Lightfoot said the team’s performance has been “really disappointing.” But she also expressed concerns about the “vitriol” targeting Reinsdorf, who she called a friend. “When people are calling him the cheap owner, I’ve gotta tell you, that’s like one step removed for me from saying the cheap Jew,” she said of Reinsdorf, who is Jewish.

At stake are CPS’ $9.9 billion budget — and its structural deficit that remains a liability; the teachers union’s ambitious hopes for its next contract; and a nascent five-year educational plan with sweeping implications for the district’s 320,000 students.

David Greising, of the Better Government Association: “If she chooses to own the full scope of her responsibility — conjuring both the vision and the means to pay for it — the conversations might be more productive.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration says there’s no money left to do something about the 25-plus tents at Gompers Park after the city has spent $70 million in federal money since 2020 on homelessness.

Operating during overnight hours, they break out a front glass door or a window, then climb inside to take money from cash registers and anything of value from the business offices.

The data shows the number of Hispanic students has increased by 1.6 percent while the number of students learning to speak English in CPS increased by 12.4 percent. Black student enrollment declined by 1.3 percent in a continuation of last year’s enrollment trends which saw the largest drop – and largest change overall – come from Black students.

In June, city officials spent $677,310 every day to care for 5,500 migrants in 15 shelters. That is down significantly since December, when city officials spent $1.4 million per day to care for nearly 15,000 people in 27 shelters.

Nearly 1,500 students across the 104 schools participated last year, Executive Director Anthony Bolden said, and the district has a $1.3 million, four-year contract with the nonprofit, agreeing to cover up to $390,000 in expenses for fiscal year 2025. But CPS officials told nonprofit leaders in July they’d only get $208,000 to cover this year’s expenses; CPS also is cutting the funding it gives schools to participate, slashing $450,000 out of that budget.

The contributions were subsequently returned by Friends of Brandon Johnson the day before the bid process began. Johnson’s campaign aides won’t respond to questions about why the money was returned and, if it was because of the contracting process, how they knew which companies were interested in bidding before the process started.

Earlier this year, Mayor Brandon Johnson moved to shift the city away from a reliance on the controversial economic development tool, arguing the revenues trapped in certain neighborhood TIFs should be free to use citywide, especially in historically disinvested areas, or opened back up to other government bodies such as Chicago Public Schools. Pilsen, the mayor and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez now contend, is an exception.

“Chicago is home to a booming micro-mobility market. That is a good thing: Every vehicle mile replaced with a mile on an electric bike or scooter helps our environment and improves the health of our city. We need alternatives, such as Divvy and its network of thousands of e-bikes, that support sustainable transit, and our ordinance ensures this market can grow safely.”

In a statement issued earlier this week, the district said the board — which was appointed by Johnson — would not take action on Martinez’s contract. But the veracity of that statement came into question after Board President Jianan Shi said the board had not approved it.

Policy Researcher at Illinois Policy Institute Ravi Mishra said so much of the state’s budget goes towards pension debt. He explained pension reform could help the state lower taxes. “High budgetary costs is the big reason why the city [and state] has to levy such high tax rates and these tax rates are what leads to the state having such a bad [economic] environment.”

Gov. JB Pritzker said education is one of his highest priorities, but there is only so much money the state can spend on Chicago Public Schools.

The Loop has a current vacancy rate of 30 percent, and the Mag Mile has a vacancy rate of 26 percent according to Stone Realty.

The fund, seeded with $100,000 from the City of Chicago and called Golden Egg, will disperse $50,000 to Chicago musicians by the end of the year. The remaining $50,000 supports additional programming, such as free financial planning workshops, and operational costs.

The board held no debate or discussion about the moratorium on the school closures.

“The strategy of (Mayor Brandon) Johnson and (CTU President Stacy) Davis Gates is clear. It’s to put Springfield in a trap in which state government is ‘forced’ to cough up the cash to pay for CTU’s absurd demands because the alternative — state receivership? bankruptcy? — is too politically painful. (Gov. JB) Pritzker surely is aware of this. But to date, he has soft-pedaled his message.”

Stacy Davis Gates, head of the CTU, told reporters at a planned appearance that they were ‘making her’ talk to them. When told that she was a public figure by a reporter, Davis Gates said: ‘No I am not a public figure’, despite being the head of one of the largest political groups in the Windy City.

The change order and contract extension comes at a time when the city has reduced the number of shelters from 27 to 16 and evicted migrants through a temporary stay program. When asked directly about the pay increase, the mayor side-stepped the question: “So we’ve saved the taxpayers over $200 million based upon the work that we’ve done. $200 million while still investing on the West and South sides of the city of Chicago. That’s what I promised to do and that’s what we’re doing.”

There was some concern that migrant families would leave the school district as they were forced out of shelters or because they didn’t feel their children were being well served. But there are still 9,600 more English language learners this year compared to the start of last year.