Ald. Pat Dowell called on Mayor Brandon Johnson to center the need of Black Chicagoans and warned that every bus that arrives “is eating away at the goodwill of the people of the city of Chicago.”
Stories by heather cherone
Probe into Allegations of Sexual Misconduct by Chicago Police Officers at Police Stations Home to Migrants Closed
There is no evidence that any Chicago police officer had sexual contact with any of the migrants forced to sleep on the floor of the stations after arriving in Chicago from the southern border, the head of the agency charged with investigating police misconduct announced Friday.
2 Chicago Police Officers Not Guilty in Pilsen Shooting That Seriously Injured Unarmed Man
Cook County Judge Lawrence Flood acquitted Sgt. Christopher Liakopoulos, 44, and Officer Reuben Reynoso, 43, after a bench trial, finding they acted reasonably when they opened fire on two men in July 2022.
Johnson Administration Defends Plan to House Migrants in Tents As Pace of Arrivals Quickens, Costs Mount
The cost of caring for the migrants through the end of the year is now estimated to reach $345 million, according to updated financial projections shared by Cristina Pacione Zayas, the mayor’s first deputy chief of staff. Three weeks ago, those costs were pegged at $302 million, according to city data.
Chicago Taxpayers Pay $100K to Man Who Claimed Ald. Jim Gardiner Had Him Wrongfully Arrested
Benjamin George, a construction worker, said his life was upended on Aug. 19, 2019, when he stopped at a 7-Eleven store in Jefferson Park and mistakenly picked up a cell phone left on the checkout counter that did not belong to him.
Larry Snelling Confirmed by Chicago City Council as New Top Cop
Mayor Brandon Johnson picked Larry Snelling to implement Johnson’s pledge to fight crime in Chicago with a holistic approach that focuses on the root causes of violence.
Health Committee Agrees to Form Working Group to Reopen Chicago’s Public Mental Health Clinics, Expand 911 Alternate Response
The measure, introduced by Mayor Brandon Johnson and Health Committee Chair Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, is set for a final vote by the full City Council on Oct. 4.
Federal Judge: Ald. Jim Gardiner Violated First Amendment by Blocking Critics from Official Facebook Page
“The record is clear that Gardiner engaged in both content-based and speaker-based restrictions on his Facebook page, according to the ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman. The Court thus finds Gardiner in violation of the First Amendment.”
Committee Advances Brandon Johnson’s Selection of Larry Snelling to Lead Chicago Police Department
Snelling is one vote away from becoming the 64th superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, with final approval expected Wednesday.
Pritzker, Johnson Praise Biden for Allowing Migrants to Work While Seeking Asylum
With approximately 7,400 people taking up every available spot in 20 city shelters, more than 2,100 men, women and children are being forced to sleep on the floors of police stations across the city and at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, according to city data.
Chicago Sues Monsanto for Polluting City’s Air, Water, Soil with Toxic Chemicals
Representatives of Bayer, which now owns Monsanto, said Chicago's lawsuit was “meritless” because the company never manufactured or disposed PCBs in or near the Chicago area.
Deal to Phase Out Tipped Minimum Wage in Chicago Passed by Key City Panel
Chicago could join Alaska, California, Guam, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Washington D.C. in ending the tipped minimum wage.
How Brandon Johnson Crafted the Deal to Phase Out Tipped Minimum Wage in Chicago
Chicago is set to join Alaska, California, Guam, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Washington D.C. in ending the tipped minimum wage.
Mayor Brandon Johnson Denounces Bomb Threats That Closed Chicago-Area Libraries as ‘Attack on Our Democracy’
“There are extremists in this country, right-wing extremists, who want to disrupt our form of democracy and our life,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said.
Mayor Brandon Johnson Vows to Pass New Law Protecting South, West Sides from Pollution
“The time to act on environmental justice is now,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.
System Designed to Alert Chicago Police Brass About Officers With Multiple Complaints Was Ready 2 1/2 Years Ago but Never Implemented: Letter
The Chicago Police Department must implement an early-warning system under the terms of the consent decree, the federal court order designed to compel the department to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers. CPD is in full compliance with just 5% of that 2019 court order, city data shows.
Fight Reignites Over Fears Obama Presidential Center Will Spark Gentrification
The $500 million presidential center now under construction in Jackson Park has already made South Shore “ground zero” of Chicago’s housing crisis, with a high eviction rate and surging real estate prices, according to supporters of a City Council proposal.
City Council Votes to Pay $25M to Two Men Wrongfully Convicted of Killing Basketball Star in 1993
Chicago taxpayers have now spent $178 million since January 2019 to resolve lawsuits brought by more than three dozen people wrongfully convicted based on evidence gathered by Chicago Police Department officers, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.
Proposal to Hike Taxes on Sales of Million-Dollar Homes to Fight Homelessness Begins Long Journey to Ballot
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 it from heading directly to a committee hearing and vote.
Chicago Faces $538M Budget Shortfall in 2024, Mayor Brandon Johnson Says
The budget gap is nearly three times the size of the gap forecasted by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot as she left office, but is still smaller than any projected shortfall since 2019.
Johnson Transition Leader Agrees to Pay $10,000 Fine for Violating Lobbying Regulations
Djavan Conway, who served as an intergovernmental affairs advisor on Johnson’s transition leadership team, acknowledged he failed to terminate his registration as a City Hall lobbyist in January 2021, according to the settlement agreement he reached with the Chicago Board of Ethics.
Wrongful Convictions Cost Chicago Taxpayers $153M from 2019 to 2023: Analysis
That toll is set to grow in the coming weeks, as the Chicago City Council considers paying $25 million to resolve separate lawsuits filed in 2016 by two men who spent a combined 34 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of killing a basketball star in 1993.
Johnson Warns Cost of Migrant Crisis Could Exceed $300M in Briefings to City Council Members on Plan to House Migrants in Tents
Mayor Brandon Johnson and his top aides did not identify where they planned to build the massive tents that could shelter and feed as many as 1,000 migrants, or precisely how much it would cost Chicago taxpayers, sources told WTTW News.
Place Your Bets: Bally’s Will Open Temporary Chicago Casino at Medinah Temple at 8 a.m. Saturday
Chicagoans and tourists feeling lucky can play 800 slot games and 56 table games in the century-old Shriner’s temple at 600 N. Wabash Ave., with its distinctive domed ceilings and stained-glass windows.
Feds Pledge $1.95B to Fund Far South Side CTA Red Line Extension
Mayor Brandon Johnson said a $3.6 billion plan to build 5.6 miles of new train tracks, as well as four stations, would “right a historic wrong” and provide a “critical connection that has been missing for half a century.”
Snelling Faces First Public Test as City Council Confirmation Hearings Loom for Police Superintendent Pick
Snelling vowed to rebuild trust between Chicagoans and the Police Department, which is struggling to reduce crime and implement court-ordered reforms designed to ensure officers no longer routinely violate the constitutional rights of Black and Latino Chicagoans.
