“Despite its economic strength and broad tax base, the city faces ongoing structural deficits and some of the steepest debt and pension obligations among major U.S. cities. This article offers a full fiscal snapshot, showing how Chicago raises revenue, how it spends, and which taxes are tied to which services.”

Emanuel maintained that there was enough room in the hypothetical primary for two Chicago politicians, but he had the edge in real White House decision-making. “JB and I are friends. It’ll be awkward. But you know the question isn’t whether there’s enough room. The question is, do you have enough ideas?” he asked.

At the time of that arrest, court records show Ruben Malave had three outstanding warrants because he stopped attending court hearings in three pending burglary cases. He was also on electronic monitoring and subject to a nighttime curfew, records show, yet he was out after 3 a.m.

The mayor’s ordinance, introduced at Wednesday’s City Council meeting, allows officers to carry out a raid without knocking if there’s a threat of violence or “imminent danger,” with a judge’s approval and includes a key provision championed by Anjanette Young and Ald. Maria Hadden: requiring Chicago Police officers to give homeowners 30 seconds before barging in

The mostly free events range from workshops on making protest posters and writing protest songs to learning about safeguarding workers’ rights and how to tie dye.

Alds. Marty Quinn and Greg Mitchell, who have opposed the measure, used a parliamentary measure known as “defer and publish” to delay a final vote. The legislation can now be brought back for approval at the next full City Council meeting, which is scheduled for September following an August recess.

The failure of at least 34 members of the City Council to vote to reject Johnson’s action means the first mayoral veto in 19 years will stand. There has not been a violent mass gathering of teens in Chicago since March. By contrast, there have been several in the western suburbs, according to media reports.

Targeted by thieves nearly 1,500 times since 2021, a spokesman for IMC Logistics said that more than 200 of the cargo thefts have been in Illinois. Last year Illinois, California and Texas were the most targeted states.

The announcement from Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza opens up a crucial statewide office that Democrats have held since 2016 and potentially kick-starts the 2027 mayoral race. Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has also been rumored to want Chicago’s top job.

“… (W)ithout allies in the state capital and the ability to translate rhetoric into policy, a progressive vision can struggle to get off the ground. Since his much-heralded, surprise runoff victory in the spring of 2023, Johnson has seen his poll numbers crater.”

“You guessed it: our greatest public finance challenge remains a great public finance challenge.”

A pair of city employees, including an assistant housing commissioner and a Chicago Police officer, who fraudulently obtained more than $51,000 in forgivable Payroll Protection Program loans tailor-made to help businesses survive the COVID-19 pandemic. A City Council member who threw his weight around by trying to avoid waiting in line, then threatening to have city inspectors harass a business owner who refused the favored treatment. A city auditor who sold “large quantities of” cocaine and misused sick time to testify in federal court.

The case is just one example of the fickle nature of public sector labor law in Illinois, where legal precedent regarding which workers are permitted to form unions and which are not can vary even within the same workplace. Cook County assistant public defenders, for instance, have been unionized since the mid-1980s. Across the courtroom, however, county prosecutors are facing decades-old state Supreme Court precedent that threatens to block their efforts to unionize.