Cristina Pacione Zayas, the mayor’s first deputy chief of staff, acknowledged that it has taken longer than they hoped to find locations for the tents, a task made more urgent by the fact that cold weather is finally scheduled to arrive in Chicago this weekend, with temperatures dipping into the low 40s. “Welcome to government,” Pacione Zayas said. “This is how it works.”

The DHS said it is coordinating with the city and state to “identify ways to continue to maximize our support for communities that are addressing the needs of migrants while enforcing tough consequences against those without a legal basis to remain in the country.”

Specifically, CTU reported receipts of $35,506,529 in 2023. But it spent nearly a half million dollars more than that, reporting $35,996,684 in disbursements. It underscores members’ concerns about union leaders failing to properly handle union funds or to provide required reporting to members.

Darci Flynn, the first director of gender-based violence strategy and policy within the mayor’s office, submitted her resignation Sept. 21, and was terminated four days later. Said Karla Altmayer, chair of the Survivor Working Group under Flynn’s direction, “One thing that we’ve heard from the administration over and over again, has been this idea of co-governance. And I think for us the question has been: well, what does that look like? And I think we really want to see that co-governance includes not just saying, ‘You’re at the table.’ But it also means we’re going to resource this work.”

No arrests have been announced in connection with any of the crimes. Robbery sprees have been popping up several times a week, with West Town, Humboldt Park, and Logan Square being particularly hard-hit.

A months-long investigation published Wednesday found CTA President Dorval Carter’s salary has swelled 60 percent and counting, to more than $376,000, while he continues to operate under limited accountability measures – which don’t include any performance reviews nor a formal contract – as unsafe, unsanitary and unreliable CTA service continued.

Two South Shore residents took their displeasure with the situation a step further, filing an amended lawsuit against the city alleging inhumane conditions for the housing of migrants in shelters and police stations, while demanding the use of public schools and park buildings for migrant housing stops.

“Since (Gov. JB) Pritzker’s inaugural address, more than 13,000 people have been shot in the city of Chicago alone…Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle have done more to help migrants who crossed our borders illegally than they have citizens who voted them into office.”

Pritzker was told to prepare for up to 25 buses full of migrants each day as Chicago struggles to shelter and keep up with an influx of migrants being sent from Texas. Here, he defends his communications with the White House and Texas officials.

Cook County’s health care tab is set to grow by about 6.6% to $4.26 billion next year, accounting for nearly half of the county’s proposed $9.14 billion budget. County officials attribute the higher spending to rising patient volumes but didn’t say what’s driving that increase.

According to a new analysis prepared exclusively for Crain’s by the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation and the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago, the property tax bill paid by the average Chicago homeowner could rise hundreds of dollars a year as office tower owners pay less because of the depressed value of their property. Homeowners effectively would pick up a bigger share of the tax load.

The owner of a Loop office tower has thrown in the towel on its $230 million mortgage, according to a foreclosure lawsuit filed late last week in Cook County Circuit Court, adding to the pile of distressed office properties plaguing the heart of the city. An entity led by Paris-based lender Societe Generale alleged in a complaint that the owner of the 49-story tower at 161 N. Clark St. defaulted on its loan by failing to make its loan payment due in August.

The county is budgeting $10 million for health care and transportation costs for some of the asylum-seekers who have arrived in Chicago and the suburbs in the past year.

Mayor Brandon Johnson called the growing number of unhoused Chicagoans an “embarrassment” and said the city must act, regardless of the concerns. The hearing served as a preview over what promises to be a fierce debate if the measure does make the ballot, with leaders of business and real estate groups warning it would cause the city’s already-struggling commercial real estate market to collapse amid the shift to remote work.

The complexities of the city’s migrant situation are reaching a critical point as more and more buses continue arriving in Chicago. As of Wednesday evening, more than 3,000 migrants were still awaiting placement in shelters, including 764 migrants living at O’Hare’s Bus/Shuttle Center.