Generations of discriminatory lending practices and policies have taken a major toll on Black communities. A 2020 study found that for every $1 of accumulated wealth that White families have, Black families have just one cent.

That expected surplus will more than offset a projected budget gap of $82.6 million during the 2024 fiscal year, more evidence that Cook County’s finances remain on “sturdy” financial footing in the wake of the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s mayoral campaign platform called for an end to the tipped minimum wage, noting that those who rely on tips to earn a living wage are more likely to be Black and Latina women.

It is not clear exactly when Bally’s will be able to open a temporary casino in the century-old Shriner’s temple at 600 N. Wabash Ave., with its distinctive domed ceilings and stained-glass windows. A Chicago landmark since 2001, the temple was most recently home to a Bloomingdale’s furniture store.

The Fed’s move to leave its benchmark rate at about 5.1%, its highest level in 16 years, suggests that it believes the much higher borrowing rates it’s engineered have made some progress in taming inflation. 

The nation’s employers stepped up their hiring in May, adding a robust 339,000 jobs, well above expectations and evidence of enduring strength in an economy that the Federal Reserve is desperately trying to cool.

The alert comes several weeks after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank, which all experienced bank runs after fearful customers with uninsured deposits pulled their money en masse.

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas called the legislation “the most significant property tax reform legislation the General Assembly has approved in decades.”

“This was one of the silver linings to come out of the pandemic,” Ald. Matt Martin (47th Ward) said.

Restaurants, bars and cafes would be allowed to serve customers outdoors permanently under a plan backed by Mayor Brandon Johnson. The plan would make the rules designed to help restaurants stay afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic an enduring part of Chicago’s food scene.

The White House and House Republicans are working to reach a budget compromise before June 1, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the country could run out of cash to pay the nation’s bills. A debt default would be potentially devastating for the U.S. and global economy.

The 24 million packages UPS ships on an average day amounts to about a quarter of all U.S. parcel volume, according to the global shipping and logistics firm Pitney Bowes, or as UPS puts it, the equivalent of about 6% of nation’s gross domestic product.

Mayor Brandon Johnson has instructed the city’s budget office to find ways to fund youth unemployment and enrichment programs — and according to a new study by UIC’s Great Cities Institute, those jobs are critically needed.

Illinois Democrats have the ranks to pass a new state budget, but an inability to agree on spending figures means they blew past Friday’s deadline and will return to the capitol next week in another attempt to get the job done.

The Biden administration is racing to strike a deal with Republicans as the nation careens toward a potentially catastrophic debt default if the government fails to increase the borrowing limit, now at $31 trillion, to keep paying the nation’s bills.

Crucial debt ceiling negotiations are still far from success, but a deal is possible by the end of the week, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said after a brief meeting Tuesday with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders.