Category: Chicago News

Chicago Property Tax Assessor Fritz Kaegi on Valuations – Urban Land

“A struggling downtown Chicago office market complicates assessment calculations because there aren’t many transactions to compare. Last year, fewer than five large office buildings in Chicago were sold—and at losses ranging from 50 to 90 percent, according to the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago. Meanwhile, vacancy in Chicago’s central Loop submarket rose to 26.59 percent in 2023, up from 24.75 percent in 2022, according to Stone Real Estate Corp.

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From the space race to a consent decree: the history of selective enrollment in Chicago schools – WBEZ (Chicago)

“Before selective enrollment became the highly competitive program it is today, its main goal was to create islands of integrated schools in an otherwise segregated school system (though at least one school became selective for a completely different reason). Education and civil rights leaders looked to specialty schools as a way to get families to voluntarily integrate the public school system. But when CPS faced shrinking enrollment through the 1990s, a new era of selective enrollment was ushered in.”

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Editorial: Bears stadium proposal has us asking: Who’s in charge of Chicago’s lakefront? – Chicago Sun-Times

“For too long, Chicago’s parks and lakefront have been looked at as easily developable land, rather than sacrosanct public places that act as respite from the hurly-burly of the big city. Until that changes, lakefront and park space will always be under the threat of some sort of attack. At least on the museum campus, the institutions themselves are doing their part to improve the area.”

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Chicagoans suffer decade-high robberies, record-low arrest rate – Illinois Policy

Those 11,060 robberies involved 11,933 victims last year, with some crimes having several victims. That’s more than 1 robbery victim for every 250 people living in the nation’s third-largest city. Robberies with a handgun increased by half. Robberies committed with other firearms more than doubled. Only cases of vehicular hijackings and unarmed robbery showed declines.

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Chicago reconsiders ‘offensive’ plan to rename Columbus Drive for Barack Obama after outraged Italian-Americans step in – New York Post

Ald. Lamont Robinson’s office said the proposed name change was more about honoring President Obama’s history than removing Christopher Columbus. “It’s not because of the controversy around him, Barack Obama had a historic victory speech at Grant Park, it’s steps away from Columbus,” the spokesperson said.

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South Shore Voters Endorse Calls to Expand Protection From Gentrification Sparked by Obama Presidential Center – WTTW (Chicago)

Nearly 80 percent of voters in two precincts of the 7th Ward endorsed an advisory referendum on the March 19 primary ballot, urging Mayor Brandon Johnson and Ald. Greg Mitchell to support “1) funding home repair, increasing homeownership & property tax relief 2) eviction protection, rental relief and a ban on application & move in fees 3) development of 100 percent income based social housing on city owned vacant lots & 4) local hiring and jobs programs.”

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Editorial: It’s up to the city — not reporters — to take the lead in recouping Chicago’s unpaid bills – Chicago Sun-Times

“Unlike the ‘scrub’ Destiny’s Child sang about in their 1999 hit ‘Bills, Bills, Bills,’ many sports teams, concert promoters and event planners say they are ready and willing to pay up when they hire city employees to help with traffic control. … The problem, they say, is that the city doesn’t send invoices on time, so they can’t send the checks right away.”

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Mayor Brandon Johnson won’t admit how much city is paying for its 27 shelters – as report shows almost $1 million per week being spent on just three hotels – Daily Mail

“I think it’s a bit more translucent than transparent. You get some information but not the full picture,” said Ald. Andre Vasquez, chairman of the city council’s migrant committee. “So I think something that we’ve been looking at is how to really get more mandated reporting from the government as they’re making decisions, because our constituents are asking us those very questions.”

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Pilsen residents call on city for help as property taxes surge: ‘Mayor, please listen’ – WBBM (Chicago)

A week ago, Pilsen voters approved an advisory resolution that asked residents if the government should provide assistance to homeowners and businesses with property tax bill increases of more than 40 percent. “We don’t want to become the homeless and have more people to take care of,” Pilsen resident Diana Sandoval said in her plea to the mayor. “Please help us stay in our homes by keeping our properties affordable.”

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Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez’s ‘cancel DNC’ calls in front of burnt American flag spark criticism after veteran’s fiery protest – Chicago Tribune/MSN

That Sigcho-Lopez — a progressive ally of Mayor Brandon Johnson who has called for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to be canceled and criticized President Joe Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas — attended the rally wasn’t much of a surprise. But his appearance with the scorched flag that protesters said was once flown during a military tour in Afghanistan by a veteran who burned it Friday to protest Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza has since incensed several of the alderman’s council colleagues. Several aldermen harshly criticized him on social media over the

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Blommer Chocolate laying off more than 200 workers in Chicago with plant closure – CBS2 (Chicago)

Blommer announced on Friday it would be closing the plant at 600 W. Kinzie St. due to growing maintenance and operating costs for the building and equipment. Blommer plans to keep its corporate headquarters at the Merchandise Mart, where it is also expanding its research and development center. Meantime, Blommer said it will spend $100 million on expansions at its remaining plants in California, Pennsylvania, and Canada.

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Lindenhurst school district removes book program for being ‘left-leaning’ – WGNTV (Chicago)

“Because who picks the books matters, there are certain areas of the state where one ideology is much more dominate than any other ideology,” board member John Lorentzen said. “So if you have 80 evaluators and 60 are from this part of the state where they have this philosophy and you have 20 from the rest of the state that have a different philosophy. Obviously, majority is going to rule and you’re going to see a tilt in that direction and that’s really the concern the board has.”

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FOIA Reveals Battery, Assault, Burglary, Domestic Battery, Criminal Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, Stabbings at one single facility – Exclusive – PJ Media

In the 200 pages of reporting returned from the FOIA request, there were many violent crimes including aggravated battery, assault, domestic battery, burglary, robbery, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, aggravated criminal sexual assault, child abuse, child abduction, endangering the life/health of a child, and multiple stabbings.

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Some Chicago City Council members want to censure colleague who attended rally where U.S. flag was burned – Chicago Sun-Times

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), Mayor Brandon Johnson’s handpicked Housing Committee chair, says he arrived at a Friday night rally outside City Hall after an American flag was burned to protest U.S. support for Israel. But some of his colleagues don’t buy it, and are talking about calling a special City Council meeting to censure him.

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Democratic Cook County state’s attorney race remains tight as vote tallying continues – ABC Chicago

New tabulations from both Chicago and Cook County show Eileen O’Neil Burke still leads Clayton Harris III but, her lead but it has now further shrunk down to just 1,643 votes. We now have a little more clarity in the race between O’Neil Burke and Harris, but the outcome of this critical primary could take another week to sort out with next Tuesday being the final deadline for all votes to be counted.

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Chicago alderman criticized for speaking in front of burned American flag – NBC Chicago/MSN

Distrito_25__Byron_Sigcho-Lopez_derrota_a_Alex_Acevedo.jpgThe image of 25th Ward Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez was captured at a demonstration against the Democratic National Convention coming to Chicago over what he called its failures to address “the genocide in Gaza” and pursue immigration reform. Sigcho Lopez addressed the crowd while a burned American flag sat on the sidewalk feet away. A photo captured earlier at the demonstration showed an American flag engulfed in flames as people looked

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In fight to keep invasive carp from the Great Lakes, Pritzker, Army Corps at impasse on building a barrier – Chicago Sun-Times

“While the federal government has determined this project is of the highest priority, the taxpayers of Illinois and Michigan should not be the only states to carry the burden of the non-federal share of funding when the entire Great Lakes region will certainly experience the devastating impact of inaction,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker wrote to the Army.

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NBC 5 files lawsuit against Johnson administration seeking public records related to migrants – NBC Chicago

“It shouldn’t take a lawsuit to get access to that kind of information, but this administration is increasingly making it impossible for people to get information unless they go to court,” said attorney Matt Topic with Loevy & Loevy, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of NBC Chicago. “I think we’ve filed 10 different lawsuits for clients over records about the migrant crisis where the administration is refusing to respond to requests.”

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Man charged with burglarizing Wrigleyville apartment while on parole for a 2020 burglary he committed while on parole for a 2017 burglary he committed while on parole for a 2016 burglary – CWB Chicago

Incredibly, when police notified the Illinois Department of Corrections about James Walker’s latest burglary arrest, they were told that the agency would not pursue a parole violation, according to the arrest report. However, IDOC changed its mind when the police called again to report that Walker had removed their electronic monitoring bracelet after being arrested. He returned to the Stateville Correctional Center yesterday.

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Demand surges at area food pantries, for a variety of reasons – WBBM (Chicago)

Reasons for the recent surge in need include the post-pandemic inflation that has increased the price of food; the narrowing of federal food-assistance benefits; and, to some degree, the influx of migrants and new arrivals from the U.S. Southern border. The number of first-time clients at Nourishing Hope, formerly the Lakeview Pantry, grew by 21,000 last year, its CEO said.

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Chicago Mayor Johnson suggests Trump voters to blame for failure of city’s tax hike referendum – FOX News

“It’s also not lost on me, I think there were 38,000 Republicans that showed up and voted for Donald Trump, or something like that, in Chicago,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “If we’re trying to draw some conclusions, and you all want some other, you know, analytics you might want to discover, that might be something to look into because there’s— I’ll just say there’s a good chance that that played a part in this referendum. … I don’t know what’s in their heart. I could just say that they were actively working against a measure that would raise revenue to

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What’s next as the Bring Chicago Home referendum hangs in limbo – WBEZ (Chicago)

“The voters saw through all the noise and understood this could have a negative impact on their bottom line, not just mansions and millionaires,” Ald. Brendan Reilly said. “My hope is the administration will pump the brakes, and take a more moderate view of things, slow down their progressive agenda and allow this economy to recover, because people are still struggling. And this is not the time to layer on more tax burden.”

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Legacy lap: Kim Foxx reflects on growing up in Cabrini, leading ‘difficult conversations’ with no ‘simple answers’ – Chicago Sun-Times

Foxx became a national figure during her time in office, though a polarizing one who has had a significant impact on criminal justice in Cook County. Under Foxx, the office overturned hundreds of convictions of people who were victims of alleged police misconduct and undertook efforts to vacate convictions for low-level marijuana offenses after the state legalized recreational marijuana. She also was an important supporter of the SAFE-T Act, which made Illinois the first state in the nation to eliminate cash bail. Foxx also clashed with Lori Lightfoot and her police superintendent on cases where her office declined to approve

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CPS to start funding schools based on student need, not enrollment – Chicago Sun-Times

Transitioning away from student-based budgeting is in line with Mayor Brandon Johnson’s remaking public schools agenda. His board has already approved plans to remove police officers from schools, declared a shift away from school choice and pledged to focus on neighborhood schools. The new funding formula will likely favor neighborhood schools, especially ones that serve low-income students. However, the district faces a $391 million deficit for next school year

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Chicago Officials Slowly Evicting Migrants From City Shelters as Johnson Resists Pressure to Reverse Course – WTTW (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city had no choice but to evict migrants without additional substantial help from federal officials. “The reality is that we have restraints,” Johnson said. “I’ve said from the very beginning that this mission is unsustainable. Local municipalities are not designed to deal with an international global crisis, particularly as it relates to migrants and asylum seekers.”

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Chicago migrant evictions mired in confusion: How others cities compare – NewsNation

About 4,500 people were originally scheduled for eviction from Chicago’s shelters this spring, but more than half were granted exemptions and extensions under a modified version of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 60-day shelter exit policy, which remains under heavy criticism by other local politicians and community activists. Other cities where more migrants have been bused from the southern border by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have for the most part stuck to eviction deadlines.

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A Pox on Chicago – Chicago Contrarian

“A Chinese virus, COVID-19, was leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China, to the rest of the world causing mass hysteria and a race for a vaccine. The U.S. forced its people to submit to vaccinations to combat this deadly disease and ensured citizens had vaccination cards to prove that they received vaccinations to board planes, for example. Nonetheless, the need for global citizens to remain vigilant and follow health guidelines has now been turned on its head because of an open border and sanctuary city policy that is not only bringing back diseases that had long since vanished in

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Naperville mayor’s announcement that council won’t adopt a Gaza ceasefire resolution draws vocal outcry – Naperville Sun

For three consecutive meetings, residents and nearby community members have pushed council members to take a stand on the Israel-Hamas War and chastised them for not addressing the issue locally. “To be clear, the city council does not intend to initiate a ceasefire resolution,” Mayor Scott Wehrli said. “This situation is clearly outside the scope of our local municipal government.”

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Judge Denies Appeal From Social Justice Groups To Protest Near Democratic National Convention – Block Club Chicago

The groups were appealing the city’s decision not to approve their requested march routes, saying they have a First Amendment right to protest near the Democratic National Convention. Dod McColgan, an organizing member of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said the organizations now plan to take their case to federal court.

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Serious Chicago Police Discipline Hearings Must Take Place in Public, Judge Rules – WTTW (Chicago)

Judge Michael Mullen’s decision, which is subject to appeal, upholds the effort backed by the city’s largest police union to upend the system used for 60 years to punish officers. Mullen found that allowing cases that could allow officers to be fired or suspended for more than a year to take place behind closed doors goes “against a dominant and well-defined public policy.”

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Mayor Johnson’s chief of staff stepping down – Chicago Tribune*

Richard Guidice’s resignation comes as the mayor’s rift with more moderate politicians and the city’s business community has widened since Johnson assumed office last May. Many felt Guidice’s experience would help steer the new administration and smooth concerns over whether Johnson’s nontraditional roots as a labor organizer would lead to radical changes in how City Hall was run; Cristina Pacione-Zayas’s presence as deputy chief of staff showed the progressive movement would also have a strong champion on staff.

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Editorial: Apparent flameout of Bring Chicago Home is an opportunity for Mayor Johnson – Chicago Tribune*

“‘We want to work with the city to find real solutions that benefit neighborhood housing and grow Chicago’s supply of naturally occurring affordable housing,’ said Michael Glasser, president of the Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance. We wish we could say the same about the activists and other supporters of Bring Chicago Home, who generally reacted by pinning the blame on opponents’ efforts to defeat the measure rather than acknowledging the obvious problem.”

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Ald. Lamont Robinson calls for renaming Columbus Drive as Barack Obama Drive – CBS2 (Chicago)

Honoring explorer Christopher Columbus has fallen sharply out of favor among many Americans – particularly over the past several years; the change is rooted in a call to recognize the victims of colonialism, rather than to celebrate the explorer. “We need to honor more Black men, and this is one small way we can do that,” Robinson wrote on X. “Chicago’s children deserve to see that they too can become Black history…”

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Apparent failure of Bring Chicago Home tax referendum may slow Mayor Johnson’s agenda, critics say – FOX32 (Chicago)

“I wanted to campaign more. I wanted to be out there. You all know, I’m a gamer. Heck yeah, I wanted to be out there. That sucked,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “When you’re a gamer, and you knock down shots, and you can’t be out on the court?” The failure also now puts new focus on the mayor’s ask of the City Council to approve a $1.25 billion bond measure for “equitable neighborhood development.”

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New law Chicago is using to sue Glock being challenged in state, federal courts – Center Square

Last year, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law that allows lawsuits against the firearms industry for a variety of reasons. In federal court last year, the National Shooting Sports Foundation sued over the firearms industry liability law. That lawsuit is pending. Separately in Madison County, Piasa Armory sued. That case also involves a challenge to the state law that limits where people can sue the state. A Madison County judge recently found limiting where people can sue the state is unconstitutional.

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Kim Foxx’s No. 2 Lanier loses bid for bench in Cook County – Cook County Record

Risa Lanier gained notoriety in 2019, when she handled the prosecution of Jussie Smollett, a gay black actor who is accused of faking a hate crime which he blamed on white supporters of former President Donald Trump in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. While much of the attention in the matter focused on Foxx’s handling of the situation, it was Lanier and then-First Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Magats who officially dropped the charges, saying it would be enough for Smollett to forfeit a $10,000 bond and perform community service.

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Northwest Side Daytime Armed Robbery Spree Has Neighbors On High Alert – Block Club Chicago

Adriana Navarro, of Avondale, said the news has left her feeling scared and angry. With more robberies happening during the daytime, she feels less safe in her neighborhood. She also worries for her elderly parents, who live with her. “These robberies are more and more brazen and happening during the morning or early afternoon hours. I also have anger that this is now our society, that this is becoming the norm, that these people no longer have any conscience and do whatever they want without any consequences.”

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Alderpeople, Advocates Urge Mayor To End Migrant Evictions – Block Club Chicago

Ald. Andre Vasquez said he and other alderpeople hope to be treated as equal partners by Mayor Brandon Johnson in addressing the migrant crisis, and he asked the mayor to include council members in key decisions before they’re made and announced publicly. “We know that the state, the governor could do more. We know that the president isn’t doing enough. But as it pertains to right now on the ground, shelters, and we’re talking about people getting kicked out on the street — that is solely the decision and policy of this mayor and this administration.”

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The Chicago Teachers Union benefits from failure – Illinois Policy

“So based on its vast expertise in education theory, CTU is demanding Chicago Public Schools adopt its ‘sustainable community schools’ model. It wants 200 of these as part of its upcoming contract negotiations. The problem is there are already 20 of them, and they don’t work. All but one of the 12 elementary community schools fall below the district average for reading proficiency. All have lower math proficiency than the district average, which is already lower than the state average.”

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‘Shockingly low turnout’ during Tuesday’s primary election in Chicago – Chicago Sun-Times

By the end of the night, turnout had reached 22.56%, out of about 1.5 million registered voters. Part of the reason comes down to the presidential race at the top of the ballot, said Max Bever, director of public information for the election board. “We see low turnout when there is not much competition at the top of the ballot. And this year, we are also seeing a rematch, which can be tough for voters.”

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Voters send loud message to Mayor Johnson, his Chicago Teachers Union allies – Illinois Policy

“The CTU’s ground game is incomparable, as it can turn out its nearly 28,000 members every election. Its war chest is tough to beat, too. Records show the CTU spent $400,000 to pass Bring Chicago Home. But even in a low-turnout primary, Johnson and his allies couldn’t mobilize enough of a base – even by lobbying students and marching them to the polls – to overcome Chicagoans’ unhappiness with and distrust of the mayor, who never revealed his plans for how he’d spend the new taxes to help the homeless. “

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Ultra-Wealthy Are Souring on Chicago’s Most Elite Neighborhood – Bloomberg/Yahoo

The historic Gold Coast, featuring 100-year-old mansions, opulent condos and designer boutiques, has lost some of its most illustrious residents and appeal in recent years as the city’s high taxes and crime encouraged the wealthy to relocate. Those staying in Chicago are opting for more modern homes in trendier areas, leaving Gold Coast properties sitting on the market for months. Now a plan to boost taxes on the sale of homes of $1 million or more could further depress deals in the neighborhood, whose residents include the billionaire Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.

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With nearly 6,000 new migrants this year, CPS CEO pledges support as financial needs grow – WBEZ (Chicago)

Between August and January, CPS welcomed 5,700 migrant students, mostly from Venezuela. After years of decline, CPS’s Feb. 1 enrollment figure of nearly 329,000 is up by 5,600 over the same date last year, CPS said. CEO Pedro Martinez said those nearly 6,000 students need a lot of academic support, often lacking stable housing, basic necessities, proper clothes or school supplies. “We’re going to need continued support from the city and from the state. Our biggest population is in preschool.”

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City sues gunmaker Glock alleging design flaw that allows pistols to be converted to automatic – Chicago Tribune/MSN

A spike in the use of “auto sears” or “switches” — quarter-sized devices affixed to Glock pistols that allow for multiple bullets to be fired with one trigger pull — has only exacerbated the city’s entrenched violence problems, city attorneys allege. The complaint, filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court, accuses Glock of violating the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Business Practices Act, as well as the Chicago municipal code, by selling the modifiable guns to civilians who don’t work in law enforcement.

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Social Justice Groups Appeal City’s Decision To Block Democratic National Convention Protests – Block Club Chicago

March for the People’s Agenda and Students for a Democratic Society at UIC filed for parade permits last month to march near the United Center. The groups applied to demonstrate on different dates during the Aug. 19-22 convention, and outlined different parade routes and attendance levels. Both groups were denied and each was given the same alternative parade route more than 3 miles away from the United Center, one of the main convention sites.

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From mixed use to migrant landing zone, Arlington Park ideas vary — if the Bears don’t come to town – Daily Herald*

State Rep. Mark Walker, whose district is just south of the racetrack site, said he caught flack from some for the written statement he released Monday morning after the Bears announced their pivot away from Arlington Park. In it, Walker suggested the property could be suited for new business development, affordable housing or welcoming centers for new arrivals.

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Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget plan leaves out extra money for schools to help migrant students – Chalkbeat Chicago

A spokesperson for Pritzker said in a prepared statement that the governor’s priority is to ensure newly arrived migrant families have shelter, food, and a path to independence. “Schools are also able to access federal funding for many new arrived students under the federal McKinney Vento law to support homeless services,” said the governor’s office. “The Governor also proposed a $350 million increase in K-12 funding and new students will be incorporated into funding formulas at their districts moving forward.”

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Lead in water a threat to two-thirds of young children in Chicago – Chicago Sun-Times

Young children in Black and Latino communities were potentially exposed at even higher rates, according to the study, which looked at household testing data from 2016 to last fall. A study by Johns Hopkins and Stanford researchers, published Monday in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics, used artificial intelligence to estimate the extent of exposure of children across the city to water from home faucets containing lead.

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Executive Director fired by Oak Park’s library board – Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest

It comes after weeks of upheaval among some community members who objected to the way leaders, including Joslyn Bowling Dixon, handled a Palestinian cultural event, eliminated two staff positions, at least one of which related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Dixon, they said, was trying to position the library as a place for books only — an outmoded practice — and away from the community hub Oak Park’s library strives to be.

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Gov. JB Pritzker signs measure that sets up process for electing Chicago’s school board – Chicago Tribune/MSN

In addition to 10 board members elected later this year, Mayor Brandon Johnson will appoint 10 members and a president. Johnson had pushed for the hybrid model, and legislators ultimately acquiesced. The new law also includes maps for the 20 districts: seven majority-Black districts, six majority-Latino districts, five majority-white districts and two in which no group has a majority.

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Beloved St. Patricks Day tradition sparks debate among experts: ‘[It’s] justifying its treatment as a sewer’ – The Cool Down

There are concerns from environmentalists, like NiCHE Canada’s Isaac Green, that dyeing the river sends the wrong message to Chicago’s residents. “Even if the dye itself isn’t ecologically harmful, the process of dying the river can sustain harmful ecological ideas,” Green says. “The dye allows people to believe the river isn’t ‘natural,’ therefore justifying its treatment as a sewer.”

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Ethics Complaint: Chicago Teachers Union Pressured Students to Vote ‘Yes’ on Tax Hike – Illinois Policy

At the event, one television reporter asked a student listed as attending Michelle Clark High School, “Did your teachers encourage you to vote for [Bring Chicago Home]?” The student responded, “yes.” Another network reported that a leader or volunteer with the Parade to the Polls was chanting a pro-tax-hike message to students as they walked to the polling place: “We will not give up the fight! Housing is a human right!”

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Chicago Teachers Union attacks successful schools to push failing schools – Illinois Policy

There are currently 20 “sustainable community schools” within Chicago Public Schools. All but one of the 12 elementary community schools fall below the district average for reading proficiency. All have lower math proficiency than the district average, which is already lower than the state average. All eight of the community high schools perform below the district average in both reading and math. Despite these dismal results, Chicago Teachers Union leadership wants to increase the number of these failing community schools tenfold.

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Secret Service, Chicago police prepare for DNC – Center Square

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said the U.S. Secret Service will be responsible for securing the inside of the convention sites at the United Center and McCormick Place. “This will allow CPD to focus on everything going on outside of the convention, including large-scale, First Amendment activity,” Snelling said.

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A Municipal Income Tax Is a Dead End for Chicago – Chicago Contrarian

“Whatever revenue totals that fiscal experts predict will be collected from any new Chicago taxes, the result will likely be less than what they forecasted. … People can move out of Chicago. Businesses can relocate. Positions offered could be declined when job seekers learn they’ll have to pay a city income tax. Some states have no income tax at all. The city’s property taxes are onerous, and Chicagoans endure the second-highest sales tax rate in the nation.”

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On Election Day, progressive candidates and causes are at the center of Democratic primary ballot – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

“Though neither is on the ballot, Johnson’s early unsteady tenure at City Hall and the aftermath of Foxx’s embattled time as top prosecutor provide the backdrop for a Democratic primary asking voters whether progressivism has gone too far or not far enough amid continued concern about crime and the complex issue of dealing with migrants primarily sent from the Texas border.”

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Chicago slowly starts evicting migrants from shelters – Chicago Sun-Times

Of the nearly three dozen migrants expected to be evicted from shelters Sunday as the city begins enforcing Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration’s 60-day shelter stay rule, just three were removed. The remaining 31 migrants were given extensions; 27 because they are still in the process of applying for public benefits and four due to pregnancy or disability. Fewer than 11,000 migrants remain in shelters, according to the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, and around 2,000 are expected to have to exit by the end of April.

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A week before measles outbreak, fewer than half of CPS students without stable housing were fully immunized – Chicago Tribune/MSN

School registration should go hand in hand with facilitating access to immunizations, said Dr. Olusimbo Ige, Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner. State law typically requires all students to receive MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) immunizations, unless a parent or guardian submits either proof that the child previously contracted measles or a medical or religious exemption. Fewer than 1% of students had a religious or medical exemption as of November, CPS said.

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A Chicago “Mansion Tax” Would Hurt Small Businesses, Customers, Employees, and Renters – Tax Foundation

“Much like marriage license fees help offset the costs to the state of providing marriage licenses and updating government records, modest real estate transfer taxes are justifiable when they help compensate for government services reasonably associated with the transfer of property. The proposed tax increase in Chicago, however, would go far beyond that scope, with proponents seeking to take advantage of an existing revenue stream to generate large amounts of new revenue for unrelated purposes.”

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Students taken out of school to attend: Solutions for gun violence, support for Palestine top Chicago students’ priorities at early voting event – Chicago Tribune*

The Student Power Forum and Parade to the Polls, hosted by Chicago Votes, La Casa Norte and the Chicago Teachers Union, took students of voting age at participating district high schools out of the classroom for the morning on a district-approved field trip to the CTU headquarters to make posters, learn about candidates and march to the polls together.

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A Mansion Tax Could Accelerate Chicago’s Urban Exodus – RealClear Markets

“Downtown office vacancy rates already reached another record high at the end of 2023 at 23.8% – nearly double the pre-pandemic rate – and a hefty tax on property sales will only make Chicago’s commercial real estate less attractive. Without new businesses coming into the city, more and more Chicagoans will wonder why they’re still putting up with high state and local taxes. Fewer jobs and services will give them less reason to stay.”

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Illinois lawmakers challenge Chicago school board’s plans to remove police, rethink choice policy – Chalkbeat Chicago

One bill would prevent the closure of selective-enrollment schools and any changes to admissions policies at those schools for the next three years. The other would let local school councils retain the power to decide whether they want on-campus police — a right they would lose by next school year under a new safety plan. The legislation is an example of lawmakers seeking to use state power to override Chicago’s authority over its schools.

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Paul Vallas: Police overtime shows defunding police doesn’t work – Illinois Policy

“Fewer officers is a major factor in the 50 percent drop in annual arrests since 2019 and in the rise of violent crime incidents overall. Arrest rates for violent crimes in 2023 were 11 percent. Unfortunately for Chicagoans, it is highly unlikely a perpetrator of a crime will ever be caught, even in murder cases. … Meanwhile the SAFE-T Act’s elimination of cash bail will put even more violent criminals back on the street.”

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For Toni Preckwinkle, another election and another chance to wield her political muscle – Chicago Sun-Times

With a roster of people who used to work for her or alongside her in county government that includes Mayor Brandon Johnson, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Preckwinkle, who turns 77 on St. Patrick’s Day, has put her stamp on the next generation of Black and Latino leaders in Illinois politics. Her former chief of staff Kurt Summers went on to become city treasurer, and former staffer Christian Mitchell became an Illinois deputy governor.

