Since the Cook County Board established the Land Bank Authority in January 2013 to redevelop abandoned and vacant properties in disinvested neighborhoods, it has seen its share of controversies, including insider deals and fraud by former staffers. But county officials claim the vast majority of projects have benefited homeowners, developers and communities in blighted areas of Chicago and nearby suburbs.

“They have 10 CTU candidates; they’re gonna do exactly what they are told to do, right?” said Hugo Jacobo, the heavyweight political consultant who formed Chicago Democrats for Education. “So we need people that are gonna sit there and actually make tough decisions about the budget and everything that’s going on in the city.”

The CPD said this marks the fewest homicides for any single September in the last five years, while the number of homicides, shootings and shooting victims year-to-date are all at the lowest levels since 2019. The 726 carjackings recorded so far in 2024 are also down 23% compared to the same time last year, according to CPD figures.

There was a concentration of assaults in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s home neighborhood of Austin, which reported more aggravated assaults than any other neighborhood during the past year.

“So let’s not allow ourselves to put up blinders to the motives and actions of the CTU nor be their dupes. And let’s be sure to call out and hold our elected officials to account for the inherent conflict in expecting them to represent the public interest in contract negotiations with the CTU. Let’s start by reviewing and evaluating the candidates and their funding sources for the elected school board in November. Let’s not be afraid to expose the hypocrisies and conflicts of the CTU and its relationship with elected officials.”

The district has been under fire for the last few years for failing to provide bus routes to thousands of students with disabilities. Last month, special education advocates filed a complaint with the state board alleging that CPS is in violation of a federal law that requires districts to provide transportation services for students with disabilities.

Shovels could be in the ground as early as next summer on The 1901 Project — the $7 billion plan to transform the “sea of asphalt” surrounding the United Center. Ownership has said the multi-billion dollar project will be privately financed, but the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families are “still in the early stages of infrastructure discussions with the City and are in preliminary discussions on the question of tax increment financing for the project.”

This year, there have been 103 robberies in the district, up 23 percent from 2021, according to police data. There have been 223 burglaries, up 24 percent from 2021, and 551 motor vehicle thefts, up 190 percent from 2021. This data mirrors citywide trends where robberies are up 29 percent compared to three years ago, burglaries are up 33 percent and auto thefts are up 135 percent.

Despite a vigorous effort to find people who could use $500 for a month for a year, the City of Evanston has still not signed up all the participants it can for the latest round of the Guaranteed Income program. Next year, the ARPA money will be gone. And if the city wants to continue the Guaranteed Income project, for any recipients, it will have to find the dollars somewhere else unless the feds kick in again.

Various options on the table could end up hurting taxpayers, school staff, the district’s credit rating and even students in other parts of the state, leaving no perfect solution.

Chicago’s use of debt — as well as its other long-term liabilities such as underfunded pensions — has historically weighed on the city’s budget and its credit ratings. While Chicago has enjoyed a string of rating upgrades and also shed its lone junk rating, concerns about the city’s outlook have flared as revenue has slowed and federal pandemic aid ends.

“The fundamental reason Illinois isn’t able to follow Minnesota’s example is due to decades of underfunding generous pensions for state employees. Illinois has attempted gradually over the past 30 years to reduce the yawning funding shortfall to meet its future pension obligations, with only limited success.”

Willie Wilson: “Our elected leaders in Springfield have been propped up by CTU political donations. Parents deserve school choice — however, don’t count on Springfield legislators to pass legislation that supports it.”