A 21-year veteran of the office of the inspector general, William Marback’s selection surprised several members of the Chicago City Council, who had expected Deborah Witzburg, the deputy inspector general for public safety, the No. 2 official in the inspector general’s office, to serve as the city’s watchdog at least on an interim basis.

Police and other first responders — who come in close physical contact with Chicagoans — must be vaccinated to protect the health and safety of Chicagoans, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. 

Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara's actions and rhetoric "threatens the health and safety of Chicago’s residents and first responders," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

A search for a new leader of the Chicago Park District to usher into “a new era of accountability in our parks system” is underway, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said those staffers who are not fully vaccinated by Friday’s deadline must consent to weekly testing, but will not be immediately barred from working, as had previously been threatened.

The chairs of the City Council committees examined by Inspector General Joseph Ferguson rejected nearly all of his recommendations, and disputed that state law had been violated.

The landmark designation would preserve the legacy of African Americans in Chicago and ensure that future generations recognize Muddy Waters as the father of the blues, supporters said.

Michael Kelly, the CEO and superintendent of the Chicago Park District has resigned. Kelly tendered his resignation via email to Park District Board President Avis LaVelle, according to a news release issued by the Board of Commissioners Saturday.

But with a week to go until her declared deadline, Mayor Lori Lightfoot stepped back and said she would not discipline unvaccinated employees. 

Kim Foxx held a rare press conference Tuesday to respond to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, calling it “inappropriate” and “wrong” for the mayor to publicly push for criminal charges in last Friday's shooting “without the benefit of all of the evidence.”

The final map crafted by the Chicago Ward Advisory Redistricting Commission would increase the number of wards where Latinos make up a majority of residents by one to 14, while reducing the number of wards with a majority of Black voters by three to 15 wards. 

The policy change, which applies to unvaccinated students and takes effect Saturday, comes after more than 15,500 students were forced to quarantine during the first four weeks of the school year, but only 1.6% tested positive for COVID-19 after being exposed to the virus, according to officials.

The violent shootout and the lack of felony charges appeared to exacerbate the increasing pressure on Mayor Lightfoot and members of the Chicago City Council to reduce violent crime which has soared to levels last seen in the 1990s.

The new system for tracking gang members in Chicago was supposed to be up and running last month, but it remains stalled.

In a single three-month summer period in Chicago, 1,606 people were shot. That’s the population equivalent to many American small towns. They are numbers — and more significantly, lives — that have become part of a grimly familiar dynamic in the city.

While Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he’d be disappointed if the Chicago Bears no longer played in the Windy City, he said the state isn’t planning on intervening and that city officials and the team need to “work out their differences.”