Filed under:The city’s 140 tax-increment financing districts held $1.79 billion at 2019’s end, far above what officials had projected. Will Mayor Lori Lightfoot tap some of that to help balance a budget hit by lower tax revenues?While Chicago city government’s finances flail in the face of a pandemic liable to blast a billion-dollar hole in City Hall’s budget, one part of its treasury is flush with cash — specially designated money that Mayor Lori Lightfoot might see as tempting to tap as she tries to balance the budget.According to reports filed with the state, at the close of 2019 the...…Filed under:The city’s 140 tax-increment financing districts held $1.79 billion at 2019’s end, far above what officials had projected. Will Mayor Lori Lightfoot tap some of that to help balance a budget hit by lower tax revenues?While Chicago city government’s finances flail in the face of a pandemic liable to blast a billion-dollar hole in City Hall’s budget, one part of its treasury is flush with cash — specially designated money that Mayor Lori Lightfoot might see as tempting to tap as she tries to balance the budget.According to reports filed with the state, at the close of 2019 the...WW…

SHAREChicago residents will have a reason to take a walk this weekend to experience the phenomenon known as “Chicagohenge.”Twice a the sun perfectly lines up with Chicago’s east- and west-facing streets at sunrise and sunset, illuminating buildings with a yellow and orange glow, according to the .The phenomenon starts Saturday and is expected to be seen through Tuesday. On Saturday, the sun is expected to rise at 6:53 a.m. and the sun will set at 7:03 p.m., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website.Tomorrow is Spring! And it's the Vernal Equinox. In this...…SHAREChicago residents will have a reason to take a walk this weekend to experience the phenomenon known as “Chicagohenge.”Twice a the sun perfectly lines up with Chicago’s east- and west-facing streets at sunrise and sunset, illuminating buildings with a yellow and orange glow, according to the .The phenomenon starts Saturday and is expected to be seen through Tuesday. On Saturday, the sun is expected to rise at 6:53 a.m. and the sun will set at 7:03 p.m., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website.Tomorrow is Spring! And it's the Vernal Equinox. In this...WW…

SHAREMost of the Chicago Public Schools teachers and staffers who are scheduled to return to classrooms next week for the first time in nine months have tacitly agreed to do so — but almost a third of them requested to work from home or take a leave of absence.The district ended up rejecting most of those requests, according to CPS data released Tuesday on the 7,002 pre-kindergarten and special education cluster program employees who were told to return to work Jan. 4 following the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic closure.Two-thirds of those employees — 4,684 of them — didn’t ask for...…SHAREMost of the Chicago Public Schools teachers and staffers who are scheduled to return to classrooms next week for the first time in nine months have tacitly agreed to do so — but almost a third of them requested to work from home or take a leave of absence.The district ended up rejecting most of those requests, according to CPS data released Tuesday on the 7,002 pre-kindergarten and special education cluster program employees who were told to return to work Jan. 4 following the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic closure.Two-thirds of those employees — 4,684 of them — didn’t ask for...WW…

SHAREThe Chicago Housing Authority is seeking to remove longtime resident advocate Carol Steele from the Cabrini-Green Local Advisory Council’s Community Development Corp. following a report accusing her and others of misusing more than $180,000 intended to help displaced and current residents.The CHA along with the city filed a motion last week in federal court asking a judge to freeze the funds. The city is also asking for an independent auditor to assess the group’s finances and bar Steele and others from having access to the funds.Steele, who moved into Cabrini-Green in the 1950s,...…SHAREThe Chicago Housing Authority is seeking to remove longtime resident advocate Carol Steele from the Cabrini-Green Local Advisory Council’s Community Development Corp. following a report accusing her and others of misusing more than $180,000 intended to help displaced and current residents.The CHA along with the city filed a motion last week in federal court asking a judge to freeze the funds. The city is also asking for an independent auditor to assess the group’s finances and bar Steele and others from having access to the funds.Steele, who moved into Cabrini-Green in the 1950s,...WW…

Filed under:Kiisha Smith, 43, of Austin, worries many people will become homeless because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She banded together with other families to help each other navigate the looming evictions. “I have at least six families who are petrified because what are they going to do,” she said.Housing advocates Tuesday taped notices demanding rent payments within five days on the gate of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s home in the Gold Coast in hopes of drawing attention to what they say is an imminent housing crisis.In a twist, the notices were addressed to the “renters of Illinois” and listed...…Filed under:Kiisha Smith, 43, of Austin, worries many people will become homeless because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She banded together with other families to help each other navigate the looming evictions. “I have at least six families who are petrified because what are they going to do,” she said.Housing advocates Tuesday taped notices demanding rent payments within five days on the gate of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s home in the Gold Coast in hopes of drawing attention to what they say is an imminent housing crisis.In a twist, the notices were addressed to the “renters of Illinois” and listed...WW…

SHARELittle Village business owner Augustin Torres couldn’t sleep Monday night, worrying tensions were mounting between those in the neighborhood and African Americans protesting the death of George Floyd.He wasn’t so much concerned about his business, El Tecolote Ostioneria & Restaurant, along 26th Street, as much as he worried that things would get out of hand and someone would get hurt. He started to worry more after watching a video on Facebook warning African Americans to stay away from Latino neighborhoods like Little Village.“We are in the same boat,” Torres said, as he watched...…SHARELittle Village business owner Augustin Torres couldn’t sleep Monday night, worrying tensions were mounting between those in the neighborhood and African Americans protesting the death of George Floyd.He wasn’t so much concerned about his business, El Tecolote Ostioneria & Restaurant, along 26th Street, as much as he worried that things would get out of hand and someone would get hurt. He started to worry more after watching a video on Facebook warning African Americans to stay away from Latino neighborhoods like Little Village.“We are in the same boat,” Torres said, as he watched...WW…