Mayor Emanuel's budget calls for sponsorship opportunities on everything from trash cans to electrical boxes to the parking meters whose revenue the city no longer benefits from. more ›

When Mayor Emanuel announced the closing of three police stations in his budget proposal last week, we knew at least one of them wouldn't be shuttered without some form of hand-wringing from residents. more ›

City Council and Rahm Emanuel say gambling expansion is a safe bet. Thursday they passed a resolution urging Governor Quinn to ante up. more ›

"I didn't get elected to be liked, I got elected to solve problems," Emanuel told the audience. more ›

Last Thursday residents from Bronzeville and other communities gave the Mayor’s Task Force on TIF Reform some pointed criticism about how the funds from the district have been handled by Mayor Emanuel's predecessor. more ›

Mayor Emanuel personally reached out to some of the more prolific contributors to the city's participatory budgeting website to thank them for their concerns and recommendations. more ›

That's how much Ed Burke's security detail costs taxpayers. more ›

While we've been lamenting things like the loss of the Outdoor Film Festival and the shrinking of the Chicago Christmas tree, there are certainly more serious issues at stake in the midst of the city's enormous budget deficit, one being the quality of mental health care in Chicago. The city's mental health centers have been in limbo since January when it was announced that some of the city's 12 centers would be closing, and while 4 of the centers were reopened, they still won't be avoiding a hit -- their operating budget is being reduced next year. more ›

• Wow, if you can't trust a fine city steward like Ald. Ed Burke to not be involved in shady dealings, who can you trust?
• This sounds like a plot from an episode of Rescue Me -- a 23rd Battalion Chief on the South Side is being investigated after he allegedly slept through a fire.
• And this sounds ripped from Nip/Tuck -- car dealer and ubiquitous TV ad presence Bob ROOOHRman is suing a plastic surgeon for "stealing" his wife. Life imitates FX.

And that's not even all of it -- the new increases and taxes are expected to total $52 million. Alderman Robert Fioretti (2nd) told the Trib that he's against this "nickel and dime" approach and that he's "more than concerned at this point" because "[his] constituents are saying they will have to move out of the city, and [he's] hearing it also from suburbanites who say they can no longer afford to come into the city." It would have been nice if Fioretti had expressed his concern with his vote instead of his mouth -- he approved the budget and all the fee and tax increases that came with it in November. more ›