Ald. Michelle Harris (8th Ward) said the new system would be more equitable and end the perception among residents that city officials offered migrants more assistance than longtime Chicagoans living on the city’s streets.

The designated “landing zone” for buses from Texas at Polk and Desplaines streets in the West Loop will only operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. starting Tuesday and close by the end of the year, officials announced.

City officials said Tuesday they are “hyper prepared” for a renewed surge of buses paid for by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to arrive in Chicago before the Democratic National Convention kicks off in less than four weeks.

Mayor Brandon Johnson and city officials announced that 27,140 Chicagoans between the ages of 14-24 — an increase of about 2,400 people over last year — have signed up and begun employment and internship opportunities since the annual summer work program kicked off late last month.

“We are still living up to our values,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “We are providing care in a way that nowhere else in the country you’re seeing.”

Employment levels in Chicago and beyond have rebounded since the COVID-19 pandemic, but a new report has found teens and young adults across the city, particularly those of color, are still struggling to find consistent work.

No one will be evicted from the city’s migrant shelter in Pilsen, where 10 cases of measles had been confirmed as of late Thursday night.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office responded to a Tuesday WTTW News report that members of his administration were made aware of concerns about unsanitary conditions at a migrant shelter in Pilsen weeks before a 5-year-old-boy fell ill at the shelter and later died at a hospital.

Emails from late October exclusively obtained by WTTW News shine new light on the timeline of when Mayor Brandon Johnson and his administration were made aware of conditions at a migrant shelter in Pilsen and what exactly those conditions were. 

“We shouldn’t have to come to this point, but here we are,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. “Even in my final days as mayor it is important that we step up and respond to this burgeoning crisis.”

Johnson, who will replace Lightfoot in less than two weeks, said he would consult with the South Shore community before making any final decisions on how to address a renewed surge of immigrants being sent to the city from Texas and other states along the southern border.

More than 8,100 people, most of them from Central and South America, have arrived in Chicago since Aug. 31. Mayor Lori Lightfoot sent to the City Council Friday, acknowledging that once again the city’s shelter system is bursting at the seams.  

Both Chicago and Cook County are in the process of launching guaranteed income programs that will provide more than 8,000 residents with $500 a month, no strings attached. While applications for Cook County residents will open in the fall, Chicago residents have started receiving monthly payments.

“The many challenges of COVID-19, coupled with the inconvenience of life-threatening conditions that cold weather and extreme weather brings every year, that means we’ve got to utilize every tool that we can to protect the health and well-being of our residents,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.

Celia Meza has served as the city’s top attorney since December, replacing former Corporation Counsel Mark Flessner, who resigned amid a furor over the mayor’s handling of the revelation that Chicago police officers handcuffed a naked woman during a mistaken raid in February 2019.

After six years at the helm of the city department responsible for caring for Chicago’s most vulnerable residents, Lisa Morrison Butler announced her resignation. In a letter to aldermen, she said her last day would be Feb. 26.