The Latest Breaking News from Jack Lavin

The proposed quick fixes include a six-month delay — until July 1 — in the requirement that businesses give Chicago employees five paid sick days and five paid vacation days per year.

The ordinance would require 10 days off a year — five sick days and five vacation days. Companies with 100 or more workers would be reqired to pay out up to seven days of unused time when employees leave.

The plan by the Action Center on Race & the Economy and the People’s Unity Platform “has nothing to do with what we’re trying to do,” said Jason Lee, a senior adviser to Mayor Brandon Johnson. The mayor’s approach, Lee said, involves “sober analysis of what might be feasible.”

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.

How best to manage Chicago’s financial challenges is among the many issues separating Democrats Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas heading into the April 4 runoff for mayor

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and other groups backing Vallas stayed neutral in February. Brandon Johnson, meanwhile, touted support from a group of Black firefighters, paramedics, Council members and leaders in the city’s Polish community.

If the Council requires providers to sign labor peace agreements, it won’t trigger unionization, but it will allow employees to organize and join unions if they choose, without fear of retaliation. But the mere threat of higher costs is scaring social service agencies.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot describes herself as a “pro-Chicago business” mayor. But on her watch, Boeing and Citadel have left town. On the plus side, Chicago remains a hub for tech start-ups. As Lightfoot seeks reelection, she and her rivals disagree how to revive the economy and restore downtown.

Delivering the 2023 budget address that will serve as her reelection platform, Lightfoot’s $16.4 billion spending plan has a laundry list of new and continued investments intended to ease violence, homelessness and poverty.