Sure, every one has to tighten their belts, but is it right to cut the library's budget when it is an important resource for children, homeless and the unemployed? more ›

For A Better Chicago, political action committee run by Mayor Daley's former campaign manager Greg Goldner, announced its list of aldermanic endorsements this week. Only three of the endorsements are for non-incumbents: Genita Robinson (challenging 2nd Ward Alderman Bob Fioretti), William “Will” Burns (running against 4th Ward Alderman Shirley Newsome), and Debra Silverstein (facing Bernie Stone in the 50th Ward). more ›

Gene Schulter's decision not to run for re-election makes the number of aldermen leaving City Council to 11. more ›

Looks like that open casting call the city held to fill the aldermanic vacancies left by Toni Preckwinkle, Ed Smith and Tom Allen resulted in... Mayor Daley filling two of them with politically connected insiders. And to think we embellished our resume for nothing. more ›

Mayor Daley has three vacancies to fill in City Council once again. For the second time in nine months, he's taking applications. With Toni Preckwinkle moving on to the County Board presidency, Ed Smith retiring and Tom Allen being appointed to a Circuit Court judgeship, Daley's looking for go-getters to serve as aldermen until the new City Council is sworn in next May. more ›

Yesterday Illinois PIRG held a press conference outside of city council chambers to thank the 19 aldermen who signed a pledge against future privatization of city resources. more ›

Way to stand up to the bully there... Dick. more ›

With all the focus on the Mayoral race, it's easy to forget that all 50 seats in the City Council are up for voting next February and, with several retirements coming, we could be looking at a huge turnover in aldermen to go along with a new mayor. Fortunately, the folks at Progress Illinois, who have that handy Mayoral candidate tracker, have added a new feature allowing voters to track the aldermanic races as well. Their spreadsheet lists the candidates by ward and the stage of each candidate's campaign. The most active seat? That would be Ald. Brian Doherty's seat (41st Ward) as he's running for state senate. The 46th Ward, being vacated by Ald. Helen Shiller, also has a high number of challengers already as does Ald. Vi Daley's spot (43rd). more ›

Below is more from my interview last week with 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack in which we touch on schools, unions, and more on the budget. more ›

A few weeks ago, when I first scheduled an interview with Ald. Waguespack, the notion was to get a bit of background about one of the leading candidates who was likely to step up and challenge Mayor Daley in next year's Mayoral Elections. But, just a few days before we were due to sit down, Daley turned the local political world on its ear with the announcement of his retirement. Suddenly, there's an abundance of candidates, some serious, others less so. With somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 people considering running, the field is more crowded and this, certainly, will have an effect on Ald. Waguespack's decision to run. Someone who's been outspoken against Daley in his term as alderman, Waugespack talked with me about his initial victory over the Machine in 2007 to win his ward, what he's done for the ward, and some of the challenges facing the City of Chicago as it heads into new territory under new leadership next spring. And, yes, about his mayoral aspirations. more ›

Police Superintendent Jody Weis's recent tete a tete with local gang leaders has angered some aldermen, who say that Chicago's top cop shouldn't be "negotiating with urban terrorists." 2nd Ward Ald. Bob Fioretti, who is rumored to be considering a run against Daley for mayor, lashed out at Weis Monday for his mid-August meeting. "I can't believe we're sitting down and negotiating with urban terrorists who are killing our kids with guns and drugs on the streets," Fioretti told the Sun-Times. "These are not people the superintendent ought to be negotiating with. They've now been elevated to equals. They're not equals. They belong in jail. It's an admission that the Police Department can't control the streets." Fioretti also questioned Weis's threat of going at gang leaders with federal racketeering charges if they don't back down, wondering why the police superintendent hadn't already applied that tactic. "We ought to be working hard with the feds and U.S. Attorney's office to start applying these RICO statutes now instead of giving them a warning that says, 'If you kill somebody.' That didn't help this weekend." 49th Ward Ald. Joe Moore, a longtime Daley critic, wondered if a crisis of leadership in the department was to blame. "What would accomplish more is to have a Police Department with good morale that believed in their leadership and believed in their mayor. We haven't had a Police Department with that kind of leadership in 22 years," Moore said. more ›

Yet another candidate has announced implied he may or may not enter the race for mayor. Fox Chicago is reporting that former State Senate President Emil Jones has been talking about maybe giving it a go against Mayor Daley come the February 2011 civic elections. Well, that's if you believe political insiders because when actually asked about the run, Jones was, like Ald. Leslie Hairston, less than enthusiastic: more ›

