Roger Romanelli, executive director of the Fulton Market Association, cited increased emergency calls to the shelter at the shelter at 1640 W. Walnut St., fights in the street, garbage, drug usage and other concerns. “Right now, it is chaos and it is anarchy on Walnut Street,” he said, while dozens of migrants listened.

Victor Matheson, economics professor at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, co-authored a study that concluded the economic expectations for hosting national political conventions are often unrealistically large. “The real question with these sort of things is, if this is such a good project, why wasn’t the political will there before?” Matheson said.

A statement from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office suggested that the city would pursue state funding through the Illinois Grocery Initiative, which intends to address inadequate access to fresh foods. The initiative provides $20 million of state taxpayer money to support new and existing grocery stores in food deserts across the state.

One community member who has known Henyard for 15 years told the New York Post earlier this year: “It seems like her aspirations and goals are for her to be a reality star. She didn’t [previously] wear all that makeup. She just now thinks she’s this reality star. I don’t know this for sure, but they say she is filming a reality show, because the cameras are always with her. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. And I have been involved in the political arena ever since I was 18.”

The Chicago Teachers Union “…recognizes the chance to elect new allies. It is endorsing candidates in all 10 districts, though as of the end of July, its political committees, which have $175,000 in their coffers, had not yet donated to any campaigns. While the CTU’s political might lies with its organizing efforts, its opponents have deeper pockets. The political arm of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, which has promised to support candidates who back school choice, had $3 million on hand at the end of June.”

“There’s always the risk that, if things get bad enough or the village isn’t contributing a high enough percentage, there could be intervention of some of our state revenue,” said Maria Maxham, commissioner of accounts and finance. “Some of the state income that we should be getting doesn’t come to us and instead goes straight to the pensions.” The pensions are currently about 35 percent funded.

Revenue is expected to drop for the 2025 fiscal year, as one-time grants to combat COVID-19 are sunsetting. Corporate personal property taxes, which are collected by the state from corporations to help fund schools, are expected to drop by about 10 percent as well, per the Illinois Department of Revenue.

One major issue CPS and CTU are far apart on is providing additional preparation time for elementary school teachers, according to two sources familiar with negotiations. The union has argued that elementary school teachers need more time to plan engaging lessons. The current contract allows for an hour of preparation time a day. The district says more preparation time means less learning time for students amid ongoing pandemic recovery.

“There’s too many opportunities for chaos that to be closed seems easier for our patients as well as my staff,” said Stephanie Wolf, owner of Vitahl Medical Aesthetics. As it did during pandemic shutdown, the spa plans to remove merchandise and board up its storefront during the DNC as a safeguard. “Chicago is just unpredictable,” Wolf said.

605 N. Michigan Ave: A person familiar with the deal said NARE paid $47 million for the 85,000-square-foot retail and office building at the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Ohio Street. The sale price pales in comparison to the $140 million that former mall owner GGP paid for the property in 2016. “The deal adds to a run of transactions showing the dramatic loss of value of properties along North Michigan Avenue in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“In preparation for the Democratic National Convention, Mayor Brandon Johnson has suddenly taken a more aggressive approach toward homelessness, which is not in line with the administration’s feel-good rhetoric. … This has come with unintended consequences, such as displacing current residents of homeless shelters to make room for new ones, and doesn’t even consider the predicted influx of up to 25,000 migrants by the time of the DNC.”

“I’m leaving for the week,” said Elliot Robb, a resident near the United Center. “They put a ‘no parking’ ordinance, so I’m just going to go to the suburbs. Plus, I heard they took out a 50,000-protester permit, so I don’t want to be anywhere near here.”

The signs are everywhere around the city, letting people know the DNC is coming Aug. 19-22. Yet signs reading, “No tent zone, we call the police,” are popping up too—and there are no signs of several homeless encampments that have sat for months, and in some cases years.

U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood handed down her 24-page ruling late Monday, writing that challenges to the route “boil down” to a complaint that city lawyers “have not offered the exact route” protesters desire, even though it “allows them to speak near their intended audience.”

“The CTA Red Line can barely handle when there’s a Cubs game and a Sox game on the same day,” downtown commuter Claire Widseth said. “So like, I can’t imagine when there’s a national convention going on.”