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Migrant shelter evictions will not begin this Saturday, Johnson administration says – Chicago Tribune/MSN

However, the administration said they will evict 35 migrants Sunday, and the pace of evictions after that is unclear. The population in the city shelters has declined from a late-December high of 14,900 to 11,200 Friday. The pace of new arrivals has also slowed in recent months — a reprieve that many receive with wariness, given the Texas governor’s threat to escalate the buses before the Democratic National Convention arrives in Chicago this summer.

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Congress eyes Northwestern following reports of antisemitism on campus – Crain’s*

While no official investigation into the school has yet been launched, a spokesman for the committee told Crain’s it is “very concerned” about reports of antisemitic incidents on Northwestern’s campus and will continue to review possible next steps. “Institutions allowing or embracing hostility against Jewish students demands scrutiny,” the spokesman said in an email to Crain’s.

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Chicago student homelessness is rising. Could a tax change backed by the mayor help fix that? – Chalkbeat Chicago

Chicago Public Schools received about $10.1 million in federal pandemic aid to serve homeless students, as part of roughly $800 million distributed nationally to states and school districts. The city and school district created a program to give $500 stipends to families in Students in Temporary Living Situations, using money from the initial 2020 wave of federal COVID relief dollars. It’s not clear how many families received the money, and district officials deferred to the city, which administered the program.

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Cook County offers to chip in on food costs for migrants, approves delay to paid-leave mandate for schools, parks – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The county’s paid time off policy matches state law, which took effect earlier this year, and slightly expands upon it; the board moved to expand covered employers to include park and school districts. Leaders from several suburban districts revolted, saying if leave benefits were extended to part-time workers, it would drive up costs and potentially lead to service cuts or fee hikes. The compromised January deadline  for implementation gives districts more time to prepare for added costs and for county administrators to specify coverage requirements for districts that are split between different towns or other counties.

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Migrants at Chicago’s largest shelter call food ‘horrible’, rather buy their own meals as city spends millions

Seventy Seven Communities Meal Service has already been paid $3.7 million to feed migrants, but could stand to make as much as $45 million. A second company, 14 Parish has received $3.8 million with the potential to make as much as $57.6 million. But former shelter residents can be seen outside the largest shelter in Chicago as they’ve created a make-shift business to provide an alternative for the food some are calling “horrible.”

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2 more measles cases confirmed; 98 Chicago migrants placed in quarantine hotel after exposure – CBS2 (Chicago)

The Chicago Department of Public Health said six adults and six children have been confirmed to have measles over the past week. Only two are unrelated to the migrant shelter Pilsen, which is the city’s largest. Meanwhile, a total of 98 migrants have been placed in quarantine for measles exposure at a Chicago-area hotel set up by the State of Illinois; 48 of them are children. They have all been exposed to measles and will stay in the hotel for 21 days.

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Cook County 2nd-worst in U.S. as 87 of 102 Illinois counties lose population – Illinois Policy

Illinois’ population decline continued for its 10th consecutive year in 2023 as the state’s population dropped by 32,826 residents from July 2022-July 2023, but new data showed losses were in 87 of Illinois’ 102 counties. Population decline was the most pronounced in some of the state’s most populous counties, but most of the decline came from Cook County.

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Chicago Teachers Union wants revenue meant for homeless if mayor’s tax hike passes – Illinois Policy

CTU demanded provisions related to affordable housing in past negotiations, but its recently leaked document makes clear its topline demand is not to help homeless Chicagoans, but to help Chicago teachers whose median salary is already more than $93,000. CTU’s bankrolling of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign and his tax hike initiative is a gamble that could pay off big time.

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Obama Foundation Donating $4M to Build Divisive Playground at Midway Plaisance – WTTW (Chicago)

Though lauded as “groundbreaking” by the Park District, the playground has met with significant opposition from neighbors, who have faulted the choice of the Plaisance’s east end as too dangerous for a play space, while continuing to express frustration with the city’s handling of the fallout from its decision to cede public parkland to the Obama Center.

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Chicago Activists Want Property Taxes Nixed for Black Residents as Part of Reparations – Breitbart

The city’s black residents created Reconstruction Era Reparation Act Now (ReRan) in 2023 because they were losing their homes due to rising property taxes, the group’s website states. “So what we want to do especially for the Black community because we’re very fragile, we want to keep them and preserve them here and by doing that, we can hold onto our culture in Chicago,” said  ReRan Founder Howard Ray.

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Looking for work, migrants turn to street vending – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Mark Denzler, president of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, said that nationally more than 600,000 manufacturing jobs are unfilled, including an estimated tens of thousands in Illinois. Many of the openings would be suitable for newly arrived migrants or immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years without legal permission, if they were authorized to work in the country, he said.

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Jewish man attacked by anti-Israel protesters at October 7 documentary screening in Logan Square – ABC7 (Chicago)

Using megaphones, wearing masks and carrying posters, dozens of anti-Israel protesters blocked the entry to Logan Theatre Monday night for the presentation hosted by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The protesters yelled “shame on you” to people attending a Jewish-sponsored event screening a documentary about the Hamas massacre of more than 300 people at the Nova Music Festival in Israel Oct. 7, 2023.

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Palestinian community leaders refuse to meet with White House officials in Chicago in protest of Gaza war – Chicago Sun-Times

The Chicago area is home to the largest Palestinian and Palestinian American population in the country. State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, the only Palestinian American elected official in Illinois or Chicago government, said he’s among those who declined the meeting because “really there isn’t much more to be said. … There have been many meetings and conversations since October with the White House. And the reality is our position is extremely clear that there needs to be a permanent cease-fire and we need our country to stop providing arms to Israel.”

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Chicago TikTok influencers concerned about platform’s future after bill that would ban the app passes the House – NBC5 (Chicago)

“I mean it’s a loss of income, really, because I have lost that opportunity,” said Chicago influencer Jen White after learning that the chamber had voted 352 to 65 in support of a measure that was designed to pressure TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest from the social media platform or face an effective ban in the United States.

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Voters weigh conflicting reports of how many Chicagoans are homeless – Illinois Policy

‘Bring Chicago Home’ advocates claim there are 68,000 homeless Chicagoans, but that’s 10 times higher than the estimate recognized by the federal government. And Chicago Teachers Union President Stacey Davis Gates claims there are 20,000 unhoused students in the city, a subset of Bring Chicago Home’s 68,000 estimate – even as CTU’s new contract demands include taxpayer-funded housing assistance for teachers averaging nearly $100,000.

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Chicago Voters Have a Chance to Deny Progressive Politicians a New Slush Fund – National Review*

“(Mayor Brandon) Johnson claims his tax hike can bring in $100 million. But what happened in L.A.? High-end-property sales plummeted, and the tax failed to meet expected revenue. That’s the problem with taxation in general: Revenue estimates rarely pan out. Chicago’s new Bally’s Casino, for example, brought in less than a quarter of its projected tax revenue for 2023. There’s no guarantee that the estimated level of real-estate-tax money will come in, especially when relying on something as unstable as Chicago’s real-estate market.”

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Commentary: This time around, don’t give Jerry Reinsdorf a win over taxpayers – Chicago Sun-Times

Andy Shaw: “Funding for the stadium, in Jerry’s shrewd, risk-averse business mind, would mirror the vehicle that helped build Soldier Field for the Bears and the current White Sox stadium at 35th and Shields in Bridgeport, now called Guaranteed Rate Field: Revenue from the city’s hotel-motel tax and the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority’s bonding power to raise the estimated $1 billion price tag for new stadium construction. … In other words, all public and no private dollars, and that’s the rub: $400 million in new tax revenue that wouldn’t be available for other pressing needs like education, health care, law

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Cook County lost 24,000 residents last year in latest census survey – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The Vintage 2023 estimates show Cook County remains the second largest county in the U.S. at nearly 5.1 million residents, but its population fell by more than 24,000 last year, the fourth largest decline among all counties. Chicago’s home county has lost more than 188,000 residents since the start of the pandemic in 2020, according to the census population estimates.

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Violent 24 hours leaves 9 dead across Chicago – Chicago Sun-Times

The large number of slayings would be unusual on a warm summer weekend and is startling for a late-winter weekday. The geographic reach of the violence is an “unfortunate reminder of the scale of resources and the continued focus that we need to muster as a city in order to have safe and healthy communities,” said Kim Smith, a director at the University of Chicago Crime Lab.

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Johnson Says He’s ‘Frustrated’ With City’s ‘Out of Control’ Overtime Spending – WTTW (Chicago)

“We inherited a really stagnant, just awful, abrasive system,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said of the $293 million the Chicago Police Department spent on overtime last year . “That type of spending on one particular element of city government. There has to be more equity and a more dynamic distribution of those resources in order for us to actually really get at solving crime in Chicago.”

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Bring Chicago Home votes will be counted after IL Supreme Court nixes challengers’ bid for appeal – Cook County Record

Votes will be counted next week on the city’s ballot question, heavily supported by the Chicago Teachers Union, that could empower Mayor Brandon Johnson and his allies in the Chicago City Council to jack up city property sales tax rates, after the Illinois Supreme Court rejected a last ditch appeal from Chicago business advocates to block the ballot measure.

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Chicago Teachers Union urges students to attend political rally for Illinois primary – FOX News

CTU Vice President Jackson Potter sent out a notice for students of voting age about an upcoming rally to lead up to casting their first vote for the Illinois primary: “On the morning of March 15, students will gather at CTU Headquarters and hear from candidates/political organizers, collaborate with young voters from other schools, and participate in engaging events including art, music, and dance. The event will culminate with a Parade to the Polls, where students will march to an early voting site—celebrating voting in their first election and making their voices heard along the way!”

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Johnson says limited migrant shelter evictions to start – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

Mayor Brandon Johnson said an unspecified number of the thousands of migrant shelter residents who were issued 60-day notices to vacate by Saturday will receive exemptions. “I don’t know if it’s a substantial number, but again, they can return to the loading zone,” the mayor said when asked about how many migrants must leave the shelters. “That’s one place, or they can decide to move on. You know, they don’t necessarily have to remain within the structure that we’re providing.”

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Civic Federation questions volatility, structure, fairness of ‘Bring Chicago Home’ referendum – Chicago Sun-Times

Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson said he’s “not looking to influence the vote” on Tuesday, if the Illinois Supreme Court allows the votes to be counted. He’s “looking to influence the landscape on the accountability on what we’re voting for. … That’s the problem. It’s insufficiently clear to people what they’re voting for. It’s insufficiently clear how this all works.”

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Mayor Brandon Johnson to Focus Chicago’s Anti-Violence Efforts on 10 Blocks in Englewood, West Garfield Park, Austin, Little Village – WTTW (Chicago)

But Johnson’s announcement was conspicuously different from those made by his predecessors in the run-up to summer: no mention of additional efforts by the Chicago Police Department to crack down on criminal behavior with additional patrols or enhanced penalties for lawbreakers. By concentrating on just 10 specific block groups, officials believe they can “amplify the impact of our investments directed at eradicating the root causes of violence in historically disinvested communities,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office.

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Chicago should set limits on buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions, report says – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The recommendations are part of a wide-ranging report on reducing building emissions from Urban Land Institute Chicago, which has 1,500 members representing all aspects of the real estate industry, including developers, property owners, investors, architects, planners, public officials and real estate brokers. Among the recommendations: Expand the city’s energy-usage reporting requirements to include more Chicago buildings, and require buildings to report carbon emissions.

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Editorial: First-time voters must be left alone to make their choice. Even by their teachers. – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

“Were (the Chicago Teachers Union) simply a labor union and no more, this clarification, so to speak, might be reassuring to those not wanting their kids to be used as pawns in a broader political battle. But CTU these days essentially is a political party unto itself. It is — to employ a lexicon Chicagoans of a certain age are familiar with — the boss. So any such event hosted by the teachers union will rightfully be suspected of electioneering regardless of the use of terms like ‘non-partisan,’ ‘civic engagement’ and ‘electoral process’ to describe what it’s all about.”

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Pilsen residents push referendum to offset property tax increases – NBC5 (Chicago)

The question will ask the 25th Ward’s 9th precinct residents to vote “yes” or “no” to a referendum asking “should the government provide assistance if your bill increased by more than 40 percent to help pay your property tax bill with TIF funds?” Several homeowners saw increases between 40-60 percent, while others had their property tax bills triple after the last reassessment.

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Paying millions to house migrants, Chicago failed to take Catholic archdiocese up on offers of free rent – Chicago Sun-Times

The Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has space in more than 60 shuttered churches, schools and other buildings listed for sale or for lease, and church officials offered up more than dozen of these locations to the city. But City Hall has yet to agree on any such offers from the archdiocese, instead renting private shelter spaces at high costs. The company that leases most private shelter spaces for the city, Equitable Social Solutions, has been paid a total $45.5 million, according to a Johnson administration list of what it’s paying for the migrant influx.

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CTA Continues to Rely on Bus and Train Operator Overtime — But Fails to Provide Detailed Information Within Required Time Frame – WTTW (Chicago)

The agency’s highest paid operator in 2023, a bus driver, earned $212,232 — more than two and a half times the standard yearly rate. In addition to hefty paychecks for some workers, overtime also affects the transit agency’s retirement plan, as CTA workers — in a perk unique to them among public employees in Illinois — can count overtime toward their pensions. As of Jan. 1, 2023, the plan was just 54.2 percent funded.

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Dolton mayor accused by former assistant of putting makeup artist on town’s payroll – FOX News

According to records from a Freedom of Information Act Request, Mayor Tiffany Henyard put Brandon K. Momon on the government payroll as an “ADMIN. ASSISTANT.” He was paid $7,650, over six transactions between April 6 and June 5, 2023. Momon’s website said he offers “makeovers,” “wardrobe styling,” “image consulting” and “personal shopping.”

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Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $1.25 billion borrowing plan back on track for City Council approval – Chicago Sun-Times

“In the wake of several significant missteps by the mayor’s office, where oversight and collaboration was avoided, we need to make sure that the mayor’s office is embracing oversight before we can even move on with this bond ordinance,” Ald. Bill Conway said. He ticked off six recent examples: the NASCAR contract; the costly extension of the ShotSpotter contract; the Fraternal Order of Police contract; the GardaWorld contract for migrant camps; ongoing issues with Favorite Healthcare Staffing, the firm the city hired to run its migrant shelters; and the proposed winterized base camp on a contaminated industrial site in Brighton

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Aldermen brought in to help with shelter measles outbreak – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The pitch for Spanish-speaking elected officials to directly assist with speaking to migrants wasn’t received enthusiastically by all recipients, as some balked at the administration and allies resorting to aldermen instead of trained public health workers to contain an infectious disease outbreak. Some also questioned why outside city contractors that have driven up the migrant response costs can’t help more. “Look, we’re the legislative branch,” said Ald. Gilbert Villegas. “My staff is not trained to do that. And quite frankly, that’s why we fund the Department of Family and Support Services and the Department of Public Health.”

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Aldermen ask mayor not to evict migrants from Chicago shelters after 60 days, but face pushback – ABC7 (Chicago)

“What you’re going to see in a number of months is an increase in the amount of homelessness and these folks aren’t going to go back to the landing zone, right? They’re gonna go back to neighborhoods they know. So you’re gonna see it in your viaducts, your parks, your streets, your highways,” said Ald. Andre Vasquez, chairman of the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

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Chicago Mayor Johnson’s real estate tax could hit more than 100 grocery stores – Illinois Policy

Chicago has 316 properties categorized as supermarkets, according to Cook County Assessor data. Nearly 40 percent, or 124 of those properties, would see a hiked transfer tax under the mayor’s tax hike ballot proposal. One of those properties, Cermak Fresh Market, is family owned. If they wanted to open a new location at a similar property, their expansion would be penalized by the transfer tax hike.

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CPS wants to hear about the Black student experience as it develops a ‘Black Student Success’ plan – WBEZ (Chicago)

The district is under pressure to take action after a group of Black activists blasted the Chicago Board of Education for having a standing committee focused on special education but not on Black students. Currently the effort is being spearheaded by a Black Student Success working group, but a bill awaiting the governor’s signature would create a permanent Black student achievement committee.

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Opponents to Chicago property sales tax hike referendum ask IL Supreme Court to step in – Cook County Record

In the petition to the Illinois Supreme Court, the business groups’ attorneys noted in this case, the Bring Chicago Home referendum appears to easily violate the state constitution’s “free and equal elections” clause by allowing the city to confuse voters with two different questions in one ballot measure: “As a result of this combination, a voter wishing to support the (tax) decrease portion alone must also support the increase with the same vote, and a voter wishing to support only the increase, must also support the decrease.”

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Mayor Johnson Opposes Jewel-Osco/Mariano’s Merger As Federal Lawsuit Looms To Block It – Block Club Chicago

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and seven of his counterparts in other states and the District of Columbia joined the lawsuit initiated by the Federal Trade Commission, saying the nearly $25 billion deal will kill competition and raise grocery prices for millions of Americans. Mayor Brandon Johnson is now echoing calls to stop the deal, saying through a spokesperson, “All Chicago communities deserve thriving food ecosystems with multiple food access points that provide nourishing and culturally resonant food.”

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Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Cook Co. Clerk Iris Martinez unveil Women’s Right to Privacy initiative – CBS2 (Chicago)

“The (Women’s) Right to Privacy initiative will lead the nation in safeguarding women’s rights by automatically sealing any court records that contain women’s reproductive health information,” Martinez said. The clerk said her office will use new technology to review, redact, and seal more than 100 million cases in Cook County.

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Ethics complaint filed over Chicago Teacher’s Union Get Out the Vote event – WGNTV (Chicago)

The Illinois Policy Institute has filed an ethics complaint, saying CTU sent a message to members asking them to get students to attend a Friday morning rally at union headquarters put on in partnership with promoters of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s real estate transfer tax. CTU’s response reads, in part, “Illinois Policy’s real problem is with the CTU providing civic engagement and education for our 90 percent student-of-color district.”

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Paul Vallas: The CTU’s priorities for new contract further limit competition and accountability – Chicago Tribune*

“(Union President Stacy) Davis Gates is right. Inequity and injustice exist in our schools. But they are perpetuated by our antiquated teachers union-dominated public school system, which denies a quality education to families that can’t afford alternatives to their failing schools. Our deficient neighborhood schools are the fault of CTU leadership. The union has effectively blocked any changes that would improve our public schools if those changes in any way affect CTU members’ job assignments, workloads or job security.”

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Very few voters often decide fate of tax referendums, report finds – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

Cook County voters are staring down more than a dozen referendums to raise taxes in the March 19 primary, including the Bring Chicago Home question championed by Mayor Brandon Johnson. A new report from Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas found that in 75 binding property tax-related referendums put on ballots between 2020 and 2023, the average turnout was 32 percent of all registered voters. Seventy percent of the referendums were approved.

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As Homicides Drop Nationwide, Chicago Lags Behind Other Major Cities. – WTTW (Chicago)

“Chicago, like all other major cities, has areas that have higher crime rates than others,” says retired New York City police officer Jillian Snider, now an adjunct lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “While Chicago does have higher violent crime rates compared to the national average, other cities such as Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chattanooga, Dallas, Memphis, Nashville, are experiencing higher rates of crime than Chicago.”

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Real Estate Groups Ask Illinois Supreme Court to Invalidate Ballot Measure That Would Hike Taxes on Sales of Million-Dollar Properties – WTTW (Chicago)

“The referendum question is misleading and manipulative, and we believe it is important to see this through,” Farzin Parang, the executive director of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago, said in a statement. “The Appellate Court’s opinion implies that an illegal referendum cannot be challenged until after an election — after voters have already been harmed.”

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Group pushing for all descendants of slaves in Chicago to have property taxes waived – ABC7 (Chicago)

Reconstruction Era Reparations Act Now, or RERAN, founder Howard Ray Jr. said slavery took away the ability to create generational wealth for Blacks, and those in Chicago are living that reality. “We need to be isolated, taken care of and brought back into society,” Ray said. They want 400,000 signatures to support a referendum on the November ballot.

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Bears’ new stadium plan raises funding questions as taxpayers still owe $589M on Soldier Field – NBC5 (Chicago)

For the Soldier Field project, the Bears and the NFL kicked in a combined $200 million. The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority issued bonds for the remaining $398 million, backed by Chicago’s 2% hotel tax. But because of the way the deal was structured – and several refinancings later – the ISFA now owes $375 million in principal and $214 million in interest on those bonds. Also backed by the hotel tax under ISFA’s jurisdiction is $50 million in debt on Guaranteed Rate.

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Experts warn Chicago of SoCal transfer tax referendum’s negative impact on commercial real estate – ABC7 (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon Johnson said Chicago learned lessons from Los Angeles in crafting the referendum now before voters, and he defends the measure. “There’s an ordinance that will follow, in the event that this particular referendum passes, that ordinance will ultimately establish that revenue stream, the outcomes, how we appropriate is those dollars,” Johnson said.

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Chicago Teachers Union taking students out of class to vote for Johnson’s real estate tax hike – Illinois Policy

CTU Vice President Jackson Potter wrote in an email “Do you remember your first time? Were you nervous? Excited? Confused at what to do? What if instead of standing in a long line and feeling overwhelmed by a mountain of conflicting information, you were able to get voting support from the candidates themselves and vote for the first time alongside your friends and classmates? That’s exactly what we want to offer voting age students from CPS schools across the city at the Students Power Forum.”

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At least 6 people robbed in a string of holdups on Sunday morning from Lakeview to Logan Square – CWB Chicago

Robbery reports citywide were down 1 percent from last year’s decade-high pace as of last Monday. However, the Town Hall District, based in Lakeview, is not enjoying any improvement. In fact, robberies are up 89 percent compared to last year. Sunday’s other robberies occurred in the Shakespeare District, where cases are up 24 percent this year.

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Ex-Ald. Ed Burke keeps his law license after most Illinois Supreme Court justices recuse themselves – Chicago Sun-Times

Ed Burke’s wife, Anne Burke, served as a member of the state’s highest court between 2006 and 2022 and was its chief justice for the final three years of her tenure; Four of the court’s justices reviewing the state Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission’s petition for an interim suspension of Ald. Burke’s law license served alongside her. “It is a most Chicago and most Illinois of absurdities that you have identified,” Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson said when asked about the Supreme Court’s surprising incapacity to discipline the former alderman.

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Chicago Bears’ commit $2 billion in a new stadium in the city – NBC5 (Chicago)

In a statement provided by a spokesperson, CEO and President Kevin Warren said the Bears will contribute over $2 billion to build a stadium and improve open spaces “for all families, fans and the general public to enjoy” in Chicago. While the team hasn’t said if the stadium will be located adjacent to Soldier Field, the lawmaker did say that the project will provide access to the lakefront.

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Commentary: Brandon Johnson’s ‘Bring Chicago Home’ plan would not ‘tax the rich’ – Chicago Tribune*

Micky Horstman, of the Illinois Policy Institute: “… (Mayor Brandon) Johnson hopes using progressive jargon will mobilize the young voters who elected him to support this unaffordable tax hike. Young voters trying to ‘do good’ should be wary of Johnson’s real estate transfer tax hike: It’s not going to deliver on his promises, which are pretty vague, and it will hit the places where people who are unhoused are most likely to find jobs.”

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Chicago Bears resume talks with suburban schools even as they pursue a stadium in the city – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

The Bears are likely to challenge the tax ruling in Cook County court or to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, but either option could take years to resolve. (The team doesn’t pay property taxes on its current home at Soldier Field because the Chicago Park District owns the site.) Any proposal to build a stadium on the lakefront would run into opposition from the Friends of the Parks, which previously filed suit to stop a proposed Star Wars museum in the same area.

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State/Local Officials Urge “NO” Vote On Thornton Twp Tax Referendum Proposed By Tiffany Henyard – Illinois Leaks

State Senator Napoleon Harris III, State Representative Thaddeus Jones, Cook County Commissioners Monica Gordon and Donna Miller, Mayors Vernard Alsberry, Roger Agpawa, Thomas Brown, Christopher Clark, Don DeGraff, Rich Hofeld, Lawrence Jackson, and Terry Wells all signed a letter which reads, in part, “(We) believe – given recent news media and law enforcement inquiries regarding possible misappropriation of taxpayer dollars – that to request more of township taxpayer’s hard-earned money is at best, ill-advised.”

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Editorial: Stacy Davis Gates throws down a ‘$50 billion and 3 cents’ CTU gauntlet – Chicago Tribune*

“In one breath, Davis Gates invites the public to listen to what the union has to say about equity and why their demands are in everyone’s interests, not just their members’. In the next, she gives those already skeptical and fearful of CTU and its political might every reason to tune her out. … Funding is always a key question when it comes to politics and government.”

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Commentary: Chicago looks for budget bandaids to fix self-inflicted woes – Washington Examiner

“Chicago’s self-inflicted failures, from its already-high taxes and cost of living to its inability, or, more accurately, unwillingness, to get a handle on crime to encouraging illegal immigration, have put it in the budget hole it sees now. Chicago’s ‘solutions’ are either unnecessary, self-destructive, or both, so long as those other problems go unaddressed.”

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Amid migrant crisis, Chicago food pantries experience unprecedented demand – Chicago Tribune/MSN

“We’re running out of food,” said Pastor Sandra Gillespie, who runs Chosen Bethel Family Ministries Food Pantry in Englewood. “If this rate of increase continues, we’re going to have to change something.” For many nonprofit food distributors, hourslong lines have become the norm. Many pantries have reduced the number of allotted visits per month to stretch supply. Others are rationing food

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Case of Measles Confirmed in Pilsen Shelter; City Health Officials Ask Residents to Shelter in Place – WTTW (Chicago)

Ald. Andre Vasquez, the chair of the City Council’s Immigrant Rights Committee, made an unannounced visit to the shelter Monday. Vasquez said after that he was concerned by a lack of isolation rooms for those who are sick with the flu and other illnesses. “A warehouse was not designed for 2,000 people to live there,” Vasquez said, adding that the city should open more shelters to allow fewer people to live in crowded conditions.

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Dolton politician’s cancer charity got almost all of its reported money from taxpayers – WGNTV (Chicago)

A representative of the Tiffany Henyard Cares Foundation wrote on the charity’s registration statement filed with the Illinois Attorney general that the organization only raised $13,000 in its first few months of existence. The Thornton Township board – which is controlled by Township Supervisor Henyard – transferred $10,000 to the foundation days after it was created.  That’s in addition to the $10,248 charged to township credit cards for hotels along the route of a Tiffany Henyard Cares walk from Dolton to Springfield in 2022.

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Union boss calls for National Guard, bag checks on Chicago transit system, like in New York – CBS2 (Chicago)

“The police got their hands tied with everything that’s going on in the city, so any assistance is more than welcome to make passengers, workers, everybody feel safe if they use the system. It’s still the best way around the city, but the only way people are going to realize that is if they feel safe,” said Keith Hill, president of the bus drivers’ union.

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No plans to extend March 16 date for migrants to leave Chicago shelters, Johnson says – NBC5 (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon Johnson initially side-stepped questions about this earlier this week. “We’re compassionate people, I got you,” Johnson said. When pressed that he did not provide a “yes or no” response, Johnson said: “So, it’s not okay that I let people know that Chicago is compassionate? Let me just say it though, okay? Thank you. We are compassionate people and so we are doing everything in our power to demonstrate compassion.”

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Plan for Chicago’s elected school board headed to the governor – Chalkbeat Chicago

Voters will elect 10 board members in November, while Mayor Brandon Johnson will appoint 11, effectively keeping control until the end of his first term. In 2026, all 21 seats will be up for election, with 20 members elected from districts and the board president voted on by the entire city. Senate Bill 15 includes boundaries for the districts that school board members will represent, ethics guidelines, and term limits.

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What you need to know about ‘Bring Chicago Home’ – Illinois Policy

Advocates say $100 million in new money from the tax would go to homelessness efforts, but Mayor Brandon Johnson and the city have laid out no details as to how the money would help homeless Chicagoans; if passed, it would allow the city to raise taxes without binding the city to use the funds generated in any explicit way that guarantees helping the homeless. Plus, Chicago failed to spend 85 percent of the $52 million in federal pandemic relief funds it received for homeless efforts and already has the $200 million in its budget for homeless relief.

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New renderings released of Obama Presidential Center – WGNTV (Chicago)

The Obama Foundation announced plans to break ground on its Programs and Athletic Center Monday, March 11. The building will be home to a gymnasium and studios for various recreational, wellness, and community activities. Just outside of the center’s doors, community members and other visitors can expect to find play areas, walking trails and a sledding hill.

