Confused over how exactly the city of Chicago managed to bungle the parking meter deal?  

You're not alone. Many alderman have questions about the multi-decade agreement that give up billions in revenue to a management company. 

Those questions, which only got more confusing after Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a not-terribly-popular tweak to the program, only got more confusing. 

Alderman Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward) sent a list of questions to the city's corporation counsel. Follow the link to read them for yourself. 

PDF: City Of Chicago CPM Contract Revision Questions. 

Yes, it sucks to be the Illinois Republican Party. The Democrats have veto-proof majorities in both houses of the General Assembly, and a Republican last won the governorship when the Bulls last won an NBA championship.

John Paul Stevens, the Chicago lawyer who served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1975 to 2010, has become the second ex-justice to question the Bush v. Gore decision, which ended the recount of votes in Florida, ensuring George W. Bush’s victory in the 2000 presidential election.

 Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle repeatedly says she’s not running for mayor in 2015 -- which is what anyone running for mayor would say two years before the election.

Cook County Commissioner Jerry “Iceman” Butler is the latest public official to write a Federal Judge in Washington, pleading for leniency for former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.

“The tragedy here is that such a promising talent has been blemished by such an occurrence,” Butler writes. “I will not bore you with his history as a congressman.  You, I am sure, have received more information about his tenure than I have.”

“Therefore I will reduce my letter to this statement. Please let mercy temper justice.”

Butler directed his comments to the wrong judge, however. His letter is addressed to Judge Robert Wilkins, who is no longer assigned to the case. Judge Amy Berman Jackson received the case through a random reassignment April 16.

Jackson is to be sentenced July 1.

 

Opponents of the plan to shutter 54 Chicago Public Schools may have found an ally.

Cook County president Toni Preckwinkle told the Chicago Sun-Times that she's concerned that Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPS leadership didn't listen to recommendations in favor of keeping 13 of targeted schools open.

Those recommendations came from hearing officers in a series of public hearings held before the plan was revealed.

She agrees that some schools should close because of dropping enrollment, but isn't convinced that the closings plan will save a significant amount of money.

Preckwinkle was also critical of Rahm's treatment of teachers when he first came into office, but denies she has any interest in seeking his job.

CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett told the Sun-Times that she's had numerous recent conversations with Preckwinkle and her concerns about the school closings were never brought up.

It’s a well-known fact that Illinois has elected more African-Americans to statewide office than any of our 49 peers. (And if it’s not well-known, now you know it, because I just told you.) Here’s the list: 

Illinois' most popular tourist attraction is up for a major facelift.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel used his second anniversary as mayor, to announce major changes to Navy Pier. (Click here to read about the plans for McCormick Place.)

The Navy Pier renovations will add a new park, an expansion of the Chicago Children's Museum, and additional bars and restaurants. 

Plans include an interactive fountain at the pier's entrance, as well as a $48 million flyover to ensure the safety of guests walking to the pier. City officials say they plan to remake the nearly 100-year-old attraction by mixing contemporary design with function.

“We are taking what is good and making it great,” Navy Pier Inc. CEO Marilynn Gardner said. “We have a unique opportunity to create one of the world’s signature attractions, one that, like Millennium Park, bridges elevated, contemporary design with popular appeal.”

The $278 million redevelopment plan will be completed in two phases beginning this fall.

The two projects combined amount to a $1.1 billion plan that Emanuel says will create 10,000 construction jobs and 3,700 permanent jobs in Chicago.

Private investments will pay for the hotels and DePaul and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority will pay for half of the arena.

Several Chicago aldermen are taking a close look at Mayor Rahm Emanuel's revised deal with the private company that manages the city's parking meters and wondering aloud if it's the best deal the city can get.

In fact, Ald. Scott Waugespack (32nd) said his staff has been crunching numbers and said the private company, Chicago Parking Meters LLC, could actually come ahead in the deal.

Emanuel last week introduced to the City Council a revised agreement to the city's 75-year deal with CPM. Under that plan, most areas of the city would return to free parking on Sundays in exchange for extended hours the rest of the week. Emanuel also said there would be $1 billion in savings over the life of the contract.

• New Deal: Free Sunday Parking, Extended Weekday Hours

Waugespack estimates CPM will lose $7.4 million by giving up Sunday meters in many neighborhoods. However, by extending the hours in River North by three hours and one hour in other areas, Waugespack estimates that will be a $9.4 million dollar gain for CPM.

