Aldermen Tighten Reins On Outside Jobs For City Employees
The City Council is placing new limits on side jobs for some city employees, closing a loophole that allowed them to work for private contractors who have government deals they oversee.
Watch CBS News
The City Council is placing new limits on side jobs for some city employees, closing a loophole that allowed them to work for private contractors who have government deals they oversee.
City Council Public Safety Committee Chairman Chris Taliaferro (29th) said the Chicago Police Department can learn some lessons from Los Angeles in addressing officer suicides.
Chicago taxpayers will soon be on the hook for nearly $11 million more to settle lawsuits accusing police officers of misconduct, including a $10 million payout to a man left a paraplegic when police officers shot him during a foot chase in 2012.
Tarance Etheredge was left a paraplegic after a police officer shot him in the back during a chase in South Shore in 2012.
The City Council Ethics Committee on Thursday backed an ordinance tightening the reins on when city employees can moonlight for private contractors.
Ald. Michele Smith (43rd), who co-sponsored the proposed change in liquor sale hours, said it was prompted in part by the growing popularity of European soccer.
Chicago Police Lt. John Cannon said criminals have been exploiting the rise of services like Uber and Lyft in order to prey on unwitting victims.
"It's not the questions that are the problem, it is the content of the questions, and the offensive nature of the tone and the questions and the 'concerns,' – in quotes – that were expressed," she said.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is supporting the 6-month demolition moratorium, after originally opposing a longer version of the ordinance.
Starting in 2021, food establishments would not be allowed to sell or serve food in polystyrene or styrofoam containers.
The aldermen want to halt the trend of people buying existing affordable multi-family homes and replacing them with luxury housing, pushing out working class and middle class families.
A License Committee and full City Council vote has been delayed on Mayor Lori Lightfoot's proposal to allow on-site consumption of marijuana at licensed cigar bars, hookah lounges, and other tobacco shops.
Board spokesman Jim Allen said the city and county haven't purchased new voting machines since getting rid of the old punchcard equipment in 2005.
Alma Benitez says detectives accused her of lying about what she saw, and tried to convince her to change her account of the shooting of Laquan McDonald.
The largest settlement on the agenda for Monday's meeting is a $500,000 payment to Andy Jardinas, who accused a police officer of shoving him to the ground while handcuffed, in a police lockup in 2016, causing a major head injury.
"These individuals, the worst bad actors, they're not stopping. In fact, they want you to chase them," Chicago Police Cmdr. Sean Loughran said.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot's plan to allow for on-site consumption of marijuana at licensed cigar bars, hookah lounges, and other tobacco shops hit a speed bump on Wednesday, as the City Council License Committee delayed a vote on the plan until at least early next week.
The Cubs still won't be able to open Gallagher Way to people who don't have a ticket on the days of games or concerts.
Food truck owners have said the current two-hour time limit often leaves them without enough time to make a profit, given how long it takes to set up and break down.
Angry words sharply divided the City Council Black Caucus as its members split this week over a proposal to delay sales of recreational marijuana.
Cigar bars, hookah lounges, and other tobacco shops would be authorized to allow customers to smoke weed sometime next year, under a proposed ordinance Mayor Lori Lightfoot has introduced to the City Council.
Following a heated debate at City Hall, and multiple parliamentary votes on City Council procedures, aldermen on Wednesday voted down a bid by the Black Caucus to delay recreational marijuana sales in Chicago by six months.
Without debate, aldermen approved an ordinance that would prohibit all city elected officials and employees from being paid by a private client to lobby any government body in Illinois, at either the state, county, or municipal level.
A City Council committee on Tuesday approved an ordinance that would delay recreational marijuana sales in Chicago until July.
Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), who chairs the City Council Black Caucus, has moved to force a City Council vote this week on his proposal to delay legal weed sales in the city for six months.
A Chicago high school senior getting ready to graduate and on the verge of playing college soccer next year is now sitting in an ICE detention center in Kentucky, where his mom is also being held at a separate facility.
A weekend graduation turned into chaos in the south suburbs, as Thornwood High School's commencement was disrupted when guests started fighting and police had to step in.
Jake Bauers homered and drove in four runs, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 9-3 in the first meeting this season between the longtime NL Central rivals.
Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong says he regrets the words he used during a heated exchange with a fan.
A 13-year-old boy was critically wounded in a shooting on Monday afternoon in southwest suburban Joliet.
An attorney for Chicago Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) on Monday called an ethics investigation into the alderman's conduct a malicious "travesty."
In a move aimed at curbing the growing problem of "teen takeovers," D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is threatening to bring charges against parents if their teens violate the local curfew.
State Rep. Josh Turek and State Sen. Zach Wahls squared off Thursday over which candidate can flip Iowa's open Republican-held Senate seat, as millions in outside spending reshapes the primary's final stretch.
Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin say their concern is there may be more emergency exit doors than flight attendants in the event of an evacuation.
Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) is suing the city of Chicago, its inspector general's office, and the Board of Ethics, accusing them of defamation.
