Democrats must focus on swing suburbs to win elections, Chicago mayor says

CHICAGO: Democrats face years of work, focussing on "kitchen table" economic issues over several election cycles, if they want to regain ground lost to Republicans, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said on Wednesday. The Democratic mayor of the nation's third largest city also said Republican President Donald Trump's legal and political troubles give Democrats a chance to regain a large slice of the more than 1,000 seats Democrats have lost in Congress and state legislatures since 2008.

Mayor Emanuel Unveils Vision Zero Action Plan Designed to Eliminate…

Mayor Emanuel today announced the City of Chicago is intensifying its efforts at saving lives and preventing serious injuries through a three-year Vision Zero Chicago Action Plan. The data-driven, multi-agency approach looks at traffic safety as a public health challenge and is designed to improve traffic safety for all road users.

Emanuel: Chicago will get same results on police reform without a judge’s oversight

Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to sign a memorandum of agreement with Trump's Justice Department that would include an independent monitor of the Chicago Police Department but no court enforcement. Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to sign a memorandum of agreement with Trump's Justice Department that would include an independent monitor of the Chicago Police Department but no court enforcement.

Source: Chicago, federal government draft police reform deal

The city of Chicago and the U.S. Justice Department have negotiated a draft agreement that calls for an independent monitor to oversee police department reforms, though it is unclear if there will be court oversight at some stage in the future, an official in Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration told The Associated Press. A monitor would be appointed if the Justice Department gives final approval to the "memorandum of agreement," which includes a framework for adopting and implementing reforms that federal officials said were needed in the Chicago Police Department, an official in Emanuel's administration familiar with the agreement said Friday.

Design team announced for Michael Reese redevelopment

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says officials have chosen a team to redevelop the site where the Olympic Village was to be if the city had been awarded the 2016 games. Emanuel announced Friday that Farpoint Development, Draper & Kramer, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, McLaurin Development Partners, and Bronzeville Community Development Partnership are among the leading firms.

Morning Spin: City Council could address gun ranges, valet parking and the United dragging Wednesday

Darnell Hopkins, 63, of South Holland shoots a gun during a class at Glenwood Gun & Pistol Range in Glenwood on Jan. 5, 2016. There are currently no commercial gun ranges in Chicago, but a new proposal easing some of the restrictions on gun ranges in the city might change that.

Trump advisers weigh privatizing some public assets to build new infrastructure

In his proposed budget released Tuesday, President Trump called for spending $200 billion over 10 years to "incentivize" private, state and local spending on infrastructure. The Trump administration, determined to overhaul and modernize the nation's infrastructure, is drafting plans to privatize some public assets such as airports, bridges, highway rest stops and other facilities, according to top officials and advisers.

Judge to sentence former head of Chicago Public Schools

A federal judge in Chicago is scheduled to sentence the former head of the nation's third-largest school district for steering $23 million in no-bid city contracts to education firms for $2.3 million in bribes and kickbacks. Barbara Byrd-Bennett, who held top education jobs in Detroit and Cleveland before becoming Chicago Public Schools CEO, faces up to 20 years behind bars when sentenced Friday.

Sweet home Chicago: Obama re-emerges in city where it all began

Former U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday makes his first major appearance since leaving office, having chosen Chicago, the city where his political career started, to emerge from a three-month hiatus from the public eye. Obama will meet youth leaders and promote community organizing near the same South Side neighborhoods where his own activism blossomed and propelled him to two terms in the White House that ended with Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who served as Obama's first White House chief of staff, said that he was proud that Obama picked Chicago to make his last speech as president and the first in his post-presidency.

Thomas Vranas wants probation for role in CPS bribery scandal

Thomas Vranas asked a judge Thursday to sentence him to probation for his role in a bribery scandal that enmeshed the Chicago Public Schools and cost former CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett her job and led to her corruption conviction, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting. Even though his former business partner, Gary Solomon, has already been hit with a seven-year prison sentence - and Byrd-Bennett faces her own lengthy stay behind bars - Vranas' attorney claims he was basically taken along for a ride.

Ill. House Votes to Make October ‘Zombie Preparedness Month’

The living-dead-legislation, sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch, encourages Illinoisans to learn about natural disasters and take steps toward stockpiling three days worth of emergency rations. "I am told that if you are prepared for zombies, then you would be prepared to deal with a natural disaster like tornadoes, blizzards, natural disasters of any kind," Welch said on the House floor in February.