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The CTA’s Oversight Board Is Filled With Political Insiders, Not Transit Experts – Block Club Chicago

The CTA is at a crossroads as dysfunction has become synonymous with the service it provides. Trains and buses are running far less frequently, City Council leaders are routinely calling on the mayor to replace its leadership and the agency is facing a fiscal cliff with pandemic aid soon running dry. Transit organizers believe reforming the CTA board is essential for getting the system back on track.

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Bring Chicago Home tax hike referendum gets new life; Appeals court says legal challenge ‘premature’ – Cook County Record

A three-justice panel of the Illinois First District Appellate Court in Chicago sided with the mayor and the city, saying a Cook County judge was wrong to declare the city had improperly placed the referendum on the ballot. Under existing precedent, Justice Raymond Mitchell wrote, the courts have no ability to hear challenges to the validity of referendums that have been placed on the ballot as “part of the legislative process.” Rather, they said state courts can only hear challenges to the validity of referendums after they have been approved and have become law.

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Protests & peace — Chicago ready for demonstrators at Dem convention, but police won’t ‘tolerate violence’ – Chicago Sun-Times

Police Supt. Snelling made a distinction between the types of demonstrations that are expected during the Democratic convention and “pop-up” protests that were sparked by George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a Minneapolis cop that gave way to widespread looting and gun violence. He noted that the handling of the NATO Summit “proved that our officers could provide a service in a large-scale protest that was completely constitutional.”

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Editorial: Stacy Davis Gates as Lady Macbeth? In her own head, perhaps. – Chicago Tribune*

“I’m not going to be part of the narrative of a Lady Macbeth to a Black man who doesn’t have a brain,” (Gates) said, in the first of two mentions of the notorious Shakespearean sleepwalker and murderer in as many minutes. “The insinuation that I play the role of the Lady Macbeth actually is both racist and sexist in the way that it is almost always leveled,” she continued. “Please stop doing that. Please let me be the president of the Chicago Teachers Union.”

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Teachers Contract Talks Will Be ‘Less Of A Soap Opera’ Under Johnson, Union Boss Says – Block Club Chicago

“This won’t be the soap opera it has been, where you have the villain and then you have the hero,” CTU president Stacy Davis Gates said. “How about, ‘We’re all going to deal with the complicated set of issues with contradictions all over the place and we’re going to commit to figuring it out?'” Mayor Brandon Johnson has largely avoided questions since taking office on how he will handle contract negotiations. The Chicago Teachers Union pumped $2.5 million into Johnson’s campaign for mayor.

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Cicero’s St. Frances of Rome School Catholic school to remain open after Invest in Kids ended – WGNTV (Chicago)

The Big Shoulders Fund, the Archdiocese of Chicago,and two parishes raised the funds necessary to keep the school operating “for at least the next five years.” Greg Richmond, Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago, said “We are united in the mission to enable all families — including low-income families — to have the choice to enroll their children in a Catholic school.” When it was announced in January that St. Frances of Rome School would be closing, local school leaders placed blame with the Illinois State Legislature.

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CTU president suggests new teacher contract could cost taxpayers $50 billion – Center Square

The CTU’s key proposals, a draft of which was leaked to the Illinois Policy Institute, include cost-of-living adjustments that meet or exceed inflation and money for teacher housing assistance in the city. Other items on the list include increased staffing, gender-affirming healthcare coverage, abortion coverage, and more queer competent trained service providers.

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The Chicago Teachers Union’s new tax-grabbing power play – Illinois Policy

“The median Chicago teacher’s salary is over $93,000. The last contract cost Chicago Public Schools an additional $1.5 billion, the total costs of the contract were estimated at $3.1 billion annually by 2024 and made CPS teachers among the highest-paid of the nation’s big districts. So these are the people who need housing assistance? Folks making nearly $100,000 in a city where the median income is $45,840?”

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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says no plans yet to again extend migrant removal deadline – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Johnson did not commit to a plan Tuesday when asked whether he would stick with the scheduled March 16 date when migrants who have stayed longer than 60 days at shelters will be evicted. The policy could lead to the removal of as many as 5,673 migrant residents. “We’re doing everything in our power to demonstrate compassion,” Johnson said at a Tuesday news conference.

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Chicago teens help create a campaign to prevent gun violence – WBEZ (Chicago)

The average age a Chicagoan witnesses a shooting is just 14 years old, according to a recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association. It’s especially important that this conversation centers Black and Latino kids, 19-year-old Edgar Vilchez said. Last year, 75 percent of shooting victims were Black and 19 percent were Latino, according to city data.

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Cook County is among the many places nationwide testing no-strings cash as part of the social safety net – WBEZ (Chicago)

Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, says she hopes to prove basic income works so that it could someday go nationwide.Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle thinks cash aid should be a permanent part of the social safety net; she notes that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Black Panthers called for guaranteed income. So, briefly, did President Richard Nixon. “The federal government is really the only entity that has the resources to do this on the mass scale that it needs to be

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Commentary: Going electric in new buildings is a matter of environmental justice – Chicago Sun-Times

“By prioritizing all-electric construction for new buildings, the city can shift its attention to retrofitting the remainder of Chicago’s building supply, channeling resources into the communities that need the investment most. … Electrifying buildings will put our current workforce to good use and expand new job opportunities. A recent study showed energy efficiency and building electrification will employ at least twice as many workers as fossil fuels in buildings.”

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Chicago Teachers Union wants Johnson to hike pay, fund housing for members – Illinois Policy

The Chicago Teachers Union this summer will negotiate their new contract with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, their former lobbyist. Key demands include cost of living adjustments meeting or exceeding inflation and prohibiting use of teacher ratings for layoffs. CTU also wants to add “safety committees” in every school, including a restorative justice coordinator on each committee, and lower the enrollment caps in charter schools.

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Stealing Home: the White Sox’s proposed move from Guaranteed Rate Field to the 78 is anything but guaranteed. – Chicago Magazine

A photo illustration of Jerry Reinsdorf, Governor J.B. Pritzker, and a new White Sox stadium, surrounded by moneyThe Sox are now worth an estimated $2 billion, a valuation based in part on a lease that limits the amount they owe the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority. For the first 10 years, the Sox paid no annual rent if attendance fell below 1.2 million, which it usually did. Under the current terms, the team forks out $1.5 million annually but controls revenue from ticket sales, concessions, parking, and merchandise.

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White Sox, Bears discussing ‘financing partnership,’ for two stadiums, developer says – Chicago Sun-Times

The developer of The 78 has been talking to the White Sox and the Bears, which both are seeking new stadiums, about a partnership to get both built at the same time. Curt Bailey, president of developer Related Midwest, confirmed financing a new Sox stadium with bonds backed by a hotel tax, a sales tax district, and tax increment finance dollars. Bailey also touted a plan to build a new neighborhood around the current Sox stadium, which would be scaled down to a soccer field shared by the Fire and Red Stars.

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CPS parents rally in the Loop seeking improved special education programs – Chicago Sun-Times

Parents of children with disabilities say CPS continues to discriminate against students with special needs. They want special ed programs in all neighborhood schools, translators for non-English-speaking students with disabilities and accessibility upgrades to buildings. About a third of CPS campuses are not ADA accessible, according to CPS’ last facilities assessment; another third of schools are considered “first-floor usable.”

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Grassroots group in Illinois calling for no new tax dollars for sports stadiums – Center Square

“Public money being used for private projects like sports stadiums is probably one of the biggest, most egregious examples of public taking that you see around the country,” said Tom Tresser, who founded the organization CivicLab. Tresser notes that the White Sox new stadium plans project 5 million annual visitors, about three times what the Sox drew in attendance last year.

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Letter to the Editor: Six months in, the Pretrial Fairness Act is working – Chicago Sun-Times

Faith leaders Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, Father Michael Pfleger; Rabbi Seth Limmer: “Since the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act, the jail populations in several counties have decreased because people are no longer held because they simply cannot afford to bail themselves out. Additionally, judges are now giving each person before them the attention they deserve before determining release. Before the act, judges in some places made decisions in four minutes. Now, an average hearing on release lasts 22 minutes.”

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5 Years After Chicago’s Consent Decree Took Effect, Little Urgency Surrounds Reform Push – WTTW (Chicago)

CPD has fully met just 6% of the court order’s requirements, according to the November report by the team monitoring the city’s compliance. The wide-ranging roadmap for reform was prompted by a 2017 federal investigation that found officers routinely violated the constitutional rights of Black and Latino Chicagoans. The monitoring team has unrestricted access to CPD officials, facilities and data as the team keeps tabs on efforts to remake the department, and has billed Chicago taxpayers for more than $15 million through Aug. 31.

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Chicago Public Schools Will Be Even More Dangerous Without School Resource Officers – Townhall

“Trust me, as a former public high school teacher, I know this is true from first-hand experience…. On a weekly basis, we would “shadow” CPS teachers while observing classroom procedures and teaching strategies. In short, I was absolutely shocked almost every time I performed one of these shadow days. Why? Because most, not all, of the classrooms I observed were so chaotic that barely any actual learning could take place. Among the things that most stood out: I witnessed a student throw their desk at a teacher, I saw multiple fights between

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With ShotSpotter staying in Chicago for the time being, dispute continues over the system’s usefulness – Chicago Tribune/MSN

In recent weeks, long-standing criticisms have intensified, among them that the system is inaccurate, expensive and disproportionately harms people of color. But the software has been consistently praised by police, including top cop Larry Snelling, who credit it for quicker responses to shootings and alerting police to gunfire that citizens do not call in. In the last three years, CPD officers responding to a ShotSpotter alert rendered lifesaving medical aid 430 times.

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A record 55,000 apartments in Chicago and other U.S. cities are being converted from office buildings – MoneyWise

“The pandemic, and the resulting work-from-home moves, have really made some buildings that were kind of borderline obsolete, pretty much absolutes,” said Richard Whitney, vice president at Chicago-based architecture, design and sustainability firm FitzGerald. In Chicago, office vacancies in the central business district at the end of the year reached an all-time high of 23.8%. That figure is up from 21.4% at the end of 2022 and 13.8% at the beginning of the pandemic.

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2 teens shot, 1 fatally, as ‘large group’ floods the South Loop; dozens arrested – CWB Chicago

Hundreds of people converged in the area of Roosevelt and Canal after 7 p.m., and police officers were already arresting people within the hour. Part of the group was gathered in a nearby bank’s parking lot when at least one gunman fired shots at 8:06 p.m., according to a CPD media statement. This was the first major large group incident in the downtown area since July 30, when up to 400 young people gathered in

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State and federal agencies deny role in diaper shortage at Chicago’s migrant shelters – Chicago Tribune/MSN

“Emergency orders can be fulfilled if needed,” said Kevin Sur, spokesperson of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security. “As always, state partners will work to find items requested by the City of Chicago in an emergency.” According to Sur, the city’s “one and only request for diapers” was in October when they provided 64,000 diapers. Earlier this week they received another request for additional supplies but it did not include diapers, Sur said. Nevertheless, the state agency provided another 600 diapers that had been donated, he added.

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Environmental Justice Update: EPA, Illinois EPA, and Chicago Settle Civil Rights Claims with Agreement to Prioritize EJ in Permitting – JD Supra

One of the hottest series of disputes has been the tag-team rumble between federal, state, and local regulators, a scrap-metal processor, and several interested community groups over the relocation of a Chicago plant from the Lincoln Park neighborhood to a community in southeast Chicago. At least some parts of this dispute are closer to resolving.

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Opinion: How many Chicago Democrats are for Nikki Haley? – Chicago Tribune*

Will Johnson, Chicago-based CEO of The Harris Poll: In the Republican caucus in Iowa and primary elections in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Michigan — states that allow some form of crossover or unaffiliated voting — exit polls show upward of half of Haley’s support came from a combination of Democrats and independents. And they’re being urged by political action committees to keep it up next week in the seven Super Tuesday states with open primary elections.

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South suburbs lag behind in tax collection – The RealDeal*

In the 2022 tax year, municipalities in the south suburbs only managed to collect 86.4 percent of billed taxes owed by residents, the Chicago Tribune reported.  That pales in comparison to the countywide average of 96 percent, highlighting a significant revenue loss estimated at $185 million, which could be going to crucial services like public safety, education and infrastructure.

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Robbers are hijacking phones, bank accounts in the Gold Coast, Wrigleyville, DePaul, Chicago police say – CWB Chicago

Each time, “multiple” offenders strike up conversations with their victim. They then take the victim’s phone or wallet by force or deception and run away, then empty out the Venmo, CashApp, Zelle, and other banking accounts. Some crews who simply “borrow” a victim’s phone rather than steal it will delete the banking app from the victim’s phone before returning the device. That way, the victim will not receive any notifications about the transaction until it’s too late.

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IDOT worker rescues 2 women from burning car on Kennedy expressway – WGNTV (Chicago)

IDOT minuteman Steve Newcomb was on patrol when he saw several cars pulled over on the side expressway and decided to turn around and find out why. In all of his years with IDOT, Newcomb said this was the first time he had to pull people out of a burning car. An 18 and 19-year-old woman were transported to Illinois Masonic Hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. (with video)

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Migrants move out of two Oak Park shelters – WBEZ (Chicago)

Oak Park has housed near 160 migrants at the Carleton Hotel, as well as at the West Cook YMCA, since November. The village’s contracts with both locations expired Thursday, but with a $2 million grant from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, volunteers and leaders have been working quickly to resettle families. At the St. Edmund shelter, which is getting $1.24 million of the grant money to house migrants through June 30, old classrooms have been supplied with cots and privacy screens.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson outlines vision for downtown revitalization – Chicago Sun-Times

He offered few details on the future effort, but he said more will be shared this spring, and 40 partners would be involved. The committee “will provide business leaders, organizations and key stakeholders with a direct line of communication with my office and all of the city’s departments,” Johnson said. The partners will be “experts at finding existing ideas, as well as new ideas, to improve downtown business so that it really can become even more vibrant.”

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Proposal to ship tons of Chicago garbage down the river is dead in the water – Chicago Sun-Times

Photo taken from the sky of a body water known as Collateral Channel. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recent decision to investigate a contaminated Southwest Side waterway off the canal persuaded garbage hauler LRS to scrap its “sustainable barging” idea that would have loaded garbage from a point along the canal and shiped it more than 100 miles to Henry, saving money and reducing the amount of diesel pollution from trucks that normally haul garbage.

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Civic groups call on mayor, aldermen to enact City Council ethics reforms – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The leaders of the Better Government Association, the Civic Federation and the League of Women Voters of Chicago called for more transparency and better public access in the body in a letter Thursday to Johnson and council Rules Committee chair Ald. Michelle Harris. The groups criticized current City Hall leaders for circumventing rules designed to publicize what aldermen are considering and chipping away at public access to meetings.

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Judge Won’t Dismiss Indictment of Ex-Ald. Carrie Austin – WTTW (Chicago)

The hearing, which lasted less than 15 minutes, was the first time Austin has appeared in a federal courtroom since her indictment more than two and a half years ago on charges she took bribes from a developer and lied to FBI agents. Austin earns pension payments of more than $9,500 per month, according to records from the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago.

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Chicago Teachers Union endorses plan making their property a “mansion” – Illinois Policy

CTU’s foundation is listed as the owner of a West Side property worth $6.6 million, making the teachers union an example of its own distortion. The building is the Chicago Teachers Union Center, with the union’s headquarters, its foundation and leased space in a former valve factory. Under Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan, purchasing CTU’s property would cost an extra $120,102.

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Mayor Johnson’s commissioner shuffle leaves some agencies in disarray – Axios

Nearly 11 months after he was elected, Mayor Brandon Johnson is still assembling his cabinet. He’s made sudden dismissals that have left departments destabilized, as well as some controversial appointments. Among them, Johnson appointed Alfonzo “Randy” Conner to return to the top job at the Water Department, where he’ll oversee at least $336 million to address lead in Chicago’s water. But in 2018, during his last stint as water commissioner, Conner said Chicago did not have a lead problem, and he actively lobbied to stop Ald. Scott Waguespack from launching public hearings on the matter.

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Column: Explosive meeting in Evanston raises speech issue – Champaign News-Gazette

Jim Dey: “Commenters over Zoom made anti-Semitic statements, while a young man sporting sunglasses and a baseball cap bearing the logo of an organization characterized as a ‘hate’ group by the Anti-Defamation League spoke (anti-Semitic comments) in person…The confrontation set off a discussion about what public bodies can and ought to do under similar circumstances. It’s complicated because efforts by some to limit what others can say raise First Amendment free-speech issues.”

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Low tax collection rate in south suburbs shows need for development, changes in Springfield – Daily Southtown*

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said development is the best way to increase collection percent, and that state legislators could do more to bring additional investment to the south suburbs. “The problem right now is all the dollars are going to migrants,” she said. “All the extra money, it’s going to this migrant situation which is what’s causing a lot of controversy between African Americans and Latinos. African Americans are saying ‘where’s my end?’”

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Dolton trustee candidate who lost in 2023 sues Mayor Tiffany Henyard for libel, defamation – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

Samysha Williams said that, in June 2022, she took a family leave from her job for the Village of Dolton under the Family and Medical Leave Act, then seven weeks into her 12-week leave was wrongly terminated. One mailing during her campaign for trustee accused Williams of committing theft of services from the village by forging medical documents related to a paid time-off fraud.

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Cook County State’s Attorney race offers voters stark choice in approach to prosecuting crime – Cook County Record

Webp oneill burke  harrisSince her election eight years ago, Kim Foxx has stood as a lightning rod for controversy, whose prosecutorial decisions and policies have helped fuel her national and local reputation for being soft on crime and often promoting the interests of those accused of crime over those of the community the state’s attorney is tasked with helping to protect. This year, two candidates have emerged to replace her: former Appellate Court Justice Eileen O’Neill Burke and former prosecutor and longtime political consultant, staffer and lobbyist Clayton Harris III.

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Chicago Ignored Dozens Of Warnings Of Migrant Shelter Conditions Before Child’s Death – Block Club Chicago

In the weeks leading up to the death of five-year-old Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero, migrants made at least 17 grievance reports to the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, decrying spoiled food, the rationing of water and mistreatment from staff in the Pilsen shelter.  At the Halsted shelter,migrants complained of  freezing temperatures, unsanitary bathrooms, and outbreaks of various illnesses — including chickenpox, the flu and upper respiratory infections — spreading without sufficient medical care.

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Looming end of Chicago’s ShotSpotter contract brings mixed reviews – Center Square

“I’m for technology that’s going to help us get to a location quicker and help us save lives,” Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said. “However, there are some things that are outside of the control of the Chicago Police Department when it comes to those things but … there are great men and women in this department who work very hard and they’re going to continue to do the same.”

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The Chicago Teachers Union’s affinity for failure – Illinois Policy

“At Uplift Community High School, per student spending was nearly $53,000 in the 2022-2023 school year, despite no students reaching proficiency in reading or math. If CPS had given $53,000 to the parents, the parents could have chosen a world-class education for their student rather than an education that couldn’t produce a single student reading or adding at grade level. If the student were headed to college, $53,000 would be enough for Loyola or DePaul.”

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During City Hall grilling, CTA chief sketches a bold vision — and cites need for Springfield’s help – Crain’s*

CTA President Dorval Carter addresses the Chicago City Council

The aldermanic grilling marked the first mandatory hearing for Carter after the council passed an ordinance last fall requiring CTA officials to testify each quarter on service levels, security and planning. Yet even as he fielded those complaints, Carter sketched an ambitious future for the CTA, one that he said he envisioned could one day rival the best transit systems in the world.

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Chicago Board of Elections, City Hall each seek to appeal ruling invalidating Chicago tax hike referendum – Cook County Record

In appealing, the Chicago Elections Board will continue to assert that it should not have been the defendant in the legal action challenging the controversial ballot question, and that Judge Kathleen Burke was wrong to deny the city of Chicago and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s request to intervene in the action to defend the referendum.

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As number of migrants awaiting placement dwindles, City closes, repurposes shelters – WGNTV (Chicago)

A total of more than 36,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago from 822 busses since Aug. 2022, but only three busses have arrived from Texas since Feb. 17. According to the State of Illinois, more than 8,900 individuals — representing more than 3,300 households — have moved out of shelters using the emergency rental assistance program, with 1,784 work permits issued of 3,428 applications submitted.

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Editorial: No, the court decision against ‘Bring Chicago Home’ was not voter suppression a la Jim Crow – Chicago Tribune*

“The ruling is not about any of that but rather about a poorly worded ballot question…Powerful rhetoric is to be expected. But this kind of overheated nonsense also has been flowing from the mouths of too many elected officials, including Mayor Brandon Johnson, who called the judge’s finding an ‘unhealthy precedent’ and, worse, ‘suppression.’ Mr. Mayor, the courts are for everyone, including owners of commercial property and relatively expensive housing, of which this city has plenty.”

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Bears and Sox told to team up on stadium financing pitches – Crain’s*

The Chicago Bears and Chicago White Sox are being urged to cobble together one financial request for their stadium proposals that state legislators can consider rather than dueling plans that could box each other out. Representatives for the teams are hearing the same message from state officials as they jockey for public subsidies to build new stadiums. State Senate President Don Harmon specifically has told both teams there is little appetite in the General Assembly to approve separate stadium legislation.

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CTA President Dorval Carter defends handling of agency since pandemic as riders, City Council vent frustrations – CBS2 (Chicago)

While ridership at the CTA has gradually increased since cratering during the pandemic, it’s still far behind pre-pandemic levels. Full data is not yet available for 2023, but through October of last year, ridership had gone up about 15%, still well behind 2019 levels. Since the pandemic, riders have frequently complained about less frequent and reliable bus and train service.

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Chicago election board to appeal ruling against Bring Chicago Home tax hike referendum to fight homelessness – CBS2 (Chicago)

The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners will argue in their appeal that the decision sets a bad precedent. Opponents sued the board over the referendum, but the board has argued its role is simply to put the measure on the ballot after the City Council passed a resolution to put the question before voters during the upcoming primary election.

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Mayor Johnson’s team asks judge to pause ruling invalidating Bring Chicago Home referendum – Chicago Sun-Times

Hours after Circuit Judge Kathleen Burke declared the binding referendum invalid, the city filed a motion asking Burke to stay both her ruling and her decision to deny the city’s petition to intervene in the case “while the city appeals” those rulings. The city argues the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners “could not and did not adequately represent the city’s interests.”

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Chicago Cubs, Red Stars join the teams seeking public funding for a stadium – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Wrigley Field security does not meet MLB’s high standard to host the Midsummer Classic. Several sources say the Cubs need to install bollards to control traffic and safety around Wrigley, which would cost about $30 million. A spokesperson for the City of Chicago would only say that, “All proposals are evaluated on a case-by-case basis based on the best interests of the residents of Chicago.”

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Another legal cloud hangs over ShotSpotter contract – Chicago Sun-Times

The original contract with ShotSpotter’s parent company, SoundThinking, was never competitively bid or subject to the city’s normal procurement process. Now, the problem for Mayor Brandon Johnson is that the terms he negotiated to prevent the system from being shut down after Feb. 16 were considerably less favorable and more costly for Chicago taxpayers.

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Records reveal potential gaps in Johnson’s administration approach to health care for migrants – NBC5 (Chicago)

For the month of November alone, there were at least 272 medical runs to all of the city’s migrant shelters and police districts, according to city records, and 86 of the emergency medical runs involved children. Mayor Brandon Johnson said that his office has since announced partnerships with additional providers – including volunteers, who said that while their talks remain ongoing with the city, they have yet to gain access to the migrant shelters.

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Chicago Teachers Union pushing school model where kids perform poorly – Illinois Policy

The “sustainable community schools” model integrates additional student services coordinated by the school with outside organizations, such as housing or food assistance, medical or dental care, mental health services, English language or parenting classes. The district already has 20 sustainable community schools – 12 elementary schools and eight high schools – but most of them have lower proficiency and higher absenteeism rates than the district at large.

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Court Clerk’s Error Exposed Data Involving Thousands of Juvenile Defendants, Violating State Law – Illinois Answers Project

Iris Martinez, who is running for reelection this year, has touted her office’s follow-through on a long-delayed upgrade of the software underlying the court’s sprawling case-management system. “There’s been a lot of issues, and we’ve been communicating with [Martinez’s office] about them for quite some time,” Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell said. “The worry is that it’s not getting better.”

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White Sox subsidies critic questions economic impact of possible deal – Center Square

“If there’s a city that should know that you don’t need to have a new stadium to be competitive as a baseball team, it’s the city where Wrigley Field is and where they’ve finally hung another World Series banner,” Center for Economic Accountability President John Mozena said. “There are very few things that economists agree on more than the idea that sports stadiums are a terrible investment for taxpayers.”

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Faith leaders: City Hall must step up to the plate and provide more funding for violence prevention – Chicago Tribune*

Rabbi Seth Limmer, Rev. Otis Moss III, Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain and Rev. Michael Pfleger: “There’s no running away from it: Chicago cannot be a great city until it is a safe city. City Hall should not be outsourcing the work of violence reduction….The mayor’s inability to commit to more funding is especially troubling because City Hall’s fifth floor has the money, specifically in federal COVID-19 relief funds.”

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Metra CEO gets another raise as $270M shortfall looms – WBBM (Chicago)

Metra CEO Jim Derwinski’s $325,825 salary has him out-earning PACE Executive Director Melinda Metzger, though he’s still more than $50,000 behind Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter. The Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees Metra, the CTA and PACE, is expected to face a $730 million budget deficit in 2026.

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Downtown Chicago malls in danger of dying off – Axios Chicago

North Michigan Avenue’s vacancy has risen to 33%, or at least 1 million of the street’s 3.2 million square feet, since 2021. Chicago’s Water Tower Place is signaling a move away from retail, looking to sell off its top floors to office space. Meanwhile, 900 N. Michigan (just north of Water Tower Place) appears to be standing strong — due in part, building managers say, to marketing the shopping destination as a “lifestyle building,” with a gym and a salon.

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IL Sec. of State Giannoulias says some Chicago initiatives hurting small businesses; Nugent advocates for keeping selective enrollment programs – Nadig

At Feb. 23 Northwest Side business luncheon, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias was critical of Mayor Brandon Johnson, while Alderman Samantha Nugent (39th) expressed concern that some local families would move to the suburbs if the Chicago Board of Education were to dismantle selective enrollment programs.

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Ald. William Hall and Ald. Andre Vasquez: Chicago, we are digging up the wrong pipes – Chicago Tribune*

“Nearly 20% of Peoples Gas customers are behind on their bills. In neighborhoods such as Englewood and Woodlawn, those rates rise to closer to 50% and 40%, respectively, with customers averaging nearly $900 in debt. Much of that debt can be attributed to an average $15 monthly charge to replace gas pipes, a program that Peoples Gas now admits has not reduced gas explosions. Meanwhile, Chicago sits on 409,000 lead water service lines, pipes that are slowly poisoning our children with neurotoxins, especially those in Black and Latino communities that already suffer from disinvestment.”

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Editorial: Chicago’s proposed real estate tax increase, always a bad idea, enters legal limbo – Chicago Tribune*

“Whatever your view, though, voting ‘Yes’ would have required a leap of faith: that the tax increase would not send private-sector housing builders elsewhere, would not make it so hard for upper-middle-class Chicagoans to buy a home in this expensive market that they’d pick a suburb instead, and would not add yet another significant disincentive to moving here. You also had to feel confident that the Brandon Johnson administration and its committee would come up with effective ways to spend this huge amount of new money with all the necessary safeguards in place.”

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CTU staffer fights to keep Chicago Mayor Johnson’s former seat on the Cook County Board – WBEZ (Chicago)

Cook County Board Commissioner Tara Stamps works for the Chicago Teachers Union, which helped fuel CTU organizer Brandon Johnson’s meteoric rise to become Chicago mayor last year. Stamps and Johnson go way back to their days at Jenner Elementary, where Stamps was the mayor’s mentor during his early years as a teacher. Stamps also has the backing of County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who doubles as head of the Cook County Democratic Party.

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Video: Chicago residents unload on city council over migrant crisis – FOX News

Ald. Ray Lopez said, “For our mayor to say that this is an unprecedented event, he is wrong. Just a few years ago, we were able to assimilate 30,000 Ukrainians who came here to avoid the Russian war and invasion in their own country. They were able to assimilate and become productive because there were structures in place that made sure that they had a host family, they had financial responsibility once they got here, a way to provide for themselves, and all that was forgotten under this crisis.”

