Twelve members of the Chicago City Council are not seeking reelection, which will mean nearly a quarter of the city will get new local political leadership in 2023.

Lori Lightfoot’s bid for a second term as Chicago mayor has come to an end, as former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson lead in the race for Chicago mayor, according to early returns.

There were 507,852 total ballots cast by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, and the total citywide turnout for voters stood at 32.1%, according to the Chicago Board of Elections. 

If confirmed, Julie Su would be the first Asian American in the Biden administration to serve in the Cabinet at the secretary level. The civil rights attorney and former head of California's labor department was central to negotiations between labor and freight rail companies late last year.

Facing eight challengers, it is unlikely Mayor Lori Lightfoot — or anyone else, for that matter — will win more than 50% of the vote. That means the top two finishers Tuesday night are likely headed to an April 4 runoff.

Each of Chicago’s 22 police districts will now have a three-person civilian oversight council made up of people from that community. 

The Supreme Court is about to hear arguments over President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan, which impacts millions of borrowers who could see their loans wiped away or reduced.

A new poll conducted by Northwestern University and a coalition of Black and Latino nonprofits found Black and Latino voters have common ground on key issues in the upcoming Chicago mayoral election.

A nonpartisan poll from Northwestern University found the vast majority of likely Black voters support more funding for youth programs, more affordable housing and increased funding for all public schools.

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 7’s political action committee made an in-kind contribution of approximately $10,000 to the campaign of Julian “Jumpin’” Perez, who used those funds to pay for the flyers. 

While polling on the Chicago mayoral race has been somewhat inconsistent, what appears clear from multiple polls is that incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot and challengers Paul Vallas, Brandon Johnson and U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García have pulled clear from the pack.

Mayor Lightfoot accuses Vallas of dog-whistle politics as Vallas and Johnson surge. Chicago teachers blast their union over big campaign spending. And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis takes his anti-woke show to Elmhurst.

A report examining the capacity and condition of Illinois’ response to behavioral health in young people has been in the works for nearly a year. It sketches avenues to help families understand mental illness, then make it easier for them to get required care without wrangling among disparate state agencies.

Ratings agency S&P on Thursday moved Illinois’ bond rating up a notch, from BBB+ to A- on general obligation bonds. It’s the agency’s third upgrade since the summer of 2021.

Members of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee demanded that the leaders of the Chicago Police Department do more to weed out extremists from the department’s ranks.

The Chicago Teachers Union is under fire from within, and the union has been forced to make changes to its election filings or risk violating state law. The union has been front and center with its support of one of its own, Brandon Johnson, as a candidate for Chicago mayor. The big bucks and election actions are now causing some CTU members to speak out.