The CTU announced the sides have agreed to schedule an open contract bargaining session Friday from 5-7 p.m. at Marquette Elementary School, 6550 S. Richmond St., in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.

The acknowledgement that approximately 500 people returned to city shelters after living there for at least two months raises new questions about plans by officials to start evicting families with school-age children from city shelters on Monday.

The Chicago City Council is poised to fill two long-vacant seats on the city's Board of Ethics after Mayor Brandon Johnson faced months of criticism from good-government advocates.

The proposal, based on a unanimous recommendation by the Chicago Board of Ethics, now heads to a final vote at the City Council meeting set for June 12.

Rosa Escareño, Chicago Park District general superintendent and CEO, announced an $8 million investment in broadband infrastructure that will provide free, public internet service at 60 of the city’s parks on the South and West sides.

The City Council’s Finance Committee is set to consider the proposed settlement, which calls for taxpayers to pay $21 million and the city’s insurance company to pay $29 million.

Illinois legislators passed 469 measures this year. The bulk of those items will likely become law, pending action from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. But in some cases, what lawmakers left on the table is equally significant as what passed.

“I am heartened by the progress CPD has made,” Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said. “I think Chicagoans should be heartened. I think there are persistent concerns. I think there is time to address them.”

The Chicago Police Department has fully met just 7% of the consent decree’s requirements, according to the most recent report by the team monitoring CPD’s progress.

In all, Chicago spent $202 million on a host of programs including affordable housing, mental health, violence prevention, youth job programs and help for unhoused Chicagoans through March 31, records show.

The “Plow the Sidewalks” campaign sought to convince officials that the city has an obligation to ensure people with disabilities and other vulnerable residents can get around safely even in the worst winter weather.

Mayor Brandon Johnson announced plans to reopen the city-run Roseland Mental Health Center by the end of this year, and open two other mental health service sites at the Legler Regional Library on the West Side and at the Chicago Department of Public Health’s Lower West Side vaccine clinic in Pilsen.

An expansion of O’Hare International Airport’s Concourse C would add more gates and serve both international and domestic passengers, according to elected officials who unveiled design renderings Tuesday.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, speaking Friday at the Chicago Cultural Center, joined Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling and other department leaders to unveil the city’s summer safety plans ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

The Rev. Ira Acree, who was selected by Mayor Brandon Johnson to serve on the board, announced Friday he is no longer seeking that seat due to aldermanic resistance that began after he faced pointed questions during his confirmation hearing earlier this month.

Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jackson Potter confirmed the union and school district have agreed to hold open bargaining sessions that will allow community stakeholders to attend negotiations for the first time.