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Allstate looks to unload Wacker Drive office building – Crain’s*

Exterior of Chicago office building at 29 N. Wacker Drive

Allstate venture bought in January 2022 for $29.7 million, according to Cook County property records. People familiar with the offering said they expect bids to come in at just more than $10 million. Allstate has not occupied the Wacker Drive property, which is leased today to a mix of small tenants that collectively occupy about 57% of the building, according to a marketing flyer. It’s unclear

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Paul Vallas: Boss Preckwinkle and the New Ruling Junta

“With so much control and influence over the political machine, criminal justice system, the jail, the judges, and the prosecutor, you’d think media might want to hold (County Board President and Democratic Party Boss Toni) Preckwinkle to account. Especially as media wrings its hands and worries about the future of crime-plagued Chicago. But they don’t.”

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ShotSpotter sparked at least 4 arrests, 5 gun seizures during first weekend of new contract: Chicago police reports – CWB Chicago

“Critics of the ShotSpotter system insist that it is inaccurate and ineffective. Some say it is racist. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx recently claimed that ShotSpotter does not contribute significantly to firearms-related prosecutions in the city. However, prosecutors in her office approved felony charges in at least four ShotSpotter-related cases last weekend alone.”

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Tell Springfield to fully fund our schools – Chicago Teachers Union

“Every student in Chicago Public Schools needs a baseline of supports and resources. There is still a tremendous gap between the educational resources available to Illinois’ wealthiest communities and poorest, putting Black, Latine and working-class communities at a structural disadvantage. We need our partners in state government to close this gap…”

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Jerry Reinsdorf spending millions buying up parking lots around the United Center – Chicago Sun-Times

An aerial view of the United Center with the Chicago city skyline in the background.As White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf seeks $1 billion in taxpayer funding for a new ballpark in a planned mixed-use district in the South Loop, his associates have spent $44.7 million buying parking lots run by his competitors to build what could be a similar district around the United Center. Reinsdorf and the Wirtz family co-own the United Center, which they built 30 years ago without any government financing.

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Real Estate Transfer Tax is an Early Referendum on Chicago’s Mayor – City Journal

“This levy is particularly ill-timed. The pandemic cleared workers out of the office buildings in the Loop, Chicago’s premier business district, and many have not returned. As a result, Chicago has one of the nation’s highest office-vacancy rates, and building prices have fallen sharply. The new tax would kick an industry that is already down at its lowest point in a generation.”

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Dolton Board of Trustees approves resolution calling for investigation into mayor – WGNTV (Chicago)

“There are many things that have not surfaced the public does not know yet. If you think you’re in shock, just hold on,” Burt Odelson, legislative counsel for the Village of Dolton Board of Trustees, said. The meeting was held in a Dolton Park District facility because trustees said they, along with sworn clerks, have been denied access keys to the Village Hall. Trustees passed a resolution Thursday night to change that.

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New report highlights restorative justice practice, but finds Cook County’s courts could improve – NBC5 (Chicago)

The report found a huge shift in the types of cases these courts were hearing – from almost exclusively drug cases in 2017 and 2018 to more recent years – where 83 percent of the cases involved gun possession. “That was surprising to us because it didn’t feel – it wasn’t in line with restorative justice practices that really focused on addressing harm in the community. In these cases, it was hard to find where the harm was taking place,” Naomi Johnson with Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts said.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson’s borrowing plan raises questions about how the city will spend the money – WBEZ (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon JohnsonMayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to borrow $1.25 billion to fund affordable housing and economic development raises big questions on how the city will spend the money — and opponents argue it makes a proposed tax hike to raise money to address homelessness unnecessary. The city estimates that it will have more than enough money from expiring TIF districts to pay down the interest on Johnson’s borrowing plan.

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Newly obtained records shed light on cost of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s trip to Los Angeles – NBC5 (Chicago)

Records show Mayor Brandon Johnson traveled to Los Angeles earlier this month with seven city employees – including four members of his security detail – at a cost to the taxpayers of nearly $8,000, though that figure may be higher given the heavy redactions of the documents obtained. Johnson went to Los Angeles on Feb. 2 for a conference of the African American Mayors Association, then stayed to attend the Grammy Awards the evening of Feb. 4, according to his schedule.

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Bears’ Arlington Heights property valued at $125M amid ongoing tax dispute, Board of Review decides – NBC5 (Chicago)

At a hearing last month, an attorney for the Bears contended last month that the property should be valued at $60 million. At the same hearing, an attorney for three suburban school districts – which rely on property taxes for their funding and intervened in the Bears’ appeal – argued the property is worth $160 million. The $125 million value is for one year, taxed at the commercial rate of 25%, rather than the vacant rate of 10%.

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Mayor Johnson tries to connect businesses with Chicago youth – FOX32 (Chicago)

“As a former public school teacher, I can tell you the energy and talent that exists in the city of Chicago is second to none,” he said. “In fact, investing in young people has been such a hallmark of my administration that no matter where I go, I give this message that the best thing we can do to build a better, stronger, safer Chicago is to make sure we have as many W-2s for young people as possible.”

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Commentary: Getting rid of school choice and police in schools is about politics, not what’s best for kids and families – Chicago Sun-Times

Ald. Michelle Harris, Ald. Marty Quinn, Ald. Matt O’Shea, Ald. Monique Scott, Ald. Felix Cardona, Ald. Samantha Nugent, state Rep. Mike Kelly, and state Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar: “Unfortunately these CPS initiatives are part of a troubling pattern we see emerging. City leaders are finding solutions for problems that don’t exist. They are focused on fulfilling political agendas instead of doing the work that keeps our city moving and working.”

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Editorial: It’s the public who loses the most when Mayor Johnson avoids the press – Chicago Sun-Times

“The former teacher and Chicago Teachers Union organizer considers himself a man of the people, but in blowing off the media or giving confusing answers to reporters’ questions — as he did at a press conference last week that was dominated by inquiries regarding ShotSpotter and the migrant crisis — the mayor comes off as a man of mystery who doesn’t value transparency or accountability.”

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Chicago sues oil companies over climate ‘disinformation’; Lawsuit ‘set up for failure,’ industry warns – Cook County Record

Harkening to the anti-tobacco litigation of decades past, the city claimed the petroleum companies and their spokespeople, such as the Washington, D.C.-based American Petroleum Institute, marketed their products in a manner similar to those used by tobacco companies, which allegedly misled consumers by claiming their cigarettes were less harmful by labeling them as “low tar” or “light.” The city asserted the oil industry allegedly misled consumers by marketing fuels as “cleaner” or “emissions reducing.”

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Dunces and double standards in Chicago City Hall – Illinois Policy

“If (Stacy) Davis Gates wants to tell Chicagoans how to spend their money, she’d better get her personal and union fiscal houses in order. If (Brandon) Johnson wants voters March 19 to hand him $100 million from higher taxes to address homelessness, he’d be in a stronger position if he paid the city what he owes it (for speeding tickets) or used the money he already has for housing relief. No one wants to follow leaders unable to distinguish between their rhetoric and their conduct.”

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Chicago residents speak out against migrants welcomed by city – FOX News

One speaker at Wednesday’s City Council meeting demanded “not another dollar for illegals” after Gov. JB Pritzker announced plans to allocate an additional $252 million to support Chicago’s response to the migrant crisis.  “If the crisis is so bad, the city council members who are so concerned should donate their salaries to the cause like a real public servant should,” the woman said.

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The Thompson Center Reboot – Chicago Magazine

“A center of civil service transitioning into a private tech hub understandably gives some Chicagoans the ick. The glass dome once symbolized government transparency; now it nodss to the panopticon of big tech. But from an architectural standpoint, many see this deal as a win. Tech companies have a good track record of restoring historic buildings.”

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Chicago’s school board wants to remove police from all schools starting next school year – Chalkbeat Chicago

The resolution on Thursday’s agenda directs CPS CEO Pedro Martinez to come up with a new policy by June 27 that would introduce a “holistic approach to school safety” at district schools, such as implementing restorative justice practices, which focus on resolving a conflict instead of punishment. That policy “must make explicit that the use of [school resource officers] within District schools will end by the start of the 2024-2025 school year.”

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Editorial: Sale of Discover is another blow to Chicagoland’s business community – Chicago Tribune*

“This has been a lousy stretch for Chicago’s business community. The rocky start of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration has business people deeply worried. The recent departures of household names such as Citadel, Caterpillar and Boeing in the face of concerns about public safety and the city’s post-pandemic vibrancy and health have been deeply unsettling…All the more reason for the progressive political forces in positions of power to pay far greater heed to this region’s business environment than they have to date.”

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South Side alderperson accuses Ald. Greg Mitchell of attacking him – Chicago Sun-Times

In a letter to Black Caucus Chair Stephanie Coleman, Ald. Desmon Yancy wrote, “In today’s current climate, political differences have devolved into name calling and violence toward elected officials. It is equally out of order that an elected official would resort to violence during a disagreement with a colleague.” Police confirmed they had responded to a “disturbance” at City Hall last Thursday but said no arrests were made.

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Migrant crisis stirs tension in Oak Park, but village mounts a supportive response – Crain’s*

During a heated six-hour meeting over funding, Oak Park trustee Cory Wesley argued that supporting the influx of migrants was costing the village more than $300,000 a month, or $2,000 a month per person. Universal basic income programs typically pay $500 a month, or $1,000 at most, he pointed out. “I don’t see how it’s sustainable, and I definitely don’t see how it’s equitable,” he said.

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Former Illinois governor concerned for taxpayers over subsidies for new White Sox ballpark – WGNTV (Chicago)

Although he’s praised the conceptual renderings, Gov. JB Pritzker said he’s concerned about using public money for the project. And based on what’s leaked out, former Gov. Pat Quinn agrees. “I like Jerry Reinsdorf, who has been a friend for a long time, but I also like the taxpayers of Illinois and the taxpayers of Cook County and Chicago, and they come number one. And so, Jerry, I think, has got to understand that if we’re going to invest in something, this team, the franchise has to put their own money in.”

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A Vital Mission on Chicago’s South Side – Glenn Loury

“(Pastor Corey Brooks) talks of teaching young people about the importance of work and how to find it. He talks of training them in the basics of financial literacy and in trades that will allow them gain legitimate employment. We can criticize DEI all we want, but without the kind of practical alternatives he’s building, none of it will mean much.”

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Parents’ lawsuit says Chicago Teachers Union should pay $250M for Jan. ’22 work stoppage – Cook County Record

Chicago teachers union rallyThe lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, accuses the Chicago Teachers Union, former President Jesse Sharkey, current President Stacy Davis Gates, and the American Federation of Teachers of allegedly conspiring to call an illegal strike in December 2021 and January 2022. The lawsuit asserts such actions caused a widespread public nuisance and violated the contract rights of CPS students and families, who should be considered third-party beneficiaries of the collective bargaining agreement between the CTU and CPS.

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Chicago sues five giant oil companies, accusing them of climate change destruction, fraud – Chicago Sun-Times

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court Tuesday that names BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Shell, accusing the companies of discrediting science and misleading the public as the climate crisis continued to wreak havoc on the planet. The city is also suing the trade group American Petroleum Institute, which it accuses of conspiring with the companies to deceive consumers through disinformation campaigns.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson pitches borrowing $1.25 billion for housing and development – WBEZ (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon JohnsonIn a major shift away from how the city currently funds development, Johnson plans to pay for the massive borrowing package by knocking out another priority: letting dozens of the city’s controversial tax increment financing districts expire. The borrowing plan would provide $250 million every year for five years, according to the city. But, interest would also cost the city an estimated $2.4 billion over 37 years; it could be paid, in part, with an estimated $2.2 billion in recouped tax revenue from expiring TIF districts.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson, his message, and the media: Time for a course correction before public loses faith – Chicago Sun-Times

In an apparent effort to turn things around, Johnson scheduled a meeting with the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board this week that would have been his first. But Monday’s meeting ended abruptly — after Johnson and board members had introduced themselves — when press secretary Ronnie Reese insisted the entire session be off the record. Said David Greising, of the Better Government Association “The lack of serious engagement is undermining not only the ability of the press to work with this administration but the public’s confidence that he is doing the work.”

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Suburban Chicago volunteers aim to open another shelter for migrant families – CBS2 (Chicago)

The Oak Park Migrant Ministry plans to open an overnight shelter for about 100 people in the old St. Edmund’s Catholic School, and during the day, the site will open its door to organizations that provide legal aid, job training, and other services to prepare migrants for the next stage after the transitional shelter. “We will be an abject failure if a hundred people who join us around March 1st are still here on June 1st,” said volunteer Jack Crowe.

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FBI probes misconduct allegations against Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard – FOX32 (Chicago)

Agents are asking questions about Henyard’s alleged use of taxpayer dollars and resources, including massive spending on out-of-town trips. They’ve also inquired about hundreds of thousands of dollars in police overtime for Henyard’s personal security detail, her alleged use of public employees and tax dollars for personal benefit, and the holding up of licenses to certain businesses.

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Editorial: The public’s price of admission for new White Sox stadium: $400 million in state tax revenue – Chicago Sun-Times

“With the city and state facing so many pressing issues, that $400 million would surely be better spent serving taxpayers’ needs than helping pick up the check for (White Sox owner Jerry) Reinsdorf and Related Midwest, the deep-pocketed developer that owns The 78. The U.K. synth group Depeche Mode said it best in ‘Everything Counts,’ their 1983 hit: ‘Grabbing hands grab all they can.'”

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Cook County dropped charges after Chicago cops saw him stealing a catalytic converter. He wasn’t so lucky in DuPage County. – CWB Chicago

Since 2022, Dexter Williams has been charged with misdemeanors six times, and Cook County prosecutors dropped all but one of those cases. He’s now being detained in DuPage County after officials there accused him of having—this may sound familiar—four catalytic converters, a jack, a Sawzall, and Sawzall blades in his car after he slammed into a light pole while trying to get away from cops in Lombard.

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Why Jimmy Can’t Read in Chicago – Chicago Contrarian

“After decades of whole language approaches which morphed into balanced literacy, both approaches have been debunked. So, now Illinois’ focus on high-quality literacy instruction is a return to phonics. But be aware that no district is mandated to use the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan…A plan to be used as a guide is a waste of time and tax dollars. Yet, the reason curriculum changes are not mandated comes down to money. School districts ready to make the change are already asking for more state funding to buy new materials.”

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Chicago doctors who treated patients in Gaza describe massive level of suffering – Chicago Sun-Times

John Kahle uses a stethoscope to listen to a little girl's breathing, as another man stands in the background, in an exam room at a MedGlobal clinic in Gaza.“From the beginning of the day to the end of our office hours, there was screaming,” pediatrician John Kahler said, comparing the devastated landscape to pictures he’d seen of Europe after World War II. The team saw crowded tents and rubble where bakeries used to be. “I know the world is violent … [but] this is the first I’ve ever really experienced

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Critic of Illinois mayor Tiffany Henyard believes embattled pol ordered shooting at her home – New York Post

Two cars belonging to tenants of former Village of Dolton Trustee Valeria Stubbs, a retired member of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, were riddled with at least nine shots in a raid, she believes, stemmed from her public attacks on Mayor Tiffany Henyard. Critics assert that Henyard is running a fiefdom of fear, pulling licenses from businesses who refuse to contribute to her coffers and using local law enforcement as a personal intimidation force.

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Ford Chicago Assembly Plant workers say their cars are being vandalized, stolen in parking lot – CBS2 (Chicago)

From September 2022 when workers say the rash of crimes started, through Feb. 10 of this year, there have been 30 police reports associated with the Ford Plant’s address. This includes 12 auto thefts or attempted thefts. “People are getting their windows smashed in – everything taken out,” said Jason Wachowski, vice president of UAW Local 551. “Other people come out and their car is completely gone.”

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Commentary: In Chicago, Violent Criminals Go Free While This Man Languishes in Jail – Daily Signal

“Thanks to a law first proposed by Illinois’ black lawmakers after the George Floyd protests of 2020, thousands of dangerous inmates are being released onto the streets of Chicago and other cities, while those subject to civil complaints are jailed like criminals. Such is the case of Illinois native Steve Fanady, 59, who has been rotting in a Cook County jail cell in solitary confinement for 18 months over an unresolved, 14-year-old divorce settlement.”

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Aldermen, lawmakers criticized Chicago Board of Education over selective enrollment in private briefings – NBC5 (Chicago)

“People are very proud of our selective enrollment schools in the city,” Ald. Samantha Nugent said in the first briefing. “It is something that people talk about all over the country, I mean, Michelle Obama writes about it in her book, how life changing it was for her.” Ald. Felix Cardona said at a later briefing, “Do you understand parents don’t have the confidence in the Chicago Public Schools in their neighborhoods? And they leave.”

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Chicago region saw record-breaking warehouse development in 2023 – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Developers last year completed 70 big-box warehouses, adding up to nearly 33 million square feet, up from 25 million in 2022 and 20 million in 2021, according to Colliers. But the historic pace of industrial development did finally slow. The vacancy rate for Chicago-area big-box properties more than doubled to nearly 9% over the past year, a signal that developers caught up with demand.

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The Group Raising Hell About the L – Chicago Magazine

Commuters Take Action, a grassroots transit advocacy group, has been tracking discrepancies between scheduled and real-time trains and buses since 2021, finding that train service has been cut by 24 percent. Fabio Göttlicher, the group’s cofounder, is calling for CTA president Dorval Carter Jr. to be fired, for Mayor Brandon Johnson to get directly involved, and for city residents to treat public transportation as a utility — before it’s too late.

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Laura Washington: Is Mayor Brandon Johnson already campaigning for a second term? – Chicago Tribune*

“Eight months into his first term, Johnson’s supporters are compelled to run a campaign-like ad in a major daily newspaper. Are they worried? In public and private comments, Johnson and his team have made it clear they believe the mayor is not getting enough credit for his accomplishments, especially from the media…In Johnson’s case, he and his supporters are promoting his agenda to his own base. Shouldn’t those folks already be on board that bus?”

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Chicago Public Schools recover from pandemic declines more than other districts, study shows – Chalkbeat Chicago

Researchers at Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University also found the state of Illinois led the nation in reading growth between 2022 and 2023 and is one of just four states to return to pre-pandemic achievement levels. However, the bounce back has not been as strong in math. Both Illinois and Chicago were in the middle of the pack for math score recovery compared to other states and districts.

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2 teens arrested, vehicles impounded after Chicago ‘car caravan drifting event’ – FOX32 (Chicago)

According to Ald. Matt O’Shea, Chicago police responded to multiple locations in the city on Saturday night regarding groups of cars driving in circles at “dangerous, high wastes of speed.” One group of vehicles that broke off from the larger caravan around 11 p.m. blocked off the intersection of 103rd and California and began drifting. They caused damage to several homes’ front yards, Ridge Country Club, and an unoccupied Evergreen Park police squad car.

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‘Bring Chicago Home’ referendum rallies support and sparks concerns among developers – The DePaulia

%E2%80%98Bring+Chicago+Home%E2%80%99+referendum+rallies+support+and+sparks+concerns+among+developersTheresa Kern, the board chair for the Women Construction Owners and Executive’s Chicago Caucus, worries that if passed, the ordinance would discourage developers from pursuing construction projects in Chicago. “Right now, there is hardly any work going on (downtown) at all,” Kern said. “It’s chasing work from downtown for one thing, and if you chase work from downtown, then you’re going to chase work from the rest of the city.”

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Commentary: Why the suburbs need to start planning for Chicago’s ‘mansion tax’ – Daily Herald*

Matt Paprocki, of the Illinois Policy Institute: “If Chicago voters pass the tax, could it trigger a migration out of the city with suburbs attracting more businesses and people? That’s something suburban businesses and communities should consider…The demographic changes could be lasting if employers flee Chicago’s egregious taxation policies and families follow.”

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Local parents share maintenance needs, budget frustration at Chicago Public Schools roundtable – Hyde Park Herald

According to CPS, about $1.2 billion is needed for facilities in the the Bronzeville/South Lakefront region. This area includes 44 schools, of which the average campus was built in 1939. About 15,400 students live in this region, a little under 5% of CPS’ population. Of those students, about 30% of students live outside the enrollment area but attend schools within it, and about 20% live in the enrollment area, but attend schools outside of it.

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Why Is the City Council Passing Resolutions About Foreign Affairs? – Chicago Magazine

“Yes, once again, our alderpeople, who have been called the “lowest form of political life” (per Mike Royko), and whose No. 1 job is making sure the trash gets collected in their wards, are venturing into foreign policy…’The potential of making and influencing national and international policy at the local level excites progressives in particular,” wrote Karen Dolan and Emily Schwartz Greco.'”

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Cook County anticipated to exempt schools, park districts from new paid-leave law – Daily Herald*

Numerous municipalities have questioned the reason for a largely redundant county law they say creates the possibility of understaffed shifts in their police, fire and public works departments; some have already have copied their previous actions with the state law by using home-rule authority to opt themselves out as employers, including Glenview, Northfield, Park Ridge, Streamwood, Wheeling, Wilmette and Winnetka, according to responses to a Northwest Municipal Conference survey. Others have gone a step beyond what they did with the state law by opting out all employers within their boundaries. This includes Buffalo Grove, Hoffman Estates, Palatine and Schaumburg.

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Report: Reinsdorf to seek $1 billion in public money for new Sox Stadium – WGNTV (Chicago)

It has been reported that the stadium itself would be subsidized through a $500 million city TIF district that already covers the site, but the White Sox and developer Related Midwest have stressed the importance of additional private investment — mixed-use buildings that would feature affordable housing, bars, restaurants and shops, as well as an underground parking garage and parks, hence the intended ask of nearly $1 billion in total public funds from the state, which includes the $500 million TIF subsidy from the city.

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CPS Shows Strong Academic Recovery After COVID-19 Pandemic, Study Finds – WTTW (Chicago)

District officials are lauding the findings from Harvard and Stanford researchers, which showed CPS was first in reading recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic among large school districts across the country, and 13th in math. “CPS students outpaced the state as a whole in similar districts,” CPS Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova said. “CPS actually lost more ground during the pandemic than the state as a whole and also similar districts. So we had a lot more to recover, but also we are excited that we came out on top of this and accelerated the growth past the pandemic.”

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Chicago mayor extends contract on anti-crime program that he campaigned against as racist – Jonathan Turley

“As a native son, it is hard to watch this wonderful city undermined by (Mayor Brandon) Johnson and radical allies in the city council. Some initiatives like reparations and state-funded grocery stores will cost money but will not impose nearly the costs of Johnson’s dismal record on crime and taxes. However, this week saw a particularly confusing moment when, after calling the anti-crime program ShotSpotter ‘racist,’ Johnson asked the company to extend its contract beyond the upcoming Democratic National Convention. So Johnson put an end to this supposedly racist program but only after the Democratic luminaries (and the most violent

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Letter: Bring Chicago Home real estate transfer tax could make housing instability worse – Chicago Sun-Times

Corey Oliver, CEO, Strength In Management LLC: “‘Big A’ affordable housing, which would be shielded from the transfer tax, relies on substantial federal funding. But NOAH (naturally occurring affordable housing) developers, who are crucial contributors to Chicago’s affordable housing stock, face increased financial strain with the proposed transfer tax.”

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Chicago’s mayor issues statement after medical examiner reveals migrant boy’s cause of death – NBC5 (Chicago)

A report from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office showed the 5-year-old boys died in a Pilsen migrant shelter of sepsis from Strep Throat (A) and COVID-19. A statement from the mayor’s office said that “the City of Chicago coordinates medical screenings for all shelter residents, weekly on-site provider support, on-site vaccination events for COVID, varicella, and flu, and partnerships with a network of community health centers for other healthcare needs.”

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Chicago migrants make poor and homeless ‘an afterthought’ in their own city: local activist – FOX News

Tio Hardiman, the Executive Director for Violence Interrupters, is calling for Mayor Brandon Johnson to issue a moratorium on migrants in the city of Chicago. “People get mad when we talk about reparations sometimes, but if you’re going to be giving out any type of resources, why would you overlook the African-American people that have fought every world war here in the United States?”

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Commentary: Chicago sports teams are crucial to fans. New stadiums? Not so much. – Chicago Tribune*

Will Johnson, of The Harris Poll: “It’s a modern sports conundrum: Chicago is a sports town, with its civic identity inextricably linked to its pro franchises. But as much as we love our teams, Chicagoans aren’t interested in giving the teams’ wealthy owners public dollars to build fancy new palaces. Unbinding this Gordian knot was not why Mayor Brandon Johnson sought elected office, but it’s on him to figure out how to keep Chicago sports whole without draining the public coffers.”

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Controversial plans for another homeless shelter in Uptown rejected – WBBM (Chicago)

The shelter would have displaced 40 residents of micro apartments in a mixed-use building at 1140 West Wilson, where Mike Sullivan opened the 2Bears Tavern on the ground floor in 2022, following a half-million-dollar renovation and a quarter million in start-up costs. “We had concerns about the viability of our business, that it would not be able to survive in a situation like this,” he said. “This was a one-of-a-kind, never-tried-before social experiment.”

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Gun, drugs, cash recovered during sting operation at West Loop homeless camp, Chicago cops say – CWB Chicago

Officers found a cache of drugs and a pistol inside a tent that Ronnel Kado, 24,  allegedly used. Two backpacks inside the tent contained 50 small baggies of suspected heroin and 51 baggies of suspected crack cocaine, according to court records. A loaded 9-millimeter handgun outfitted with a laser site was on the floor of the tent, according to police. Judge David Kelly released both Kado and George Crayton, 48, to await trial.

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Chicago Hospitality Workers Have New Digital Tool To Fight Workplace Abuse – Block Club Chicago

Using Shift Change, Chicago hospitality workers can file reports on current or past experiences of workplace abuse, including wage theft, sexual abuse and discrimination. Users of the platform can choose to remain anonymous or be connected with a lawyer, therapist or organizer to take the next steps toward addressing the abuse. The service is available in English and Spanish.

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Johnson Promises to Spend All of Chicago’s Federal COVID-19 Relief Funds, With Focus on ‘Disinvested’ Communities – WTTW (Chicago)

In all, Chicago spent just 29%, or less than $160 million, of what city officials said they would spend on a host of programs including affordable housing, mental health, violence prevention, youth job programs and help for unhoused Chicagoans. “We’re going to make sure that the communities that have been impacted the most by gross disinvestment, that those dollars reach those communities,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “We’re going to make sure that resources actually get to the neighborhoods and to the people who are most impacted by, unfortunately, the long history of disinvestment in this city.”

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McHenry County state’s attorney Patrick Kenneally: Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx finds legislative way to avoid reality – Chicago Tribune*

“State Rep. Will Guzzardi…recently filed a bill that would prohibit as a conflict of interest a state’s attorney from making charging decisions or prosecuting a police officer involved in the shooting of a civilian in the county in which they serve. Instead, the case would get offloaded onto a special prosecutor, who would likely be a state’s attorney from another county or other government lawyer.”

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Early voting for March primary delayed in Chicago due to court order – NBC5 (Chicago)

Officials said the issue arises from the placement of candidate Ashonta C. Rice for Judge of the Circuit Court (Vacancy of Sullivan) on the Democratic ballot. On Feb. 5, the Illinois Appellate Court entered a stay of enforcement that kept Rice’s name on the ballot. On Friday, the Appellate Court lifted the stay of enforcement, confirming that Rice’s name be removed from the ballot.

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Paul Vallas: Fixing 4 myths about Chicago’s gunshot detection technology – Illinois Policy

“The ideologically driven critics of ShotSpotter are attempting to systematically degrade the police department’s ability to engage in proactive policing. Those critics view armed criminals as victims. It shouldn’t be ignored that those who support ‘defunding the police’ hope to reap the financial benefits of shifting money from the police budget to their own programs.”

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Reinsdorf confident White Sox will get $1 billion subsidy for new South Loop stadium – Crain’s*

Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is preparing to ask Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other state leaders for roughly $1 billion in public money to build his team a new home in the South Loop. While Pritzker has been dismissive of using tax dollars to subsidize a new stadium for a team worth billions even before the bonds that paid for the team’s current South Side home are paid off, he has yet to rule anything out until learning of the team’s detailed financial plan.

