“We’re being overtaxed, and not enough people are sticking around to foot that bill,” owner Kyle Hallberg said. “And if we don’t see changes here in the south suburbs soon, there’s gonna be more of that coming.”

The developer of The 78 has been talking to the White Sox and the Bears, which both are seeking new stadiums, about a partnership to get both built at the same time. Curt Bailey, president of developer Related Midwest, confirmed financing a new Sox stadium with bonds backed by a hotel tax, a sales tax district, and tax increment finance dollars. Bailey also touted a plan to build a new neighborhood around the current Sox stadium, which would be scaled down to a soccer field shared by the Fire and Red Stars.

Parents of children with disabilities say CPS continues to discriminate against students with special needs. They want special ed programs in all neighborhood schools, translators for non-English-speaking students with disabilities and accessibility upgrades to buildings. About a third of CPS campuses are not ADA accessible, according to CPS’ last facilities assessment; another third of schools are considered “first-floor usable.”

“Public money being used for private projects like sports stadiums is probably one of the biggest, most egregious examples of public taking that you see around the country,” said Tom Tresser, who founded the organization CivicLab. Tresser notes that the White Sox new stadium plans project 5 million annual visitors, about three times what the Sox drew in attendance last year.

Faith leaders Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, Father Michael Pfleger; Rabbi Seth Limmer: “Since the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act, the jail populations in several counties have decreased because people are no longer held because they simply cannot afford to bail themselves out. Additionally, judges are now giving each person before them the attention they deserve before determining release. Before the act, judges in some places made decisions in four minutes. Now, an average hearing on release lasts 22 minutes.”

“Despite an extensive paper trail of well-documented public safety concerns communicated to the Mayor by two members of the City Council: the Administration refuses to act and continues to allow this open-air drug market to spiral out of control, as incidents of violence and overdoses persist,” Ald. Brendan Reilly tweeted upon learning of the shooting.

CPD has fully met just 6% of the court order’s requirements, according to the November report by the team monitoring the city’s compliance. The wide-ranging roadmap for reform was prompted by a 2017 federal investigation that found officers routinely violated the constitutional rights of Black and Latino Chicagoans. The monitoring team has unrestricted access to CPD officials, facilities and data as the team keeps tabs on efforts to remake the department, and has billed Chicago taxpayers for more than $15 million through Aug. 31.

“If buying a commercial property is more expensive, fewer people will do it. National pizza chains can afford the higher price tag for new properties, but it could have sunk local businesses such as Pequod’s when they were first trying to get started.”

“Trust me, as a former public high school teacher, I know this is true from first-hand experience…. On a weekly basis, we would “shadow” CPS teachers while observing classroom procedures and teaching strategies. In short, I was absolutely shocked almost every time I performed one of these shadow days. Why? Because most, not all, of the classrooms I observed were so chaotic that barely any actual learning could take place. Among the things that most stood out: I witnessed a student throw their desk at a teacher, I saw multiple

“If we don’t meet the moment by also modernizing and expanding O’Hare on a forward-thinking scale — a scale that the airlines signed off on in 2018 — the airport will lose pace. That’s a guarantee.”