The Chicago Housing Authority cites progress on fixing up vacant homes, but residents made nearly 116,000 requests for help with rodents, security concerns and other problems so far this year.

“Failure to sustain structural solutions by either increasing ongoing revenues or containing costs to offset the financial impact of a new CTU contract could mark a turning point in the board’s recent positive financial trend and jeopardize its fiscal stability,” according to S&P analyst Ying Huang.

“Various media outlets have published disturbing reports of conduct on the part of some personnel associated with Chicago Public Schools, potentially implicating unfair labor practices and breaches of fiduciary duty,” Ald. Gilbert Villegas wrote to Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Tony Sanders, the state superintendent of education. He later added in an interview, “We have conflicts of interest just all over the place.”

“We know these private institutions that are benefiting from services – like law enforcement, like the fire department – aren’t having to pay property taxes,” says Jesse Hoyt, executive director of the community organization ONE Northside. “Now, more than ever, we need to see progressive revenue options, and we see the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) program as one of those ways of really achieving that.”

Samantha Steele, a member of the obscure but influential Cook County Board of Review, is facing a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence following the Nov. 11 crash in the 5000 block of North Ashland Avenue. No one was injured in the collision, but two parked cars were damaged, and Steele’s Honda was left inoperable. Still, she allegedly tried to take off before police arrived at the scene.

After more than 82 percent of Evanston voters approved a 2022 referendum adopting ranked choice voting, Reform for Illinois will appeal a recent court decision they say limits the power of Illinois municipalities to reform their local elections.

Just since 2019, the city has added $3.6 billion in non-personnel costs, $748 million in personnel expenses and over $1.6 billion in pension costs. Chicago’s proposed budget is higher than ever and is still facing a $982 million deficit.

Judge E. Kenneth Wright Jr. acquired a handful of Chicago homes from the estates of deceased clients when he was a solo law practitioner in the 1990s. Now, two families claim he took advantage of his elderly clients.

The Illinois Supreme Court said Cook County may have improperly collected certain motor fuel tax dollars, in a dispute which could have had far-reaching implications statewide.

City Hall sources said that mayoral aides and aldermen close to the mayor were floating an idea to nix the property tax increase entirely and instead reduce next year’s advance pension payment — a sign of how desperate his team was to wrap up this grueling budget cycle.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas believes the budget proposal should be sent back to committee, not negotiated behind closed doors over the weekend. “You’re going to make a $68 million budget amendment, not explaining it to the council members. Where are you going to make up that difference?” said Villegas, who has argued against a property tax increase himself in favor of cuts and efficiencies. “There’s a lot of room to negotiate, and unfortunately, the administration doesn’t want to negotiate.”

“That’s why we’re fighting for academic freedom in our contract to protect against a white nationalist takeover. That’s why we fight for restorative justice practices to address the disproportionate punishment of Black students in the district. And that’s why we are getting organized for what Tom Homan has told us is coming.”

Factoring in the usual pace of retirements and resignations, actually filling all those positions would take a police hiring surge like few the city has ever seen. But, like the overtime and settlement portions of Johnson’s proposed police budget, these officers appear to be fictional. Call them ghost cops.

This year, the owners of 671 Lincoln Ave. in Winnetka, Illinois, will pay $49,769 in property taxes. That’s about 1 percent less than the previous year but 56 percent more than they paid two years ago and double the taxes in 2004.

Last month, the school board unanimously approved a resolution cementing CPS as a welcoming district for all students. And CPS CEO Pedro Martinez Thursday reiterated that the district does not coordinate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Last year, nearly half of Chicago voters 50-plus said they personally considered leaving the city of Chicago in the past year. Economic reasons like a need for a lower cost of living (79 percent) and lower taxes (73 percent) were key reasons for potentially leaving the city. … And this week, when AARP Chicago invited its members to send e-mails to their City Council member explaining why they cannot afford a property tax increase, 363 did within the first 12 hours. Many talked about being on fixed incomes, unable to pay increased bills and still live comfortably. Others described how

Didn’t have the votes.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first affordable housing development is costing $700,000 per apartment unit in a neighborhood where existing units sell for $126,583, according to public records.

It also compares to the $500,000 cost of building a luxury apartment downtown.

The outside study (commissioned by County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office) of Cook County’s valuation of offices, warehouses and big apartments found that in the suburbs the values of those commercial buildings have been set too low, that there is little uniformity in the way they are assessed and that appeals don’t boost the accuracy of the process. That likely means homeowners across the county have paid more in property taxes for years to make up for the commercial shortfall.

“It is a Springfield issue, and so sorry to tell the Senate president, and sorry to tell the Speaker of the House, that they are going to have to think about Chicago during this legislative session,” CTU president Stacy Davis Gates said. “They’re going to have to think a lot about Chicago, because our school district, like every school district in the state of Illinois, deserves priority because we teach young people.”

“Ultimately, the vast majority of undocumented immigrants are not criminals,” Ald. Carlos Ramirez Rosa said. “They come here to work. They come here to build a family. They’re property owners, they’re small business owners. … The impact would be devastating in our communities.”

“The number of data centers in Greater Chicago shot up nearly 20 percent between 2020 and 2022, according to research firm Mangum Economics. It said over $4 billion has been invested in data centers since 2020 with an additional $4 billion in investments announced. This means additional property tax revenue, thousands of construction jobs and a new life for vacant buildings. The train isn’t predicted to slow down as AI and other advanced technologies require colossal amounts of data, which needs to be stored.”

Backed by a new $25 million state grant, IBM announced plans Thursday to build the National Quantum Algorithm Center at the long-dormant South Works site, which is being redeveloped as a sprawling commercial hub to advance what has been hailed as the future of computer science. The company will invest “tens of millions of dollars” and has committed to hire at least 50 people.