The city disputes those numbers and says CPM will lose $1 million dollars each year in this trade off.

Waugespack said he believes he knows what the motivation is behind the free Sunday aspect.

"It’s about politics; it’s not about the bottom line for taxpayers for the city," he said.

• Alderman Eyes Bonds to Buy Back City's Parking Meters

Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) said he and his colleagues have to make sure they get the best deal possible.

"I don’t think anyone can take the word of the city at this point," he said. "We have seen time and time again, they have thrown out red herrings or misdirected us."

Emanuel, who attended a police graduation on Wednesday, did not take any questions from the media and left through a side door to avoid the press.

Aldermen who belong to the Progressive Reform Coalition questioned why the mayor’s revised deal has already received the signatures of the city attorney and CPM’s attorney before a city council vote.

• Parking Meter Revenue Up $30M in 2012

"That cavalier attitude, it’s essentially saying, 'We already signed the deal, so you aldermen need to line up again,'" said Waugespack. "That’s the same thing that happened in 2008, and all the aldermen need to better be aware of that fact.”

President Barack Obama is delivering a statement on the growing IRS scandal.

Chicago political consultants Kevin Lampe and Kitty Kurth of Kurth Lampe, and Dave Lundy of Aileron Communications, have a new website listing likely candidates for local and statewide office in 2014. Kurth, Lampe and Lundy are all political professionals, so their creation, trialballoons.net, is the inside scoop. In fact, it’s so inside that most voters will have no idea who some of these candidates are. So we’ve provided some very useful annotations to their very useful lists, for those of you who are not political professionals.

        U.S. Senate

Parents of Chicago Public Schools children filed two class-action lawsuits Wednesday to stop the city's school district from closing 53 elementary schools.

In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, the Chicago Teachers Union said violations against the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Illinois Civil Rights Act (ICRA) are the focus of the civil rights suits with complaints of race and disabilities at the core, the CTU said.

The move comes a week before the school board votes on the closings.

“There is no way that in a few short months the Board can responsibly do the counseling and provide the support services these children with disabilities need,” CTU Financial Secretary and former special education teacher Kristine Mayle said in a statement. “These proposed closings will inevitably put our students at greater risk for academic failure.”

Another suit claims racial discrimination by the board, CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and the city "as parents seek to block the Board from continuing to select African-American children in school closings."

“The Board says they use neutral criteria, but somehow they keep finding criteria that will single out only African-American children,” parent Frances Newman said.

In response CPS said, "too many children today are trapped in underutilized, under-resourced schools cheating them of the investments they need to succeed in the classroom.

"Instead of offering up solutions," the statement continues, "CTU continues to protect a status quo that doesn't put our children first. Consolidating underutilized schools is necessary to give children the resources they need to access a quality, 21st century education."

• CPS to Shutter 54 Schools in Closure Plan
• Teachers, Supporters Rally in Opposition of School Closures
• List of School Closures / Consolidations
• Schools CEO: Delaying Closures Would be "Criminal"

CPS announced plans in March to close the schools in an effort to address the district's $1 billion deficit, make better use of resources and improve education in the nation's third-largest district.

Since then hundreds of students, teachers and union members have rallied against the proposed closings. The CTU has said a single school closure is one too many and 50 or more would be catastrophic for the district.

Another big concern for many parents fighting to keep their schools in tact has been the fear that some students would need to cross potentially-unsafe gang boundaries. CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett has said there are plans in place to expand and enhance the district's "safe passage" program.

It was reported this week that Chicago firefighters were quietly ordered to join in staffing the safe passage routes beginning on the first day of school Aug. 26. Their presence would continue for the first three weeks of the school year.

The CTU said the move is an admission the city's school closure plan hasn't been well thought out.

Former Mayor Richard M. Daley's nephew will face trial in the David Koschman case early next year.

Judge Maureen McIntyre told Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko and his attorneys during a Tuesday hearing to keep January and February open for the trial.

Vanecko pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the 2004 death of David Koschman, a 21-year-old man from Mt. Prospect who died from brain injuries after a single punch.

Prosecutors say Koschman died 11 days after Vanecko punched him in a fight on Chicago's Division Street in April 2004. An investigation led to Vanecko's indictment nearly nine years later.

• Timeline: David Koschman Case

Vanecko was never questioned by police. His attorney, Terence Gillespie, has said his client did nothing wrong that night and that no political clout came into play in the investigation.

