Stories by Heather Cherone

The Chicago City Council could vote on what the mayor’s office called a “small scale” pilot program as soon as Feb. 1 — less than a month before Election Day.

The Chicago Commission on Human Relations now has the authority to investigate complaints of housing discrimination or retaliation. The commission will work with the city’s Office of Labor Standards to probe complaints of workplace discrimination or retaliation, according to the new law.

Early voting sites will open to all Chicago voters and voter registration services will be available.

Mayoral challenger U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García took direct aim at Mayor Lori Lightfoot Friday, blasting her for failing to prevent a tide of crime and violence in the city. 

The Oath Keepers organization is considered by the FBI to be a “large but loosely organized collection of individuals, some who are associated with militias” who have vowed to “not obey unconstitutional (and thus illegal) and immoral orders.” 

The first email to City Colleges instructors urging them to ask their students to volunteer for the Lightfoot campaign was sent on Aug. 19, according to an email obtained by WTTW News. The second was sent Monday.

The email from the campaign “is inappropriately coercive and raises First Amendment concerns. The Supreme Court has made clear that government officials cannot use their office or power to coerce participation or to punish for lack of participation in political campaigns,” according to a statement from the ACLU of Illinois.

“We’re looking for enthusiastic, curious and hard-working young people eager to help Mayor Lightfoot win this spring,” according to an email obtained WTTW News that was sent to Chicago Public Schools teachers’ work email addresses.

With the unanimous endorsement of the City Council’s Health and Human Relations Committee, the full City Council is scheduled to consider the measure, backed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, at its meeting scheduled for Jan. 18. 

Delores McNeely, 76, Gwendolyn Osborne, 72, and Janice Reed, 68, died May 14 after temperatures soared into the 90s for several days.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is set to celebrate his 82nd birthday while on trial for orchestrating a criminal enterprise for a decade while serving as Illinois’ most powerful politician.

The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners removed Frederick Collins from the Feb. 28 ballot on Friday, ruling that the Chicago police officer had not collected at least 12,500 valid signatures from registered Chicago voters to qualify for the contest. 

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

The mayor’s office told WTTW News that officials “have not determined a firm date on when this space will open for shelter” but remains “committed to carefully balancing the needs of both our residents and new arrivals.”

Demolishing the record set in each of the past two years, $1.22 billion poured into the city’s 129 TIF funds in 2021, according to a report from the office of the Cook County Clerk.

Allowing the man to return to work as a Chicago police officer will “create an environment of impunity for other officers who may associate with violent groups and contribute to the erosion of trust between the public and law enforcement authorities,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended her decision to transform a shuttered school in Woodlawn into a shelter for immigrants bused to Chicago as part of an “all hands on deck” response to what she called a crisis manufactured by the Republican governor of Texas during an interview on Tuesday with “Chicago Tonight.”

With less than two months until Election Day, Mayor Lori Lightfoot touts the $16.4 billion spending plan she crafted as a “stability budget” for a city enjoying a faster than expected recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s what it does.

Starting Jan. 1, city crews will have to replace all of the lead service lines connected to a water main that is being repaired — and foot the bill, which is expected to cost between $15,000 to $26,000 per line.

The top spot on the Feb. 28 ballot for mayor officially belongs to Ja’Mal Green, after an aide to rival candidate Willie Wilson dropped his challenge of the activist’s nominating petitions Wednesday evening.

The surge of crime and violence that peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic but has yet to recede has imperiled Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s bid for a second term, even as the eight major candidates running to unseat her offer wildly different solutions to the seemingly intractable problem.

Surveillance conducted by FBI agents in recent weeks shows Austin is “not gravely ill,” but has a busy schedule and is “alert, lucid and responsive” and able to move about on her own without assistance, according to court records.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she is not experiencing symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19.

Now indicted Sam Bankman-Fried spent millions of dollars to boost the chances of Democratic candidates in this year’s elections.

The move will generate $959 million for the project by funneling a portion of the increase in property tax revenues for the next 35 years from the 42nd, 3rd, 4th, 11th and 25th wards — even though the extension of the train line would be miles away from any of those wards. 

Bally’s Chicago casino is set to have 3,400 slots and 173 table games in addition to an exhibition hall, 500-room hotel, a 3,000-seat theater and 11 restaurants. The development will include a 2,100-square-foot park and walking path along the river and a three-level underground parking garage, according to the plans released by city officials.