Lucas Museum Gets City Council OK
Filmmaker George Lucas' lakefront museum plan won final approval on Wednesday, as aldermen signed off on zoning changes needed to build the 300,000-square-foot project.
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Filmmaker George Lucas' lakefront museum plan won final approval on Wednesday, as aldermen signed off on zoning changes needed to build the 300,000-square-foot project.
The City Council has approved the largest property tax hike in modern Chicago history, with the vast majority of the new revenue going to shore up police and fire pension funds.
It's been barely a month since the City Council opened the door for food carts to operate legally in Chicago, and already aldermen have begun carving out some parts of the city where they won't be welcome.
On the eve of a City Council vote on opening Chicago's airports to ride-sharing companies, Uber was looking to gain support with a new online ad campaign.
At a City Council committee hearing Monday, prosecutors and domestic violence experts plan to campaign for hair stylists, cosmetologists, and nail technicians to go through mandatory training to spot signs of abuse, and help victims.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel tried to shrug off the delay in the vote on the $400 million privately-funded Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, but sources told the Sun-Times negotiations with the Chicago Bears have stalled final approval.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he stands by Police Supt. Garry McCarthy, despite calls from members of the City Council Black Caucus that the superintendent be replaced; but the mayor said he understands the aldermen's frustrations, and empathizes with them.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel told aldermen Tuesday the city must raise property taxes by $543 million to shore up police and firefighter pension funds, or face laying off thousands of firefighters and police officers.
The original, dune-like building went from 400,000 to 300,000 square feet, allowing for more park space. It would be built near Soldier Field.
Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26th), the measure's chief sponsor, said he's a regular customer of food carts in his neighborhood, even though they've been banned by the city for decades.
At least one alderman has called it a sweet idea -- a penny-an-ounce tax on sugary drinks -- but it's left a bad taste in the mouths of Chicago restaurants and retailers. The issue was up for debate at City Hall on Wednesday.
The mayor said he, his finance team, and cabinet members will attend the meetings on Monday, Aug. 31, Wednesday, Sept. 2, and Thursday, Sept. 3. Emanuel said he'll spell out the choices the city must make in these challenging, pension debt-driven times; and he wants to hear residents' thoughts on coping with the crises.
The move could help make Chicago the nation's "most breast-feeding friendly" city, one alderman says.
Two key aldermen proposed limits on the operations of drones in Chicago at Wednesday's City Council meeting, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
The Chicago City Council has approved ending free garbage collections for hundreds of large multi-unit residential buildings among a flurry of other actions, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
Carrying a phone case that looks like a gun is now illegal in Chicago.
A new ordinance could put an end to the so-called stop-and-frisk practice by Chicago police.
Free garbage pick-up for some 1,800 residential buildings is a step closer to ending in Chicago. Aldermen have taken a preliminary vote to end the deal, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
Some aldermen want the city of Chicago to ban the sale or possession of cell phone cases that look like handguns.
Facing a $1 billion shortfall in its operating budget, and a combined $20 billion pension deficit, the mayor said he'll introduce his budget to the City Council in September, instead of October, so aldermen can give him their ideas for confronting the crisis.
The Chicago City County today quickly approved a $ 1.1 billion dollar bond issue that the Emanuel administration asked for, despite a few misgivings, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
Ahead of Wednesday's City Council meeting, activists were celebrating the looming rise in the minimum wage in Chicago.
The Chicago City Council Finance Committee has signed off on Mayor Emanuel's plan to add another billion dollars to the city's debt load, reports WBBM's Nancy Harty.
With the minimum wage in Chicago about to rise to $10 an hour next month, Mayor Rahm Emanuel was set to begin an effort to help educate workers on what's in store.
A nearly two-year deadlock over who would run the Chicago City Council's independent budget office has come to an end, as aldermen have reached a consensus choice to become their first-ever financial analyst.
