The Latest Breaking News from Leslie Hairston

A state lawmaker and the outgoing incumbent’s chief of staff are vying for the open seat in the 4th Ward. And just to the south, a lawyer is competing against a religious charity director in the 5th Ward.

Incumbents Michelle Harris (8th), Anthony Beale (9th) and Jeanette Taylor (20th) had comfortable leads Tuesday evening. With a wide field of candidates, at least some races are expected to be headed to April 4 runoffs, preliminary returns show.

Chicago paid $763 million to prime contractors through July 31, but only 11% — $82 million — went to firms owned by African Americans. Hispanics fared better, at $109 million, or 14%. Asian Americans, Chicago’s fastest-growing ethnic group, got a 7% piece of the contracting pie.

Adam Gross, executive director of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, told City Council members that out of 14 positions in the 2022 budget, only one other person besides Gross is “hired and on staff.”

The lines of questioning from alderpersons include the size of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office (too big, many said) to what the city is doing to recruit and train enough police officers to keep pace with a record number of retirements.

Earlier in August, the Office of Budget and Management reported 1,408 sworn vacancies — and a staggering 814 retirements this year, compared to 973 in all of 2021 and 625 in 2020.

Her retirement is part of a mass exodus that promises to change the face of the Chicago City Council. Hairston is the ninth Chicago alderperson to either resign or announce a decision not to seek reelection. Several others, including indicted Ald. Edward Burke (14th) and Zoning Chair Tom Tunney…

CHICAGO — Miracle Boyd held onto the bullhorn, twirling the cord as she waited for her fellow protesters to finish their chants for justice.

Assistant Housing Commissioner Will Edwards said the goal is to “enable long-time homeowners, many of them older on fixed incomes, to remain in affordable housing and remain in their homes and age in place.”