In spite of a possible $300 million budget shortfall, Mayor Daley took a break from practicing Act Two, Scene Two of Julius Caesar to assure Chicagoans that he really, really, really doesn't want to lay off 1,600 city workers. After all, his love of our great city's fine civil servants is well documented. more ›

We've just heard that StreetWise, the venerated Chicago publication that provides jobs for many of the city's homeless people, may be going under. The publication, which has been around in Chicago for the past 17 years, depends on an unusual mixture of advertising, grants and vendor fees to support itself. We talked to the magazine's executive director Bruce Crane who said his magazine has been hit in every single revenue stream. "We're receiving lovely letters from organizations that usually fund us," he said. "All of them say 'due to the changes in the financial market...'" more ›

Just in time for the International Olympic Committee's visit to Chicago to evaluate the city's bid to host the games in 2016, the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid committee has reached an agreement with several community groups on affordable housing, contracting opportunities and jobs. The City Council’s Finance Committee is expected to vote on the legally binding agreement this morning. Some community have been threatening to embarrass the city with pickets and protests next week when the IOC arrives if the city doesn't agree to benefits for residents if the Olympics comes to Chicago in 2016. "The (agreement) they've come up with is a really good deal," 4th Ward Alderman Toni Preckwinkle told Crain's. "We're a long way down the road from where we were in December. They met us more than halfway." more ›