The workers, represented by Unite Here Local 1, will see their minimum wage rise to $25 an hour for non-tipped workers, a $2 increase. The three-year agreement also requires hotels to clean guest rooms daily, preserves workers’ health care coverage and improves their pension.

Earlier this month, a 52-year-old mail carrier was shot and critically wounded on the Northwest Side in an attempted robbery in the middle of the afternoon. Another letter carrier was robbed at gunpoint just 15 minutes later. Elise Foster, president of Branch 11 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, which represents more than 4,800 letter carriers in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, said that in the past 12 months, 96 of her members have been assaulted in some way.

A former organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, Johnson deflected when asked what he says to those who may question his objectivity, particularly as the city prepares to negotiate a new contract with the union. “The people of Chicago voted for me, and so I’m serving the people of Chicago,” Johnson said. (with extended video)

The city of Chicago faces a pension crisis, heightened crime and a failing public school system. New Mayor Brandon Johnson has taken no concrete steps to deal with any of it.

Torrey Price retired from the Chicago Police Department on July 15 — about two weeks before he was indicted for fraud. Aaron Price, the other former cop who’s charged, retired in 2017. The indictment said their fictitious companies were incorporated between May 2020 and July 2020 and weren’t in operation prior to the pandemic — which was a requirement of the Paycheck Protection Program and the EIDL program.

The Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund has declined an overture from Sterling Bay to back the Lincoln Yards megaproject, sending the developer back on the hunt for a financial partner to bail out the stalled $6 billion development.

In Chicago, drivers lost 155 hours in 2022. According to the report, it now has more traffic congestion and delays than it did pre-Covid. One transportation analyst said, “Congestion shows that the economy is moving. Traffic is a problem, but it’s reflective of people going to the office, running errands, shopping, visiting relatives, which are all good things.”

“Chicago’s approach to crime is becoming ridiculous, driving out serious residents. Johnson now quotes dead rapper Tupac. Whether he wants to make a fool of himself or just hint at his mayoral powers shimmering with spiritual secrets, I can’t say.”

Among other issues, school district leaders have huge facilities problems. The district’s enrollment dropped by 81,000 students in the last decade and 56% of its 535 district-run schools are considered underutilized. The average building is over 83 years old and, they say, there’s over $3 billion in critical repairs needed. CEO Pedro Martinez has said that modernizing schools could cost more than $10 billion.

“First and foremost is a serious discussion of what Snelling believes are the resources and support the police need to be effective. The mayor’s most ardent supporters are advocates for police defunding.”

A republication of our Wirepoints column.

The proposal is aimed at two North Side gangs.

Calling the government “at best a tertiary loser,” a federal appeals panel ruled Cook County went too far in trying to make Bank of America pay to cover economic damages the county claims it sustained as a result of what the county said were BoA’s “reverse redlining” mortgage lending practices. The litigation dates back nearly a decade.

David Greising, of the Better Government Association: “…Johnson’s decision to bring back (lawyer Jim) Franczek to finish contract negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police should not be overlooked…If it leads to Franczek’s reinstatement as the city’s lead negotiator, it would offer a promising signal about Johnson’s intent to deal firmly and fairly with city unions, even his alma mater and political sponsor the CTU. Franczek has represented the city in labor talks since Harold Washington was mayor.”