It's not just the Wicked Witch of Uptown that's riding off into the sunset. Chicago's City Council could see as many as a third of the city's aldermen leaving the council this election cycle, CBS2 is reporting. And while seven aldermen may be retiring, others could leave to run for mayor, or other elected office. 4th Ward alderman Toni Preckwinkle is running for Cook County Board President - she'll leave the city council if she wins. 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack has speculated publicly about a run for mayor, as has 2nd Ward Alderman Robert Fioretti and 38th Ward Alderman Tom Allen. more ›

It looks like Mayor Daley is backing down from his proposed "grid" plan for the city's street sweepers. Instead, there seems to be agreement on something of a hybrid plan, reducing the number of overall sweepers but allowing aldermen to maintain control of the sweepers four days a week. According to the Sun-Times, the new plan would retain 40 street sweepers (instead of the current 50 and the Mayor's proposed reduction to 33). As for the specific plan, The Parking Ticket Geek reports: more ›

In yet another cost cutting move, Mayor Daley is proposing changes to the way the city allocates street sweeping services. Currently street sweeping is done by ward, with 50 street sweepers, one assigned to each ward. This gives aldermen more control over how the streets get cleaned in their ward. Under the mayor's plan, however, the city would switch to a grid system, breaking Chicago up into 33 equal sized "chucks", the Tribune is reporting. Daley says that the switch will lead to more efficient cleaning of city streets, and of course cost savings. "If this side is one ward -- of the street -- and that's the other side, we can only street clean one side one day and the other the other day," Daley said Tuesday. "Now you clean both at the same time." more ›

Bringing the total number of sitting aldermen that Mayor Daley has appointed to the City Council to 19 (that's nearly 40 percent of the city's legislative body!), Da Mare announced his picks to replace 1st Ward Ald. Manny Flores and 29th Ward Ald. Ike Carothers late yesterday: Proco "Joe" Moreno in the 1st, and state Rep. Deborah Graham in the 29th. The appointments follow an on-line application process to replace the aldermen, one who left office to pursue a position at the state level, and another for prison, respectively. Daley said he interviewed 44 people for the position. "The interesting thing was to listen to people about their concerns" Daley told the Tribune. The mayor assured the local press that the new appointees won't be doing his bidding on the council, though. "If you get some things done, it is amazing. [You say] they do my bidding. They don’t do my bidding. I do my own bidding….It is not one way — the Daley way — or that's it. I’m sorry," the mayor told the Sun-Times. more ›

In a series of closed-door meetings, Mayor Daley's lobbyist and Chicago's Inspector General, Joseph Ferguson, met with Aldermen to lobby for an ordinance that would give the IG authority to investigate the city's legislators. According to an investigation by the Tribune, Ferguson and Joan Coogan, head of the mayor's Intergovernmental Affairs office met in small groups last week with aldermen to push the ordinance. more ›

Ten current and former aldermen may find themselves compelled to testify in the trial of developer Calvin Boender, a judge said yesterday. Boender faces charges of bribing former alderman Isaac “Ike” Carothers (29th) in regards to the Galewood Yards project. U.S. District Judge Robert Dow said he would likely deny a request by the City to block the testimony but admitted that the testimony itself may not be relevant. According to the Tribune: more ›

Soon-to-be-former 7th District Cook County Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno thinks it's on the way out. Reeling from his loss to Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, Moreno lamented the demise of the Chicago Machine to the Sun-Times. "The committeemen don't have as much influence over the voters as they did when patronage was alive and well," Moreno told the paper. With Al Sanchez and the Hispanic Democratic Organization out of the way, and a federal judge looking over the mayor's shoulder when it comes to hiring, ward bosses can't round up mobs of poll workers to help turn out the vote. Garcia, who was bounced from his seat as a state senator in 1998 at the hands of the HDO, beat Moreno in last week's election. more ›

Following on the heels of a sexual harassment scandal that bubbled up into the news last month, Mayor Daley has transferred control over city hiring to Chicago's Inspector General. Daley is also proposing that the IG have the power to investigate corruption in the city council. Citing the federal corruption investigation into 29th Ward Ald. Issac Carothers, Daley said that “I think after the Carothers issue, some people are losing confidence in government.” more ›