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Cook County Taxpayers to Pay $70 Million Toward Migrants in Chicago – Newsweek

The surge of migrants into the Windy City has led to backlash among some locals, including litigation claiming that the city has not had the best intentions for its permanent residents. In January, at least seven lawsuits were filed against the city by longtime residents, including three filed by people of color. Rather than toss blame toward Texas Governor Greg Abbott for sending migrants to the city, they have blamed Biden and Chicago officials for allowing the influx to continue at a high rate.

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‘Super mayor’ Tiffany Henyard’s ‘unbearable’ spending out of control: $1M on cop overtime, thousands for unapproved ice rink and constant parties, travel – New York Post

 

Henyard refused to answer questions when confronted on at the ice rink on Wednesday. Guards rebuffed a Post reporterA small village of about 20,000 people, Dolton now finds itself drowning under $5 million in debt — which trustee Jason House said started piling up shortly after Henyard took office in 2021. “The spending has become unbearable for the residents. It’s parties and a lot of events. It’s resources in reference to making it look like something is being done, but we really can’t afford it,” said trustee, Kiana Belcher.

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Public defender’s leadership called photo of staffer posing with rifle and Israeli flag ‘akin to displaying a Nazi swastika,” federal lawsuit claims – CWB Chicago

In the complaint, which accuses office leadership of violating her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, Debra Gassman said she was “devastated” by the Oct. 7 strike which killed more than 1,100 Israelis. She became upset that “few seemed to care—or even were aware of” the attack when she returned to work. So, she decided to “raise awareness” by moving the photo from her office to an employee mailbox area “where other employees were allowed to put photos and decorations.”

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Column: Local officials keep proving why distrust in government is high in the Midwest – Chicago Tribune*

David Greising, of the Better Government Association: “Not all the trust-breaking behavior in Illinois is illegal, by the way. Sometimes, as the saying goes, the real scandal involves what’s altogether unethical but still legal. One such case is taking shape in one of the least-known offices in northern Illinois: the Cook County Board of Review. The obscure agency has remarkable power.”

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Chicago mayor faces questions about migrants and ARPA funds – Center Square

The mayor has proposed raising the city’s real-estate transfer tax to address homelessness, while more than 70% of the city’s federal American Rescue Plan Act pandemic assistance money remains available. “So first of all I’m going to spend all that money, I can assure you that. And we’re going to make sure that the communities that have been impacted the most by gross disinvestment, that those dollars reach those communities,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

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La Salle Street Blues – Chicago Magazine

“Once among the most robust business corridors in the country, it is reeling from corporate restructurings, employee downsizing, and disruptions spawned by the pandemic and the remote-work era. The result: a historic office building vacancy rate of more than 25 percent and climbing. Adding to the strain: Some community, corporate, and real estate interests question whether Mayor Brandon Johnson is on board with the city’s 2022 rescue plan, La Salle Street Reimagined.”

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Mayor Brandon Johnson cites differences on migrant response for failure to pitch in on latest state, Cook County funding plan – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The mayor hinted at differences among state and local leaders on how to respond to the crisis — including the ongoing strife over who should be in charge of the mission to house and feed the asylum-seekers. Johnson said when pressed about the lack of a financial commitment from the city, “It’s not just about financial resources. As I’ve said before, right now the city of Chicago is solely responsible for providing emergency temporary shelter. … Remember the state, they’ve committed to 2,000 beds back in November? Do you remember that?”

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Editorial: ShotSpotter disaster only the latest example of mayoral incompetence – Chicago Tribune*

“Indeed, the administration’s entire handling of the migrant crisis has been woeful, including deciding to fine operators of buses transporting migrants who didn’t comply with city rules on licensing, locations and drop-off hours…We could go on. We’re nine months into this mayoralty, so at this point Johnson can’t use his inexperience as an excuse. The mayor badly needs more competent people around him, yes. But he also seems to need a healthy dose of common sense.”

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Controversy erupts as Uptown residents challenge placement of homeless shelter in mixed-use building – FOX32 (Chicago)

Residents say it’s unprecedented to place a homeless shelter in a building where commercial businesses are already established. They also say they are concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding the project. “It’s a concern for safety, it’s a concern for property values, it’s a concern of what does this look like,” said resident Tara Pease. “I’m very concerned that there is a non-congregate men’s shelter going above a 4 a.m. bar.”

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Johnson among the mayors who want work permits extended to keep migrants employed, receive new asylum seekers – FOX News

More than 40 mayors wrote to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur Jaddou, calling for automatic extensions for existing work permits of at least 540 days. “Cities and counties across the United States are quickly running out of shelter space. If hundreds of thousands of already-employed immigrants lose their jobs, they are likely to lose their homes, and this will result in cities and counties experiencing even greater difficulty providing shelter space and additional services to the public,” the letter reads.

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State Rep. Mary GIll and Carisa Parker: A proposal in Springfield would let CPS local school councils make final decision on cops in schools – Chicago Sun-Times

“Local school councils were created to give residents a strong voice in their school communities, and are made up of elected individuals who are trusted to act in the best interests of each school’s student body. In our experience, members are thoughtful, dedicated individuals who are thorough and transparent in their decision-making. They are also vocal advocates for students’ learning and safety.”

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Mail thief used stolen credit cards to enjoy Mag Mile hotel rooms while on pretrial release for 12 mailroom buglaries: prosecutors – CWB Chicago

Court records show Jonathan Minter, 35, failed to appear for a hearing December 1. Judges William Gamboney and Ursula Walowski issued 12 arrest warrants for him days later. Chicago police and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force found him Tuesday morning at a hotel he checked in the day before using another person’s Visa and Mastercard. In total, prosecutors Wednesday filed six new felonies against him: four counts of identity theft, two counts of burglary, and one count of attempted burglary.

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Chicago suburbs varied in their handling of migrants – WBEZ (Chicago)

Said Justin Marlowe, a professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, “Some places have been very able to absorb the migrant population, either on a temporary basis or even on a longer-term basis. Other places have really struggled. They don’t have that capacity, or they’ve found ways to move migrants to other communities that do. A lot of that variation reflects the fact that cities really aren’t designed to provide these kinds of services. They don’t have the fiscal tools, they’re not able to provide these kinds of services at scale.”

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Ford CEO says company will rethink where it builds vehicles after last year’s autoworkers strike – Chicago Tribune*

The UAW made strong wage gains after a six-week strike at selected plants run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. The strike included about 4,600 workers at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, which makes the Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator and Police Interceptor SUVs. Top-scale factory workers won 33% raises in a contract that runs through April of 2028.

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911 Calls On South, West Sides Ignored While ‘Rapid Response’ Cops Make Traffic Stops Instead – Block Club Chicago

Rapid response officers conducted at least 36,000 traffic stops in the first half of 2023, accounting for nearly two-thirds of their logged activity. That’s nearly double the portion that traffic stops made up in 2019. “This is not a resource shortage problem,” said Inspector General Deborah Witzburg. “This is about resource allocation.”

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Migrant Influx Strains NYC, Chicago, Denver Budgets, S&P Says – Bloomberg

“Given current political dynamics in Washington D.C. and the upcoming presidential election, we do not consider additional federal support likely,” the S&P strategists led by Felix Winnekens wrote. “Therefore, cities on the front line of migrant and asylum seeker inflows will have to face the uncertainty of rising costs without a guarantee of revenues to offset the expenditures.”

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South Shore Voters to Weigh Need for Protection From Gentrification Sparked by Obama Presidential Center – WTTW (Chicago)

Voters in two precincts of the 7th Ward will find an advisory referendum on their March 19 primary ballot asking whether Ald. Greg Mitchell and Mayor Brandon Johnson should “support a Community Benefits Agreement ordinance to prevent the displacement of renters, condo and home owners in South Shore in light of the impact of the Obama Center and growing development in the area.”

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Attorney general orders Dolton to release spending records – WGNTV (Chicago)

WGN Investigates sent a public records request to Dolton asking for, among other things, copies of additional credit card statements and payments to Mayor Tiffany Henyard. The village did not turn over the records, as required under state law, but now a spokeswoman for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in an email, “The village has 35 days after the issuance of the opinion to either comply or contest the opinion in court.”

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Brazen robbery spurs calls for increased police presence among Chinatown business owners – NBC5 (Chicago)

Police said two masked men with guns came into the Ken Kee restaurant just before midnight Tuesday and demanded money from the register with patrons still inside. “Chinatown is under attack again,” said Dr. Kim Tee, a community activist who also owns a Chinatown business. “Residents of Chinatown do not feel safe at all, they cannot even celebrate the early Valentine’s Day,” he said.

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Judge weighing Johnson administration’s intervention in transfer tax lawsuit – The RealDeal

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is pushing to intervene in a lawsuit filed by real estate industry groups that aims to invalidate a referendum that could raise the city’s property transfer tax. “It’s pretty clear that the city should be allowed to intervene in this case,” the attorney, Susan Jordan, said in her oral argument. The Board of Elections can’t answer industry groups’ allegations about whether the referendum does or doesn’t follow local municipal code; the Board of Elections follows the election code, she said.

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Chicago Teachers Union ignores own mandate for financial transparency – Illinois Policy

It’s not a good look for the union: refusing to abide by its own rules, keeping its own members in the dark on union finances and then driving up their dues to pay for whatever the union’s leaders have been doing with the money for at least four years. And it’s certainly not good legacy-building for Davis Gates, whose first year as union president has been tainted by deficit spending, decreased spending on members, personally cheating Indiana schools out of taxes owed to them and sending her son to a private school while denying that choice to low-income families.

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Mayor Johnson’s decision on ending ShotSpotter says a lot about his political leadership — or lack of it. – Chicago Sun-Times

“If Johnson was so determined to honor his campaign promise to get rid of the controversial gunshot detection system, why did he wait until the last minute to timidly announce the decision and fail to prepare the Chicago Police Department for life after ShotSpotter? And if he was so determined to shore up his Far Left political base by delivering for the activists who view ShotSpotter as an overreaching surveillance tool, why keep it around through the summer, when violent crime typically spikes and Chicago plays host to the Democratic National Convention?”

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Office Towers Reshaped U.S. Skylines. Now Construction Cranes Are Vanishing. – Bloomberg/Yahoo Finance

“When Rahm Emanuel ran Chicago and wanted to boast about the health of the city, the then-mayor pointed to the number of construction cranes across the skyline — 60 at the end of 2017. Almost five years after he left office, that number has dwindled to the single digits. There was just one groundbreaking on an office building last year, and zero are expected in 2024.”

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As Chicago police grapple with mental health issues, deficiencies in the response are laid out in federal court – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The Chicago Police Department’s officer wellness program remains understaffed and unable to respond urgently to officers in need of mental health support, state officials on Tuesday told the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Chicago. Meanwhile, CPD’s data collection and analysis policies continue to hold back the department’s efforts to improve the employee assistance program and reach compliance with a sweeping federal consent decree that is now in its sixth year.

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New York, Chicago, Denver face high costs of migrant arrivals, S&P warns – Center Square

“State and local governments are shouldering the rapidly growing costs of assisting migrants and asylum seekers as their numbers increase in the U.S,” according to a new report from S&P Global Ratings. “If this issue remains significant enough for long enough, the increase in costs and social service requirements could affect states’ and local governments’ credit quality.”

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Fixing Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police – Chicago Contrarian

“Part of a troubling pattern since the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators gained control of the Chicago Teachers Union, the consequences of CORE frequently acting without the approval of its members has left the CTU deeply divided and distrustful of current leadership. Though 15 years ago it was unthinkable a Chicago union would adopt such undemocratic methods and risk alienating members, similar circumstances have recently surfaced at the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 7.”

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Little Village mass shooting blamed on dispute between migrants and local residents over double-parked car – Chicago Sun-Times

Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council, whose groups assists the migrants, was unsure which side the shooter was on, but he worried about the escalating tensions. “It’s very heartbreaking to hear that these types of things are happening,” Enriquez said. “You know, the animosity’s going to be there now, and we hope that this doesn’t get bigger.”

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Car thefts and carjackings are up. Unreliable data makes it hard to pinpoint why. – Stateline

The cities with the highest carjacking rates per 100,000 residents in 2023 were the District of Columbia; Baltimore; Memphis, Tennessee; Chicago; and Denver. It’s hard to say exactly what’s behind the surge, but some crime experts suggest that the economic turmoil during the pandemic, coupled with the relative ease of stealing cars or parts for financial gain, increased the attractiveness of car-related crime.

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Chicago Braces for First Post-Pandemic Property Tax Assessment – Bloomberg/Yahoo Finance

A struggling downtown Chicago real estate market is making it difficult for officials to determine property values in the first such assessment since the end of the pandemic. The small number of deals and deep discounts are thwarting price discovery and spurring Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi to consider leaving out the most distressed office tower sales in his calculations.

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Brandon Johnson defends his time as Chicago mayor amid growing criticism – WGNTV (Chicago)

Radio talk host Kimberley Egonmwan says African Americans are losing patience with Johnson. “In a community like ours, especially for those of us who’ve been here our entire lives, we are not satisfied with some of the trends that we’re seeing,” Egonmwan said. “I mean, right where we stand, we had someone murdered right across the street at a convenience store. We had the first murders of the year in our ward.”

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Who’s behind the full-page, $2.6K Chicago Sun-Times ad supporting Mayor Brandon Johnson? – ABC7 (Chicago)

The group Southside Chicagoans is not registered with the Illinois State Board of Elections, but took out a $2.6K ad supporting Mayor Brandon Johnson. “Mayor Johnson may have nothing to do with this at all. But nevertheless, if somebody is out there touting the mayor, we in the public realm also have a right to know who that person is,” said BGA President David Greising.

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Private School With Social Justice Focus Coming To Bronzeville’s Closed Hales Franciscan High School – Block Club Chicago

The school network was launched in 2004 in West Humboldt Park by Nakisha Hobbs, her mother and fellow educator Gwendolyn Harris and family friend Anita Andrews-Hutchinson to provide “high-quality, culturally responsive education and life-empowering social services” to students and their families, according to their website. The school will welcome 320 kindergarten through 8th grade students from its Village Leadership Academy this fall. Once the Early Learning Center is completed, the school will add 150 children up to age 5, Hobbs said.

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Edgewater Residents Want Broadway Armory Back After 6 Months As A Migrant Shelter – Block Club Chicago

As the pace of migrant arrivals has slowed and as other shelters opened, neighbors and local officials want the city to start winding down the shelter at the Broadway Armory. They also want the city to stand by its commitment to re-evaluate shelter plans at the six-month mark, a deadline that came and went on Feb. 1, neighbors said. But a spokesperson for the Office of Emergency Management and Communications said the city currently doesn’t have plans to close any migrant shelters.

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Southland Black Chamber of Commerce Stands Against ‘Bring Chicago Home” Referendum – Southland Journal

The organization’s policy statement reads, in part, “More than 32,000 properties in the City of Chicago will be subject to this transfer tax increase. With already extremely high vacancy rates throughout the city, this transfer tax could exacerbate the problem by stymieing activity in the real estate market. The business environment in the City of Chicago needs a boost, not a hindrance.”

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Just 29% of Federal COVID-19 Relief Funds Meant to Transform Chicago Have Been Spent – WTTW (Chicago)

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)Under rules established by the federal government, Chicago officials have until 2026 to spend all of the federal funds the city got to repair the damage caused by the pandemic, which unleashed an economic catastrophe that helped fuel a surge in crime that has yet to fully recede. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s decision in late December to dip into that bucket of unspent federal cash and earmark $95 million to care for some of the nearly 35,400 migrants sent to Chicago from the southern

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Q&A: Mayor Johnson explains what is behind his plans to remake CPS – WBEZ (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon Johnson being interviewed in his City Hall office in January, 2024.“It’s not like we’re asking for anything radical. We’re talking about social workers, counselors, class sizes that are manageable. We’re talking about full wraparound services for treatment for families who are experiencing the degree of trauma that exist in this city. We’re also challenging the state of Illinois to recognize that as our English-language learners population grows, that there’s support there, that individuals with disabilities, that those families have real accessibility within our public school system. Anything

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Parents call for Cardinal Cupich to reconsider closing Catholic school in Cicero – Chicago Tribune/MSN

“Despite the pleas of thousands of families, the legislature ended the (statewide Invest in Kids) scholarship program and cost Catholic schools in the Chicago area $25 million,” Superintendent of Catholic Schools Greg Richmond said. “Those hurt the most are schools, like St. Frances of Rome, who serve the greatest number of low-income students. We are doing all we can to keep Catholic schools open, but this is a painful hit.”

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Loyola University Chicago and University of Rochester vandalized with swastikas, antisemitic graffiti in same week – College Fix

At Loyola, a swastika and several “obscene items” were discovered on two separate days last week inside the Hillel Social Room. Hillel is a campus ministry for Jewish students. The incidents at Loyola University, a private Catholic institution in Chicago, and the University of Rochester in New York are just the latest in a long list of incidents targeting Jewish college students since October.

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If you can buy a ‘mansion,’ you can pay a tax for affordable housing, these states say – New Hampshire Bulletin

Called real estate transfer or real estate excise taxes, these one-time fees on the sale or purchase of property have been a fixture of many state tax codes for decades. But local and state governments are increasingly looking to create a “mansion tax” targeting the higher ends of the real estate market. So far, 16 mostly left-leaning cities and counties and seven states have approved that type of tax, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Next month, Chicago voters will decide whether to approve Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Bring Chicago Home referendum, which would increase the real

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Commentary: Black children have paid a steep price for the hollowing-out of Chicago’s neighborhood schools – Chicago Sun-Times

“Families should have the right to send their children to selective-enrollment schools if they choose. No one is taking away that choice. But every family should also have the option to send their children to a high-quality, fully funded school in their neighborhood. If this option doesn’t exist, then there is no real ‘school choice.'”

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Commentary: Black Chicago is still waiting for investment: ‘There’s so much potential’ – Chicago Sun-Times

“The city lost more than 6% of its majority-Black census tracts between 2010 and 2020 — and not just because of gentrification. For every Black census tract that has fallen to gentrification, another three or four have been lost to disinvestment — the fallout of foreclosures, a lack of neighborhood amenities, few job opportunities and worries about crime. Instead of being pushed out, many Black families have decided to get out in pursuit of better living conditions.”

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They Came Here for a New Life. Now They’re Trapped in O’Hare – Rolling Stone

“What we have is an international and federal crisis that local governments are being asked to subsidize,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “This is unsustainable because none of our local economies are positioned to be able to carry on such a mission.” But the city and state, said Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights deputy director Veronica Castro, could also do more. “The federal government definitely has a role to play, but if we had a better infrastructure in place, maybe we would have been better situated to deal with this,” she said.

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Mayor Johnson hasn’t acted on Lightfoot order aimed at aldermanic ward power – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The order from the recently defeated, lame duck Lori Lightfoot echoed the anti-corruption rallying cry that won her the office four years prior, and followed several earlier, mostly unsuccessful attempts she made to rein in council members’ power during her single term. Brandon Johnson’s decision to so far to ignore Lightfoot’s executive order highlights his disinterest in taking on “aldermanic prerogative.”

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Mayor Brandon Johnson’s sprint to remake Chicago’s public schools – Chicago Sun-Times

Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former teacher and Chicago Teachers Union organizer, wants the school district to focus resources on neighborhood schools. It won’t be an easy ride. Chicago Public Schools has a nearly $400 million structural deficit. There’s opposition from those who support Chicago’s system of school choice, where 70% of kids go to a high school other than the one in their neighborhood. And come January the city’s first elected school board — which Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union lobbied to create — will take control of the public

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‘Taxpayer dollars are precious’: Gov. Pritzker voices funding concerns on White Sox stadium proposal – ABC7 (Chicago)

“We need to be careful about how we use public dollars,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. “Taxpayer dollars are precious, and so the question really is, what benefit financially are they bringing fiscally to the state and the city and the county?” The new complex would consist of the stadium, open park spaces and apartment buildings.

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Senior Biden advisor tours Englewood community with Mayor Brandon Johnson – ABC7 (Chicago)

The mayor said the point of the Tom Perez’s visit was to show him parts of Chicago that could use some investments from the federal government and shuttered CPS schools. Despite talking about investments, as Perez walked and talked with the Mayor for a half mile, he made no new commitments from the Biden Administration for Chicago’s neighborhoods or for migrants.

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Johnson administration wants judge to dismiss federal lawsuit brought by Texas bus company – NBC5 (Chicago)

Wynne Transportation sued the City of Chicago last month, alleging its bus ordinance was unconstitutional and unfairly targeted only those buses transporting migrants. The city argues in its response that the new regulation “does not discriminate … (and applies) equally to buses from Illinois or elsewhere.” Attorneys for the City of Chicago also wrote that Wynne “wants to be able to drop off scores of migrants on the streets of Chicago without heed to the basic safety and traffic management concerns that underlie the City’s regulations.”

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Anti-violence advocate pushes ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach to ending youth violence – Center Square

Violence Interrupters Executive Director Tio Hardiman, who is also pushing for funding to be able to hire up to 1,000 teenagers across the city to join his group in working for peace, said he wishes Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson would have taken the time to consult with more people in the community before publicly throwing his support behind a plan to end having uniformed police officers in CPS high schools.

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Feds say ex-lawmaker found job selling insurance — where she was caught submitting bogus policies – Chicago Sun-Times

The disclosure came Friday after former state Sen. Annazette Collins signaled she would testify during her ongoing trial for allegedly dodging nearly $100,000 in taxes. No criminal charges have been filed against Collins in connection with allegations that she sold false insurance policies tied to bank accounts that were controlled either by Collins or her daughter.

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An in-depth look inside the campaigns for and against a tax to pay for homelessness prevention – WBEZ (Chicago)

On one side are the progressive grassroots organizers, homelessness prevention advocates and unhoused people themselves who for years have been pushing for the Chicago City Council to pose the question to voters. On the other side are real estate organizations and commercial property owners, who are raising money for mailers and holding Zoom roundtables in opposition to the referendum. And Chicago residents still have real questions about its implications: Will this affect renters or small businesses? How will the money be spent? Will this actually help those most impacted by homelessness?

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12-Year-Old Among 2 Girls Charged in String of Chicago Retail Thefts – WTTW (Chicago)

Chicago police charged two girls, ages 12 and 17, after they allegedly stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from a half dozen different stores over the past few weeks and months. The 12-year-old faces eight counts of felony retail theft and four additional misdemeanor retail theft counts. The 17-year-old was charged with seven felony retail theft counts, four misdemeanor counts and one count of robbery.

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Proposal to Allow Mining in Chicago Raises Environmental, Public Health Concerns on Southeast Side – WTTW (Chicago)

Concrete and energy company Ozinga is pitching the Invert: an underground warehouse with parks, solar panels and more on the surface. But in order to build, the company would need to mine — a practice currently banned in Chicago. The site being considered is currently a brownfield, meaning it was developed for industrial purposes, polluted, then abandoned.

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Chicago Mayor’s Response to Border Question Raises Eyebrows – Newsweek

“I have children who attend schools who have soccer games, y’all,” Johnson said when asked if he would visit the border, according to video posted on social media. “You know, you all are asking me as if I’m not a parent in this city. I get it, I’m mayor, but you’re asking me to give you a date.” His remarks garnered negative responses on platforms like X –  inquires as to why Johnson invoked his family and lack of time yet still ran for governor of one of America’s largest cities. One user wrote: “Does he think he’s the only

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Volunteers open free store for migrants in Chicago – CBS2 (Chicago)

“We have this huge group of volunteers who have resources and different skills and different information and networks of their own,” said volunteer Kate Taylor Battle, “and so while we’re able to allow people to come into the store and shop and get some normalcy back in their life, sometimes they’re also meeting people that can lead them to other things.” Everything in the free store is donated by the community and partner organizations who share the mission.

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In twist on PPP, other COVID-19 relief fraud, recordings show Cook County Jail detainees claimed to reap tens of thousands of dollars – Chicago Sun-Times

Cook County sheriff’s officials opened an investigation in 2020 into inmates using jail phones to discuss various kinds of financial fraud and found they were targeting state coronavirus unemployment insurance programs, federal business relief programs and personal bank accounts. Many of the inmates talked about raking in tens of thousands of dollars. Despite months of plotting, though, none of the inmates was arrested or charged with fraud in connection with the schemes, according to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s office.

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Burke’s lasting legacy: Cook County’s courts harbor favored, connected judges – Cook County Record

Former Ald. Ed Burke, 79, could face up to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of 13 counts accusing him of shaking down Chicago businesses and others, leveraging his powerful position as chairman of the city’s Finance Committee to steer business to his property tax appeal law firm, among other charges. Since the 1980s, Burke also served as chairman of the powerful Cook County Democratic Party committee tasked with choosing which judicial candidates to endorse each election. In that role, Burke and his allies on the party committee wielded massive influence in heavily Democratic Cook County over the

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Chicago’s top cop claims CPD solved 20 of 26 murders in January. It actually solved 3. – CWB Chicago

The department also cleared six murders from previous years during January “exceptionally” by “bar to prosecution.” That means CPD thinks they know who committed the murder, but they can’t convince the Cook County state’s attorney’s office to file charges. According to the data, detectives in January also cleared nine cases from 2022 and 2023 with arrests.

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Chicago Public Schools enrollment climbs as more migrant families arrive – Chalkbeat Chicago

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said CPS is also planning to hire newcomer adults who have received work authorization for “critical needs” at schools, including as custodians, as well as positions in transportation, nutrition, and classroom support. “We were proactive working with the city to say, since we know we have these families who are looking for jobs, we have many openings,” Martinez said. “We are now just trying to make it easier for our families to be able to apply for these different jobs.”

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Johnson launches plans to boost local business, combat food insecurity – Chicago Sun-Times

Allies for Community Business was selected to manage the $5 million Good Food Fund, which will provide grants and low-interest loans to food businesses. Seven other organizations and businesses were chosen to run the $2 million  Food Business Incubator Programs and create custom programs for small businesses, including  the physical spaces, technical help and education needed to get their companies up and running.

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City campaign makes it easier for volunteers to help out in migrant crisis – CBS2 (Chicago)

The New Neighbors Campaign was developed by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights; the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, and the Chicago Department of Public Health to connect volunteers to service opportunities both in and out of shelters by using a website called “The Hub.” Also, the Chicago Public Schools announced Thursday that it is making an effort to hire more migrants for jobs in the district.

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Crime-ridden Chicago now embraces terrorism – Jewish News Syndicate

“The same Chicago leadership that has allowed criminals to run rampant over the safety and well-being of law-abiding Chicagoans is now inviting the Oct. 7 rapists to U.S. shores to join in the fun. About 300,000 Jews live in the Chicago metropolitan area, making it the 10th-largest urban Jewish population on the planet. Chicago’s leadership class just put them on notice that their voices, their concerns and their very lives are irrelevant to decision-making.”

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City’s Top Cop Vows To Improve Community Policing, Asks West Siders To Work Together – Block Club Chicago

Neighbors asked about plans to keep children and young people safe in and around schools after three shootings targeting Chicago Public Schools students in the past few weeks. Police Supt. Larry Snelling said police are “doing their best” and has deployed community violence intervention specialists to certain areas, but community members need to step in. “A lot of these young people who are being murdered are engaged in acts that lead to retaliatory behavior,” Snelling said. “If we don’t hold them accountable first, the streets will.”

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Chicago school principal says police are in schools ‘that want them’ after the mayor supported their removal – FOX News

William Howard Taft High School principal Mark Grishaber said it is in the “best interest” of each school and for the safety of the students that “the Mayor and the Board listen to and honor how each Local School Council votes…If the Mayor and the Board really believe what they say, that the safety of our students is their number one concern and the Mayor and the board really believe in listening to student and community voices then the decision should be crystal clear.”

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County property tax bills misstated Chicago’s pension debt by more than $37 billion: ‘S— happens’ – Chicago Sun-Times

The actual unfunded pension liability of the city is $37,271,645,937. That’s some $37,234,374,292 higher than the erroneous figure on the tax bills. The city’s total health care and pension debt was listed as $47.1 million instead of billion. The incorrect data shown on tax bills did not affect any payment amounts, Treasurer Maria Pappas’s office said.

