Gov. JB Pritzker said that it is not a good idea to fire Pedro Martinez if it is because the Chicago Teachers Union is behind it. “Remember your job as mayor and my job as governor is to bargain; The unions are on the other side of the table. … You don’t want to just lay down in the negotiation. It’s got to be two-sided.”

“Contrary to what former CPS CEO Paul Vallas and his Illinois Policy institute may lobby for, what has informed our leadership through our careers is that budgets are not solely a question of addition and subtraction. A city’s budget is a moral document that reflects its values and priorities and how it decides to care for or neglect the needs of its residents. “

The system detected over 200,000 shots fired in the 13 months ending in August. Wards where aldermen supported the system averaged 4,358 shots compared to 2,682 in opponents’ wards. Six of the system’s champions logged at least 10,000 shots in their wards. Six of the wards where aldermen wanted the system disconnected had no shots detected.

The lawsuit is the second such claim accusing Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx of wrongly attempting to criminally convict a Chicago Police officer for taking actions against criminal activity.

About $16.5 million of the worker debt is owed by employees of sister agencies like the Chicago Transit Authority, where roughly one in four workers is carrying an outstanding debt — by far the highest rate of any of the agencies. Among the deadbeat city workers are a tree-trimmer with about $13,000 in old parking tickets; a building inspector with more than $20,000 in administrative hearing fees; and a police detective with more than $23,000 in outstanding water bills.

Pedro Martinez did not immediately resign and instead plans to wait to hear from the Board of Education, two sources said. The school board has the sole authority to dismiss the CPS CEO.

Two veteran prosecutors, both deputy supervisors in the Complex Homicide and Gangs unit at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, suddenly quit Thursday. Varga, according to an office source, was getting ready for a significant case that will start jury selection later this month.

Other arrests included six for aggravated battery of police, 11 for misdemeanor battery, 12 for resisting, and two for “drifting,” the city’s term for drivers who spin donuts in the street.

The company said it will not renew the lease at its Goose Island center. It’s unclear how many jobs will be impacted.

Citing an analysis CPS says it has shelved, the Chicago Teachers Union said the school district’s CEO was assessing closing or consolidating up to 100 schools. This is playing out as the district faces a real financial bind, with deep disagreements on the next steps or even what to explore.

Gov. JB Pritzker has authorized selling a former Illinois National Guard armory to the city for $1 for the “express purpose” of creating a new police district. But at Wednesday’s Council meeting, the mayor quietly introduced an ordinance to accept the state’s bargain basement offer — but to use the building for the “storage, maintenance and operation of police vehicles, equipment and aircraft.”

“As proponents such as (State’s Attorney Kim) Foxx claim the SAFE-T Act’s critics were motivated by race, the fact remains that victims of violent crime in Chicago are overwhelmingly people of color. Public safety is a fundamental human right, and that right is being denied, especially to the Black community, when the concept of keeping violent and habitual offenders off our streets is being abandoned.”