Until late last year, any criminal legal action against Vanecko has been nearly non-existent from the police and the state's attorney's office. That has raised serious questions about whether Vanecko, the grandson of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, received special treatment.

• Who Is R.J. Vanecko?

When charges came down, Koschman's mother, Nanci, said she feels no need for revenge against Vanecko but said the Monday charge brings peace to her and her family.

"I wanted it on record that this man hit my son for no reason," she said.

As part of an Inspector General report looking into the reasons behind Chicago's placement of its nearly 400 red-light cameras and questioning whether they keep residents safe, it noted the number of tickets issued per intersection for 2012.

According to the report, the red-light camera program made $61 million last year.

The most tickets, 19,805, were issued at Cicero Avenue and I-55 for a total ticket value of $1.9 million. Including this busy intersection, here the top 10 most ticketed red-light intersections, according to the report.

1. Cicero and I-55
Number of tickets: 19,805
Value of tickets: $1,980,500

2. Lake Shore Drive and Belmont
Number of tickets: 16,273
Value of tickets: $1,627,300

3. LaFayette and 87th
Number of tickets: 15,226
Value of tickets: $1,522,600

4. Van Buren and Western
Number of tickets: 15,090
Value of tickets: $1,509,000

5. 95th and Stoney Island
Number of tickets: 11,449
Value of tickets: $1,144,900

6. Laramie and Madison
Number of tickets: 11,224
Value of tickets: $1,122,400

7. Stoney Island and 89th
Number of tickets: 9,644
Value of tickets: $964,400

8. State and 79th
Number of tickets: 8,769
Value of tickets: 876,900

9. Pulaski and Peterson
Number of tickets: 8,612
Value of tickets: $861,200

10. Cermak and Clark
Number of tickets: 7,923
Value of tickets: $792,300

The last time a gambling bill came before the General Assembly, Mayor Rahm Emanuel insisted he wanted to bring casino gambling to Chicago “for our kids.”

A new report from Chicago's inspector general finds safety might not be the city's main goal when picking the locations of red light cameras. In some cases, the report finds, it's not clear why certain spots were chosen.

The report, released Tuesday by Inspector General Joe Ferguson, says the Chicago Department of Transportation couldn't substantiate claims that red light cameras were placed at "intersections with the highest angle crash rates in order to increase safety."

Some camera-protected intersections, the report finds, have no recent angle crashes and the cameras haven't been moved to reflect that. Since the program started in 2003, the city relocated 10 cameras from five intersections out of a total of 384 cameras at 190 locations, according to the report.

“The city cannot effectively manage its programs unless it measures its programs,” Ferguson said in a statement. “In addition to finding that the City cannot prove [red-light camera] installation locations are based on safety considerations, we discovered a striking lack of basic recordkeeping and analysis for this $70 million program.” 

READ: Chicago Inspector Generals' Full Report

According to the report, the program made $61 million in 2012. The most tickets, 19,805, were issued at Cicero and I-55 for a total ticket value of $1.9 million. Other heavily ticketed intersections include Lake Shore Drive and Belmont (16,273), LaFayette and 87th (15,226) and Van Buren and Western (15,090).

Top 10 Most-Ticketed Red-Light Camera Intersections

The report calls on Chicago to establish clear criteria about locating and moving the cameras and to retain records and documentation of the process for each location.

In response, CDOT said it is committed to the effective management of the program and noted a majority of the locations were chosen five or more years ago, during the previous administration when none of the current CDOT leadership was in place.

In response to several questions about the program, CDOT said analysis of traffic crashes is more complicated than it seems.

"Traffic in general, and traffic crashes in particular, are not deterministic but are highly variable," CDOT said in a statement response included in the report. "Thus all analysis of traffic crashes reflects a specific combination of these factors, which may or may not be duplicated in an audit."

CDOT also noted the city is the process of choosing a new red-light camera vendor and said it will work with the vendor to review current camera locations.

“I support these stated intentions," Ferguson said in response, "and look forward to the results of the analyses, which the IGO will assess in a future audit of the program."

Mayor Rahm Emanuel extended Chicago’s contract with current vender, Redflex, for a second time last month in hopes of ending the relationship for good in the near future.

Emanuel removed Redflex Traffic Systems Inc.'s bid for the city's speed camera contract after an investigation turned up ethics issues. The violations included paying a $910 hotel bill for a city official who oversaw the program and failing to inform the city about it in a timely manner.