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Dolton shooting suspect was free awaiting murder trial – WGNTV (Chicago)

Four people were shot and injured last week in what Dolton police have only described as “an incident that came into Dolton from somewhere else.” Torrey Lewis, 30, was wearing an ankle monitor when police found him bleeding but alive behind the wheel of a stolen car that came to a stop in an auto parts store parking lot, an assault rifle and handgun were on the seat next to him. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said his calls to clamp down on the use of electronic monitoring in violent cases have gone unheard by lawmakers.

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The Cook County Jail population has shrunk dramatically, but costs have not. – WBEZ (Chicago)

Tom Dart speaking into microphone

County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office said some COVID-19 relief funds are paying for a study of the county’s criminal justice budgets “to identify and shift funding from duplicative or unnecessary areas, or from initiatives that do not match the core mission of a particular agency, into more effective and mission-aligned investments.” Some advocates for reducing the jail population — including  Preckwinkle — have suggested shifting funds from Sheriff Tom Dart’s office to address court backlogs and “root causes” of crime ranging from drug addiction to

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Dolton mayor to critics: ‘I’m the leader!’ – WGNTV (Chicago)

Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s opponents on the village board say they don’t trust that money is going to where it’s intended so they’ve blocked attempts to pay bills that don’t come with detailed explanations. To them, Henyard replied, “You all should be ashamed of yourselves because you all are Black. You all are Black! And you all sitting up here beating and attacking a Black woman that’s in power. You all should be ashamed of yourselves.”

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Brandon Johnson’s sinking mayorship – Illinois Policy

“‘There’s a humanitarian crisis in the Black community,’ said Cata Truss, who sued (Johnson) because the local park (now closed to make room for a migrant shelter) helped keep her five sons out of trouble. ‘But every time we have a need in our community, we’re told that there are no funds. There’s no money for us.’… Chicagoans are seeing there’s plenty of money as long as a group has the right definition of ‘crisis’ to face. Johnson got the city to back a cease-fire in Gaza, but where’s the political clout and resources for one in Englewood?”

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Orland Park mayor rejects Gaza cease-fire resolution, suggests those opposing U.S. interests ‘go to another country’ – Chicago Sun-Times

The southwest suburban mayor made the remarks Monday during a village board of trustees meeting after Arab American residents requested that the village adopt a cease-fire resolution. Speakers presented a petition with more than 800 signatures calling for the board to follow Chicago’s lead in passing a resolution. Mayor Keith Pekau said he instead agreed with the official U.S. position, which is “to support a two-state solution and that Hamas is a terrorist organization.”

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Chicago Teachers Union strike at 2 Instituto del Progreso Latino charter schools enters 2nd day – ABC7 (Chicago)

About 60 teachers at Instituto Health and Science Career Academy and Instituto Justice Leadership Academy are on strike for a second day. The two charter schools around the Little Village neighborhood serve about 550 students. The teachers there are Chicago Teachers Union members who said low staffing remains the biggest issue at the bargaining table especially when it comes to special education and bilingual teachers.

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Food service for asylum seekers in Chicago takes center stage amid new contract – NBC5 (Chicago)

Just ten days ago the city announced new food vendors to feed migrant residents in shelters, and emphasized they had picked vendors that were charging $15 to $17 per person per day, a move they said marked a significant decrease from the $21 to $23 the city had been spending. The Food Depository bristled at the categorization, quickly pointing out that “because of private donations, the actual costs were well below the price claimed by the city.”

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City slips, allows protesters close to Democratic National Convention when whole world is watching – Chicago Sun-Times

So far, city officials have taken a hard stance against activists seeking permits to demonstrate during the Democratic Convention this August, denying requested protest routes of three groups in the last month alone. But due to a technicality, the city was forced on appeal Monday to allow one of those groups to march nearly right up to the United Center’s front doors. The Poor People’s Army was granted its permit after the city failed to respond to the application within its own 10-day deadline.

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Chicago pilot program to issue automated tickets for bike and bus lane violations – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Johnson administration budget officials expected this program to bring in $5 million this year. But the city’s use of automated ticketing, including for red light and speed violations, and its fine and fee structure have drawn concerns from critics in recent years. Several investigations found low-income violators have been hit hardest by the city’s ticketing practices, and households in majority Black and Hispanic ZIP codes in Chicago “received tickets at around twice the rate of those in white areas,” despite cameras being roughly evenly distributed across the city.

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CPS students, parents rally after bus transportation canceled just weeks before start of school year – ABC7 (Chicago)

More than 5,000 students attending magnet and selective enrollment schools saw their bus routes canceled as the district said it has continued to grapple with a severe bus driver shortage. “Students and parents are now facing commutes up to five hours per day. Some have resorted to unreliable and potentially unsafe third-party transportation services costing families hundreds of dollars each month,” said Hal Woods with Kids First Chicago.

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Assessor contributes $100K to Super PAC in fight with tax appeal commissioner – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Super PACs, known in Illinois as independent expenditure committees, can raise and spend unlimited funds to support or oppose candidates or issues. This fund seems to run parallel to Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s efforts to oust incumbent Board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers Jr. in the March 19 Democratic primary. Kaegi, his campaign fund and family have recently donated more than $28,000 in cash and in-kind campaign help Rogers’s opponent.

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Chicago activist groups demand protest permit near Democratic National Convention – FOX32 (Chicago)

The coalition’s request for a permit to demonstrate within view and earshot of the DNC was denied. Instead, an alternate march route was proposed, which is not in close proximity to where the convention is taking place. Nazek Sankari of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network stated, “The City of Chicago must allow us our constitutional right to protest and assemble and petition this government for a redress of grievances.”

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Video: Chicago mayor scolds reporter who asks about border crisis: ‘You have not had a mayor like me’ – FOX News

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson cited his role as a husband and father for his busy schedule managing public safety, homelessness and the city’s budget: “I’m doing all of that with a Black wife, raising three Black children on the West Side of Chicago. I am going to the boarder as soon as possible, but I’ve got to coordinate that with running the government and making sure that my wife and children are secure as well.”

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District 65 official ordered to pay legal fees after her lawsuit against a Skokie mom is dismissed – Evanston Roundtable

A Cook County judge required Lincolnwood Elementary School Assistant Principal Jasmine Sebaggala to cover $38,000 in legal fees incurred by Skokie mother Helen Levinson after the judge dismissed a lawsuit Sebaggala filed against Levinson. The lawsuit alleges that Levinson made defamatory statements about Sebaggala and intentionally inflicted emotional distress. Sebaggala is a racial equity advocate involved in the Abolition Coalition, which seeks to promote anti-racism education in public schools.

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Desperate for affordable housing, some cities sweeten tax breaks for developers – Stateline

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu last year also announced a public-private partnership that expands tax breaks for conversions to housing. Developers must reserve at least 20% of their new units as affordable, with some space for federal voucher holders as well. Chicago and Pittsburgh have put similar tax deals in place in the past two years, with affordable housing stipulations attached.

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Chicago migrants are under pressure as the deadline to find permanent housing looms – Chicago Sun-Times

Thousands of migrants expected to be evicted from shelters soon after March 16. As of Monday, city officials said there are 13,442 residents in 28 active shelters. As that deadline looms, Venezuelan Alfonso Carvajal wrestles with the long list of obstacles that have come up during the apartment search process. He doesn’t speak English. He doesn’t have a work permit, a credit history or a bank account.

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After 4 Students Killed Outside Schools, Anti-Violence Organizers Say Chicago Kids Need A ‘Lifeline’ – Block Club Chicago

The Police Department has increased police presence at some schools, but Arne Duncan, a South Sider and former leader of CPS, said he “wouldn’t call it a security failure…These are absences of relationships, these are absences of positive role models. It’s not a situational issue. I think that way oversimplifies it. This is a structural gap here. And we got to be honest about it and work with real urgency.”

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Nearly $18M invested in feeding Chicago migrants over 8 months – FOX32 (Chicago)

“I actually think it’s quite fitting that we are in this wonderful small business because it has been Black and brown small businesses that have stepped up in this moment, in this crisis, to respond to these families who are arriving here,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. By the end of last year, the Greater Chicago Food Depository and its contracted restaurants served 18,000 daily meals across 21 city shelters.

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Ex-Dolton top cop says Henyard fired him because his wife is ‘friendly’ with political opponents – Cook County Record

The former police chief’s lawsuit is just the latest litigation launched against the village and Mayor Tiffany Henyard in recent months. Henyard has also been sued by a tavern for withholding their liquor license over politics, and she has been sued by Dolton’s village clerk and members of the board of trustees, who accused her of refusing to follow state laws, of lavish personal spending of taxpayer money and of using Dolton Police as her personal security, among a list of other corruption allegations.

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Chicagoland criminals expanding enterprises by training migrants for suburban crime sprees: expert – FOX News

“The frustration with this migrant crime is really, I think, going to boil over,” retired Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said. “You can pull up any article and see that some of these migrants are being arrested three and four and five times, over and over again, and released to commit more crime. …  It’s not an exaggeration to say that it’s a revolving door. And the police officers are saying, ‘Just forget it. Why bother? Why bother even making the arrest?’”

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CTU teachers at Chicago’s Instituto schools going on strike Tuesday – CBS2 (Chicago)

The Chicago Teachers Union  represents 48 members and staff serving 600 students at Instituto Justice Leadership Academy and Instituto Health and Science Career Academy. Their demands include better staffing levels for special education; fair wages that would address the school’s bilingual and special education shortage; and sanctuary protections for immigrant students and employees.

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Chicago City Council Members Debate Approach to Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution After Narrow Passage – WTTW (Chicago)

While Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez said, “We need to scrutinize the federal government,” on the other side of the issue, Ald. Nicholas Sposato said there should have been a different approach where the City Council would not have been divided. “This should’ve never gotten to this point that it did. It should’ve been a sit down between Debra (Silverstein) and Rosanna (Rodriguez-Sanchez) and work something out.”

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Chicago Principals Association Leader Calls for Accountability After CTU President’s ‘Concerning’ Comments, Union’s ‘Divisive Campaigns’ – WTTW (Chicago)

Troy LaRaviere appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Oct. 1, 2019.Chicago Principals and Administrators Association President Troy LaRaviere asserts that Chicago Teachers Union members have made repeated unproven allegations against school principals and administrators as part of a “protracted divisive campaign,” using incendiary language and creating a “hostile work environment for principals, and an underdeveloped learning environment for children.”

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Pritzker, Johnson, Preckwinkle meet to discuss Chicago migrant situation – NBC5 (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon Johnson was in Los Angeles over the weekend to attend the African-American Mayor Association meetings, and also attended the Grammy Awards before returning to Chicago on a late night flight, and then meeting with Gov. JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for more than an hour Monday. “(We were) talking about the asylum seekers and that we’re taking good care of them,” Pritzker said.

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City Council Set to Weigh Push to Require CPD to Study How Officers Are Deployed, Despite Political Peril – WTTW (Chicago)

Police Supt. Larry Snelling is the third consecutive CPD leader to promise to take a data-driven approach to the complicated and politically perilous question of how officers are deployed across Chicago’s 50 wards and 77 community areas. Police departments in New York, Los Angeles and Houston routinely conduct workforce allocation studies, and use them to deploy officers and combat emerging public safety threats.

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Students, teachers and activists rally for investment in green schools and climate resiliency – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

The Green New Deal for Chicago Public Schools campaign is supported by the Chicago Teachers Union and organized by Sunrise Movement Chicago, a local chapter of a national organization seeking to combat climate change. The campaign’s main demands include safe and clean buildings; pathways to green jobs; climate disaster response plans; a climate justice curriculum; free, healthy and sustainable meals; community gardens and composting; free public transit and an electric fleet of school vehicles.

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Shoplifting by ‘foreign nationals’ soars in River North: One has been arrested 4 times under 3 names. – CWB Chicago

The Cook County sheriff’s office estimated 62 foreigners were arrested for shoplifting in January, up from six during the same month last year. Sheriff’s officials released the information this week as they announced the arrests of three men who allegedly ran a fake ID mill, an investigation that began after police learned that people were hiring the migrants to shoplift certain products in exchange for fraudulent IDs.

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Suburban office market adjusts as tenants downsize and shift to higher-end buildings – Daily Herald*

Savills Regional Research Director Anders Klein said that while conditions have modestly improved among Class A buildings in some markets, there has been no sign yet of any overall recovery in the suburban office market apart from some diminishing of its stock. “Outside of O’Hare, availability has ticked lower in some areas as office buildings are targeted for repurposing and available office space is permanently pulled off the leasing market,” he said.

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Tax bill causes Bears to pivot off Arlington Heights – NBC Sports Chicago

The team’s attorney argued at a Cook County Board of Review hearing that the property should be valued at $60 million and taxed at the 10% rate for residential and vacant land, due to the work done to demolish the existing structures on the site, versus the 25% tax rate for commercial properties. Three surrounding school districts – which rely on property taxes for their funding – intervened in the Bears’ appeal, submitting an appraisal finding the site to be worth $160 million. This $100 million gap is too much to believe both parties will eventually shake hands on a property value.

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SNL jokes Gaza has called for a ceasefire in Chicago, after crime-ridden metropolis’ progressive mayor passed controversial resolution – Daily Mail

Even Saturday Night Live is poking fun at the Windy City after the crime-ridden metropolis' progressive mayor passed a controversial resolution last weekThe clip of Weekend Update host Michael Che’s joke has soon gone viral on social media, as an X user who shared the video said: ‘Even “left-leaning” media is laughing at Chicago.’ ‘Far too often, Chicago is the punchline to a joke. Elect clowns, expect a circus. Do better, Chicago,’ the user wrote. Another user wrote: ‘Oh boy, I’m glad I moved. Please be safe.’

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UChicago, Rush hospitals lay off staff, citing financial struggles – Chicago Sun-Times

“The fact is many outside pressures including higher supply and labor costs are converging as healthcare delivery rapidly evolves,” president Tom Jackiewicz and Mark Anderson, executive vice president of medical affairs, wrote in a memo to employees on Thursday. “Additionally, we grew our staff to address the pandemic, which was necessary for that moment but cannot be maintained.”

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Dozens rally for immigrant rights in Chicago – CBS2 (Chicago)

Migrant Rally A number of elected officials pledged their support for the coalition’s policy platform, which includes calls for immigrant healthcare and more funding for community services. “We are way overdue in creating a system of migration rooted in compassion and in justice,” said U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.

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Shootings, Homicides in Chicago Both Down at Least 25% to Start 2024, According to Police – WTTW (Chicago)

According to the CPD, the number of robberies — which spiked throughout 2023 — is down 28% thus far when compared to the same time last year. Since the start of the year, the city has recorded 72 vehicular hijackings, down 52% compared to 2023, according to the CPD. Officers have made 146 motor vehicle-related arrests already this year, and of the 35 arrests for vehicular hijacking, 49% have been juvenile offenders.

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Ald. Anthony Beale Blasts Chicago for Paying Illegals More than $9,000 a Month in Freebies: ‘I’d Come to Chicago, Too’ – Breitbart

Beale, who has become a major opponent of progressive Mayor Brandon Johnson over the mayor’s friendly policies for migrants — even as he takes resources away from black communities — was also one of the aldermen who was working to let voters decide if Chicago was to remain a so-called “sanctuary city” by having the question appear on the 2024 ballot.

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Johnson tells Springfield he wants 10 school board elections this year — not all 21 – Chicago Sun-Times

The mayor’s stance aligns with the Chicago Teachers Union and would help him keep control of Chicago Public Schools through the end of his term. “I was personally involved in negotiating … the bill you helped pass in 2021 that created a phased-in elected board,” the mayor wrote in a letter to Senate President Don Harmon. “I remain proud of the work of all stakeholders who contributed to the process and my role in ushering in greater democracy to the Chicago Public Schools.”

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Dolton mayor’s $1M giveaway, security detail among new complaints days after quadruple shooting – WGNTV (Chicago)

“I would hope that we get more police that’s actually on the street,” Board Trustee Kiana Belcher said about the dangerous shootout this week near Minerva Avenue and Sibley Boulevard that sent at least four to the hospital. Belcher and other board members were troubled about police staffing. Meanwhile, Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s considerable police security detail is said to include four to five police squad vehicles or large, unmarked SUVs like Secret Service transport vehicles.

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Oak Park given $1.9M more to aid migrants, plans new single-site shelter at former Catholic school building – Pioneer Press*

From the Supporting Municipalities for Asylum Seeker Services grant through the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, about $1.24 million will be distributed to a local nonprofit entity — not immediately identified — to operate a new temporary shelter for about 200 migrants through the end of June 2024 in a school building owned by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

 

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Shootings of Chicago students prompts push for anti-violence workers in high schools – WBEZ (Chicago)

Arne Duncan, former Chicago Public Schools CEO and current managing partner of Chicago CRED, said his group has “life coaches,” who help clients navigate the transition away from the streets. He said most of these life coaches have criminal backgrounds, but bringing them into schools “would be a massive step forward.” State law bans people that have been convicted of a number of crimes, including drug dealing, from working in schools.

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Illinois legislators introduce gun violence prevention program – Center Square

“We are making communities safer with hundreds of millions of dollars in funding going toward community-based violence prevention and community providers that organize after-school programs, youth summer jobs and enriching opportunities,” Illinois House Speaker Emmanuel “Chris” Welch said. “We are giving police and prosecutors the financial support they need to implement necessary and long overdue criminal justice reforms.”

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School is out for … the DNC? – Crain’s*

Chicago Public Schools is proposing that classes for the 2024-25 school year start one week later than usual in order to accommodate the late-August Democratic National Convention. If the plan is approved, CPS classes will begin Monday, Aug. 26. The DNC, which Chicago is hosting for the first time since President Bill Clinton’s re-election nomination in 1996, is scheduled for the week prior, running from Aug. 19 through Aug. 22.

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Ald. Greg Mitchell accused of threatening building owner who housed migrants – Chicago Sun-Times

Mitchell’s alleged behind-the-scenes tirade underscores the historic political tensions between Blacks and Hispanics exacerbated by the migrant crisis. Last fall, Mitchell demanded to know why an ordinance authorizing that the city accept a $33 million federal grant stipulated that the money is for “non-citizen migrants” while a $3.5 million state grant to support 13 homeless shelters and four service organizations charged with “engagement and outreach” was open to anyone who is unhoused.

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Pritzker gives update on state effort to fund migrant shelters in Chicago, suggests it’s the city’s move – WBBM (Chicago)

Gov. JB Pritzker said his administration has been working with the Archdiocese of Chicago to open at least one site on church-owned property. He said the state remains willing to pay for another shelter run by the city and the money has been set aside. Mayor Brandon Johnson has suggested new shelters don’t have to be within the city’s borders, but few communities have stepped forward.

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Johnson’s clout on the line with Bring Chicago Home referendum – Chicago Sun-Times

Lawndale Christian Development Corporations home under construction in July.Brandon Johnson campaigned on a promise to create a dedicated funding source to help 68,000 unhoused Chicagoans. It’s something his predecessor promised but failed to deliver, and alienated her progressive political base. But opponents argue the proposed real estate transaction tax increase will further cripple an already devastated downtown commercial real estate market, and the impact will trickle down to homeowners and renters.

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CPD superintendent says police will “adjust” if school resources officers removed from CPS; CTU makes security demands – CBS2 (Chicago)

A letter from the Chicago Teachers Union reads, in part, “The Chicago Teachers Union believes that CPS has a critical role to play in  preventing violence and responding to the resulting trauma when violence occurs in school communities. The Union expects that our bargaining will include, amongst other things…sustainable longer term infrastructure and trauma support; options and resources for recognition and memorialization; repairs and replacement of interior doors, locks and intercom systems;…increased and improved campus lighting, cameras, and security alarms; and redistribution of security teams to maximize safety.”

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Groups announce ambitious plan to raise $400 million to reduce Chicago shootings and homicides by 50% in 5 years – Chicago Sun-Times

Leaders of the city’s business community and largest charitable foundations said the fundraising goal is roughly double the current spending on violence-prevention programs that serve the city’s most-violent neighborhoods; many use former gang members as outreach workers to recruit people to an intensive program of therapy, counseling and job training. The aim is to scale up those programs so they reach at least half of the estimated 20,000 people in Chicago considered at greatest risk of being shot.

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To Defeat Goliath, Chicago Parents Must Become Goliath – Chicago Contrarian

“What Chicago requires is a mayor with political will and a CTU leadership with the vision and desire to explore alternatives to create successful schools. Likewise, it also demands an ever-vigilant parental movement that demands schools improve or allow their tax credits to be used for school choice without caveats. For once tax dollars are provided, bureaucrats and elected officials believe they have the right to regulate.”

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Developers eyeing new White Sox stadium at The 78 meet with state Democratic leaders – Chicago Sun-Times

Developers did not ask for state money, but instead said they want the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA) to be granted authority to “rearrange existing bonds.” They were also aware of Gov. JB Pritzker’s disdain for using taxpayer funds for sports stadiums. According to someone close to the talks, there have been no discussions about creating new revenue or tax increases to help fund the new stadium.

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Blacks In Green Launching Environmental Justice Center This Week – Block Club Chicago

Blacks in Green was one of 16 groups nationwide selected last year to open a center that would support environmental justice work in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The group received a $10 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency for the project. The Biden administration’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center program aims to support community groups looking to expand their ability to apply for and manage grant money.

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Chicagoans eye installing barricades to guard against crash-and-grab robberies – Center Square

Storefront Safety Council cofounder Robert Reiter said it’s well past time city officials become more proactive in their approach. “It kills the city,” he said. “If the problem persists, businesses lose three times. They lose the first time because they pay for the merchandise and it gets stolen. They then have to pay for the replacement merchandise so they can make a living and they have to pay the insurance at an increased rate because of the theft. How many times can someone get everything stolen from their shop and fix the front door before it’s upside down? The city

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Ending the year with a thud: Office market struggles continue in Chicago’s CBD – RE Journals

The direct office vacancy rate for Chicago’s central business district (CBD) stood at 20.2% in the fourth quarter. That’s up from the rate of 18.6% in the fourth quarter of 2022 and is significantly higher than the 15.6% vacancy rate that the Chicago CBD office market has seen on average during the last five years. The office downsizing trend didn’t slow in the fourth quarter, either. A good example: Mesirow renewed 110,000 square feet at 353 N. Clark St. but gave back about 165,000 square feet.

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3 Senn High School students shot after class, leaving 1 dead, 2 injured – CWB Chicago

A 16-year-old boy died from a gunshot wound to his chest, police said. Another 16-year-old boy is in grave condition with gunshot wounds to his jaw, chest, and arm. The third boy, a 15-year-old, is in good condition with a gunshot wound to his right leg, according to CPD. Mayor Brandon Johnson said later, “The harm and the chaos, and the trauma that’s being caused by individuals who do not value life—the full

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‘Political winds:’ Biz groups urge judge to nix power grab by City Hall in metal yard permit case – Cook County Record

Businesses will reconsider locating in Chicago if courts ultimately find City Hall acted legally when it allegedly bowed to political pressure and changed the rules in the middle of the game to use “public health” concerns to justify denying a permit that would have allowed a new Southwest Side metal recycling center to open, warned a collection of Illinois business advocacy groups in a new court filing.

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CPS Principal Files Police Report Saying Chicago Teachers Union President Made ‘Very Concerning’ Comments – WTTW (Chicago)

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Aug. 22, 2023. (WTTW News)According to a copy of the Jan. 26 police report, William Hozian, principal of Stevenson Elementary School, reported that CTU President Stacy Davis Davis-Gates spoke to attendees at a union meeting and said, “In talking to my Stevenson brothers and sisters, I told them they should punch their principal in the face.” Two witnesses provided written statements about the

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Chicago Tribune journalists set to go on 24-hour strike – CBS2 (Chicago)

Journalists at the Chicago Tribune will be going on strike for the first time in the newspaper’s history on Thursday. The guild said it is protesting the company’s refusal to pay a fair wage, and threats to take away the 401k match benefit. The Tribune journalists will be joined for the 24-hour strike by journalists from seven other newsrooms across the country.

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Video: Migrant crime is a ‘problem that extends beyond the borders of Chicago’ – FOX News

Oak Brook Police Chief Brian Strockis said they have arrested 59 migrants for retail theft and burglary since Oct. 23, and his department is shifting resources to protect retailers at the fully occupied mall in town. “In Illinois we enacted a no cash bail policy that went in full effect in September, and I think the real story here is how many of these arrestees…are going to show up in court and see the case through disposition.”

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Household income and education levels are on the rise in most parts of the Chicago area – WBEZ (Chicago)

The city and the near suburbs have increased household incomes — even when adjusting for inflation — and have a higher percentage of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree, according to a, analysis of recently released census data. However, that economic growth is not being witnessed in all parts of Chicago and its nearby suburbs. Between the five-year periods ending in 2012 and 2022, the median household income in Chicago grew from $59,000 to more than $71,000 (in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars). For all of Cook County, median household income improved from about $68,000 to more than $78,000.

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Paul Vallas: Police reform in Chicago requires that justice run in both directions – Chicago Tribune*

“It’s high time the city entities specifically charged with CPD oversight — the bureau of internal affairs, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and the Police Board — be consolidated into a single professional oversight body and provided resources and support needed to ensure not only absolute fairness and consistency but also that investigations are concluded and recommendations made and acted upon in real time.”

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Fewer Migrants Are Being Bused To Chicago, Officials Say – Block Club Chicago

Beatriz Ponce de Leon, deputy mayor for Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights, said there was a spike in arrivals at the end of December, but there has been recent a “slowdown” of migrants coming to the city. “We don’t know what accounts for that — partly it could be the weather and people are choosing not to come this way, or it’s also that the state of Texas has sent fewer buses, so they’re rerouting their buses for different reasons. We don’t have the full story for why.”

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Neighbors Demand More ‘Proactive’ Approach To Policing At Meeting With Top Cop – Block Club Chicago

Gwendolyn-James Martin, 59, of South Austin, asked Supt. Larry Snelling how he will improve the police clearance rates, and he replied, “Our clearance rates are higher than they’ve been in decades right now.” Snelling said the murder clearance rate for January is about 70 percent, with 19 of the 25 homicides committed this year cleared. But  half of murder cases considered “solved” by Chicago police in 2021 didn’t lead to charges.

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Commentary: Public safety in the balance – Riverside-Brookfield Landmark

Retired police chief Tom Weitzel: “Over the years, there has been much discussion on crime in minority neighborhoods, especially in south Chicago and the south suburbs. The many upstanding and exemplary citizens of these areas are being victimized repeatedly by the policies put in place by Kim Foxx and her administration, such as raising the limits for felony theft charges and selectively restricting prosecutions, leaving the public vulnerable to continuing criminal activity. “

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The mayor’s preference for fine dining, first class travel is costing taxpayers in Dolton – WGNTV (Chicago)

Tiffany Henyard is the mayor of Dolton and supervisor of Thornton Township – two elected positions that earned her $287,000 in 2022. But the cost to taxpayers doesn’t end there. Credit card records show township officials racked-up more than $23,000 in restaurant charges across the state from July through November. In Atlanta, the group stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel and brought home a bill of $9,347. In New York, they stayed at the Mariott Marquis in Times Square where the hotel charged the group $13,098.

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Police chief, pantry owner latest to say they’re victims of Dolton dysfunction – WGNTV (Chicago)

Nicole Scott operates the Free-N-Deed market. It’s a ministry-minded pantry set-up like a grocery store so as to give people in need a sense of dignity. She purchased the dilapidated shopping center that’s home to the pantry with grand plans to expand her offerings. “I was told when I purchased this huge property I’m ‘automatically in politics,’” Scott said. “That’s not the goal at all.  The goal is to serve the community in a greater capacity.”

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Column: Why should new Chicago mayor care about lousy poll numbers? – Champaign News-Gazette

Jim Dey: “A Black man who can’t get support from Black men ought to be in a world of political hurt. But the good news for Johnson is that his terrible poll numbers mostly do not reflect buyer’s remorse by voters. That’s because most Chicago voters didn’t vote for Johnson or anyone else. They did other things than vote as the April 4 election approached. They checked out, leaving it to a small minority — 38 percent of voters — to make the momentous decision about the city’s leadership.”

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Evanston considers proposal allowing noncitizens to vote – Daily Northwestern

As Evanston prepares to become the first city in Illinois to implement ranked-choice voting in its 2025 municipal elections, the city is also set to revisit a proposed ordinance that would allow documented residents without U.S. citizenship to vote in local elections.  State Sen. Celina Villanueva introduced a bill in 2021 that would allow non-citizens to vote in school board elections, but the bill has not been passed.

