“I don’t think there’s one single one of ’em living in City Hall — whether it’s on the county lobby floor or the City Hall floor. There’s certainly plenty of space to put a couple hundred in there, but I don’t see that happening in their workspace. But they certainly have no problem putting ’em in our workspace,” FOP President John Catanzara said.

A call was made to President Joe Biden Wednesday to take unilateral action to help defray the cost of housing and caring for the nearly 12,000 migrants who have arrived in Chicago since last summer.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said federal agencies need to step it up and provide more financial support for migrants, but he also said Chicagoans need to be more understanding of migrants as some have voiced frustrations that the city is helping migrants instead of people who already live here.

The lawsuit states more than 8,800 Kia and Hyundai vehicles were stolen in Chicago in 2022. That number represents 41% of all 2022 Chicago car thefts, despite the fact Kia and Hyundai vehicles made up just 7% of vehicles in the city, the complaint said. The mayor’s office said that because many of the Kia and Hyundai vehicles stolen are “entry-level models,” low-income Chicagoans are disproportionately impacted by the thefts.

The information accounted for $83 million out of the $110 million spent on migrant care so far. At least 40 different companies and organizations received money: more than $159,000 for laundry, nearly $70,000 on table and chair rentals, almost $67,000 in portable toilets and sinks, $20,000 on linens and napkins, and $1.3 million in security-related services. More than half of the money goes to staffing, at least $55 million, but the list didn’t include what’s being paid to city employees like police.

State law requires any real estate transfer tax passed by the city go to a referendum before becoming law. Before adopting any resolution to put the question to a public vote, the city council would need to give public notice and hold a public hearing on the referendum. The mayor would need the General Assembly to amend state law to pass the tax ordinance without a referendum.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called the automakers’ failure to include immobilizers “sheer negligence” and said it “disproportionately impacts low-income Chicago residents” noting that “offenders have used stolen Kia and Hyundai vehicles to commit other crimes, including reckless driving, armed robbery, and murder.”

Other major losers to Florida include Chicago, which lost billionaire Ken Griffin’s giant hedge fund Citadel to Miami last year.

While people were allowed to go inside for temporary relief, to use the restrooms or get food, they were told they had to stay outside the station from 8 a.m.-8 p.m., a Police Department protocol that’s been in place for months, said volunteer Denise Alberts. Police “kick them out everyday; that’s not new, but it’s too hot — they can’t be outside now,” Alberts said.

Inspector General Deborah Witzburg acknowledged the programs she examined are “only a piece of the city’s response to homelessness.” Nevertheless there are “lessons to learn as we continue to expand the city’s responses” to the burgeoning problem impacting so many American cities, she added. “When the city follows through on what it says it will do — when it treats people with humanity and dignity and respect — we should expect a return on all of those investments in trust and legitimacy of city services.”

Moody’s noted the upgrade to A1 reflects the County’s accumulation of sound reserves and considers pension reform legislation recently signed by Governor JB Pritzker. Improved financial operations have been driven by a willingness and ability to raise revenue, robust growth in sales tax receipts, operational improvements and an influx of federal aid.

During the campaign, Johnson responded to a questionnaire focused on transparency, accountability and ethics in government. Here are Johnson’s responses from the campaign trail, with an evaluation of the mayor’s progress on the issues in his first 100 days.

William Choslovsky, CPS parent and former local school council member: “When any business offers a deficient product, consumers will reject it and search for alternatives that meet their needs. Equal parts ironic and telling, the only significant new enrollment in CPS is migrant families Think about that: our native families, and especially our African American families, are fleeing the district in droves while a broke city educates and houses those who pay little to no taxes.”

The gray brick exterior of the former Plunkett Furniture showroom has no grand architectural detail or even a sign to suggest that inside, for the past seven years, it’s been the temporary home of the official Barack Obama Presidential Library. That’s about 25 million unclassified paper documents and 35,000 physical artifacts, including gifts given to the Obamas: Obama’s silver BlackBerry; the draft of Obama’s first inaugural speech he wrote on a white, lined paper pad; a signed Pittsburgh Steelers football; a jeweled sword — a gift from Saudi Arabia; and one of Michelle Obama’s dress.

The poll, which asked at least 1,000 U.S. adults during the month of July whether they consider various cities “to be safe to live in or visit,” regardless of whether they have visited, found Chicago ranked among the lowest, behind only Detroit. Just 27% of respondents said they believe the city to be “safe,” followed by Detroit’s 26%.

“Detroit witnessed home abandonment and an exodus of residents after leaders failed to cut expenses, continued to raise taxes, and gifted retirees and workers with generous bonuses…We taxpayers are not ATMs dispensing limitless funds for politicians’ reckless spending.”