The Latest Breaking News from City Council

Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) said the restaurant industry’s latest proposal to raise the minimum wages for tipped workers to $20.54 an hour at Chicago restaurants with more than $3 million in annual revenue is “dead on arrival.”

The “Bring Chicago Home” Coalition and its City Council allies introduced a measure to put a referendum on the ballot to allow a revised tax on high-end home sales,

The substances exploded in popularity after a federal law unintentionally allowed businesses to sell the weed-like substances without regulations.

Mayor Brandon Johnson didn’t take his predecessor’s word for it when Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she’d left the city in great financial shape, with an $85 million shortfall. And it’s a good thing the new mayor was skeptical, his top aides told some City Council members in a budget briefing.

Two of the projects will be at Kinzie and Morgan streets, part of a neighborhood that has seen intense activity from developers.

The ordinance Ald. Debra Silverstein plans to introduce would create the category of a noncriminal “hate incident,” which Chicagoans could report either by calling the city’s 311 nonemergency number or by using the 311 app.

Tyrone Hood would get $17.5 million after spending 22 years in prison. Wayne Washington spent 14 years behind bars and would get $7.5 million. But Ald. Brian Hopkins worried the City Council would be setting an unaffordable precedent.

Alderpersons were not told where the tent cities would be located — they were simply asked to identify potential sites in their wards.

Mayor Brandon Johnson did not rule out budget cuts or tax increases to pay for a burgeoning humanitarian crisis already costing Chicago upwards of $30 million a month. “Sacrifices” will be required from the city, he said, but the cost of not making those sacrifices would be far greater.

The lawyer for a small Kansas newspaper raided by police last month said he believes officers didn't follow the search warrant's requirements to only seize computers believed directly involved in suspected identity theft

The changes sought by Ald. Ray Lopez would allow any city “agent or agency” to work with federal immigration officers if an individual granted protections under the ordinance has been arrested and accused of a variety of alleged offenses, including gang- and drug-related activities.