While candidates backed by the Chicago Teachers Union won many of their primary races Tuesday, the city’s left-leaning political movement hit a major bump with the apparent loss on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s key ballot initiative, while the Cook County state’s attorney race hangs in the balance.

“‘We want to work with the city to find real solutions that benefit neighborhood housing and grow Chicago’s supply of naturally occurring affordable housing,’ said Michael Glasser, president of the Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance. We wish we could say the same about the activists and other supporters of Bring Chicago Home, who generally reacted by pinning the blame on opponents’ efforts to defeat the measure rather than acknowledging the obvious problem.”

Honoring explorer Christopher Columbus has fallen sharply out of favor among many Americans – particularly over the past several years; the change is rooted in a call to recognize the victims of colonialism, rather than to celebrate the explorer. “We need to honor more Black men, and this is one small way we can do that,” Robinson wrote on X. “Chicago’s children deserve to see that they too can become Black history…”

Chicago’s watchdog named her as one of the city officials who could have prevented a plume of dust from enveloping Little Village in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic — but did not act.

The letter reads, in part, “CPS’s recent decision to cancel busing for students in magnet and selective enrollment schools has caused hardship to many of the families we represent. Especially concerning is that 85 percent of affected students reside in low-income households. Many of these students also hail from Black and brown families.”

“I wanted to campaign more. I wanted to be out there. You all know, I’m a gamer. Heck yeah, I wanted to be out there. That sucked,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “When you’re a gamer, and you knock down shots, and you can’t be out on the court?” The failure also now puts new focus on the mayor’s ask of the City Council to approve a $1.25 billion bond measure for “equitable neighborhood development.”

Last year, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law that allows lawsuits against the firearms industry for a variety of reasons. In federal court last year, the National Shooting Sports Foundation sued over the firearms industry liability law. That lawsuit is pending. Separately in Madison County, Piasa Armory sued. That case also involves a challenge to the state law that limits where people can sue the state. A Madison County judge recently found limiting where people can sue the state is unconstitutional.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s South Side and West Side supporters in the mayoral election a year ago turned into opponents on the tax hike referendum, with even his neighbors in the Austin neighborhood rejecting it. For example, Fuller Park, where nearly 80 percent of voters backed Johnson in 2023, saw only 46 percent vote “yes” on the referendum.

“With each passing month, the planned Bally’s Chicago casino seems less like the promised sure thing that will generate enough revenue to help solve the city’s pension crisis, and more like a potential bust.”

Risa Lanier gained notoriety in 2019, when she handled the prosecution of Jussie Smollett, a gay black actor who is accused of faking a hate crime which he blamed on white supporters of former President Donald Trump in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. While much of the attention in the matter focused on Foxx’s handling of the situation, it was Lanier and then-First Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Magats who officially dropped the charges, saying it would be enough for Smollett to forfeit a $10,000 bond and perform community service.

Adriana Navarro, of Avondale, said the news has left her feeling scared and angry. With more robberies happening during the daytime, she feels less safe in her neighborhood. She also worries for her elderly parents, who live with her. “These robberies are more and more brazen and happening during the morning or early afternoon hours. I also have anger that this is now our society, that this is becoming the norm, that these people no longer have any conscience and do whatever they want without any consequences.”

Ald. Andre Vasquez said he and other alderpeople hope to be treated as equal partners by Mayor Brandon Johnson in addressing the migrant crisis, and he asked the mayor to include council members in key decisions before they’re made and announced publicly. “We know that the state, the governor could do more. We know that the president isn’t doing enough. But as it pertains to right now on the ground, shelters, and we’re talking about people getting kicked out on the street — that is solely the decision and policy of this mayor and this administration.”

“So based on its vast expertise in education theory, CTU is demanding Chicago Public Schools adopt its ‘sustainable community schools’ model. It wants 200 of these as part of its upcoming contract negotiations. The problem is there are already 20 of them, and they don’t work. All but one of the 12 elementary community schools fall below the district average for reading proficiency. All have lower math proficiency than the district average, which is already lower than the state average.”

A statement from a spokesperson for the Bring Chicago Home campaign reads, in part, “The Bring Chicago Home campaign exists in the long lineage of past and present struggles for fair housing, civil rights, and economic justice. While tonight’s election results are disappointing, we are nowhere near the end of our journey.”

By the end of the night, turnout had reached 22.56%, out of about 1.5 million registered voters. Part of the reason comes down to the presidential race at the top of the ballot, said Max Bever, director of public information for the election board. “We see low turnout when there is not much competition at the top of the ballot. And this year, we are also seeing a rematch, which can be tough for voters.”

“The CTU’s ground game is incomparable, as it can turn out its nearly 28,000 members every election. Its war chest is tough to beat, too. Records show the CTU spent $400,000 to pass Bring Chicago Home. But even in a low-turnout primary, Johnson and his allies couldn’t mobilize enough of a base – even by lobbying students and marching them to the polls – to overcome Chicagoans’ unhappiness with and distrust of the mayor, who never revealed his plans for how he’d spend the new taxes to help the homeless. “

The historic Gold Coast, featuring 100-year-old mansions, opulent condos and designer boutiques, has lost some of its most illustrious residents and appeal in recent years as the city’s high taxes and crime encouraged the wealthy to relocate. Those staying in Chicago are opting for more modern homes in trendier areas, leaving Gold Coast properties sitting on the market for months. Now a plan to boost taxes on the sale of homes of $1 million or more could further depress deals in the neighborhood, whose residents include the billionaire Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.