Results tagged “chicagocitycouncil”

The Chicago City Council passed the city budget today with a 49 - 1 vote. Ald. Billy Ocasio (26th) cast the only dissenting vote. Mayor Daley’s hard-times budget will cut no more than 770 city jobs, down from the nearly 1000 originally proposed. The plan will also raise parking taxes, raise amusement taxes and charge fees on private dumpsters.

The Chicago City Council is preparing to vote on Mayor Daley’s 2009 budget plan today and you can watch a live stream of the council meeting through the city clerk’s website. The Daley administration hopes to close a $469 million budget shortfall by cutting no more than 770 city jobs, enacting more furlough days, and also raising a slew of taxes, which includes increasing the daily garage parking tax to $3 from $2.25 and increasing the amusement tax by one percent. The Daley administration also wants to impose an annual fee on private dumpsters for businesses and larger condos. That measure is estimated to bring in $8 million next year. The Denver boot will also be used on cars with two unpaid tickets that are a year or more old. Earlier this week, a deal was reached between the city's labor unions and Mayor Daley that will reduce the number of city worker layoffs.

Anyone that's been following Chicago's various bans and taxes won't be surprised that a new study has named Chicago the most paternalistic big city in the country.

The Chicago City Council held off on voting on a controversial ban on urban chickens yesterday. Since urban chickens are all the rage, it seems like a perfect time to ban them, right? Southwest Side Alderman Lona Lane (18th), who proposed the ban, said she didn't know why the vote on the ban was held up. Maybe it is, as the Sun-TImes suggests, because Mayor Daley has a thing for urban poultry: "Let's be realistic,"...

In a 43-6 vote, the Chicago City Council voted to create a new Office of Compliance to police city hiring. Critics have charged that the new office will compete with, and therefore undermine the effectiveness of, the city Inspector General. Daley lauded the vote while reassuring critics, telling the Tribune, "it is the primary responsibility of the inspector general to investigate allegations of misconduct. ... At its core, this department is about assuring that the...

Wells Street or 5th Avenue?

As if fighting terrorism wasn’t tough enough, it looks like America’s war on trans fat has reached its breaking point. But not to worry, Chicago aldermen have devised some strategies for success that will enable us to win this war — and they don’t even involve talks with Iran. In the wake of New York City’s blanket ban on the use of cooking oils with trans fats in all restaurants, Chicago may very well be heading in the same direction. Ald. Ed Burke posed a watered-down ban on trans fats earlier this year that would apply only to restaurant chains with $20 million in annual gross sales. NYC’s comprehensive ban has brought the issue back to the forefront as the Chicago City Council’s licensing committee is currently reviewing Burke’s ban.

Chicagoist hopes you’re busy celebrating Labor Day the way most folks do: by sitting around on your fat ass and drinking some beer (BBQ called on account of rain). Admit it: you deserve a break. Even though Federal, state, city and county offices will be closed along with banks and the post office, many people are spending the day working in our fair city, so it’s only right that we take a brief look at...

Limited Liquor Licenses?

As some of you may know, a lot has been said on Chicagoist regarding the issue of street performers. A lot.

Is there other news to discuss outside of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina? If there is, we’re having a hard time paying attention to it. Despite occurring some 920 miles away, the tragedy in the Gulf Coast region has already become a local and state issue as the massive loss of life and property, the looming health and energy crises and the breakdown of the rule of law have a ripple effect across the nation....

Last month, Eric Zorn debuted a new Month in Review feature on his blog. He invited local bloggers and journalists to join him in discussing the month's hottest state and local news stories. This month Monsieur Zorn asked Chicagoist to participate. Below are our picks for July. Check Zorn's site tomorrow for his Monthly round up. Biggest Loser: Mayor Daley With the Feds coming in and busting up Chicago's political "boys club," Mayor Daley's approval...

Remember the old Saturday Night Live “Superfans” sketches where they pondered who would win in a fight between say, Mike Ditka and the 1992 Chicago Bulls? The city saw a real-life version of that matchup yesterday when it was Ditka vs. The Entire Chicago City Council on the proposed smoking ban. True to form, Ditka, a longtime fan of cigars, pulled out three of the signature moves in his unstoppable fighting style:

In honor of her 70th birthday, the Chicago City Council has declared today Irma P. Hall Day in Chicago. Shame on you if you just said "Who?" Best known for smacking you upside your head because she's "trying to hep you, boy!", Ms. Hall has been the go-to actress in recent years when filmmakers need someone to symbolize the themes of a picture (Soul Food), provide comic relief (The Ladykillers), or ground a picture that...

