Stories by Heather Cherone

The announcement represents Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first attempt to reduce the city resources available to the migrants currently in the city’s shelter system.

The policy approved by the commission bans officers from belonging to hate groups that promote prejudice or those that aim to overthrow the government or interfere with police duties.

Michael Dorf, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s attorney, said the board’s decision “avoided setting a dangerous precedent.”

Dr. Olusimbo “Simbo” Ige will now be asked to deliver on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s vision of public health for Chicago — while coping with the continuing pandemic.

A key vote by the Chicago City Council’s Rules Committee could come as soon as Thursday on a measure that would ask voters during the March primary whether Chicago should remain a sanctuary city.

Once the proposal takes effect Dec. 31, Chicago workers will be able to take more sick leave than workers in New York City and Los Angeles. They will also be able to take time off for any reason, not just if they or a family member falls ill, unlike workers in any other U.S. city.

State Sen. Rob Martwick, the measure's author, praised Mayor Brandon Johnson for confronting Chicago’s pension woes. The bill ensures that all retired Chicago police officers get a 3% annual cost-of-living increase, regardless of whether they were born before or after Jan. 1, 1966.

Approximately 1,500 men, women and children are sleeping in thin tents outside police stations across the city, officials said.

The racketeering trial of former Ald. Ed Burke is on hold for at least a week after an attorney in the case tested positive for COVID-19, the judge in the case said Thursday.

Mayor Brandon Johnson is backing the creation of a new subcommittee to study reparations and is agreeing to earmark $500,000 in his 2024 spending plan to fund the panel’s work.

The newly created Department of Reentry would have a budget of $5 million and four employees charged with helping formerly incarcerated individuals in Chicago get what “they need to thrive in this city,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

“I felt like I was back in the South,” said Ald. Emma Mitts, who grew up in Arkansas, during the era of Jim Crow. “I felt like everything in me was shaking.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the resolution of the fraught debate is an example of his collaborative approach to governance, and that he would continue to work with Ald. Ronnie Mosley (21st Ward) and residents to address any problems that arise.

Supporters say the plan would generate approximately $100 million annually to address the root causes of homelessness by building new permanent housing that offers wraparound services.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first spending plan eliminates a $538 million shortfall and prioritizes new investments in affordable housing, mental health services and environmental justice.

Ald. Carlos Ramirez Rosa said in a statement that he allowed tensions at Thursday's special City Council meeting “to get the better of me and act in a way unbecoming of a leader.”

Former Ald. Ed Burke entered the Dirksen United States Courthouse for the first time since June 2019 accompanied by his wife, former Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Ann Burke, and a phalanx of attorneys.

Former Ald. Ed Burke, once the most powerful member of the City Council, is scheduled to go on trial starting on Monday at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on 14 charges of bribery, extortion and racketeering — charges that are usually brought against members of the mob or street gangs.

“Political and government-related bribery, extortion, fraud, conflicts of interest, theft of campaign funds, and tax cheating continue to undermine the public’s trust in government,” according to the report.

If the measure is approved, Chicago workers would be entitled to more time off than workers in New York City and Los Angeles, and would be the first to earn time off for any reason, not just if they or a family member falls ill.

Ald. Ronnie Mosley (21st Ward) said he was “highly disappointed” by the decision by the mayor’s office to open a migrant shelter in his ward, but acknowledged he could not stop the proposal.

Despite the enthusiasm of supporters who held a City Hall rally before the City Council meeting and packed the chambers, Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) tried, but failed, to prevent the measure from heading directly to a committee hearing and vote.

The proposal is at the core of the labor agenda for Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, who was elected with the unanimous support of Chicago’s progressive labor organizations.

Ald. Ronnie Mosley (21st Ward) said he was "highly disappointed" by the decision by the mayor's office to open a migrant shelter in his ward, but acknowledged he could not stop the proposal.

“With colder weather upon us, we are at an increasingly critical point in this humanitarian endeavor,” Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said in a statement.

Even though the Chicago Police Department has exceeded its overtime budget in each of the past five years, the City Council is once again poised to set aside just $100 million to cover the department’s overtime bill in the 2024 budget.