The Latest Breaking News from City Council

Much of Grant Park will be closed to accommodate NASCAR. Now the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium have announced schedule changes because of road closures and expected crowds.

Rich Guidice, who for 20 years ran the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, said “Chicago Police did the best they could to get to the scene of the incident as quickly as they did.”

At an afternoon news conference, the mayor slammed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for busing new arrivals to Chicago, saying he had “manufactured” a crisis “for cynical political purposes,” and is “unable to see the humanity” in those coming to the United States seeking a better life.

If the new zoning chair and Council floor leader is more pragmatic than some of his critics expect, it could be a positive step for progressive politics in Chicago and developers.

The plan shrinks the number of Council panels from 28 to 20. Pat Dowell, whose switch of support from Lightfoot to Johnson was crucial to his victory, will be finance chair.

"When the government picks and chooses among religions," the lawsuit reads, "religious liberty is threatened for all."

Stop “playing whack-a-mole” and disrupting neighborhoods, Ald. Maria Hadden told the Sun-Times. “We need central locations. We need large spaces,” such as McCormick Place, Navy Pier or shuttered big-box stores.

With no money from the federal government for 2023 costs and a $53 million shortfall to meet the surge through June, Budget Director Susie Park said the City Council will soon be asked to approve a midyear budget amendment.

ShotSpotter has rebranded itself as SoundThinking, but it’s still a false solution to Chicago’s real problem with gun violence, activists write. Millions spent on the technology should go to violent prevention efforts.

Finance Committee Chair Scott Waguespack is among the committee chairs who could be pushed out in favor of more chairs loyal to Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson.

After retiring two weeks ago as chief of the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, 54-year-old Rich Guidice has agreed to serve as Brandon Johnson’s first chief of staff.