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Editorial: ‘Rules for thee but not for me’? Cook County government hypocrisy becomes all too clear around paid leave. – Chicago Tribune*

“The County Board late last year acted to strengthen a separate state law — which took effect Jan. 1 — requiring a minimum 40 hours of paid time off for any reason for full-time workers in Illinois…The city and county are jumping through these anti-business hoops at the behest of unions, which want the minimum public standards in place to give them better negotiating leverage with employers. But it’s not the job of public officials to help unions win better contracts.”

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Activists call on Chicago to reverse permit denial for march before Democratic National Convention – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

Whether the new coalition loses its appeal or not, Andy Thayer said the group plans to march. He said he’s disappointed in the city’s “contempt for the First Amendment,” which he said is similar to conditions under previous mayors. “If they are worried about chaos, if they are worried about violence, then they will respect legitimate permit applications such as have been put in by this coalition,” Thayer said.

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Mayor Johnson uses COVID funds for $79 million spending increase for migrant shelters – NBC5 (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration will use $79 million in federal COVID relief money to help pay for costs associated with Favorite Healthcare Staffing – the Kansas-based company the city hired to staff the city’s migrant shelters. The latest spending increase does not extend the contract terms but now brings the total value of Favorite’s contract to more than $149 million.

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Palatine family owed $300K refund after Kaegi admits to Cook County property tax assessment error – ABC7 (Chicago)

The Cook County Assessor  admitted that the family is owed a refund almost $300,000 in overpaid taxes. But the family is having trouble getting that money back. That’s because the money has already been spent by the local taxing bodies; most of it went to two local school districts and the library. Attorneys for the library said the family should get their money back after that state’s appeals process, but that could take years because state hearings are five years behind schedule.

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Brandon Johnson says he supports removal of police officers from schools – Chicago Sun-Times

The mayor said Tuesday that he will give the Board of Education the green light to end its $10.3 million contract with the Chicago Police Department. This year there are 16 high schools with two officers and another 23 schools with one cop. The rest, some 43% of district-run high schools, no longer have any police. And there are no officers in elementary schools.

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Chicago aldermen focus on migrant work authorizations rather than shelter conditions – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The hearing was called after reports emerged of migrants sleeping upright on buses and digging food out of trash at the city’s landing zone, as well as unsanitary conditions at one of the city’s 28 shelters in Pilsen where a 5-year-old died in December. Aldermen have limited access to the shelters themselves, and must give 48 hours’ notice before a visit. The press is also barred from entering shelters or the landing zone.

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Mayor’s Office handling of migrant shelter conditions probed by Chicago committee – WGNTV (Chicago)

“We’ve heard reports of inadequate food, bedbug, and rodent infestation, a lack of containment for infectious diseases, and failures to provide treatment for medical conditions,” said Ald. Andre Vazquez. “We’re always going to have concerns about what the treatment is at the landing zone and at the shelter. I think baseline, we’re getting limited information on what that looks like.”

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Bears, suburban school districts $100M apart in valuations of Arlington Heights site – NBC5 (Chicago)

The team has long said they need what they called property tax “certainty” in order to put shovels in the ground, hoping to build a multi-billion dollar stadium district with restaurants, stores, residential real estate and more. If they don’t come to an agreement, the Board of Review will rule on the dispute near the end of February, Commissioner Samantha Steele said.

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High rate of violence against Black women in Chicago prompts call for City Council task force – CBS2 (Chicago)

“A third of assaults, a third of battery and theft and carjackings,” said Ald. Stephanie Coleman, chair of the Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus. Coleman is calling for the expansion of a Chicago City Council Gender-Based Violence Task Force – with a dedication to preventing violence against Black women in Chicago – including a call for Chicago Police officers focused specifically on Black women who are victims of crime.

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Niles, Lincolnwood, Norridge pass ordinances to curb unscheduled bus drop-offs of migrants – Niles Herald-Spectator*

Niles Mayor George Alpogianis responded to a public commenter from Northbrook, “When we start taking care of our veterans first and getting them out of their tents, all the homeless veterans that we have, damn right we’ll help anybody. We gotta help our own people first, our veterans.” Some members from the audience clapped after Alpogianis spoke.

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CPS students walk out to demand City Council support ceasefire in Gaza – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

At around a dozen high schools across the city Tuesday, hundreds of Chicago Public Schools students have planned walkouts to demand their aldermen vote in favor of a cease-fire resolution scheduled for City Council Wednesday. Layth Awd, an alumnus of Lincoln Park High School, said the goal of the walkout was to put aldermen on notice that “we’re watching their actions…If they want the youth to vote for them in the next election, they should stand with the cease-fire (resolution).”

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Chicago provides 300,000 meals a week to non-citizen migrants, among other services – Center Square

The taxpayer cost to care for the migrants is about $1.5 million per day. Mayor Brandon Johnson said that money has gone to housing, health care and meals. “Partners at the State and federal levels have coordinated 17 legal clinics since November, aiding over 2,700 eligible shelter residents in applying for work authorization,” according to a press release from the City of Chicago.

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Chicago’s pre-K expansion fueled by federal COVID recovery money – Chalkbeat Chicago

CPS officials said it used federal dollars to help expand pre-K — and sustain it — because it didn’t have enough state funding to do so, and creating more seats was a district priority. Since July 1, 2020, Chicago Public Schools had spent close to $700 million on pre-K programs through the end of last school year, including new summer initiatives and programs for children under the age of 3, according to district budget records. It has budgeted another $262.7 million for this fiscal year.

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Chicago’s top cop halting initiative that has sent ‘scarecrow’ police cars downtown – Chicago Sun-Times

Police Supt. Larry Snelling vowed to rein in overtime spending after he was confirmed last September, and said this latest move gives commanders and deputy chiefs more autonomy and leeway to decide “the best way” to use that money. But with the Democratic National Convention looming and just $100 million budgeted for overtime, managing that pool of cash will likely prove difficult.

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Chicago police roll out new plans to combat CTA crime – NBC5 (Chicago)

According to the department, dedicated detectives are now investigating cases that would once be spread among two or three police districts. “It’s important that we now have detectives assigned to public transportation,” said Commander Joe Bird, who heads the public transportation section. “They pick up the pattern a lot faster than we did before.”

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As costs mount, Chicago extends eviction dates for migrants in shelters – Center Square

TCS - ILLINOIS O'HAREMigrants  AIRPORT MIGRANTS 11-2023Taxpayer costs to care for migrants amount to $1.5 million a day, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said, and now those who faced eviction from city shelters will be able to stay until March. “This is not sustainable, and so the federal government has to lean in,” said Johnson. “As far as what we do, because the cost is $1.5 million a day, we are going to have to push the federal government to do its part.”

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Paul Vallas: Money-hungry CTU forces a fiscal, student achievement crisis – Illinois Policy

“The district is projecting a $628 million budget deficit in 2025 when the COVID-19 relief funds run dry. It claims it only has 75% of the public funding it needs to adequately serve its students. That’s a staggering $1.4 billion budget shortfall. The district also claims it has $14 billion in capital needs. The district already spends money less than efficiently. CPS spends nearly $30,000 per student and receives nearly 56% of all Chicagoans’ property taxes, 25% of all state K-12 funding and 40% of all the federal COVID-19 relief funding for Illinois’ public elementary and high schools.”

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Chicago’s suburban malls get new life – Axios

Photo of a space available sign outside a mall Instead of letting malls fall into decay, many local municipalities are swooping in to purchase the shopping districts, hoping to revitalize them as community centers that provide sources of tax revenue. Among them, the Bloomingdale Village Board purchased Stratford Square Mall earlier this month for $8.75 million, and West Dundee recently announced plans to acquire Spring Hill Mall.

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The journey of an officer who turned an ambush into a catalyst for change – Police1

Most would assume that being shot in the line of duty – and then treated unfairly by his commander following the shooting – would lead to negative consequences. But anyone who talks to Tom Weitzel sees clearly that he loves law enforcement and the officers he served. In retirement, he has been focused on getting legislation through to make the murder of a police officer a federal offense, and counsels families after losing a loved one in the line of duty.

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Chicago man had 4 guns in his bedroom while on electronic monitoring for murder and gun cases: prosecutors – CWB Chicago

Prosecutors charged Bertell Johnson, 23, with four counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, possession of a machine gun, and three drug-related felonies for suspected cocaine, cannabis, and oxycodone the sheriff’s team allegedly recovered. “This is the 2nd case the [defendant] picked up while on [pretrial release],” Judge Kelly McCarthy wrote as she ordered Johnson detained to await trial.

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Students supporting Palestinian rights say they lost out on jobs, were targeted online for their activism – Chicago Sun-Times

“It pains me,” said a student who asked not to be named. “I wish we didn’t live in a world where we look at your Instagram bio and see a flag and decide that means something…It’s hard to prove racism. But in these cases it seems like the skew is there.” He recently swapped the Palestinian flag in his Instagram bio, representing his heritage, to a watermelon emoji, a more discreet symbol of Palestinian solidarity.

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As Buses of Migrants Arrive in Chicago Suburbs, Residents Debate the Role of Their Towns – New York Times

A line of people in winter coats stand in a line next to a bus. “The crisis is so obvious in the city,” said Ida Fiore, a volunteer from Lake Forest who has helped organize care packages for migrants. “We’re asking ourselves, ‘What is the housing scenario for these people? Can a suburb provide any support and relief in the long term?’ And we all look at each other and have a lot more questions than answers.”

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CTU Calls for Federal Funding for More Bilingual Teachers, Services for Migrant Students – WTTW (Chicago)

More than 5,000 English learners have enrolled in Chicago Public Schools over the course of the year, many of whom are the children of migrant families. “The money would help immensely to get these resources, this curriculum, the educators, the TAs into the classroom,” union organizer Linda Perales said. “Right now we’re seeing our teachers that are collecting coats, collecting boots, collecting scarves, they’re doing everything.”

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Faith leaders: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s public safety plan continues the major mistakes of its predecessors – Chicago Tribune*

Then-mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson looks at Pam Bosley while meeting with people who have lost loved ones to gun violence on March 29, 2023.Michael Pfleger, Seth Limmer, Otis Moss III and Ciera Bates-Chamberlain: “There is no guaranteed civic line of funding (or oversight), no procurement power for the Office of Community Safety, and no guarantee — which can only happen by ordinance — that this important office (and its deputy mayor) will remain part of the city’s infrastructure. Likewise, despite a thorough listening tour and wider civic cooperation, there is no

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A CPS commitment to prioritize neighborhood schools sparked roiling debate. Among parents and educators, questions abound. – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

It’s not clear yet, and won’t be until June, what making neighborhood schools “fully-resourced” means. That’s when the district is scheduled to release a strategic plan guiding school district investments over the next five years. One approach singled out in the December board resolution will be expanding Sustainable Community Schools — a model operated in partnership by CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union in which community organizations provide wraparound academic, health and social support beyond the traditional school day.

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More migrants in Chicago granted work permits despite complex legal process – CBS2 (Chicago)

Of the 2,722 migrants who submitted applications through the city’s partnership with The Resurrection Project, about 1,800 have been approved, and 1,011 have their documents in hand, per data from the nonprofit. That represents a significant increase from Dec. 28, when only 279 received social security cards and 284 received work permits. Still, only about 13% of migrants in the city’s shelters are eligible and have been approved.

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Majority of Chicago Residents Disapprove of Far-Left Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Performance, Poll Finds – National Review

The poll comes in the wake of a late-December announcement by the Chicago Board of Education that it wants to move away from a system that allows families to choose schools and instead return to a system that prioritizes neighborhood schools. Eighty-two percent of Chicago voters polled said they believe that families in Chicago Public Schools should be able to choose the public school that best meets their student’s needs; It was even higher among parents, 86 percent.

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Liberal Chicago mayor’s move to the right on crisis issue sets off fight with allies – Washington Examiner

“Sixteen aldermen, including Johnson allies Ald. Daniel La Spata and Byron Sigcho-Lopez and moderate Ald. Matt O’Shea, sent a letter to the mayor Thursday evening asking him to scrap his 60-day shelter limit policy for immigrants entering Chicago. Though conservative aldermen have severely criticized Johnson’s methods to address the issue, this is one of the first times that Johnson has received pushback from council members of his own party.”

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Pair of mass shootings in suburbs offers grim reminder: Illinois and Chicago routinely rank among nation’s worst for such crimes – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

In the last 11 years, Illinois accounted for close to 10% of all mass shootings in the nation, with almost 490 across the state, killing 356 people and wounding more than 2,080 others. That’s more than California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and New York — all more populous than Illinois. And perhaps not surprisingly, the data points to Chicago as the main source for the grim record.

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A Whirlwind for Chicago Cease-Fire Politics – In These Times

Chicago has emerged as a national locus for the cease-fire movement since the violence began October 7 with what have been a seemingly countless number of persistent marches, nonviolent direct actions and other efforts to demand immediate peace and an end to the occupation and system of apartheid in Palestine.

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Why does Chicago hate illegal immigrants? – Washington Examiner

“Johnson is preparing to evict illegal immigrants from shelters on Feb. 1, saying, ‘The flow of migrants that are coming into the city of Chicago and the flow to exit has not kept up.’ In other words, Johnson wants Chicago to be getting rid of as many illegal immigrants as it is taking in, and he has punted the expansion of shelter construction to the state, wanting shelters to be built outside of Chicago.”

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Despite state law to address controversy, Wheeling Township blocks taxes for new mental health program approved in referendum – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

More than a year ago, voters in Wheeling Township approved a new property tax to fund mental health services. But due to a legal dispute with political overtones, advocates likely will have to go through another referendum and wait a couple more years before they could get funding. The controversy continues even while other suburban governments, from Schaumburg to Naperville townships and Will County, are implementing new voter-approved tax funding for mental health programs.

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Naperville migrants: City scraps plan for residents to house new arrivals – ABC Chicago

Naperville is not moving forward with a plan to have residents house migrants in their homes. The city was considering putting together a list of residents willing to bring migrants into their homes. But city staff decided there are other state and federal agencies putting together lists of shelters to house migrants, so it’s not necessary for Naperville residents to pitch in.

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Chicago Board of Education renews contracts for 49 charter schools – Chalkbeat Chicago

The Chicago Board of Education voted Thursday to renew agreements with 12 charter networks, impacting 49 schools. The decision followed months of pleading from charter school leaders, educators, and students. The board extended contracts for all of the schools up for renewal. It renewed most of the contracts by either three or four years, starting this July. The maximum extension allowed under state law is 10 years.

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After suburban pushback, Cook County leaders propose exempting parks, school districts from paid leave requirements – Chicago Tribune*

Decrying an unfunded mandate and scant notice about how to implement the hastily passed ordinance, several suburban park and school district leaders urged the county to exempt them from the union-backed initiative. With enforcement efforts kicking in next week, the park and school district leaders mounted a letter-writing campaign in recent days and pleaded their case at the Cook County Board meeting on Thursday.

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Lawsuit asks court to order Dolton to pay $33.5M verdict to families of men killed in police car crash – Cook County Record

Illinois henyard tiffany

Saying the village of Dolton has been financially mismanaged into insolvency by scandal-plagued Mayor Tiffany Henyard, attorneys representing families of two men killed in a police chase car crash have asked a Cook County court to potentially order the suburban village to raise taxes on residents to fund a $33.5 million jury verdict the families had won.

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Editorial: Mayor Johnson’s posturing on Middle East conflict is alienating Jewish Chicago – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

After flicking away the Hamas atrocities, Johnson discussed the crucible of the Middle East in terms of Black “liberation.” If you parse those comments, you can see he wasn’t just speaking of a desire to protect civilians and promote peace, a reasonable position many of us share, but to frame the Israeli-Hamas conflict in stark terms of the oppressor and the oppressed.

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Chicago-area commercial property sales down 44% in 2023 – Crain’s*

Dealmaking in the Chicago area didn’t take quite as much of a hit as the nation overall, where sales dropped by 51% to about $347 billion as mismatched pricing expectations between buyers and sellers slowed activity, especially in the office sector. Nationally, there was a 32% drop in office sales volume in the fourth quarter of 2023 from the same time frame the previous year.

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Common ground solutions to empower Chicago’s poor: A model for American cities – Illinois Policy

From left-of-center think tanks such as the Brookings Institution, Urban Institute and Progressive Policy Institute, to right-of-center public policy groups such as the American Enterprise Institute and the Alliance for Opportunity, there exists remarkable consensus on how to empower individuals to rise out poverty and into prosperity. Substantial consensus exists around seven “macro”-solutions to poverty.

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Pace hoping plans for EV bus fleet are not short-circuited – Chicago Tribune

As some electric vehicle owners were shocked by below-zero operation issues recently, Pace officials unveiled their first battery-powered bus. Let’s hope the transit agency isn’t jolted by performance problems. Outside of the Pace debut, it’s been a rough few weeks for what is supposed to be our automotive future. Electric vehicles are the cornerstone of the clean-energy policy of the administration of President Joe Biden in order to help reduce the nation’s carbon footprint.

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Kim Foxx, progressive prosecutors weigh achievements and setbacks in U. of C. panel – Hyde Park Herald

Growing up, Chesa Boudin, the progressive former district attorney of San Francisco, stunk as a baseball player in the Hyde Park-Kenwood Little League. Now, at 43, he doesn’t have much to fondly remember by way of athletic accomplishments from those days. What he does recall, however, is one stiflingly humid summer day in the late 1980s over at the baseball diamond on 47th Street and Cornell Drive, when he took his eye off a pitch. Men were arguing on the nearby basketball court. Then, shots rang out. The coaches shouted. They yelled at the boys to drop to the ground

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Electric Vehicles, Chargers Need To Be More Accessible In Chicago, Researchers Say – Block Club Chicago

Daniel Horton, head of the Climate Change Research Group at Northwestern University, saidHorton said he believes the government can play a role in addressing the inequities. He would like to see the government “incentivize private institutions or potentially have public institutions install chargers in locations that at the moment are not financially viable, but in the future might become more viable.”

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Chicago director of financial analysis put on administrative leave says he isn’t being allowed to do his job – Chicago Sun-Times

A bizarre standoff has developed in the office created 10 years ago to provide the City Council with independent advice on financial issues and avoid a repeat of the parking meter fiasco.  Budget Committee Chair Jason Ervin (28th) wants his colleagues to empower him to dump Kenneth Williams Sr. as the $123,000-a-year director of the Council’s Office of Financial Analysis after Williams refused to leave to make way for a director of Ervin’s choosing.

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Premature burial for Ozinga deep-underground Southeast Side development? – Chicago Sun-Times

An image showing the entrance to a proposed underground warehouse and commercial space on the Southeast Side.

The City Council is being asked to revive an underground warehouse development on the Southeast Side that’s being pushed by the Ozinga family. After a city zoning official ruled last year that the project ran afoul of Chicago’s ban on mining operations, it appeared that the Ozingas — owners of the namesake concrete and materials business — had little choice but to give up on

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Chicago car thefts soar to record high in 2023, but arrests hit record low – FOX News

Nearly 30,000 cars were taken from their owners in Chicago last year, yet police efforts to catch the bandits reached record lows, one nonprofit says.

The number of vehicle thefts reported last year is the highest in 23 years, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. Not only did the arrest rate for car theft fall to 2.6%, but data collected through the Chicago Data Portal showed that it was the lowest level since the city started tracking crime online in 2001.

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Meet the black Chicago Democrats who SUED progressive mayor Brandon Johnson for housing migrants in park that’s ‘crown jewel’ of their community and won – Daily Mail

Handwriting the lawsuit in a notebook, government employee Cata Truss argued the Amundsen Park field house was ‘designated for recreational use within the community’ and nothing else. Truss was also angry Mayor Brandon Johnson’s government shelled out more than $250 million caring for migrants when her community is in poverty. “There’s a humanitarian crisis in the black community. But every time we have a need in our community, we’re told that there are no funds. There’s no money for us,” she said.

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Student killed outside school minutes after police left scene of disturbance inside, 18-year-old victim’s brother says – Chicago Sun-Times

An officer said police ensured no weapons were seen inside the school, CICS Loomis-Longwood at 1309 W. 95th St., and said they were able to “gain control of the situation” after they arrived. But minutes after police left, a small black car with a missing bumper drove up, and someone got out and fired “dozens of rounds.”

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For Mayor Johnson to Succeed, He Needs to Prioritize Chicagoans – Chicago Contrarian

“High crime, a lack of affordable housing and shelters, and welcoming illegals have placed an enormous strain on Chicago’s slim resources. Throw in supporting and overfeeding an educational system that fails students, has obscenely low standards, and faces no competition, and you have the most important issues facing Chicago. Where, one should ask, is the urgency from Mayor Johnson to meet the most basic needs of Chicago’s population?”

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CTU’s Warpath to Eliminate All Choices for Chicago Families – Chicago Contrarian

“Failing to educate kids is morally bankrupt enough, but the latest CPS Inspector General report should make all Chicagoans outraged. The IG’s report revealed there were 446 complaints of “sexual misconduct”. Imagine being the parent of a victim who does not have the means to remove their child from the school at which a crime occurred and feeling trapped in a system more concerned with the outcomes for adults than the safety and academic success of their child.”

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Chicago considers natural gas ban that could 2X heating costs – Illinois Policy

Proponents of the ordinance argue the lower threshold plays a key role in slashing emissions and reducing high gas bills in Chicago, while keeping environmental policy in line with other major cities. But Peoples Gas, the natural gas utility serving the city, said making Chicagoans use all-electric heat could cost them double what they would pay for natural gas, and still increase emissions because of limited output from renewables. Less than 4% of the electricity used in Chicago typically comes from renewable energy,

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Here’s who will pay how much if the transfer tax proposal passes – Crain’s*

For homebuyers, the tab will be a little more than $15 million. That’s according to Crain’s research into what the past year’s home sales would have generated if the new transfer tax, as revamped under Johnson in August, were in place. Many commercial properties sell for far larger amounts than homes, and Crain’s past estimates have pegged the commercial sector’s dollar volume at around nine times residential’s.

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Tensions Between City and State Officials Continue as Pritzker Pushes Back on Johnson’s Migrant Shelter Expansion Pause – WTTW (Chicago)

In a statement, mayoral spokesman Ronnie Reese indicated that if Gov. JB Pritzker is so concerned, he could pull the levers at his disposal as the state’s chief executive. A Pritzker official said that Illinois has taken on responsibilities ranging from wraparound supports to six months of paying for food in shelters, plus allocating the majority of grant funding to Chicago. “The idea that they are shouldering all of this on their own is ridiculous,” the official said.

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Chicago mayor’s new migrant plan revealed – in closed meeting with suburban mayors – FOX32 (Chicago)

Part of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan includes more reliance on state and federal resources. No new shelter beds will be provided. Instead, beds will be filled as migrants exit, putting more pressure on asylum seekers to find permanent housing faster. Johnson’s new plan also includes a greater focus on getting work permits for asylum seekers, some of whom may now be living here longer than the law allows.

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Proposal would require City Council approval to spend any federal relief funds over $1 million – Chicago Sun-Times

Shortly before closing the books on 2023, Mayor Brandon Johnson shifted $95 million in federal pandemic relief funds to cover the mounting cost of Chicago’s migrant crisis — after informing City Council members, but without seeking their approval. Ald. Bill Conway said Johnson “talks a lot about collaboration, but did not collaborate on how this money was spent and didn’t collaborate on a whole host” of other things, adding that the city still has $400 million in unspent COVID-19 relief funds.

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State Rep. Kam Buckner: If Chicago doesn’t get federal help for its housing crisis, it should pass on hosting the DNC – Chicago Tribune*

“The Constitution grants the federal government exclusive power to regulate immigration. The federal government also must deal with housing insecurity in America. These are federal issues…As Democrats prepare to showcase our big, broad, diverse coalition to the world, in this big, broad, diverse city, there is an opportunity to deliver on the promises that are embedded in our platforms. Federal resources need to begin to flow immediately, and the convention should be the impetus to do that.”

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Pritzker critical of Chicago’s plan to handle reduced shelter space for migrants – WGNTV (Chicago)

Gov. JB Pritzker said, “We do not have enough shelters as it is in the city of Chicago. The city has not told the state where they would like us to put our resources to build new shelters and we need to make sure that we’re not ending shelter capacity as the city is now planning to do at the end of winter.” A city spokesperson replied, “There are 1,300 municipalities in the State of Illinois, of which Chicago is one. The State has the authority to fund, stand up and operate a shelter in any one of those municipalities

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The Obama Center: A Welcome Neighbor? – The Chicago Maroon

The Museum Building at the Obama Presidential Center (Photo courtesy of the Obama Foundation)Both the Obama initiatives—inclusive capitalism and asset-based community development—are optimistic about the trust that can form between community members and those in power when they have a defined common goal. When it comes to the Center, some University constituents would find more reassurance in concrete commitments.

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‘Panic And Rumors’ Swirl In Chicago’s Migrant Shelters As Evictions Loom – Block Club Chicago

Said volunteer Erika Villegas, who has been receiving frantic messages from families with pictures of their hand-written eviction notices, “I don’t understand the purpose of just creating another crisis, by not giving any direction to the most vulnerable people in the city. It’s unfair we’re not providing the tools for people to become independent.”

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New Chicago migrant strategy – Politico

“The mayor met privately with small groups of aldermen Friday — keeping groups small avoids the pesky open meeting rules — to brief them on how the city will no longer set up new shelter space because the costs are too high. That means it won’t build industrial tents for migrants, either…The city will work with churches and private individuals to find beds for asylum seekers.”

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The Bigotry of Low Expectations – Journal of Free Black Thought

“Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has set his sights on eliminating high-achieving magnet schools in the name of equity…So, why would Mayor Johnson want to eliminate one of the few opportunities for gifted but economically disadvantaged students to access quality education? Well, according to Chicago Public Schools Board CEO, Pedro Martinez, allowing gifted students access to quality education causes “stratification and inequity in Chicago Public Schools.” One has to wonder whether this excuse (as incoherent as it is) is sincere or whether it reflects instead a cynical push to discard selective schools that have proven to be top-tier nationally because these

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America Works. DEI Doesn’t. – Tablet Magazine

Pastor Corey B. Brooks, of Chicago’s Project H.O.O.D.: The reality is that DEI is an ideology for the privileged. It helps people like Claudine Gay who exploit race for power and prestige and it hurts communities like mine by exploiting them for poverty-porn.

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The Chicago Teachers Union Has Called for a Cease-Fire in Gaza – Jacobin

“More than a decade ago, the CTU helped inspire unions around the country to bargain for the common good of our communities and humanity. This shift, to bargain for the common good, forced Chicago politicians to not only bargain over our pay and benefits, but to bargain about housing for our students, hiring social workers and nurses, and creating green schools free of lead and asbestos. It is in this same vein that we look to events that impact students around the world.”

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Chicago rideshare drivers looking for safety solutions – Center Square

With Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration now in power at City Hall, Chicago Gig Alliance organizer Lori Simmons is hopeful that change may be on the way, adding that CGA was recently invited by the mayor to take part in a hearing where a new committee of rideshare drivers, mail carriers and bus drivers worked on safety solutions.

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Hamas-linked group partners with CPS to combat Islamophobia – Center Square

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which offers a program called, “The Chicago Public Schools Project,”has come under scrutiny over its alleged ties to and support of the terror organization Hamas. The White House in October condemned comments made by CAIR’s director, who said he “was happy to see” Palestinians break out of Gaza Oct. 7. CAIR also was identified as a co-conspirator helping the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development – a former Islamic charity labeled a terrorist group by the FBI in 2001 – shower Hamas with millions of dollars.

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Editorial: Brandon Johnson’s upcoming CTU negotiation should scare taxpayers. Will he surprise us with tough love for his friends? – Chicago Tribune*

“Recent changes to state law will give the union the legal right to bargain over a wider array of issues than before, including class sizes and the hiring of nurses and other adjunct staff. Johnson will be handed a long list of demands, no doubt. He’d better get comfortable quickly with telling his friends they can’t have everything on that list — or even a majority of it.”