Illinois Unites for Marriage, which is lobbying to pass the Religious Freedom and Marriage Equality in the state House, is sponsoring a pair of robocalls to the districts of 19 African-American representatives in the Chicago area and Metro East.

The calls, which are narrated by former Chicago Bears linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo and civil rights leader Julian Bond, are intended to counter anti-gay marriage radio ads and robocalls from the African-American Clergy Coalition, a group of socially conservative black ministers. Here are transcripts of the calls. 

Sen. Mark Kirk will run for re-election in 2016, according to outgoing Illinois Republican Party chairman Pat Brady. In an interview with Chicago magazine’s Carol Felsenthal, Brady was asked (indirectly) about Kirk’s support for gay marriage and (directly) about his electoral future.

As Majority Whip, Sen. Dick Durbin is always a good source of Democratic talking points. On Sunday’s Face The Nation, Durbin defended former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from congressional Republicans who want her to testify about the deaths of four American foreign service workers in Benghazi, Libya, last Sept. 11. Speaking from his hometown of Springfield, Durbin said Clinton’s testimony would be a political stunt designed to undermine her 2016 presidential campaign. An independent report by former United Nations ambassador Thomas Pickering and retired Adm. Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, absolved Clinton of accusations she was responsible for a lack of security at the outpost. Clinton has testified twice before congressional committees investigating the attack, but Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., wants to bring her back to address what he called a “cover up” of details surrounding the attack.

Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon on Sunday said she supports a bill that would allow the medical use of marijuana in Illinois.

Simon told The Associated Press her initial reaction wasn't in support but after hearing from people with illnesses she changed her mind. She said it's a tightly-restricted plan.

The proposal -- HB 1 -- allows physicians to prescribe marijuana to patients with specific terminal illnesses or medical conditions. It's passed the House and awaits a Senate vote. Gov. Pat Quinn hasn't indicated if he'll sign it.

Supporters say marijuana can relieve continual pain without triggering detrimental side effects of other prescription drugs.

Opponents say the program could encourage recreational use, especially among teenagers. The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and the Illinois Sheriffs' Association are opponents.

• April 17: Illinois House OKs Medical Marijuana Bill
• April 17: Illinois Docs Call for Medial Marijuana Legalization
• April 25: Opponents Say Medical Marijuana is Dangerous
• May 9: Illinois Senate Committee OKs Medical Marijuana

If there was any question, there shouldn't be.

Rahm Emanuel wants a second term as mayor of Chicago. And he's adamant he won't bow out early or eventually seek a higher office.

In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times' Fran Spielman earlier this week, the former White House Chief of Staff said he'd support a presidential run of either Vice President Joe Biden or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but he's not going anywhere.

Emanuel took office in 2011 and says if he wins a second term he'll serve it out. 

But if Clinton calls on him to be a running mate?

"Please. I’m gonna be mayor," he said, according to a report of the interview. "This is a hypothetical. I’m not doing hypotheticals."
 

A bill designed to reduce gun violence by increasing gun-crime sentences could end up costing Illinois taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, according to an investigation by NBC Chicago and The Chicago Reporter.

State Representative Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside) has proposed a bill to increase Illinois’ minimum mandatory prison sentence for gun violators from one year to three years. 

"We have to make sure individuals are afraid, frankly, of the law, and afraid of the consequences," Zalewski said. "I think three years sets a high bar that if you’re found guilty of the offense, you’re going to face serious consequences.  You’re not going to be right back out on the street."

But critics say the bill is nothing more than "political theatre." What’s more, it’s prohibitively expensive, according to opponents like John Maki, Executive Director of the John Howard Association, a local prison-watchdog group.

"It’s going to add about 4,000 inmates in about three years," Make explained. "It’s going to explode the budget."

The results of a study done by NBC Chicagos partner, The Chicago Reporter, would seem to support that view.  The Reporter analyzed all criminal cases in Cook County Criminal Court from 2000 through 2011, and estimated that it cost taxpayers more than $5.3 billion to imprison Chicago criminals during that period.  If those sentencing costs were extrapolated to include the increased prison time resulting from Zalewski’s gun-sentencing bill, The Reporter estimates the bill to taxpayers would have increased by an additional $760 million during that same time period.

"The research is absolutely clear," said Maki. "Lengthening prison sentences will not deter gun violence and will not decrease crime."

Zalewski disagrees. 

