“The line to draw here is that we either are going to protect working people in Chicago from Trump’s cuts, or we are going to open up the floodgates and allow these individuals to be hurt and harmed further,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

The 29-year-old Walter “Red” Burnett was confirmed Sept. 25, officially making him the youngest member of the City Council. Burnett says he is charting a new path for the 27th Ward, overseeing several development projects and addressing affordability for longtime residents.  

The addition of the library locations brings the total number of drop-off options to 33.

Mayor Brandon Johnson refused to fire Jason Lee, one of his closest aides, at the recommendation of Inspector General Deborah Witzburg, telling WTTW News that Lee “engaged in no wrongdoing.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Illinois Drivers Alliance plan to launch “Know Your Rights” trainings for rideshare drivers across the Chicago area, while also working to add signage around the O’Hare rideshare lot prohibiting entry for civil immigration enforcement.

A federal judge is set to decide Thursday whether to block President Donald Trump from deploying 200 members of the Texas National Guard alongside 300 members of the Illinois National Guard to the Chicago area.

Trump’s comments, posted to his social media platform, came a day after 200 Texas National Guard troops under the command of federal officials arrived at a military facility near Joliet over the vehement objections of Pritzker and Johnson.

“It’s illegal, unconstitutional,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “It’s dangerous. It’s wrong. This is not about deportations, this is not about safety for this president. This is about authoritarianism. It’s about stoking fear. It’s about breaking the Constitution.”

The Chicago Park District has shot down a social media rumor that it had received any information about ICE agents targeting Sunday’s upcoming Chicago Marathon for enforcement activities.

“We’re not going to be intimidated in Chicago,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “It’s my responsibility to stand up to tyranny and to make sure that we are defending the people of this city.”

Even though Chicago’s 2025 budget included $500,000 for the program, the effort will not move forward after the City Council’s Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee, meeting in a joint session with the Transportation Committee, rejected officials’ plan to plow sidewalks in two small parts of the city.

Dozens of armed federal agents, in full tactical gear, walked the streets of some of the city’s most prominent tourist and shopping areas. That comes amid a surge of immigration enforcement that began early this month.

The 29-year-old, who is better known as Red, was immediately sworn in to office on a Bible held by his father, who represented parts of the West Side and the West Loop for 30 years on the Chicago City Council before he stepped down in July.

A compromise proposal to allow Chicagoans to build basement, attic and coach house dwellings across the city would still give alderpeople the final say over whether the tiny homes could be built in their wards, officials said.

“We don’t have a spending problem, we have a revenue problem,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said Wednesday. “That’s why my budget is going to challenge the ultra-rich to pay their fair share in taxes.”

The report offers “89 preliminary options to improve operations, generate new revenue, and pursue strategic opportunities, all while preserving city services” that could add between $1 billion and $2.1 billion to the city’s bottom line.