Chicago will host its annual investor conference on Thursday as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration faces challenges ranging from a $1.12 billion deficit in FY2026 to the end of federal pandemic relief to an administration in the White House hostile to some of its policies This year’s conference will be closed to all press,. “That’s not a good sign,” said a prominent industry analyst.

While the mayor has the authority to nominate the CTA president, that person must be approved by the agency’s board. “(Don’t) assume power that you do not have,” Ald. David Moore told directors. “Work with the mayor that put you here. Don’t be a backbiting snake.”

Northwestern University is now under a new federal investigation, this time by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, over allegations it failed to protect Jewish students during and after protests on campus in recent years.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the wage increases would be implemented in the next “couple of months,” and that the $7 million would come from the city budget. He was then asked how long the additional funding for childcare workers would be sustainable. “Well, the sustainability is around the ongoing effort to make sure this down payment is extended beyond this year,” Johnson said.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said the center is a critical step toward addressing judicial inequities. “Incarceration alone does not create safety. Legal systems should not simply process people,” she said. “They should protect rights, address harm and expand opportunity.”

University of Illinois Chicago police officers briefly pursued a carload of gunmen who shot and killed a man near the school’s campus early Wednesday. The officers terminated the pursuit as the getaway car entered the Eisenhower Expressway.

“The most stinging defeat of Johnson’s first two years in office was Chicago voters’ rejection of a ballot measure known as Bring Chicago Home that would have given the Chicago City Council the power to hike taxes on the sales of properties worth $1 million or more to generate $100 million annually fight homelessness. … But the mayor’s pledge to try again widened the breach between his administration and Chicago’s business community, who are preparing to spend millions of dollars in the 2027 campaign to defeat Johnson.”

Pastor Corey Brooks: “While Chicago politicians debate endlessly about solutions, this summer we will teach our youth that conservative or American values are the ones that truly lift individuals out of poverty. We will teach them the values of hard work, personal responsibility, entrepreneurship, and faith-based stewardship.”

“Chicago Public Schools is selling off 21 school properties, hoping the sales will result in a nice windfall of cash and reduced maintenance costs in the long run. … Except that this is Chicago, and so even something as seemingly commonplace as selling an unused school building comes with a touch of the absurd. And here’s the catch. All of the CPS properties come with deed restrictions prohibiting their use for selling liquor or tobacco — or reopening them as charter schools, Chalkbeat Chicago reported. … Block Club reported Wednesday that private schools also were blocked from buying these schools…”

The 17-year-old Mather High School student was reportedly sitting inside a vehicle around 3:19 p.m. when someone approached, pulled out a gun, and opened fire—striking him in the left arm. The school was placed on a “soft lockdown,” with students and staff brought back inside, Ald. Andre Vasquez said.

For the second time in 2025, Bally’s has skipped its earnings call, which typically provides investors an opportunity to ask questions about the company’s performance and its business focus. No explanation was provided.