Through adroit parlementary manuvers, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance today that would ban drivers from using cell phones without a hands free device. Chicagoist has learned that the ordinance will be enacted this July, and first time offenders will be fined $50, with repeat offenders subject to fines of up to $200 with each offense. The ordinance does not apply to people in parked cars, people calling 911, or law enforcement officials. Alderman...

Chicagoist has a new hero for the day, and Brian Palm is his name-o. An architectural photographer of commercial real estate by day, Palm spends spare time and resources photographing historic Chicago buildings that are slated for demolition in the wake of frenzied condominium development city-wide. Twenty-eight year old Palm has been at it for a while, spurred to action by a January 2003 Chicago City Council ordinance that mandates a 90-day examination period of...

The Chicago City Council unanimously passed the dreaded 12 percent increase in cab fares on Wednesday. Cab meters will begin to reflect the increase on May 11. If you haven't memorized it by now, the increase will bring the initial charge for entering a cab up to $2.25 from $1.90, the rate per mile to $1.80 from $1.60 and the charge for a second passenger to $1.00 from $0.50. ABC7 reports that the increase will make Chicago's cab fares the ninth most expensive in the nation.

Chicagoist thinks pre-season delusion among Cubs supporters must be at an all-time high this year. In part as an attempt to break the Cubs' curse, the Chicago City Council's Finance Committee authorized a "one-time exception" that will allow for two Jimmy Buffet concerts at Wrigley Field over the Labor Day weekend. Buffet played a pair of shows at Fenway last season, which ended with the Red Sox breaking their curse by winning the World Series....

Now that the Chicago City Budget has passed, people are starting to wonder if a non-unanimous vote shows a crack in Daley's armor. This year the budget passed 45-5. Under other circumstances that may seem like an enormous victory, but in Chicago politics, going against the mayor is a risky gambit. Are these daring aldermen the vangard of a revolt against Daley?

After a month of debate the Chicago City Council got down to brass tacks today and passed a 2005 budget that raises taxes by $86 million. The budget was thoughtfully seperated into two votes: One for expendiatures, which passed 47-3, and one for taxes, which passed 45-5.

Outside of Chicago, Mayor Richard M. Daley is viewed as a model big-city mayor. And when you talk to the average Chicago citizen, Da Mare is generally thought of as good for the city. Hey, props to you Big Guy. So all that happy, fuzzy stuff aside, what the heck is going on with city government lately?

Chicago City Council unanimously passed an ordinance that bans panhandlers from touching, chasing, or yelling at people while begging for money. The ordinance also prohibits them from panhandling within 10 feet of a bus stop, ATM or bank entrance, and at sidewalk cafes and restaurants.

Back in May Chicagoist reported that Chicago cab drivers were gathering signatures for a petition to ask the city council to approve a fare hike. Well, today they presented the petition containing 1,900 signatures - that's 11% of the city's cab drivers.

It's easy to hate Wal-Mart. The oversized store, the annoying smiley face used in advertising, the funny smell. Not to mention the low wages, and now class-action sexual harassment suit. But darn-it. They really do have low prices. And that sure comes in handy, doesn't?

He�s Illinois� newest celebrity, video-camera-toting, senate-candidate-stalking, Justin Warfel. �The Jack Ryan for Senate aide actually gets paid to follow Democratic U.S. Senate Nominee Barack Obama across the state, and to video tape his every move. �Oppo research is a plum job for ambitious young campaign staff, and this kind of thing isn�t all that unusual in major campaigns these days. �But Warfel has gotten too close for Barack�s comfort, so Chicago City Council mover-n-shaker Ald. Ed Burke (14th) wants to fix that by creating a 20-foot �zone of personal privacy� around anyone who doesn�t want to be photographed. �We at Chicagoist immediately see benefits to this new ordinance, since we are constantly dragged down by our many fans attempting to photograph our every move. �Imagine this conversation:

The Chicago City Council votes today on whether or not to allow Wal-Mart to build their first store in Chicago. Up to this point Wal-Mart has generally located each of their 3,000+ stores in small towns and suburbs where there�s plenty of open land and fewer unions, but now that they want one in the big city, they're putting the political big hurt on West Side aldermen as they prep for the vote.