"If we can ensure that those who consistently violate our public safety laws face serious consequences, we have a compelling need to act, and that’s what we should do," he said, especially when Congress appears to be at a standstill in addressing gun crimes. "We can’t afford to wait for this system of comprehensive gun legislation out of D.C."

As for the potential added expense of these expanded prison sentences, Zalewski is part of a separate discussion in Springfield, aimed at freeing up space in Illinois’ overcrowded prisons.  The discussion centers around reducing the number of non-violent offenders—people convicted of such offenses as prostitution or drugs, for example—to make room for these more violent gun offenders.

There is a detailed analysis of the costs of prison sentences in Cook County -- for gun crimes and more -- in the latest issue of The Chicago Reporter.

The Illinois State Rifle Association has taken a good, hard look at the massacre of 20 children at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., and figured out who the real victims of that crime are: gun owners, whose rights are threatened by parents so hysterical they can no longer comprehend the Second Amendment. Here’s an excerpt from an ISRA “Special Alert” issued after the National Rifle Association convention in Houston:

The polling firm We Ask America asked 1,057 likely Illinois voters to weigh in on Gov. Pat Quinn’s performance.

The results are not good: 62 percent of respondents disapprove of Quinn's performance as governor. 

When the figures are broken down along gender lines, 60 percent of women disapprove and 65 percent of men disapprove.  

The numbers differ geographically. In Chicago only 41 percent disapprove, however 77 percent of downstate respondents disapprove.   

All these upside down numbers lead the We Ask America pollsters to surmise that some political prognosticators will describe Quinn as the "Walking Dead."

That might be too optimisitc, considering A&E's Walking Dead is one of the top-rated cable shows.

• Quinn Running for Re-Election Because "I'm Doing a Good Job"

We all knew Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s trips to Hollywood were paying off with big campaign contributions. Now, they’re paying off with big publicity, too. Robert Redford is planning to make an eight-part documentary about Chicago for CNN. Focusing, of course, on Rahm.

Excerpts from letters to U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Wilkins, regarding the sentencing of Jesse and Sandi Jackson:

Just weeks after the al Qaeda-backed "Inspire" magazine was cited as a source of bomb-making tips for the suspects in the Boston Marathon attacks, a new jihadi magazine has appeared, this one asking for help in combating American drones, and promoting the “targeting” of President Barack Obama.

"Possibly exhausted because of the tedious, fruitless killing of innocent men and women for more than a decade, the Americans have thought of new ways to prolong this war," the magazine "Azan" states in its inaugural issue. "These drones represent both the inability and cowardice of the American soldiers to face the Mujahadeen in front-on battle."

“This is a call to anyone in the Islamic Ummah (community) with knowledge, expertise, and theories regarding anti-drone technology,” the authors continue. “From the millions of Muslims that live all over the world, there would possibly be quite a few who would assist their brothers in combating these evil missiles designed by the devils of the world.”

The magazine also features a poster featuring crosshairs covering an image of President Obama, with the words, “Wanted Dead Only”. A secondary caption states, “Barack Obama, mass murderer. Reward: in the hereafter.”

There was no elaboration. But the magazine carries another article disparaging Malala Yousafzai, a 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot by Taliban gunmen after she became an outspoken advocate of women’s rights.

The article states that the girl’s father was “another one of those red herrings of the Islamic world who left the purity of Islam for the wicked, secular, satanic ways of the disbelieving west.”

Directing their comments directly at the girl and her family, the authors write: “You and your father know that the Taliban are the truth…..Seek forgiveness before death comes to you and your record book is closed.”

Malala is currently undergoing medical treatment in London.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) met with Mayor Rahm Emanuel Wednesday to discuss changing a newly proposed parking meter deal that would cost drivers more in River North.

Reilly said he is "very opposed" to the neighborhood getting hit with extended meters costs until midnight and not being included in the free Sunday parking deal.

Emanuel announced last month that the city's neighborhoods would get a parking break on Sundays as part of a settlement in the city's legal battle with Chicago Parking Meters LLC, the private company.

The company agreed to stop charging on Sundays in neighborhoods beginning in late summer. In return parking costs will be extended to 10 p.m. on blocks where metered parking ends at 9 p.m., and times will be extended from 9 p.m. to midnight in the area bordered by the Chicago River to the South, the lake to the East, Division Street to the North and the Chicago River to the West.

That includes River North, an area filled with restaurants and nightlife.

