“… (A)ntisemitic incidents are one of the most prevalent among documented hate crimes in Chicago, with 50 registered incidents so far this year. …In the face of this, I find it surprising and disheartening that so much political capital has been invested to pass a highly divisive, controversial resolution regarding Israel and Gaza in the City Council, while Chicago leaders are at a loss for words when it comes to Jew hatred in their own city.”

The mayor’s decision to put Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, a progressive firebrand at the center of a flag-burning controversy, in charge of the Zoning Committee is certain to face a backlash. Said Jack Lavin, president of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, “We need to set the rules, follow them and not move the goalposts. If we do that, then businesses can make their decisions on investments.”

“They’ve had training from de-escalation, to motivational interviewing, CPR, Narcan,” said Audrey Thompson, director of the Evanston Parks and Recreation Department. The teams will not carry weapons, and have no enforcement abilities of any kind.

“One thing that we don’t do here is second-guess what the Secret Service’s plans are,” police Supt. Larry Snelling said. “Although we know all of our dignitaries will be indoors, we still have to protect everything that’s on the outside, and we’ve been training for that. We’ve been preparing and planning around it, and we’re going to continue to do that.”

The tents are gone from the site off the Dan Ryan Expressway south of Roosevelt Road. City workers have also been clearing an encampment farther south near the Dan Ryan, along Canalport Avenue. The homeless encampments are visibly located between the two main convention sites.

The share of available office space across the suburbs wrapped up the first half of 2024 at a new all-time high of 31.3%, according to data from real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle. The vacancy rate is up from 28.9% one year ago and 22.1% at the beginning of the public health crisis, and has hit new record highs for 14 consecutive quarters.

That brings the total amount paid by Johnson’s campaign to Makeup Majic — based in a South Side home and run by makeup artist and self-described “skincare enthusiast” Denise Milloy — to more than $36,000 in 2023 and 2024, records show. A spokesperson said, “It bears repeating that the mayor does not spend taxpayer dollars and instead uses his own campaign funds to pay Black- and women-owned businesses a fair wage.”

With roughly 55,000 students, charters serve about a fifth of Chicago’s public school student population. State law requires districts to provide charter schools money proportionate to what it spends at district-run campuses.

Ald. Lamont Robinson worked with police, the Park District and violence prevention organizations to implement bag checks and adding more security to patrol the beach and surrounding parking lots in the wake of three separate after-hours shootings at that beach. The alderman’s office also hired one of the former organizers of teen meetups at the beach to reach out to his peers in hopes of encouraging them to gather peacefully.

“Whether due to ideological kinship or weak spines, the administration has proven repeatedly that it will throw the Jews overboard to appease the most radical voices on campus,” said Richard Goldberg, an alumnus of Northwestern and senior advisor for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Chicago police said they are in “constant contact” with federal partners to ensure dignitaries and areas around the DNC are secured. However, given the incident in Pennsylvania, CPD is urging the city to remain vigilant in light of what has happened.

Evanston’s city council voted to increase the age restriction for children in the program because the program did not have as many applicants as expected. Only 60 households were enrolled, with 90 spots left. Evanston is part of a trend of cities across the U.S. launching guaranteed income programs with more than 100 GBI pilots launched since 2018.

Will Johnson, of The Harris Poll: “Three out of every five city residents think the convention will have a positive effect on the local economy, and roughly half of all city residents say the event should be a positive for the city overall. … Nevertheless, 3 in 10 Chicagoans say the convention will be an imposition on city residents, and a similar number want law enforcement to restrict protests and marches during the convention and worry that a disruption such as a security breach would hurt the city’s reputation.”

“We’ve heard a lot about temporary benefits including flower boxes and the like. We’ve been briefed that the brutal construction on the Kennedy Expressway will cease for a few days. And, more remarkably, Metra has announced that between Aug. 12 and 30, it will offer hourly service … Which of these improvements should we fight to keep?”