Zoning Committee Chair Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said the compromise that Chicago voters will be asked to approve in a binding referendum in March is the one that now former Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara floated during a three-hour subject matter hearing last month. Instead of more than tripling the transfer tax on Chicago homes sold for more than $1 million — from 0.75% to 2.65% — the dramatically higher tax would apply only to that portion of the sale above $1 million. Affordable properties would be exempted from the higher tax. The changes are expected to reduce the annual revenue by $20

“I came into this role very clear about the historical disinvestment. I’m very clear about what I’ve inherited as mayor of the city of Chicago. That’s why I’ve been very strategic about building partnerships,” the mayor said. “…Being able to pull people out of poverty, to set higher standards for how we treat people and how government is ultimately administered in this city — that is gonna take us some time.”

The city has received eight more buses of migrants since Monday. The 12th District police station is becoming so crowded, some families are living in tents nearby. “At this point, it is just police stations because we are not bringing another large space on line for another couple weeks due to staffing and the community engagement process,” Deputy Chief of Staff Christina Pacione-Zayas said.

In addition, another $439,000 is pending to be used in mortgage assistance, construction, and remodeling projects.

Ted Dabrowski of Wirepoints said many in Chicago are testing Johnson’s response and taking advantage of a lack of control. “I don’t see him doing anything to tamp down on that crime to protect ordinary residents in Chicago. I do not see it,” Dabrowski said. “He talks about root causes, but that could take years if not decades. What you are seeing is some new attempts at things like robberies; you have almost 400 new robberies in the last 30 days.”

A 2023 National Insurance Crime Bureau report listed Illinois as the state with the fifth-highest rate of car thefts in the country.

“While serving as alderman, (Carlos) Ramirez-Rosa has often acted as an orator who touches the heights with his passionate speeches on the plight of the poor, immigrants, workers, the LGBTQ community or the need for affordable housing…With a mayor hand-picked by the CTU now in office and the CTU-backed progressive aldermen now firmly entrenched in the City Council, Rosa’s appointment as Mayor Johnson’s Floor Leader, and chair of the powerful Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, affords the 35th Ward alderman room to maneuver and prevail on his mission issue: The de-commodification of housing.”

CPS is prioritizing students with disabilities and kids in temporary living situations amid the ongoing national bus driver shortage. That leaves students in magnet or selective enrollment programs without bus services, instead receiving free CTA cards for the upcoming school year. But parent Ryun Patterson isn’t comfortable with his 13-year-old daughter taking the CTA to Disney Magnet School. He and his wife rearranged their schedules to handle pick ups i and drop offs, and they plans to spend at least $15 a day on Uber rides.

A venture led by Chicago investor Musa Tadros that owns the office property at 105 W. Adams St. filed for bankruptcy protection July 31. The maneuver could delay a $178 million plan from a pair of local developers aiming to convert Tadros’ property into 247 apartments, one of five projects Chicago planning officials selected earlier this year for further review as part of the city’s LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative.

As Chicago’s City Council enters its 100th year under its modern form, some alderpersons, good government advocates and political science experts say that despite incremental progress, the City Council still has institutional inertia to overcome before it can operate independently from the historical grip the mayor’s office has held. Proposals include everything from altering the council’s structure, more robustly staffing fiscal and legislative agencies to a wholesale reset on Chicago’s municipal governance by codifying reforms in a city charter.