Reilly said he and the mayor met for first time Wednesday morning on the proposed changes and the two "agreed to disagree."

"Nothing's free," Reilly said of the free Sundays, "Someone pays for those free Sundays."

The City Council was expected to debate the deal Wednesday.

Jesse Jackson Jr. already faces sentencing for one legal problem, but he could face another. 

Jackson apparently hasn't filed a financial disclosure report, according to the Chicago Tribune. That's required from members of Congress who leave the House, and those who don't file could be fined up to $50,000.

The former congressman's sentencing is scheduled for July 1. He pleaded guilty in February to misusing $750,000 in campaign money and could get up to nearly five years in prison.

Prosecutors said Jackson spent thousands of campaign dollars on fan memorabilia, including $4,000 on a Michael Jackson and Eddie Van Halen guitar. Other charges included more than $4,000 for a cruise, $2,300 at Walt Disney World and $5,600 at a spa on Martha's Vineyard.

Jackson's wife, former Chicago alderman Sandi Jackson, pleaded guilty to filing false joint federal income tax returns and faces up to two years in prison.

Court documents show Jackson failed the claim about $600,000 on her income tax returns between 2005 in 2011.

She also will be sentenced July 1.

 

In the wake of NBA basketball star Jason Collins' coming out as gay, the Chicago City Council is considering a resolution supporting gay athletes.

Aldermen held public hearings on the issue Tuesday.

The resolution encourages commissioners from the four major sports leagues to state their support for gay players, invite them to come out, and to ensure their safety.

"It's so, so important that we stand up for this last group that experiences so much prejudice, those in sports," said Ald. James Cappleman (46th).

If passed, Chicago would become just the second city to declare its backing for gay or transgendered athletes. San Francisco was the first.

The deputy commissioner of the NHL, composed of U.S. and Canadian teams, said last week he was not personally aware of any gay players in the league but made it clear the NHL is treating any coming out as a high priority.

The full council is expected to address the issue at Wednesday's meeting.

Former Alderman Sharon Dixon on Tuesday was ordered held on on $25,000 bond after allegedly walking inside and around a Chicago police station with a loaded .357 magnum over the weekend.

The 50-year-old was arrested Saturday after officers outside the 10th District station noticed the weapon in a holster around her hip, Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Lorraine Scaduto told the Chicago Sun-Times.

At one point, she reportedly pointed to a car and asked police officers, "Is this D's car?"

The former 24th Ward alderman was arrested and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital for a psychological evaluation.

Prosecutors said her gun was loaded with seven bullets, DNAInfo Chicago reported.

She was charged Monday was unlawful use of a weapon and possessing a firearm without a license.

Dixon in 2011 sued three Chicago police officers in connection with a DUI charge two years earlier. The DUI charge was eventually dropped, but Dixon alleged she was treated like "a dangerous, common criminal" following her arrest.

She was elected to the City Council in 2007 and ousted in 2011, succeeded by Michael Chandler.

Norma Reyes, a longtime member of former Mayor Richard Daley's administration, died Monday at the age of 56.

Details surrounding her passing, first reported by the Chicago Tribune, were unknown Tuesday afternoon.

Daley described Reyes, who served as his deputy chief of staff before being appointed Commissioner of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, as "wonderful" and "upbeat."

"She had  a fantastic sense of humor and a strong sense of duty to provide opportunities for the less fortunate. She was simply a very good person," he said.

Reyes previously served the city as its Commissioner of the Department of Buildings.

An attorney who practiced law in Chicago for 20 years, Reyes received a bachelor's degree in government and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Notre Dame, according to a biography on WomensNetworkingCommunity.org.

She worked as a Cook County assistant state’s attorney for nine years before becoming chief assistant corporation counsel and later the deputy corporation counsel for the city’s Law Department.

She retired from public service in 2011.

It's on, Chicago.

Hillary Clinton and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are headlining former President Bill Clinton's annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting June 13-14 in the Windy City.

Though "speeding up the United States' economic recovery and the nation's long-term outlook" is the gathering's official, scheduled theme, the duo's appearance ensures 2016 presidential election buzz will officially be underway.

Clinton and Christie are among the top contenders within their parties for the highest seat in the country, and while speculation continues, why not start the battle in Chicago.

Bill Clinton reportedly said he is "thrilled" that his wife is participating in the event. It marks her first appearance at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting.

