Stories by Heather Cherone

Chicago is battling New York City, Atlanta and Houston for the right to celebrate the party’s nominees for president and vice president in August 2024, while showcasing the Democratic Party’s pitch to voters.

Mayor Lightfoot unveiled three options to renovate Soldier Field, ranging in price from $900 million to $2.2 billion. The mayor, who is running for a second term, declined to say how much public funding she was prepared to spend to prevent the Bears from leaving the city and moving to Arlington Heights.

The Chicago City Council voted to create Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability more than a year ago after a contentious debate between Mayor Lori Lightfoot and alderpeople who demanded the board have real authority over the Chicago Police Department. Every deadline set by that ordinance has been missed.

“While we are pleased to be receiving these additional doses, we simply need more vaccine in Chicago,” said Dr. Alison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability recommended that Officer Evan Solano be fired for shooting Alvarez in the back and killing him after a brief chase in Portage Park, but Chicago Police Supt. David Brown disagreed with that conclusion. 

Ald. Michele Smith’s resignation will be effective Aug. 12, she said. Mayor Lori Lightfoot must appoint a replacement by Oct. 12 — in the middle of the next aldermanic election

“This brings our city one step closer towards ensuring that every Chicagoan can live in a walkable, affordable community that is connected to transit and all of its benefits,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

The vote capped months of parliamentary shenanigans and came after a concerted effort by advocates for pedestrians and bicyclists to convince undecided members of the City Council the tickets were an effective way to reduce headline-grabbing and heartbreaking crashes.

Authored by Ald. Michele Smith (43rd Ward), the chair of the City Council’s Ethics and Government Oversight Committee, and backed by the Chicago Board of Ethics, the package was significantly revised to win the support of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who blocked the measure from advancing for several months.

Many of the barriers erected by elected officials and civic leaders beginning in the 1930s to keep Black Chicagoans, Latino Chicagoans and White Chicagoans from living, working and playing in the same neighborhoods remain unchanged nearly a century later, according to a new study.

A proposal crafted by Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara is designed to bolster the city’s policy to encourage transit-oriented development by boosting incentives and increasing pedestrian safety while increasing the amount of affordable housing being built near train stations and along bus lines.

Chicago could lose of hundreds of millions of dollars in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development if it does not resolve federal officials’ concerns over a metal shredding and recycling operation.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot criticized the Chicago Board of Ethics on Monday for acting “as judge, jury and executioner” when investigating officials for violating the city’s ethics ordinance.

Armando Serrano and Jose Montanez, who were released in 2016 after serving 23 years in prison for the murder of Rodrigo Vargas, would each get $10.25 million if the settlement is approved by the City Council. 

So-called “sideshows” have popped up all over the city in recent weeks, where hundreds of people gather to watch cars spinning “doughnuts” — sometimes in a ring of gasoline set on fire.

The Ethics and Government Oversight Committee unanimously endorsed the reworked version of the proposal authored by Ald. Michele Smith (43rd Ward), the panel’s chair, and backed by the Chicago Board of Ethics. A final vote by the full City Council is set for Wednesday. 

A summary of the results of the probe conducted by former Inspector General Joseph Ferguson was released in January, as required by city law. However, Lightfoot has rejected calls from Little Village residents and environmental justice organizations to release the full results of the investigation into the implosion at the former Crawford coal power plant, which sent a plume of dust over six blocks of homes in April 2020.

Ald. Harry Osterman (48th Ward) announced Friday that he will not run for re-election to represent Edgewater on the Chicago City Council in 2023. Osterman is the third member of the Chicago City Council to announce they will not run for re-election next year, joining Ald. James Cappleman (46th Ward) and Ald. Carrie Austin (34th Ward). 

The Ethics and Government Oversight Committee is set to meet at 3 p.m. Friday to consider a reworked version of the proposal authored by Ald. Michele Smith, the panel’s chair, and backed by the Chicago Board of Ethics. With the committee’s endorsement, a final vote could come on Wednesday.

Chicago Department of Public Health officials recommend that residents wear masks indoors and on public transportation to reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19 and ensure they are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.

A slate of progressive candidates prevailed in Democratic primary contests across the Chicago area, despite facing concerted criticism for backing criminal justice reform efforts. Their success has the potential to reshape the 2023 Chicago municipal elections.

If Ald. Ed Burke decides to run for re-election in February 2023, he will do so before being brought to trial on charges he has faced for more than an entire term on the Chicago City Council.

The Chicago Police Department did not advise the WNBA to limit outdoor events held Saturday and Sunday in conjunction with the league’s all-star game, including a concert by Chicago-native Chance the Rapper, a department spokesperson told WTTW News.

The Ethics Committee plans to hold a hearing, and potentially a key vote, on Wednesday to consider a proposed overhaul of the city of Chicago’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance, without giving members of the public or the news media a chance to review its provisions.

The first payments began to flow nearly nine months after the Chicago City Council approved the program’s funding as part of its 2022 budget.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office will host three “budget engagement forums” on July 21, July 23 and July 30 to give Chicago residents a chance to “share their priorities regarding city services” and “have a dialogue” with the mayor, budget director and other city officials.