Brandon Johnson
News on the 57th mayor of Chicago.
The four projects named by Johnson’s office stand to create more than 1,000 new apartments with at least 319 projected to have affordable rents through tax increment financing assistance.
The caucus’ statement Monday was in stark contrast to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s defiant tone after Chicago voters rejected a referendum last week to combat homelessness.
As part of a larger effort to remake Chicago Public Schools, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Board of Education moves ahead with its latest policy change.
The appointment of City Hall lifer Rich Guidice sent a reassuring message to those most fearful of the most progressive mayor in Chicago history. But now, Guidice is abandoning ship before seeing Chicago through the Democratic National Convention in August.
The city began evicting migrants from its 23 shelters, affecting potentially 2,000 people by the end of April. Alderpersons are calling for a halt and greater transparency.
Dozens of adults were expected to be evicted Sunday, amid an outbreak of measles, but just three were. They will be able to reapply for shelter at the city’s designated ‘landing zone.’
The Illinois Supreme Court denied an effort to block the ballot question regarding tax rates on property sales.
For well over a year, church officials have offered up rent-free locations to the city, but Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration has yet to act. Oak Park, on the other hand, is now housing migrants at a former Catholic school.
The groups want the court to remove a question from the March 19 primary ballot that asks voters if they approve an increased sales tax on high-end properties.
It’s more heavily Black, with no Asian Americans among his top political appointees. Overall, the city payroll is far different from the significantly white employee base that Mayor Richard M. Daley had when he left office in 2011, a Sun-Times analysis finds.
Illinois House OKs deal approved by the Senate that would put 10 of 21 school board seats up for election this November. Mayor Brandon Johnson will appoint the rest, including the board president.
Mayor Brandon Johnson received a tour detailing the homeless veteran services provided at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center a day after an appellate court ruled votes would be counted in the Bring Chicago Home ballot referendum.
Joe Calvello helped Fetterman win a Senate campaign against TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz — a race dominated by Fetterman’s health problems.
With the current teachers contract expiring in June, Chicago Teachers Union president Stacy Davis Gates listed her goals Tuesday in upcoming negotiations with CPS.
Incumbent Commissioner Tara Stamps has less campaign money than her Democratic challenger, but Stamps does have the blessing of County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
A Cook County judge ruled the ballot question is invalid. But advocates and opponents say voters should still weigh in on the referendum.
The Democratic governor also said a new $1.2 billion South Loop stadium isn’t high on his priority list.
Voters would be asked to authorize the City Council to alter the real estate transfer tax and use the proceeds to generate $100 million a year to combat homelessness.
Mayor Johnson spends $8.6 million on nine-month ShotSpotter deal — more than entire past year's cost
Johnson announced last week that the city planned to shut down the gunshot detection system after the historically violent summer months and the Democratic National Convention, making good on a key campaign promise.
But the argument is less compelling and believable now than it was in the late 1980s, when St. Petersburg, Florida, was already building a stadium for the team.
The battle over police discipline stems from an arbitrator’s finding that state labor law affords the union’s rank-and-file members the right to seek “final and binding arbitration,” like other public sector employees.
Johnson’s signature plan would rely on letting dozens of the city’s tax increment financing districts expire, using that money to repay the debt.
After the combative Lori Lightfoot, Johnson seemed like a candidate for Mr. Congeniality. But Johnson’s communication missteps appear to have exhausted the bank of goodwill with the reporters who cover him — and, in turn, has kept the public in the dark about what his administration is doing.
Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner Erin Harkey was appointed by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2021 when the pandemic had shut down theater, live-music and Chicago’s myriad festivals and special events. She slowly brought those events back to life with the annual Blues Fest returning last summer. Matthew Beaudet was the city’s building commissioner since 2020.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office worked out a renewal to the nearly $49 million contract with ShotSpotter’s parent company, SoundThinking, through Sept. 22.
La Municipalidad “desmantelará el uso de la tecnología ShotSpotter el 22 de septiembre”, lo que significa que los policías tendrán acceso al sistema durante los meses de verano históricamente violentos y la Convención Nacional Demócrata.
Thursday’s vote — after an emotional debate that forced Mayor Brandon Johnson to call for decorum four times — reaffirms the Council’s symbolic commitment to police reform and accountability, but the victory for Johnson and his allies may be both short-lived and Pyrrhic.
The current $49 million contract with ShotSpotter expires Friday, meaning the gunshot detection system that covers 12 of the city’s 22 police districts could be shut down as early as the end of the day.
If Johnson was so determined to honor his campaign promise to get rid of the controversial gunshot detection system, why did he wait until the last minute to timidly announce the decision?
After the Sun-Times first reported the decision, Johnson said the city will drop the gunshot detection system Sept. 22, meaning cops will have access to it throughout the summer and the Democratic National Convention.