Good morning, Chicago.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2025 budget plan for Chicago police slashes several offices that are critical to the ongoing federal consent decree, sparking alarm from policing experts who say now is not the time to take the foot off the gas with reform.
Johnson’s $17.3 billion spending plan for the city carves out $2.1 billion for the Chicago Police Department, a $58.7 million increase from this year’s allocation. However, it also includes 456 vacant positions being cut — 98 of them sworn and 358 civilian — saving more than $50 million in salary and other costs.
Robert Boik, former executive director of the Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform, told the Tribune that eliminating those positions would hobble the massive reforms needed in the department.
“We have to make a decision about what our priority is,” Boik said. “If we want police reform to happen in Chicago, we have to invest in it.”
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Alice Yin and A.D. Quig.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson’s school board president, under fire for controversial social media posts, resigns
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s handpicked school board president resigned Thursday after coming under fire from critics, including Gov. JB Pritzker and the mayor, for social media posts deemed antisemitic, misogynistic and conspiratorial.
“Today, I asked Chicago School Board of Education (BOE) President Reverend Mitchell Johnson for his resignation, and he resigned, effective immediately,” the mayor said in a statement.
Activists call for more funding for migrant and homelessness services in Chicago’s 2025 budget
Immigrant rights activists warned of a looming homeless crisis next year and urged Mayor Brandon Johnson and the City Council at a news conference to maintain funding for migrant and homelessness services in next year’s budget by increasing taxes on corporations.
Hate crime, terrorism charges added against alleged West Rogers Park shooter
The 22-year-old accused of shooting a Jewish man who was walking to synagogue in West Rogers Park last weekend now faces additional charges of terrorism and hate crime, officials announced.
Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi was arrested Saturday morning following a shoot-out with Chicago police officers. He allegedly opened fire on responding officers and paramedics, and was later shot by police. He remained hospitalized as of Thursday, officials said.
48 aldermen take raises as Mayor Brandon Johnson turns one down amid tricky budget
Nearly every alderman in the Chicago City Council plans to take a raise next year, even as the city faces a daunting budget crisis.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, however, plans to break from the 48 out of 50 aldermen who will accept the automatic bump tied to inflation. The 2025 municipal budget Johnson proposed Wednesday revealed he opted out.
Illinois volunteers try to tip presidential race in swing states Wisconsin and Michigan
The Cape Cods and other modest homes in the Nash Park neighborhood of Wisconsin’s biggest Democratic city were decked out with skeletons and pumpkins in anticipation of trick-or-treaters, but the knock at the door came from 70-year-old Loretta Jackson of Evanston.
The retired state employee and Navy veteran arrived on a recent Saturday afternoon, having traveled with nearly 500 others Illinois Democrats across the state line — past the Mars Cheese Castle — to push voters in this key swing state to cast their ballot for Vice President Kamala Harris.
- US voters hear a stark message in the presidential race: The country’s fate is on the line
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Thornton Township bills paid after month-long standoff between Supervisor Tiffany Henyard and trustees
After a month of unpaid bills piling up, Thornton Township managed to successfully conduct some business during a special meeting before Trustee Chris Gonzalez walked out due to what he called unsubstantiated grandstanding by Supervisor Tiffany Henyard.
Cubs reach settlement agreement with Justice Department to make Wrigley Field more accessible for disabled fans
The consent decree, filed Thursday in Chicago federal court, settles a two-year-old lawsuit brought by the U.S. attorney’s office alleging the renovation of Wrigley Field violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by relegating fans who use wheelchairs to some of the worst seats in the house.
‘I can’t wait to get to work’: Will Venable officially named the 44th manager in Chicago White Sox history
Will Venable didn’t give much thought to becoming a manager while he was playing. But an opportunity to go through the interview process for the Chicago Cubs opening after the 2019 season lit a spark.
“(Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein) were very transparent and said, ‘We see you as a potential manager down the road, and this is going to help you get there,’” Venable said. “That was the first time I thought, ‘Wow, someone thinks that I can do this,’ and kind of opened my eyes to the possibility.”
Possibility became reality Thursday as the Chicago White Sox introduced Venable as their new manager.
3 things we heard from Chicago Bears coordinators, including Shane Waldron’s confidence in the third-and-goal handoff to Doug Kramer
Chicago Bears coordinators spoke with reporters before practice Thursday at Halas Hall as the team prepares for Sunday’s road game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Here are three things we learned from those sessions.
A chapter has ended, but story not over for bookstore owner thought to have died: ‘People can think you’re dead all they want’
Word traveled fast that the owner of a nearly century-old bookstore had died. Social media posts were made. A news article written. Emails sent.
Meanwhile, Bill Fiedler, 73, was at his Elk Grove Village home with his wife, enjoying retirement with little concern that news of his death had begun to circulate.
What to do in Chicago: Stevie Wonder, Sarah Silverman and the Hot Chocolate Run
The name of the tour says it all: “Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart.” We could use a little more Stevie Wonder in our lives right now. Chicago is the final stop on the tour.
