The City Council will write a new chapter in the history books Wednesday by meeting virtually to keep from spreading the coronavirus. The meeting will follow an “abbreviated agenda” and is designed “primarily to adopt rules addressing meetings by videoconference.”

At a hearing Wednesday, Chicago aldermen voiced their concerns and hopes for the city’s second round of electric scooter testing that’s expected to kick off this summer.

Ald. Matt Martin recently introduced a resolution in City Council declaring a state of climate emergency. The plan calls for citywide budgetary measures and policies to reduce carbon emissions, but some worry about its economic impact. 

Chicago aldermen have proposed a ban on single-use plastics and Styrofoam containers in an effort to cut down on plastic pollution. We learn more from Abe Scarr of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group, which helped craft the proposal.

Undocumented immigrants stand to gain more protections in Chicago after City Council approved an ordinance Wednesday. The meeting also featured a tense debate over contracting for LGBTQ business owners.

Chicago is getting tough on plastic waste. A new city ordinance would, if passed, ban Styrofoam to-go containers and reduce single-use plastic utensils.

A resolution introduced at Wednesday’s City Council meeting calls for an emergency “climate mobilization” on a scale not seen since WWII.

Can one Chicago neighborhood overcome its political divisions to exert more influence in City Council? Five aldermen representing portions of Englewood held a historic town hall Tuesday to try and do just that.

A group of aldermen have introduced a long-discussed ordinance directing the city’s Transportation Department to install noise monitors along Lake Shore Drive, with an eye toward cracking down on illegally modified motorcycles that race up and down the highway.

The measure to stall recreational marijuana sales in Chicago was defeated by a 29-19 vote Wednesday, but not before the proceedings devolved into a chaotic fight over the rules and rounds of political one-upmanship.

The proposal is narrowly approved by a City Council committee, with a full council vote expected Wednesday. Will it pass? We speak with 28th Ward Ald. Jason Ervin, chairman of the Aldermanic Black Caucus, which is leading the initiative.

Are relations between Mayor Lori Lightfoot and City Council members heading south? Several aldermen are decrying rough-edged tactics after a Lightfoot campaign committee publicly called out every alderman who voted against the city budget.

Sales of recreational marijuana will begin in Chicago – and across the state – on Jan. 1. Or will they? A group of aldermen on Wednesday explained why they want to put the brakes on pot in Chicago.

The City Council on Tuesday approved Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s $11.6 billion budget plan by a vote of 39 to 11. Four Chicago aldermen join us to discuss their support and opposition to that spending plan.

By this time next week, Chicago alderman will have voted on the city’s next budget. Mayor Lori Lightfoot is optimistic that her budget will pass, even as progressive groups say she’s breaking campaign promises. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday alleged that ride-hailing giant Uber offered to pay off black ministers to the tune of $54 million if they would join a campaign to publicly oppose a $40 million ride-hailing tax proposal – a claim the company denies.