Following the defeat of 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke's proposal to impose an $11.03-an-hour wage on retail workers in stores that have received city subsidies, Mayor Daley lashed out at the public debate that has followed Wal-Mart's controversial plans to expand its business into the city. “These questions are not debated in the suburban area,” Daley said, waxing poetic on his favorite part of the region. “They are never even talked about.” Daley has said that he'd like to see a Wal-Mart open up in Chatham, but he wants to make sure there is agreement in the city council first. more ›

14th Ward Alderman Ed Burke, Chair of the city's Finance Committee, is no closer to a deal on the proposed Wal-Mart on Chicago's South side (and a future deal on Wal-Marts on the city's 9th, 12th, 20th and 34th Wards as well). The deal hinged on a proposal to impose a so-called "living wage" of at least $11.03-an-hour on employees that work for retailers that benfit “directly or indirectly” from city subsidies. The store in Chatham would be exempt from the deal, since the the redevelopment agreement that would allow that store has already happened. more ›

City Clerk Miguel del Valle called for a broad review of Chicago's expanding permit parking program on Thursday, the Chicago Tribune reports. more ›

According to an ongoing investigation by the Tribune, 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas has been using tax dollars to rent office space for his ward office from a company his family owns. The Tribune's investigation into how city aldermen are using their city expense accounts shows that Cardenas spent $17,120 in 2008 to rent his office, which is in a building owned by himself and some relatives. He told the Tribune he didn't see any problem with that, but then backed down when pressed. "There's no reason to be [in the company] if it's going to cause me headaches," he said. "I do everything aboveboard." more ›

Seven months after they approved Mayor Daley's parking meter privatization deal, the City Council held a hearing to angrily express their outrage over the deal. This from the same City Council that voted 45-5 to approve the deal and, when one alderman complained about the lack of time for review, prompted the classic response from Ald. Mell (33rd), "How many of us read the stuff we do get, OK?. I try to. I try to. I try to. But being realistic, being realistic, it's like getting your insurance policy. It's small print, OK?" Small print, indeed. more ›

It looks like Ald. Manny Flores (1st) has a bit of company in his bid to cap Olympic spending. Earlier this week, Flores introduced an ordinance to the City Council and so far 10 more aldermen have signed on to back the cap. They are, according to the Tribune: more ›

In a rare moment of aldermanic clarity, it seems some members of the city council don't believe what they're being told about the city's Olympic bid. Led by 1st Ward Alderman Manny Flores, a group of aldermen are asking for an independent third-party auditor to look through the city's bid book for potential cost overruns. "It is critically important that we pursue the bid in a financially responsible manner and also in a manner where we provide full transparency for the city of Chicago, and fully vetting and evaluating the merits of the Games," Flores told CBS2. "That's what the residents of the city want," Flores said. "They want the assurance they're not going to be put on the hook long term." more ›

In a symbolic move, 33rd Ward Alderman and Rules Committee Chairman Dick Mell and 38th Ward Alderman and Transportation Committee Chairman Tom Allen are demanding that the Chicago Park District cancel its plans to install meters in over 4,000 parking spots in lakefront spaces. "The slogan is, 'Come out and play', not 'come out and pay.' We want to revisit this. People own the lakefront. People own the beach. In this economy, that's the only vacation people can afford," Allen told the Sun-Times. The Park District announced in May that they would begin charging for parking this fall. Mayor Daley, already bruised and battered from voter outrage over the parking meter privatization debacle, dodged comment on the matter, telling the Tribune, "That's the park district." more ›

• Members of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid team were to hold a secret meeting this afternoon with aldermen to allay their fears about putting taxpayers on the hook for the cost.
• The amazing story of Ald. Don Parrillo.
• State lawmakers are taking a break from working on the budget and will reconvene Monday to pick the problem back up.

With all the talk about the unions and layoffs, it's easy to forget that those city workers who still have jobs were asked to take furlough days to help ease some budget issues. But as the Tribune reports this morning, seven aldermen have yet to chip in their part by going a day without pay. The seven are: Alds. George Cardenas (12th), Frank Olivo (13th), Howard Brookins (21st), Daniel Solis (25th), Scott Waguespack (32nd), Richard Mell (33rd) and Brian Doherty (41st). Mayor Daley requested that city workers take as much as three weeks off without pay, but we doubt anyone has done that yet. The Tribune has full reports of who has, and who hasn't, taken one (or a few) for the team. more ›