Consumer and environmental advocates said Monday that they found overcharges buried in the most recent rate-hike request by Nicor.
One week away from Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of the summer travel season, with gas prices remaining high, negotiations were set to resume Monday at the largest oil refinery in the Midwest.
Chatham residents say they're losing a vital resource as Walgreen's prepares to close its store near 86th and Cottage Grove.
According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Chicago was $5.17 on Friday, up from $3.75 a year ago.
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas Company customers are likely to see minor credits on their bills for the next three years, thanks to a $125 million settlement agreement announced Thursday by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
A person suspected of having hantavirus in Winnebago County, Illinois, turned out to be a false alarm, officials said Monday.
The DuPage County Health Department has confirmed its first positive tests for West Nile virus in pools of mosquitoes this year.
The Kane County Health Department was set Monday to offer a free mental health awareness webinar.
At least 80 deaths have been reported in a new Ebola disease outbreak in Congo and Uganda, authorities said.
Engineers at Northwestern University have created a wireless polygraph to detect stress.
DraftKings announced Monday that it is closing its sportsbook operation at Wrigley Field after only about two years.
After more than 80 years, there will be no Ann Sather restaurant location in the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue in Chicago's Lakeview community, effective in June.
Flight attendants at Chicago-based United Airlines have approved a new labor contract, marking their first pay increases in six years.
The Chicago Fire FC announced Wednesday morning that its new stadium in the South Loop will be named McDonald's Park.
U.S. prosecutors allege a man with multiple aliases used the name of the famed Astor family to scam a Mexican billionaire out of $450 million.
The Chicago-born house music track, which began as a personal poem in 1982 and became a defining anthem of the city's house music scene, has been selected for permanent preservation by the Library of Congress.
The Library of Congress revealed this year's list of 25 recordings to be preserved for future generations on the National Recording Registry.
David Allan Coe also had hits with "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" and "The Ride" among others.
Some youngsters got a behind-the-scenes look at the magic of making opera Sunday at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Matt DeCaro, an actor who was a familiar face on the Chicago stage for many years, died this weekend.
Meteorologist David Yeomans has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
A judge Monday delayed a decision on issuing a temporary restraining order against the Markham Park District for an incident involving a helicopter landing for prom earlier this month.
A Chicago high school senior getting ready to graduate and on the verge of playing college soccer next year is now sitting in an ICE detention center in Kentucky, where his mom is also being held at a separate facility.
Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing federal agents of assault and false imprisonment, after she was arrested inside a hospital in the Humboldt Park neighborhood during Operation Midway Blitz last October.
A 13-year-old boy was critically wounded in a shooting on Monday afternoon in southwest suburban Joliet.
A weekend graduation turned into chaos in the south suburbs, as Thornwood High School's commencement was disrupted when guests started fighting and police had to step in.
A Chicago high school senior getting ready to graduate and on the verge of playing college soccer next year is now sitting in an ICE detention center in Kentucky, where his mom is also being held at a separate facility.
Gov. JB Pritzker lobbed some strong words about the Chicago Bears straight at Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Monday morning.
A 13-year-old boy was critically wounded in a shooting on Monday afternoon in southwest suburban Joliet.
Three people were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, and two suspected shooters were found dead inside a vehicle nearby, police said.
Pothole complaints continue everywhere, but especially on one street in the Pullman neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.
People in Lincoln Park and Lakeview have rallied against a plan to build a new industrial ComEd electrical substation in their neighborhoods, pushing local and state leaders to get involved.
Monday marks one year since Illinois enacted Karina's Law — legislation aimed at taking firearms out of the hands of people accused of domestic abuse.
Tenants at a South Shore apartment building said they've noticed their rent fluctuating by hundreds of dollars a month due to a change in how their utility billing system is set up.
A man from the Chicago suburbs lost $69,000 of his savings to a scam by a thief using an AI-generated U.S. Marshals badge to intimidate him.
Jake Bauers homered and drove in four runs, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 9-3 in the first meeting this season between the longtime NL Central rivals.
Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong says he regrets the words he used during a heated exchange with a fan.
Rookie Gabriela Jaquez set career highs with 20 points and eight rebounds, Kamilla Cardoso had 11 points and 12 rebounds, and the Chicago Sky beat the Minnesota Lynx 86-79.
Edgar Quero hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning and the Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs 9-8 on Sunday in the rubber game of their first crosstown series this season.
Murakami added his 17th homer in the fifth, a two-run shot to center off Jameson Taillon that traveled an estimated 428 feet.
A truck driver was sentenced to over 13 years in prison for smuggling $9.4 million worth of cocaine in a shipment of Skims, Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand.
Police in Michigan City, Indiana, were searching Monday for the person they said shot and killed a 14-year-old boy.
Burglars hit a string of businesses in Chicago's South Loop early Monday morning.
Burglars broke into a CBD and kratom dispensary on Chicago's Near West Side early Monday morning.
The Cook County State's Attorney's Office will announced a new taskforce Monday bringing federal officers on board to help with crime on CTA.