Ald. Ray Lopez drops out of the mayoral race, but not before launching another stinging attack on incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.
Raymond Lopez
Willie Wilson, Ja’Mal Green, state Rep. Kam Buckner, Paul Vallas, Brandon Johnson and Ald. Sophia King (4th Ward) all filed to run for mayor of Chicago.
A wide-ranging and still-growing field of challengers are seeking to deny incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot a second term in February 2023.
The shooting happened about 4 a.m. Sunday in Brighton Park after the caravan blocked streets leading to the intersection for illegal street racing, Chicago police Cmdr. Don Jerome said during a news conference.
Inspector General Deborah Witzburg conducted the inquiry after Supt. David Brown’s decision to repeatedly cancel officers’ scheduled days off during the historically violent summer months erupted into controversy.
The city’s 2022 spending plan increased the Chicago Police Department’s budget for counseling services by 73% to allow the city to hire an additional 11 clinical therapists — enough to assign one clinician to work full time in each of the city’s 22 police districts.
Crime in Chicago usually peaks during the summer months, when hot temperatures force people outside and fray tempers. In recent years, the Memorial Day holiday weekend has been extremely violent.
In his bid to oust Mayor Lori Lightfoot from her 5th floor suite of offices, Lopez will give up his seat on the City Council representing Brighton Park, Back of the Yards and Gage Park and West Englewood.
Raymond Lopez, first elected to represent the 15th Ward on the Chicago City Council in 2015, has been one of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s most frequent critics.
A trio of City Council members blasted Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to fight crime by going after the profits earned by Chicago’s gangs in an interview Monday on “Chicago Tonight.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot did not purposefully conceal information about the handling of the February 2019 raid that left Anjanette Young handcuffed while naked and pleading for help, according to the results of a probe ordered by the mayor released Thursday.
On Monday, members of City Council's finance committee unanimously endorsed a recommendation to pay $2.9 million to Anjanette Young to resolve the lawsuit she brought after police officers handcuffed her while she was naked and ignored her pleas for help during a botched raid in February 2019.
“I have profound regret and sadness that the work of our agency has in any way hurt the French family and those who mourn her and I will work steadfastly to ensure that a situation such as this never happens again,” Andrea Kersten said.
Plus: 4 Chicago alderpeople react to the proposal
As Chicago emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Lori Lightfoot told WTTW News on Monday that city officials must be “bold and transformative” to address not only the immediate damage caused by the pandemic but also the city’s longstanding woes.
A push by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to allow cannabis to be sold legally downtown cleared a key city panel on Wednesday, even though it won’t allow Michigan Avenue to become a “pot paradise.”
A final vote is set for Sept. 14 on an eight-year deal that offers more than 11,000 Chicago police officers annual average raises of approximately 2.5% — while imposing new rules on officers suspected of misconduct.
