But the survey does show openness to “selective revenue measures.” They include: online sports betting tax (77 percent support); lifting the Chicago ban on video gaming at restaurants, bars and airports and taxing digital advertising revenue (70 percent support); short-term rentals (56 percent support); fines for loud engines and mufflers (69 percent support) and expanding the tax on resale tickets (49 percent support). Monetizing city assets is favored by 77 percent of those surveyed.

Leaders are calling for a congressional oversight. They say agents are not providing any transparency or identification when showing up at public spaces. Some Cook County Board members are now proposing a resolution to counter federal agents’ presence.

“Snelling made clear, though, that federal assistance with Chicago’s crime issues, which he knows remain acute, is more than welcome. And, in fact, is occurring concurrent with all the needless Trump-induced drama, as it was before Chicago began taking its turn in the Trumpian glare. He had particular praise for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.”

Millions of dollars from the state, county and city have been earmarked for its development, which is expected to break ground before the end of the year.

“One of the things that it’s clear to note that the working group fully established that we do not have a spending problem in Chicago. We have a revenue challenge in Chicago,” Johnson said. “That’s an important conclusion that I believe was necessary for the people of Chicago to hear.” The mayor’s fiscal sustainability working group included union officials and several of Johnson’s allies on the city council.

The operations have not been strictly limited to Chicago. Residents have reported seeing federal agents in several suburbs. How long the operations will last also remains unclear. Illinois officials say they have been left almost entirely in the dark about federal agents’ work.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative who cited “common sense,” wrote in part that “the interests of individuals who are illegally in the country in avoiding being stopped by law enforcement for questioning is ultimately an interest in evading the law.”

“Overall, the report contributes to and spurs critical conversations needed in the fall budget season, but does not provide long-term solutions to the City’s structural budget problems. These deficits understandably cannot be fixed in a single year, and this report identifies some low-hanging fruit to ease short-term burdens.”

Cost-cutting options include flexible furlough days that Mayor Brandon Johnson has steadfastly avoided for fear of alienating the labor unions that helped put him in office; raising the employee health care contribution; disbanding the Chicago Police Department’s 25 horse, 22-employee Mounted Unit; and diverting some 911 calls for medical emergencies to area hospitals for possible tele-health services instead of an on-scene response.

Chicago is stepping in to lend cash to its underfunded pensions so they have enough money to avoid asset sales to cover retirement checks as they wait for property taxes to come in after a computer issue delayed collections.

The Right to Protest order directs the Chicago Police Department to work with protest organizers to find alternative locations or plans if federal law enforcement disrupts lawful demonstrations, while maintaining public safety and respecting First Amendment rights.

In the letter, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said the policy was discriminatory against white students and staff. “This is textbook racial discrimination, and no justification proffered by CPS can overcome the patent illegality of its racially exclusionary plan,” he wrote. The cuts would total $5.8 million — about half a percent of the district’s nearly $10 billion budget.