Christie, who once visited Illinois with the intent to lure away jobs, is one of two Republicans scheduled to appear at the gathering.

Chelsea Clinton, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Eva Longoria and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew are among the other guests.


 

On Thursday, Ward Room published a blog post in which we wrote that Englewood has lost two thirds of its population since 1950. That made us wonder whether Englewood is the most abandoned neighborhood in Chicago.

So we did some research using Census tract data. It turns out that the neighborhood that’s lost the highest percentage of residents since 1950, the year Chicago’s population peaked at 3.6 million, is Fuller Park, which is down 83 percent. Fuller Park is in what used to be known as the Black Belt, the South Side ghetto to which the city’s African-American population was confined for the first half of this century. It was horribly overcrowded, and when restrictive covenants were banned, starting in the 1950s, its residents moved out in droves, seeking less dense living conditions. Douglas, Oakland, Grand Boulevard and Washington Park -- four other Black Belt neighborhoods -- have all lost over 75 percent of the populations since the ‘50s.

The Illinois House approved a comprehensive pension-reform plan for the first time on Thursday after years of talks.

The House voted 62-51 Thursday to advance the measure -- SB1 -- sponsored by House Speaker Michael Madigan.

The Chicago Democrat's proposal is designed to close a $97 billion deficit that dogs the state's pension plans. Underfunding for decades has left the accounts short of what they need.

The legislation  requires employees to contribute 2 percent more of their earnings to their pensions. They would also have to delay retirement and accept less-generous annual cost-of-living increases.

The state would guarantee it would make its required contribution every year.

The measure now goes to the Senate where President John Cullerton has his own ideas about reform.

Union representatives threatened a lawsuit Wednesday over the attempt to lower the retirement benefits of public employees in Illinois, but the committee advanced the plan anyway.

Gov. Pat Quinn left no doubt whether he would sign the legislation if it reaches his desk.

"Today the Illinois House of Representatives took the biggest step to date towards restoring fiscal stability to Illinois," Quinn said in a released statement. "With the passage of this comprehensive pension reform solution, Illinois is closer than ever to addressing a decades-long problem that is plaguing our economy, our bond rating and the future of our children."

The far-reaching proposal represents Madigan's first direct involvement on a piece of legislation to tackle the deficit. The bill addresses four of the five pension systems representing state employees, university professionals, primary-school teachers, and legislators.

"It will bring solvency and stability to the four systems," Madigan said, later explaining that the fifth account, covering judges, was left out as a "practical judgment." Reform advocates say judges are exempted because it will be the Supreme Court that ultimately decides the plan's constitutionality, a likelihood endorsed by half-a-dozen union leaders protesting the legislation.

"It will invite and get a legal challenge," said Mike Stout, business manager of ISEA-Laborers' Local 2002.

Former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, who continues to mull a challenge to Quinn in the next governor's race, applauded Madigan's legislation.

"I think it is a serious attempt by the speaker to solve a problem that is choking the economic future of this state in a way that everybody suffers," he said during a sit-down interview with NBC Chicago on Thursday. "You could make the argument that this isn't fair to certain people -- and it may not be -- but for the greater good of the 12 million people in Illinois, this is the only train leaving the station."

Unions have long contested legislators' attempts to get the pension mess under control, holding up a provision in the state constitution prohibiting the state from diminishing promised pension benefits. They point out that employees have for decades made required pension contributions out of their paychecks while the state notoriously shorted or even skipped pension payments.

Union official Henry Bayer said the plan appears to take care of the underfunding, but it shouldn't at the expense of employees.

"It's good that you're not kicking the can down the road," said Bayer, executive director of the 40,000-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "It's bad that you're kicking our members in the butt."

Trying to catch up with the shortfall will force the state to pay $6 billion to pension counts alone in the coming fiscal year, nearly one-fifth of the total available in general revenue that must also go toward education, health and public safety.

"Illinois' economy will not fully recover until the General Assembly passes this comprehensive pension reform and sends the bill to my desk," Gov. Pat Quinn said in a prepared statement.

Madigan's plan calls for employees to pay 2 percent more of salary toward their retirement plans. Workers would only be able to collect pension on a salary up to $110,000, which would increase by 0.5 percent of the inflation rate per year.

Retirees would keep the 3 percent compounded annual cost-of-living increases received up to now, but future COLAs would be 3 percent of $1,000 per year of service, or $800 for someone receiving Social Security.

The Associated Press' John O'Connor contributed to this report.