City Hall

The most thorough coverage of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago’s City Council, including analysis and news from veteran City Hall reporter Fran Spielman.

Reducir la velocided de 30 mph a 25 mph podría “contribuir en gran medida” a reducir las muertes por accidente de tráfico, que han aumentado drásticamente desde el inicio de la pandemia, afirmaron funcionarios del Departamento de Transporte de la Ciudad.
Three city department heads, including Fire Commissioner Annette Holt, stayed away from Thursday’s hearing at the direction of Mayor Brandon Johnson. That infuriated members of the Council’s Police and Fire Committee.
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The hugely popular Chicago event brought thousands of swimmers to Lake Michigan — but as the viral event grew, so did safety concerns.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s latest initiatives don’t address concerns raised in a lawsuit against the city and provide no reassurance the city will get accessible housing right going forward.
The default speed limit on Chicago side streets is 30 mph, but lowering it to 25 mph could “go a really long way” toward reducing traffic deaths, which have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic, city Department of Transportation officials said.
El gobernador J.B. Pritzker ha expresado en varias ocasiones su escepticismo sobre los planes de los Bears para el estadio, que incluyen subvenciones públicas. Este miércoles, el equipo se reúne con dos altos funcionarios de Pritzker.
The statistics, compiled by the Chicago Police Department, show response times over the last six years were more than two minutes quicker with a ShotSpotter alert than the gunshot detection alert accompanied by a 911 call.
Anthony Driver Jr., president of the interim commission, and interim vice-president Remel Terry are among the mayor’s appointees.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has repeatedly voiced skepticism over the Bears’ stadium plans, which include public subsidies. On Wednesday, the team will meet with two top Pritzker staffers.
John Catanzara, police union president, discussed the maneuvering with the Sun-Times. When the mayor’s office began “pushing back” against staying away, Catanzara said, the slain officer’s sister told him if the mayor showed up, she would “make a scene and throw him out myself.”
The city has until the end of the year to allocate hundreds of millions of federal dollars or risk losing them.
The teachers union was happy to see “more people in the first session ... with direct understanding and clarity about how school works,” CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said.
Family, friends and fellow law enforcement officers filled St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel for the funeral. “This day is for Officer Luis Huesca,” said Police Supt. Larry Snelling. “This is his day, nothing else.”
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, whose brother is a Chicago police officer, spoke with the mother and sister of Officer Luis Huesca at Sunday’s wake and passed their wishes along to the mayor’s office that night.
The City Council and state Legislature will hold hearings on a proposal to reduce the urban area default speed limit. Other cities, including New York, have done so.
The Bears put the figure at $4.7 billion. But a state official says the tally to taxpayers goes even higher when you include the cost of refinancing existing debt.
David Pecker said under oath that he paid $20,000 for the story and then suppressed it, as he did for other celebrities managed by Emanuel’s brother, Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel, Politico reported.
In a surprise, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s top ally — the Chicago Teachers Union — was also critical of the district’s lack of transparency and failure to prioritize classroom aides in the budget, even though the union has long supported a shift toward needs-based funding.
The vision laid out by the Bears on Wednesday included detailed renderings of Museum Campus upgrades, including the conversion of Soldier Field to public parkland. But all that work would be paid for by taxpayers, not the team.
Last year, Black and Brown residents, Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans, members of the LGBTQ+ community and others were targeted in hate crimes more than 300 times. Smart new policies, zero tolerance, cooperation and unity can defeat hate.
The plans, according to the team, will include additional green and open space with access to the lakefront and the Museum Campus, which Bears President Kevin Warren called “the most attractive footprint in the world.”
Two additional infrastructure phases that would “maximize the site” and bring “additional opportunities for publicly owned amenities” could bring taxpayers’ tab to $1.5 billion over about five years, according to the team.