling options for local students. And after railing against these school closures, CTU leadership locked students out of full-time, in-person learning for 17 months during 2020-21.

As the district and union tackle negotiations over a new labor contract, Jen Johnson – the former chief of staff for the Chicago Teachers Union – will find herself on the opposite side of the table from where she sat during highly contentious contract talks in 2019 and later over reopening school buildings during the pandemic.

At Northwestern University, Professor Al Tillery is studying the response to the reparations initiative. He explained, “I don’t think were going to be at the 15 percent (approval rate) for where white people are nationally. I think we’re going to be much higher than that…I mean, so, if we found between 30 percent and 50 percent (of white Evanston residents) approve, I think that would be like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”