Currently, almost 5,000 new arrivals are living inside city-run shelters, with 650 more waiting inside Chicago police stations for new spots to open up. That is a substantial increase from the 400 migrants who were inside police stations last week, but still down by hundreds compared with earlier last month, when alarm over their living conditions reached a fever pitch. Less than 200 of the asylum-seekers have found permanent housing, with more than 400 awaiting move-in after signing leases.

CPS said around 10% of schools would see their individual budgets flatline or drop in the fall, while the other 90% of schools will see increased funding compared to last year. CPS officials did note they still face “long-term financial challenges” and are $1.4 billion short of adequate funding due to the state’s funding formula.

“It’s an example of the chicken and the egg: The Bears want to come to agreement over property tax payments before proceeding with their $5 billion mixed-use commercial and residential redevelopment. But the schools want details first about what such a project would mean for their enrollments and if they’ll get commensurate revenues to teach new students and even build new schools.”

The new $40 million program — up from the $25.5 million initially set aside — will provide cash grants and free coaching to small businesses in Cook County affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Veteran-owned businesses will be prioritized, along with suburban businesses with fewer than 20 employees. The details did not mention any goal of addressing “the racial wealth gap,” as was the case when the county first tried to set up the grant program.

Three schools will have new names for the next school year, officials announced. Among them, Tonti Elementary in Gage Park will become Monarcas Academy. Explorer Enrico Tonti was among the first Europeans to reach of the mouth of the Mississippi River from the top, and he’s credited with the founding of Peoria. But two enslaved people were in his traveling party, and it wasn’t clear if Tonti owned them. The school community chose Monarcas as its new name because the word is Spanish for monarch, and “like many families in this community, the monarch butterfly travels from Mexico to Chicago.”

The meeting came about a month after the full City Council approved $51 million to handle the migrant issue. But Deputy chief of staff Christina Pacione-Zayas says the full cost – since the first buses full of migrants arrived last August – is actually $101.3 million in total. That figure includes $72.6 million spent on shelter staffing, $10.6 million on shelter leases, and $9.1 million on meals.

Brandon Johnson, the Chicago mayor, has his work cut out for him over his first term as mayor, as he’ll have to navigate the transition from mayoral control to a 21-person elected school board. But the change is something Johnson has long supported as a former teacher and Chicago Teachers Union organizer.

Chicago employers are now strictly prohibited from inquiring or using an arrest record as a basis for an employment decision. However, employers may inquire or use a conviction record only if there is a “substantial relationship” between one or more criminal offense(s) and the job sought or held, or the employer believes that the individual poses an unreasonable risk to property or the welfare of individuals or the general public.

The Independence Day holiday weekend is typically among the most violent weekends in Chicago every summer, along with the Memorial Day holiday weekend. NASCAR’s Julie Giese said the race, set to take place July 1 and July 2, will be staffed by nearly 900 private security guards.

JB Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson, Sen. Dick Durban and Sen. Tammy Duckworth were among those who introduced the President at the Old Post Office downtown. The President’s speech focused on growing the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, rather than a top-down approach. (with video)

During his time on the board, CPS dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, student-led protests over resource officers in schools and the state vote that will transform the board into an elected body.

Will Johnson, of The Harris Poll: “As anyone who’s lived here for a while knows, Chicago seems to be one long outdoor festival from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Almost half of city and suburban residents alike groused in our poll that they’re too disruptive to be worthwhile, but 4 in 5 told us that summertime events such as Taste of Chicago and Lollapalooza set Chicago apart from other cities, with 9 in 10 saying these events are an important part of Chicago’s culture.”

Alderman Lopez: “The longer the Biden administration waits to address this issue, the more uncontrollable this situation will become locally as well as nationally. This is not a hypothetical exercise in government; rather, it is a humanitarian crisis the likes of which many American citizens have never witnessed in their communities. It is impacting cities and states across this country and in every neighborhood struggling to address the needs of the new arrivals.”

That’s one of the great ironies of Invest South/West, a massive economic development initiative launched four years ago by former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Construction costs for the program’s affordable housing projects in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods exceed $600,000 and even $700,000 per unit, far higher than the $450,000 to $500,000 per unit for the ritziest high-rises under construction in and around downtown.

Comedian Dominic Rescigno had just finished a show at Annoyance Theater when he tried to get to his parked car in the 900 block of Belmont Avenue. “I see a riot happening down the street, surrounded by cops that are watching,” he said. “I went up to one of the cops and said ‘my car’s in there’ and he said ‘you’re bleeped,’ and I was.”