Businesses will reconsider locating in Chicago if courts ultimately find City Hall acted legally when it allegedly bowed to political pressure and changed the rules in the middle of the game to use “public health” concerns to justify denying a permit that would have allowed a new Southwest Side metal recycling center to open, warned a collection of Illinois business advocacy groups in a new court filing.

“Healthy Homes for Healthy Families” is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act. Cook County government, in partnership with a nonprofit, will provide — free of charge — up to 600 whole home upgrades over the next three years to address health hazards, including lead, radon, and mold, and also increase energy efficiency.

Advocates say the proposed ordinance aims to combat climate change and reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, while critics believe it would increase cost and risk reliability.

According to a copy of the Jan. 26 police report, William Hozian, principal of Stevenson Elementary School, reported that CTU President Stacy Davis Davis-Gates spoke to attendees at a union meeting and said, “In talking to my Stevenson brothers and sisters, I told them they should punch their principal in the face.” Two witnesses provided written statements about the

Journalists at the Chicago Tribune will be going on strike for the first time in the newspaper’s history on Thursday. The guild said it is protesting the company’s refusal to pay a fair wage, and threats to take away the 401k match benefit. The Tribune journalists will be joined for the 24-hour strike by journalists from seven other newsrooms across the country.

Comment: Chicago is not mentioned in this article, but the CTA is buying additional Proterra electric buses as it moves toward an all-electric fleet by 2040, as reported here. Proterra, which filed for bankruptcy, is discussed in this article.

The resolution passed after Mayor Brandon Johnson broke a 23-23 tied vote. In addition to calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, the resolution seeks “the unconditional release of all hostages and ensuring humanitarian access.”

Oak Brook Police Chief Brian Strockis said they have arrested 59 migrants for retail theft and burglary since Oct. 23, and his department is shifting resources to protect retailers at the fully occupied mall in town. “In Illinois we enacted a no cash bail policy that went in full effect in September, and I think the real story here is how many of these arrestees…are going to show up in court and see the case through disposition.”

“The city of Chicago and CPS, obviously, has a violence problem that is linked to the idleness of those foregoing an education. How many times does it bear repeating before CPS gets serious?”

The city and the near suburbs have increased household incomes — even when adjusting for inflation — and have a higher percentage of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree, according to a, analysis of recently released census data. However, that economic growth is not being witnessed in all parts of Chicago and its nearby suburbs. Between the five-year periods ending in 2012 and 2022, the median household income in Chicago grew from $59,000 to more than $71,000 (in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars). For all of Cook County, median household income improved from about $68,000 to more than $78,000.

“It’s high time the city entities specifically charged with CPD oversight — the bureau of internal affairs, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and the Police Board — be consolidated into a single professional oversight body and provided resources and support needed to ensure not only absolute fairness and consistency but also that investigations are concluded and recommendations made and acted upon in real time.”

Beatriz Ponce de Leon, deputy mayor for Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights, said there was a spike in arrivals at the end of December, but there has been recent a “slowdown” of migrants coming to the city. “We don’t know what accounts for that — partly it could be the weather and people are choosing not to come this way, or it’s also that the state of Texas has sent fewer buses, so they’re rerouting their buses for different reasons. We don’t have the full story for why.”

Gwendolyn-James Martin, 59, of South Austin, asked Supt. Larry Snelling how he will improve the police clearance rates, and he replied, “Our clearance rates are higher than they’ve been in decades right now.” Snelling said the murder clearance rate for January is about 70 percent, with 19 of the 25 homicides committed this year cleared. But half of murder cases considered “solved” by Chicago police in 2021 didn’t lead to charges.

The ordinance calls for raising transfer taxes — a one time fee upon purchasing a property — on sales exceeding $1 million, igniting a fiery referendum campaign between the bill’s supporters, who believe it will combat homelessness in Chicago, and a real estate community worried about its adverse effects.

Retired police chief Tom Weitzel: “Over the years, there has been much discussion on crime in minority neighborhoods, especially in south Chicago and the south suburbs. The many upstanding and exemplary citizens of these areas are being victimized repeatedly by the policies put in place by Kim Foxx and her administration, such as raising the limits for felony theft charges and selectively restricting prosecutions, leaving the public vulnerable to continuing criminal activity. “

Tiffany Henyard is the mayor of Dolton and supervisor of Thornton Township – two elected positions that earned her $287,000 in 2022. But the cost to taxpayers doesn’t end there. Credit card records show township officials racked-up more than $23,000 in restaurant charges across the state from July through November. In Atlanta, the group stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel and brought home a bill of $9,347. In New York, they stayed at the Mariott Marquis in Times Square where the hotel charged the group $13,098.

Nicole Scott operates the Free-N-Deed market. It’s a ministry-minded pantry set-up like a grocery store so as to give people in need a sense of dignity. She purchased the dilapidated shopping center that’s home to the pantry with grand plans to expand her offerings. “I was told when I purchased this huge property I’m ‘automatically in politics,’” Scott said. “That’s not the goal at all. The goal is to serve the community in a greater capacity.”

Jim Dey: “A Black man who can’t get support from Black men ought to be in a world of political hurt. But the good news for Johnson is that his terrible poll numbers mostly do not reflect buyer’s remorse by voters. That’s because most Chicago voters didn’t vote for Johnson or anyone else. They did other things than vote as the April 4 election approached. They checked out, leaving it to a small minority — 38 percent of voters — to make the momentous decision about the city’s leadership.”

As Evanston prepares to become the first city in Illinois to implement ranked-choice voting in its 2025 municipal elections, the city is also set to revisit a proposed ordinance that would allow documented residents without U.S. citizenship to vote in local elections. State Sen. Celina Villanueva introduced a bill in 2021 that would allow non-citizens to vote in school board elections, but the bill has not been passed.

“The County Board late last year acted to strengthen a separate state law — which took effect Jan. 1 — requiring a minimum 40 hours of paid time off for any reason for full-time workers in Illinois…The city and county are jumping through these anti-business hoops at the behest of unions, which want the minimum public standards in place to give them better negotiating leverage with employers. But it’s not the job of public officials to help unions win better contracts.”

Whether the new coalition loses its appeal or not, Andy Thayer said the group plans to march. He said he’s disappointed in the city’s “contempt for the First Amendment,” which he said is similar to conditions under previous mayors. “If they are worried about chaos, if they are worried about violence, then they will respect legitimate permit applications such as have been put in by this coalition,” Thayer said.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration will use $79 million in federal COVID relief money to help pay for costs associated with Favorite Healthcare Staffing – the Kansas-based company the city hired to staff the city’s migrant shelters. The latest spending increase does not extend the contract terms but now brings the total value of Favorite’s contract to more than $149 million.

The Cook County Assessor admitted that the family is owed a refund almost $300,000 in overpaid taxes. But the family is having trouble getting that money back. That’s because the money has already been spent by the local taxing bodies; most of it went to two local school districts and the library. Attorneys for the library said the family should get their money back after that state’s appeals process, but that could take years because state hearings are five years behind schedule.