A few weeks after one distressed office building near Willis Tower was sold at a severe discount, another one is heading to the auction block and is likely to trade for a fraction of its pre-pandemic value. Bidding will begin on Feb. 20 to buy the vintage 10-story office building at 216 W. Jackson Blvd. One stark example of the lost value just one block from 216 W. Jackson came late last month, when a local investor paid just $4 million for the leasehold interest in a 20-story building at 300 W. Adams St. — 89% less than it was

Nobody knows better than a locasl when these shows go astray, from incongruous exterior shots and botched accents to characters and story lines that are implausible in their settings. These false notes happen in comedies and dramas set all over the country, especially Chicago.

The move comes as the city continues to grapple with how to support nearly 15,000 migrants living in the city without permanent homes. Officials have also paused opening new shelters amid budgetary constraints. Since taking office, Johnson has explored numerous avenues for housing migrants, but the city has since changed its course several times.

At the recommendation of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, suburban municipalities have started to approve regulations around when and where buses can drop off one-way passengers. The rules also seek advance communication from the bus companies about expected arrival date, times and a manifest of who is on the bus.

Naperville City Councilman Josh McBroom is adamant the city should not use taxpayer dollars to house or aid migrant families amid the continued and growing influx of asylum-seekers to the Chicago area. However, he would welcome Naperville families being given the option to host migrant families instead. Six buses carrying migrants have stopped at Naperville’s downtown Metra station since Dec. 21, according to city spokeswoman Linda LaCloche.

“We call upon you to protect your Jewish and Israeli students from the pervasively hostile climate that prevails at Northwestern by enforcing your own rules and principles against discrimination, and by exercising your own right to free speech to condemn unequivocally those who sully Northwestern’s reputation with antisemitic bigotry,” advocacy group Alums for Campus Fairness urged.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign fund has returned dozens of contributions totaling more than $50,000, including money given by city contractors after his 2023 election — in violation of city ethics rules. Johnson’s campaign fund held on to other questionable contributions.

“We have emergencies, and with emergencies come a surge of funding and then when emergencies are declared to have ended, the funding goes away with it, but our public health challenges remain,” Ige said. “We are advocating very strongly for a more flexible kind of funding that can provide us the opportunity to respond to all of the needs, not just one infectious disease at a time.”

“I have a student that needs a jacket. I have a student that needs boots. Where can I get these right away? Our families also need to be able to sustain themselves. They need to work. And this is something that I have parents tell me each and every day,” the teacher said. “And I don’t know what to tell them.” Teachers at the school are also pushing for the district to cover tuition costs so staff can get a bilingual endorsement.

Chris Amatore, chief executive officer of Manage Chicago, owns a South Shore neighborhood building with eight units and 60 beds – and he’s using one big heart to welcome in residents. Amatore bought everyone a mattress, and filled the fridges with food. The house has a mantra – “Juntos fuerte – together we’re strong.”

“It’s unconstitutional for a number of reasons – it’s really trying to address an immigration issue,” attorney Mike Kozlowski said. “And when we’re talking about immigration, that’s a federal issue.” Kozlowski said the ordinance also violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th amendment because, as he says, the ordinance is intended to address a specific group of people – migrants coming to Chicago.

Mayoral spokesperson Ronnie Reese said the city is expanding its “outmigration and resettlement services” to free up more space at existing shelters. “The city is continuing to partner with the county and the state to provide asylum seekers with temporary shelter, food services, medical care and case management.”

More than a year after a judge signed an arrest warrant for a man wanted in connection with a road rage shooting on a Chicago expressway, an FBI task force arrested him in Florida. The Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department extradited him to Chicago. During his first court appearance, a Cook County judge rejected the state’s detention petition and released him again. The man, charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm, has been convicted of firearms-related crimes four times, prosecutors said.

“Clearly the decision was made behind closed doors, and that was not right. When you made that decision, who were you thinking about? You clearly weren’t thinking about the children in the City of Chicago…We follow CPS protocol for renewal, and we proved that we deserve to be here for the long-term and it is my choice keep my kids out of your political games,” said charter school parent Myisha Shields.

Mayor and Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard, who makes $224,000 a year as township supervisor, drafted legislation that would cut her successor’s salary to just $25,000. If Henyard stays in office, her salary stays the same. All this is taking place in towns south of Chicago where the median household income is roughly $50,000. Data estimates that around 20% of Dolton residents live below the poverty line, while median household income and median house or condo value both trail the state average.

Authored by state Rep. Earl Harris, Indiana House Bill 1174 proposes forming a 19-member sports development commission for Northwest Indiana and assigning the commission the tall task of enticing a professional sports franchise to set up shop in the Region. “Things are much cheaper on our side of the state line,” Harris said.

At 62 acres stretching south to 16th Street, “the 78” is one of Chicago’s largest undeveloped parcels — and certainly the most strategically located. But it has somehow eluded development for decades. Once owned by convicted political power player Tony Rezko, the potential site at Roosevelt Road and Clark Street was one of several sites in the running for a Chicago casino now planned for River West.

Will Johnson, of The Harris Poll: “Our polling shows that nearly all Chicago adults worry about public safety and a supermajority thinks crime is worse here than in other cities. Almost all of us are also troubled by a long list of other major issues including the local economy, taxes, affordable housing and health care…And a majority — across all demographic groups — doubt that (Brandon Johnson) will have a

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Chicago Budget Director Annette Guzman implored Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to loosen rules around collecting identification numbers given to migrants when they enter the U.S. The cities did not initially collect the “sensitive personal immigration information including A-numbers” because of local laws around confidentiality, according to the letter, and so Chicago has only received about $11 million of the $290 million it has spent thus far.