The Latest Breaking News from Latino Caucus

“The only mayor who fully-funded the developments that were stagnated under [Rahm] Emanuel and the new ones that I came up with was Lori Lightfoot. She has been the only one who has talked the talk and walked the walk when it comes to affordable housing,” Maldonado told the Chicago…

Ald. Edward Burke’s brother hopes he retires. “The last election — under these very adverse circumstances, he pulled it off. He walked the streets at, what was he, 76 at the time?” said former state Rep. Dan Burke. “Do the math. Seventy-eight years old. Come on. When is enough enough?”

CHICAGO — Enough Chicago aldermen are in agreement on a new map of the city’s 50 wards that they will avoid a ballot referendum next month that would have let voters choose from between competing maps, sources said Monday.

Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) is the 34th alderperson to back a map drafted for the Rules Committee and the Black Caucus. Both it and a map proposed by the Latino Caucus turn her ward into Chicago’s first with an Asian American majority.

A remap created by CHANGE Illinois and the Latino Caucus would destroy historic Black wards on both the West and South sides.

Finance Committee Chairman Scott Waguespack and Ethics Committee Chair Michele Smith launched a pre-emptive strike, hoping to head off a vote on a new ward map Wednesday — a vote that could aid an eleventh-hour switch by the Latino Caucus and CHANGE Illinois.

The deadline to avoid a referendum, by convincing 41 members of the City Council to agree on a map, is May 19.

“We’re taking it to the voters and we’re gonna let the voters decide,” said Rules Committee Chair Michelle Harris. “Without 41 people making a decision to move forward, how do we avoid going to referendum? … We’re filing for a referendum because we need 41 votes.”

"Unfortunately, we’ve come to an impasse," on a new map of Chicago’s 50 wards, said Ald. Gilbert Villegas. "So, we’ve decided to let the voters decide. ... From here forward, we’re in campaign mode. We’re going to raise the necessary funds to get our message out."