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Chicago passed new rules to limit migrant arrivals. A Texas bus company is suing. – Austin American-Statesman

Wynne Transportation, one of multiple companies enlisted under Abbott’s $11 billion Operation Lone Star border security initiative to shuttle migrants from Texas, filed the lawsuit against Chicago earlier this month. In Chicago, the ordinance restricting bus arrivals has resulted in at least 95 lawsuits against as many as 24 bus companies since it was implemented in December, according to Michael Kozlowski, who represents Wynne and several other charter companies.

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Krishnamoorthi, Quigley Call for Solution to Chicago Transit Cliff – Patch Palatine

In the letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Federal Transit Administrator Nuria Fernandez, the 12 members of Illinois’s Congressional delegation outlined what going over a transit fiscal cliff would look like for mass public transit systems. The consequences of inaction could include dire cuts to service, fewer safety inspections, and less communal mobility within cities and suburbs.

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Barack’s New Block – Chicago Magazine

Woodlawn home exteriorThe presidential center is expected to open in 2025 but began driving up prices in the neighborhood even before breaking ground in 2021. Woodlawn — first a community of Dutch farmers in the mid-19th century, then home to Black migrants from the South starting in the early 1900s — is just west of the presidential center’s Jackson Park site. Stroll through the rapidly gentrifying community to see stately greystones and brick houses from a bygone era coexisting with modern low-rise condominiums.

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Pro-Palestine protest on Chicago expressway leads to multiple arrests – FOX32 (Chicago)

The group made its way to I-55 southbound and Harlem, when the situation escalated. Authorities were called after receiving reports of pedestrians illegally walking onto the expressway. The protest was put on by the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine and the US Palestinian Community Network. It is one of several in the Chicago area in recent weeks. The USPCN says they gathered to call for the end of U.S. and U.K. airstrikes against Yemen and to stop the Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people of Gaza.

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Letter: Obama Foundation, lend a hand in migrant crisis – Hyde Park Herald

“The Barack Obama Foundation purports to be empowering new generation of ‘community organizers’, here in Chicago and around the world. Let Chicago’s migrant crisis be their classroom, their laboratory, their trial by fire. There is no better experience available. And there is no better way for the Obama Presidential Center to gain much-sought-after credibility here in Hyde Park, in Chicago, and around the country.”

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South Loop would get more than a new White Sox stadium — think residences, a hotel, restaurants and more – Chicago Sun-Times

A 2017 aerial view of the development site known as The 78.“Getting people back downtown … is a hard economic necessity for this city,” said a source who has seen the plan. “They’re going to come downtown because there’s stuff to do. … This is a massive step toward that.” Many questions remain, including how much Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf would be willing to contribute and how much public financing would be needed — given that demand for public resources is high, and public appetite for bankrolling stadiums is low.

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Commentary: Chicago’s charter school accountability system is designed to close doors on families – Chicago Tribune*

Constance Jones, CEO of Noble Schools: “However, contrary to popular belief, charter schools operate under a stringent system of accountability that most public school districts wouldn’t pass. In addition to receiving less funding than district schools, we must undergo a frequent and arduous evaluation process…For example, Noble’s finances meet or exceed standards in all of eight measurable categories, yet Chicago’s school board determines our fate. This same board voted on a resolution to phase out school choice altogether.”

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Organizers Share What to Expect Ahead of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago – WTTW (Chicago)

“We of course expect, as in any national political convention or any large political gathering, there will be plenty of people who come to exercise their First Amendment right, to express their strongly held views. And the Democratic Party welcomes that,” convention director Alex Hornbrook said. Not mentioned during the preview were challenges like crime and unsheltered migrants, which could complicate Chicago’s time in the national spotlight.

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Two suburban Catholic schools to close months after scholarship tax credit program expires, archdiocese says – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Between the two schools, 164 students attended through the tax credit scholarship program, the archdiocese said. The schools have been opened for a combined 196 years. “In this situation, trying to sustain four schools would have jeopardized all of them in the future,” said Greg Richmond, superintendent of the Archdiocese of Chicago school system. “We are doing all that we can to keep our schools open, but the loss of the scholarship program will hurt. These may not be the last closures in our archdiocese.”

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Even after Burke conviction, some on City Council still resist banning outside income – Chicago Sun-Times

Already, Council members who are lawyers are prohibited from handling the property tax appeals that were the specialty of Burke’s law firm. They’re also prohibited from doing criminal defense work that might conflict with the city’s interests, like allegations of wrongdoing against Chicago police officers. But Ald. Brendan Reilly noted an outright ban would force his colleague, Ald. Anthony Napolitano, to stop coaching a youth hockey league, for which Napolitano is paid a stipend of roughly $6,500 a year.

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Prudential Insurance is leaving Prudential Building and taking name with it – WBEZ (Chicago)


The Prudential name has been on the 41-story Loop building since it opened in 1955. The name has also been on the 64-story younger sibling, Prudential Plaza Two or Pru Two, since that building opened in 1990. The departure is momentous. Prudential stuck with its namesake skyscraper long after Sears, Wrigley, the Chicago Tribune, Montgomery Ward, Kemper and other big corporations left their buildings. Prudential is staying in town, however, and leasing space elsewhere.

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Chicago to consider an ordinance that would effectively ban natural gas in new buildings – Chicago Tribune*

The ordinance sets an emissions standard that natural gas can’t meet and opens the way for the electric heat and appliances that play a key role in most plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions and avert the worst effects of climate change. New York, Los Angeles and dozens of smaller cities already have measures in place that limit or prevent natural gas use in new buildings.

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28 City Council members ask Johnson ally to postpone vote on Gaza resolution – Chicago Sun-Times

Co-signed by Ald. Debra Silverstein and 27 of her colleagues, the letter cites two reasons for asking Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez not to call the resolution for a final vote Wednesday: the proximity to International Holocaust Remembrance Day Jan. 27, and the fact that the Council already will consider another resolution Wednesday marking 79 years since Auschwitz was liberated.

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CTU, American Federation of Teachers ask for federal help for migrant student needs – WGNTV (Chicago)

It’s estimated that 20 percent of the 30,000 migrant arrivals are children and thousands are enrolled in Chicago Public Schools across the city. The head of CTU insisted it’s possible to address the needs of all communities including Chicago’s newest arrivals. The President of the American Federation of Teachers said, “others may want to use this for political purposes…but we are about humanity…lifting up children”

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Johnson’s real estate transfer tax plan is dealt a major blow – Crain’s*

One of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s signature priorities — a major tweak to the real estate transfer tax designed to boost funding for anti-homelessness initiatives — has been dealt a significant setback, failing to garner the coveted endorsement of the Chicago Federation of Labor. In a vote last week, a motion to endorse the referendum measure came up just decimal points shy of the two-thirds weighted vote necessary to receive the official backing of the federation, an umbrella organization that represents more than 300 unions in Chicago and Cook County.

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Distressed office building near Willis Tower goes up for auction – Crain’s*

A few weeks after one distressed office building near Willis Tower was sold at a severe discount, another one is heading to the auction block and is likely to trade for a fraction of its pre-pandemic value. Bidding will begin on Feb. 20 to buy the vintage 10-story office building at 216 W. Jackson Blvd. One stark example of the lost value just one block from 216 W. Jackson came late last month, when a local investor paid just $4 million for the leasehold interest in a 20-story building at 300 W. Adams St. — 89% less than it was

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Mayor Brandon Johnson pushes the deadline back again to move migrants out of shelters – Chicago Sun-Times

The move comes as the city continues to grapple with how to support nearly 15,000 migrants living in the city without permanent homes. Officials have also paused opening new shelters amid budgetary constraints. Since taking office, Johnson has explored numerous avenues for housing migrants, but the city has since changed its course several times.

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Highland Park and Deerfield regulate bus drop-offs after migrants repeatedly ‘abandoned’ on side of the road – Lake County News-Sun*

Migrants follow an official after getting off a warming bus near West Polk Street and South Desplaines Street in the West Loop on Dec. 31, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)At the recommendation of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, suburban municipalities have started to approve regulations around when and where buses can drop off one-way passengers. The rules also seek advance communication from the bus companies about expected arrival date, times and a manifest of who is on the bus.

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Naperville councilman proposes exploring system for local residents who want to host migrant families – Naperville Sun*

Naperville City Councilman Josh McBroom is adamant the city should not use taxpayer dollars to house or aid migrant families amid the continued and growing influx of asylum-seekers to the Chicago area. However, he would welcome Naperville families being given the option to host migrant families instead. Six buses carrying migrants have stopped at Naperville’s downtown Metra station since Dec. 21, according to city spokeswoman Linda LaCloche.

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Advocacy group demands transparency and investigation into antisemitism at Northwestern University – FOX News

“We call upon you to protect your Jewish and Israeli students from the pervasively hostile climate that prevails at Northwestern by enforcing your own rules and principles against discrimination, and by exercising your own right to free speech to condemn unequivocally those who sully Northwestern’s reputation with antisemitic bigotry,” advocacy group Alums for Campus Fairness urged.

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Meet Chicago’s New Public Health Commissioner, Olusimbo ‘Simbo’ Ige – WTTW (Chicago)

“We have emergencies, and with emergencies come a surge of funding and then when emergencies are declared to have ended, the funding goes away with it, but our public health challenges remain,” Ige said. “We are advocating very strongly for a more flexible kind of funding that can provide us the opportunity to respond to all of the needs, not just one infectious disease at a time.”

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Chicago school adapts with Spanish learning model to support influx of migrant families – FOX32 (Chicago)

“I have a student that needs a jacket. I have a student that needs boots. Where can I get these right away? Our families also need to be able to sustain themselves. They need to work. And this is something that I have parents tell me each and every day,” the teacher said. “And I don’t know what to tell them.” Teachers at the school are also pushing for the district to cover tuition costs so staff can get a bilingual endorsement.

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Man welcomes migrants into building he owns in Chicago – CBS2 (Chicago)

Chris Amatore, chief executive officer of Manage Chicago, owns a South Shore neighborhood building with eight units and 60 beds – and he’s using one big heart to welcome in residents. Amatore bought everyone a mattress, and filled the fridges with food. The house has a mantra – “Juntos fuerte – together we’re strong.”

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Texas bus company sues City of Chicago over migrant drop-off ordinance – NBC5 (Chicago)

“It’s unconstitutional for a number of reasons – it’s really trying to address an immigration issue,” attorney Mike Kozlowski said. “And when we’re talking about immigration, that’s a federal issue.” Kozlowski said the ordinance also violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th amendment because, as he says, the ordinance is intended to address a specific group of people – migrants coming to Chicago.

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Road rage shooting suspect is found in Florida, extradited to Chicago, and quickly set free by a judge – CWB Chicago

More than a year after a judge signed an arrest warrant for a man wanted in connection with a road rage shooting on a Chicago expressway, an FBI task force arrested him in Florida. The Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department extradited him to Chicago. During his first court appearance, a Cook County judge rejected the state’s detention petition and released him again. The man, charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm, has been convicted of firearms-related crimes four times, prosecutors said.

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Chicago parents rally to protect charter schools as CPS shifts away from school choice – CBS2 (Chicago)

CPS-Classroom.png “Clearly the decision was made behind closed doors, and that was not right. When you made that decision, who were you thinking about? You clearly weren’t thinking about the children in the City of Chicago…We follow CPS protocol for renewal, and we proved that we deserve to be here for the long-term and it is my choice keep my kids out of your political games,” said charter school parent Myisha Shields.

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Dolton’s ‘Super mayor’ goes viral amid salary ordinance controversy – Route Fifty

Mayor and Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard, who makes $224,000 a year as township supervisor, drafted legislation that would cut her successor’s salary to just $25,000. If Henyard stays in office, her salary stays the same. All this is taking place in towns south of Chicago where the median household income is roughly $50,000. Data estimates that around 20% of Dolton residents live below the poverty line, while median household income and median house or condo value both trail the state average.

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White Sox in ‘serious’ talks to build new stadium in South Loop’s ‘the 78’ – Chicago Sun-Times

The 78, an undeveloped parcel of land at Clark Street and Roosevelt Road, just south of downtown Chicago.At 62 acres stretching south to 16th Street, “the 78” is one of Chicago’s largest undeveloped parcels — and certainly the most strategically located. But it has somehow eluded development for decades. Once owned by convicted political power player Tony Rezko, the potential site at Roosevelt Road and Clark Street was one of several sites in the running for a Chicago casino now planned for River West.

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Commentary: Is Chicago still the city that works? Here’s how the mayor can bolster residents’ optimism. – Chicago Tribune*

Mayor Brandon Johnson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast at Apostolic Church of God on Jan. 15, 2024.Will Johnson, of The Harris Poll: “Our polling shows that nearly all Chicago adults worry about public safety and a supermajority thinks crime is worse here than in other cities. Almost all of us are also troubled by a long list of other major issues including the local economy, taxes, affordable housing and health care…And a majority — across all demographic groups — doubt that (Brandon Johnson) will have a

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New York, Chicago team up to press feds for migrant-funding flexibility – Politico

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Chicago Budget Director Annette Guzman implored Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to loosen rules around collecting identification numbers given to migrants when they enter the U.S. The cities did not initially collect the “sensitive personal immigration information including A-numbers” because of local laws around confidentiality, according to the letter, and so Chicago has only received about $11 million of the $290 million it has spent thus far.

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Despite Decades of Cries for Help, Chicago Failed to Aid Blind Pedestrians. Now, City Wants Lengthy Timeline to Fix Problem – WTTW (Chicago)

Last year, a federal judge ruled that Chicago’s failure to aid blind pedestrians violated the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, ordering the city to come up with a plan to fix the long-running and potentially deadly problem. The Chicago Department of Transportation only installed nine signals in 2022 — one of which was an upgrade to an existing signal — and 12 signals in 2023, bringing the total number of accessible pedestrian signal across the city to 45.

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Emails Show Johnson, City Officials Notified About Sewage, Roaches and Illnesses at Pilsen Migrant Shelter Almost 2 Months Before Boy’s Death Highlighted Problems – WTTW (Chicago)

Mayor Brandon Johnson and several top staffers, including Department of Family and Support Services Commissioner Brandie Knazze, were warned by email of alleged unsafe conditions at the shelter Oct. 27: insufficient bathrooms, exposed pipes with raw sewage, cockroach infestation, a possible outbreak of illness with many people being sick, and an insufficient provision of meals and water. On Dec. 17, Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero died at Comer Children’s Hospital after falling ill at that shelter.

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Evanston determines order for next round of reparation disbursements – Evanston Review*

A total of 453 direct descendants, those who are related to Evanston residents who were at least 18 years old and lived through racially harmful housing policies from 1919 to 1969, were given a randomly generated number. The committee expects to serve at least 80 people in 2024 but could serve more depending upon the amount of funding gathered through recreational cannabis taxes.

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CPS to buy green buses with federal grant, but driver shortage remains a challenge for worn-out parents – Chicago Tribune/MSN

“We strongly support CPS’ efforts to reduce our carbon footprint. However, empty seats on yellow buses are the same as empty seats on green buses. They both lead to inequity in public education,” said Katie Milewski, leader of CPS Parents for Buses. A CPS spokesperson said offering transportation stipends to general education families not receiving bus services was not sustainable for CPS, citing a projected budget deficit for the next school year.

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Orphe Divounguy: The Chicago-area economy is cooling too quickly – Crain’s*

“From November 2022 to November 2023, employment here grew a meager 0.8%, compared to the national rate of 1.8% during the same period. It certainly didn’t help that ongoing net outmigration continues to have a detrimental impact on population growth in the Chicago area.While the U.S. unemployment rate remained fairly constant at 3.7% in the second half of 2023, Chicago-area unemployment rose to 4.7% in November from 3.9% in June. Perhaps an even more alarming concern is the state of average hourly earnings.”

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The high cost of creating affordable housing – Crain’s

Crain's Forum
“Costs are driven by the byzantine rules of the federal tax credit system that require builders to assemble a “capital stack” of funders, each with sets of fees and requirements. On top of that comes ever more rigorous government standards for accessibility, sustainability and design. Developers and their architects win points from public agencies awarding the projects by striving for net zero carbon emissions by using materials such as solar panels, triple-pane windows and upgraded insulation.”If a Martian dropped down from the sky and looked at how

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Column: Gov. JB Pritzker says Texas Gov. Greg Abbott rebuffed his plea to pause migrant transports to Chicago area during freeze – Chicago Sun-Times

Lynn Sweet: “Pursuing the matter, over the weekend Pritzker personally paid for ads appealing to Abbott in five Texas newspapers: the Houston Chronicle; Dallas Morning News; Fort Worth Star-Telegram; San Antonio Express News and the Austin American-Statesman. Asked if he had heard from Abbott, Pritzker said, his ‘response was he rejects my call for a pause and that he will continue to send people even with this weather, even if it is dangerous for the migrants who arrive.'”

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Migrants moved to South Loop library to escape dangerously cold conditions – WGNTV (Chicago)

The harsh cold has forced the city of Chicago to temporarily shut down the migrant intake center in the South Loop. “Looking for direction, but also wanting to find ways in which we can better coordinate as an entire region on how to deal with this migrant crisis, which is obviously an international crisis that requires federal intervention,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

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EV owners run into trouble amid bitter cold – CBS2 (Chicago)

At a charging station in Evergreen Park, Teslas were lined up early Monday morning. Some of the Teslas’ batteries had died – leaving the cars sitting askew and immobile in the parking lot. Drivers said some of the charging stations weren’t working – and those that were working took a lot longer than usual to charge.

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Mayor Johnson dodges questions in interview about whether he will raise taxes to address migrant crisis – FOX News

The people of Chicago want to know, will you raise a tax, whether it be a property tax or implement something else to help pay for this?,” reporter Sabrina Franza continued to press for an answer. Mayor Brandon Johnson argued nobody has asked him this question, claiming, “I did not raise property taxes,” yet managed to invest in causes from homelessness to mental health in his city.

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How much money is in Chicago’s transfer-tax referendum fight? – The RealDeal

Mayor Johnson and his supporters believe revenue from the transfer tax  hike will help fund affordable housing and anti-homelessness measures in Chicago. Conversely, the real estate community fears that the policy would burden a commercial real estate industry that’s already grappling with various challenges, such as high interest rates, record-high office vacancies and subdued sales.

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Out of work and running out of time, migrants struggle to find jobs in Chicago – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The state had the goal of submitting roughly 11,000 applications for eligible asylum-seekers residing in Chicago shelters by February, according to a Nov. 16 news release from the governor’s office. But Eréndira Rendón, vice president of immigrant justice at Resurrection Project — which spearheaded the program — said only 1,655 people have registered for the program and a few hundred have been approved.

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Opioid Overdose Deaths In Cook County Continued At Near-Record Pace In 2023 – Block Club Chicago

In 2020, Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order to prioritize racial equity in response to the opioid crisis. In 2022, Illinois launched the Overdose Action Plan to increase funding to programs that are working on addressing these issues. But the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office is expected to record about the same number of opioid overdose deaths in 2023 as in 2022, when the county saw a record 2,001 recorded deaths.

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As ‘Mansion Taxes’ Catch On in US Cities, Los Angeles Offers Lessons – Bloomberg/MSN

Other cities faced with local housing crises of their own aren’t waiting to jump aboard the mansion tax train. Nearly 70% of Santa Fe voters approved a tax on residential real estate sales over $1 million in November 2023, with the proceeds earmarked for affordable housing; Chicago voters will have the chance to decide on a similar tax this year. In Seattle, the vast majority of voters approved a broader property tax increase that’s expected to raise nearly $1 billion to support low-income renters over seven years.

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Illegal bribe or legitimate ‘gratuity’: How a $13,000 payment to an Indiana mayor could alter political corruption cases in Chicago – Chicago Tribune/MSN

At issue in former Portage, IN, Mayor James Snyder’s case is a nuance in the federal bribery statute that makes it illegal to “corruptly” offer something of value to reward a public official for an official act. The high court’s decision to hear Snyder’s case is expected to resolve an entrenched split in the federal circuit courts around the country. Chicago-area defense attorneys have long complained that relatively vague language has been exploited by federal prosecutors to criminalize a wide range of normal political give-and-take, be it a steak dinner or the hiring of a political crony, even when there

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Mayor Johnson will delay enforcing migrant shelter evictions policy, acknowledges pause on opening new sites – Chicago Tribune/MSN

The city-run shelter system has been at capacity for months, with 28 buildings currently housing 14,600 migrants. Yet because of fiscal concerns, the prospect of more sites opening in the near future appears dim, with Johnson confirming Friday that there has been a pause in standing up additional shelters since mid-December. He acknowledged the situation at the landing zone was concerning and noted that there are 10 warming buses on the lot Friday, with preparations for additional vehicles in place.

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Rich Miller: Ed Burke’s Field Museum move may not have been unusual, but it shouldn’t be the norm – Chicago Sun-Times

“Instead, this is a warning to everyone else in the political business. The federal government has now convicted a former elected government official for making an oblique threat that he never followed through on (the museum’s fee hike was approved soon after) over his personal embarrassment that an internship application of the daughter of an old and dear friend that he’d forwarded had been lost in a bureaucratic shuffle.”

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Chicago Bears President Kevin Warren says building a ‘magnificent’ downtown stadium remains a possibility – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Kevin Warren still dreams of the possibility of building a new stadium for the Chicago Bears in the heart of the city. Fueled by a combination of imagination and think-big ambition, the team president and CEO isn’t yet letting that dream die. “I strongly believe Chicago is the finest city in all of the world. Very rarely do you get an opportunity to have such a beautiful downtown with a vibrant business community, with an absolutely beautiful lake and the energy that goes along.”

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Racial equity activist must pay at least $38,000 after judge dismisses her lawsuit alleging harm from Awake Illinois leader – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Cook County Judge Daniel Kubasiak on Dec. 14 ordered Jasmine Sebaggala, who works as an assistant principal for Evanston/Skokie District 65 schools, to pay the $38,000 after he dismissed her lawsuit. Sebaggala had sued Helen Levinson, vice president of the board of the conservative group Awake Illinois and, according to her Facebook page, chair of Moms For Liberty Cook County, for defamation and intentionally causing her emotional distress in 2022.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson will delay enforcing immigrant shelter evictions policy – Chicago Tribune/MSN

Brandie Knazze, commissioner of the Department of Family and Support Services, said the first migrants set to be kicked out of the city shelters next Tuesday — about 50 of them, who have been in the system since 2022 — will no longer need to leave by then. Those due to leave between then and Jan. 21 will also be allowed to stay “until at least Jan. 22nd,” she said.

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PPP fraud investigation finds Cook County workers ripped off $1.2 million from pandemic relief program – Chicago Sun-Times

Most of the county workers Cyranoski found to have engaged in PPP fraud had failed to report their purported secondary employment to the county as required. Most have resigned, though some have been fired. In Chicago, City Hall’s inspector general is continuing to investigate whether hundreds of city employees, including cops and firefighters, ripped off the program; few have faced criminal charges.

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Resolution for Black Lives Matter (BLM) at School Month – Chicago Teachers Union

The resolution passed unanimously at the Jan. 10 meeting includes plans for CTU members o to wear Black Lives Matter at School shirts to school that week and teach one  or more lessons in their classrooms. “(T)he CTU will treat this effort as a structure test in our contract campaign to reject curriculum that does not reflect our racial justice values and is not engaging for our students or user-friendly and accessible to educators (such as much of Skyline).”

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Plan to elect Chicago school board hits political land mines – Crain’s*

Chicagoans have been expected to vote for the first time this fall to elect members of the Chicago Board of Education. But the transition from a mayoral-appointed school board to a fully elected one has been complicated and may be at least partially stalled by political maneuvering in Springfield and by a high-stakes Democratic primary fight for control of a Northwest Side Illinois Senate seat.

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The CHA Owns More Than 130 Acres Of Vacant Land And Buildings — Enough To Fill 25 City Blocks – Block Club Chicago

The land was supposed to be used for new homes. Instead, it highlights decades of development delays under four mayors and eight CHA CEOs, with crippling consequences for some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Chicago is struggling with an acute shortage of affordable housing, and more than 200,000 people are on the CHA’s waiting lists for assistance.

 

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Taxpayer advocates want taxpayers to drive Chicago pension changes – Center Square

In a recent letter the Taxpayer Pension Alliance sent Mayor Brandon Johnson, the group said the city’s unfunded pension liability is more than $52 billion, which would cost about $45,000 per Chicago household. The Taxpayer Pension Alliance includes Wirepoints, the Technology and Manufacturing Association, the Center for Pension Integrity and the Illinois Policy Institute.

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Commentary: The CTA vows to double its rail operators this year. Its own data shows that’s impossible. – Chicago Tribune*

“Chicago’s transit riders continue to face a struggling system with a dysfunctional president who deflects blame, misrepresents data, rarely rides the system and hasn’t given a public news conference since December 2022. The board refuses to hold him accountable and instead praises his performance and regularly raises his pay — all while the CTA falls further into crisis. And now the CTA is promising Chicagoans progress it simply can not achieve.”

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Expensive effort to get high-risk kids back in school is off to a slow start – WBEZ (Chicago)

In the 2021 school year alone, 16,000 students stopped coming to school. Chicago Public Schools officials set an ambitious goal of reaching 1,000 students who had been away from school for more than a year, and received an $18 million grant from the state for the work. But according to a new University of Chicago analysis, Back to Our Future is struggling to connect with the kids targeted by the program: in the pilot year, 446 students joined the program, 32 students have completed high school and another 71 students have reengaged in school, according to CPS.

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Local small businesses talk staffing shortages, growth solutions – Hyde Park Herald

For Racquel Fields, owner of Hyde Park’s 14 Parish Restaurant and Rhum Bar, though she agrees that minimum wage needed to be raised, the speed at which it increased is difficult for her business to keep up with. “As a business owner, it stops me from increasing what I already do. It limits my ability to keep creating more environments, to hire more workers and create spaces where they have increased ability to develop their skills and be paid very well doing so.”

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City of Chicago has spent $156.2 million on vendors in migrant crisis, data show – CBS2 (Chicago)

The $156.2 million spent between December 2022 and January of this year includes some money from the state, money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and money from the city. But it does not appear to include how much the city has spent within its own agencies – such as the Department of Streets and Sanitation, or the Chicago Public Schools to educate school-aged new arrivals.

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Chicago can fix pensions but needs taxpayer voices – not just their money – Illinois Policy

“The good news is in his first budget, Mayor Brandon Johnson recognized this as a big issue by adding $307 million to the city’s pension fund. The bad news is projected pension payments for 2024 came in $335 million higher than originally estimated. That more than offsets what the city added to the fund. The only way to truly address this problem is through structural reform.”

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Southwest Side needs a new police district, alderpersons say – Chicago Sun-Times

Ald. Marty Quinn noted the Chicago Lawn District has “just north of 250 officers” serving a population of 250,504 and a “23.1 square-mile” district. That ratio of 10 officers for every 10,000 residents is “the worst in the city,” even though the district is “No. 1” in calls for service and sheer volume of crime, he said. “Response times are bad, and constituents are frustrated. … The district is too big, too busy, and the good police officers of the 8th District are actually being set up to fail by the city of Chicago.”

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CPS assistant principal stole $273K from after-school program, prosecutors say – Chicago Sun-Times

“The investigation showed that the school did not follow basic internal controls procedures in that they gave the assistant principal near-total control over the school’s receipt and processing of electronic payments and failed to maintain adequate records of receipts and expenditures,” the report read. “One of the reasons that the assistant principal had so much autonomy was that the other administration members did not understand how the electronic accounts worked.”

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Local business groups unite against city’s upcoming transfer tax referendum – Chicago Agent Magazine

According to the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago, the referendum language lists three potential tax adjustments under the umbrella of a single question, on which voters can simply vote yes or no. And the co-plaintiffs allege that presentation is unconstitutional. “The binding referendum would force voters to approve or reject three separate policies in one question, including a tax decrease, to manipulate voters into approving two separate tax increases,” reads the BOMA/Chicago press release.

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Kim Foxx touts accomplishing her ‘mission’ as Cook County state’s attorney: ‘No one drove me out of this job’ – Chicago Sun-Times

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx speaks Tuesday at a meeting of the Leaders Network at the Columbus Park Refectory.“I had a job to do, a mission to serve, and I believe I accomplished that mission,” she said. She boasted about shifting her office’s focus from low-level crimes to violent cases. When she took office in 2016, Foxx said her office’s most common charge was shoplifting. She raised the threshold for felony shoplifting from $300. Now her office’s most-charged offense is gun possession. She said her office prosecuted 90% of

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