(WTTW News)
,

A measure that grants the Chicago Police Board the power to overrule the Chicago Police Department and remove a Chicagoan from an under-development gang database advanced Wednesday — even though it is not clear when that system will be up and running.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot presents her budget proposal for 2022 to the Chicago City Council on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. (WTTW News)

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to close a projected $733 million budget gap in 2022 relies on $385 million in federal relief funds and nearly $299 million in savings and efficiencies, but the plan contains “no new tax or significant fee increases” for Chicago residents, she said.

(WTTW News)

A proposal to create an elected board of Chicagoans to oversee the Chicago Police Department is likely to pass easily, now that it has the backing of a coalition of community groups and Mayor Lori Lightfoot, several aldermen told “Chicago Tonight” on Monday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot addresses weekend violence in Chicago at an unrelated news conference Monday, June 28, 2021. (WTTW News)
,

Hours after Mayor Lori Lightfoot blamed the shutdown of the Cook County court system by the COVID-19 pandemic for escalating violence across Chicago’s South and West sides, several aldermen told “Chicago Tonight” that rising inequality and distrust of the police is to blame. 

Members of the Chicago City Council meet on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. (WTTW News)

For 184 years, members of the Chicago City Council have been known as aldermen — even though its first female members were elected a half-century ago. That is set to change.

(docaz / Pixabay)

Opponents of a plan to rename 17 miles of Lake Shore Drive for Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Chicago’s first permanent non-Indigenous settler, blocked a vote on the measure Wednesday, enraging supporters of the plan, who called the move racist. 

(WTTW News)
,

Residents of Chicago have been experiencing mail delays for months. Some of those delays are simply irritating, but others can be far more consequential. What’s going on at the U.S. Postal Service?

(WTTW News)

Mail service has been sporadic at best in many parts of Chicago this holiday season. We visit two areas that have been hit hard to find out what’s going on, and what can be done to fix it.

Chicago aldermen on Tuesday will vote yes or no to raise property taxes by $94 million, along with other budget items. (WTTW News)

Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is urging aldermen to support the plan she crafted to close a $1.2 billion budget deficit in 2021. Four aldermen sound off the plan.

The east bank of the North Shore Channel has been stripped of foliage in Legion Park as part of a habitat restoration project. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

The east bank of the North Shore Channel has been stripped of foliage between Foster and Bryn Mawr avenues, to be replaced with native species. Neighbors say the project has laid bare “eyesores” on the opposite bank.

“First and foremost, I’m not trying to be the organizer of a resistance against the mayor,” Ald. Raymond Lopez said Wednesday following the first City Council meeting presided over by new Mayor Lori Lightfoot. (WTTW News)

Four Chicago aldermen weigh in on the new power dynamics at City Hall as Mayor Lori Lightfoot takes control – and a longtime alderman is indicted.

Aldermanic candidate Andre Vasquez appears on “Chicago Tonight” on April 3, 2019.

Veteran Ald. Patrick O’Connor is taken down by democratic socialist and former battle rapper Andre Vasquez in the city’s 40th Ward. Vasquez joins us to talk about his victory and his aldermanic plans.

Aldermanic candidates for the 40th Ward: Incumbent Ald. Patrick O’Connor, left, and Andre Vasquez.

In 2015, 40th Ward Ald. Patrick O’Connor easily won re-election. But the second-longest-serving member of the Chicago City Council is now in one of the most contentious runoff races in the city. He and challenger Andre Vasquez join us.

(Public Citizen / Flickr)

A year after what for many Democrats was unthinkable—losing the presidential election to Donald Trump—there are signs they may be getting their mojo back.