Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel has moved on, but his spirit lingers at City Hall with a line of his Cabinet members staying on to work in newly minted Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration.
But Chicago Board of Education President Frank Clark is stepping down, as my colleague Juan Perez Jr. just reported on Twitter. And a whole new school board will be picked by Lightfoot. Check chicagotribune.com in a bit for the full story.
Chicago Police, now under the umbrella of a new mayor who will be watching closely, have rolled out a strategy for dealing with the uptick in violence that typically coincides with the summer months. And CPD just announced a new training for officers to deal with the mentally ill.
And proof that Chicago’s not (always considered) flyover country: Some more presidential hopefuls are making stops in Chicago this week.
Welcome to The Spin.
Emanuel holdovers take their place in Lightfoot administration
It’s no surprise that Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, a Rahm Emanuel appointee, is holding on to his job under new Mayor Lori Lightfoot. It was made official on Tuesday. She’d said before that he would stay at least through the difficult summer months when Chicago sees a spike in violent crime. Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson also is staying.
But there’s a fairly healthy line of holdovers from the Emanuel administration who will now serve in her Cabinet, Lightfoot noted. You can read Tribune reporter Gregory Pratt’s story about that here.
Another survivor: Lightfoot’s also keeping Chicago Park District Superintendent Michael Kelly, a veteran of the parks department who Emanuel appointed to the top job in 2011. In recent months, Kelly was given a controversial golden parachute that was later scrapped, according to the Sun-Times. Interestingly, Emanuel reportedly was furious about the deal. You can read that story here.
Chicago police beefing up patrols of CTA trains, bus this summer — “It’s basically designed to help control some of the unruly crowds that come (downtown),” Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson told a Chicago Tribune reporter Wednesday about adding 44 officers to mass transit duties. You’ll start seeing the beefed up patrols this weekend. Read Tribune reporter Jeremy Gorner’s story here.
Lightfoot’s staff told The Spin on Tuesday that the newly sworn-in mayor will be in close contact with police and visiting a variety of neighborhoods this Memorial Day weekend to keep tabs on what’s happening.
Former gang members to Lightfoot: We need your help to halt violence — Read Tribune reporter Madeline Buckley’s story here.
Chicago police turn to virtual reality technology to train officers in how to deal with the mentally ill, the Tribune’s Gorner reports in another piece. Read his story here.
Emanuel liked to hold news conferences touting all those corporate moves from the suburbs, the city’s record tourism numbers and all the cranes in the city center — a sign of the boom times. So it was a bit surprising to see Tribune business columnist Ryan Ori’s latest piece noting that the Loop’s luster may be lagging. He writes: “Loop office owners are staring down a wave of upcoming large vacancies that could alter how the city’s core works in the decades to come.”
What’s the deal? “Part of the problem is due to changing tenant preferences, competition from sparkling new skyscrapers along the Chicago River and the emergence of entirely new office markets such as the Fulton Market district,” he writes. Read the column here.
Bill: Medical marijuana growers would get first shot at retail market in Illinois
As the Illinois General Assembly wrangles with legislation that would legalize recreational weed, the Tribune’s Robert McCoppin and Ally Marotti break down a proposal that aims to put local growers in the front of the line to cash in. They write: “Medical marijuana growers like (Elk Grove Village-based) Illinois Grown Medicine — would get first crack to supply recreational sales starting Jan. 1, 2020, with the state licensing up to 150 smaller craft growers beginning later next year. Then, if state regulators decided that demand warrants it, there could be only 10 more growers at the same size as the medical growers.” Read the story here.
Illinois’ marijuana market could rival Colorado’s — Read Ally Marotti’s story in the Tribune here.
State health department investigating suburban hospital where Marlen Ochoa-Lopez’s baby was brought after being cut from womb — Read the Tribune story here.
Uptown mansion owners sue to stop nearby public school from adding gym
On cold days, the kids at McCutcheon Elementary School have to walk down the block to another facility for an indoor gym class. That’s because they don’t have one. But a proposal to build a gym has prompted neighbors living in a nearby historic district to file a lawsuit to block it, claiming it could hurt the character of the area. The school’s former principal calls the attitude and lawsuit racist and classist: “There is definitely a race and a class issue going on here. I feel I would be doing an injustice to my (former) students if I didn’t name it for what it was.” Read Tribune education reporter Hannah Leone’s story here.
Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey wins re-election: He’ll be bargaining on behalf of the city’s rank-and-file Chicago Public Schools teachers with Lightfoot soon enough. Read theTribune story here.
Presidential hopefuls hit Chicago
Our city is a veritable revolving door this week of out-of-town politicians, including a few Democratic presidential hopefuls working to scoop up votes here along with a controversial congressional ally of President Donald Trump:
Today: U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., talks anti-violence on the South Side — During a morning event, the Democratic presidential hopeful was at the corner of 75th and Stewart streets to talk about gun violence with Tamar Manasseh, the founder of Chicago-based Mothers Against Senseless Killing (MASK).
Thursday: Presidential hopeful Jay Inslee stopping in Chicago for wage march at McDonald’s HQ — The governor of Washington, part of a crowded field of Democrats seeking the party’s nomination for president, this week will be in Chicago and will march in solidarity with McDonald’s workers striking for higher wages at the fast-food chain’s downtown Chicago headquarters.
Friday: Trump ally and U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy at University of Chicago — The California Republican will be the featured guest at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics’ ongoing “speakers series.” A close ally of President Donald Trump, McCarthy’s expected to talk about the GOP’s political and policy priorities ahead of the 2020 elections.
There’s a question about whether he may now be in the president’s crosshairs. The Washington Post reported this week that McCarthy “blocked a bipartisan attempt to limit Chinese companies from contracting with U.S. transit systems, a move that benefited a Chinese government-backed manufacturer with a plant in his district.” This comes as the president has pushed an agenda “to curb Beijing’s access to U.S. markets, particularly in industries deemed vital to national security,” the Post notes. You can read the story here.
Underwood silenced: U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood was admonished today by a House panel she sits on after the Naperville Democrat blamed the Trump administration’s border policies for the deaths of migrant children. In fact, Republicans on the Democrat-controlled committee were able to silence her for the remainder of a Wednesday hearing, the Associated Press is reporting. Read the story here.
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