Chicago’s New Billboard Deal All But Signed

Kudos to Alderman Bob Fioretti: A Chicago City Council committee signed off Monday on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s latest privatization deal—even though, after nearly five hours of testimony, aldermen still didn’t quite know how it added up for taxpayers, what its...

Animal Farm

This is Squealer right after they send Boxer off to the glue mill:”It was the most affecting sight I have ever seen!” said Squealer, lifting his trotter and wiping away a tear. “I was at his bedside at the very last. And at the end, almost too weak...

United Continental Returns TIF Money

United Continental Holdings, parent of United Airlines, is giving back $5.6 million in City of Chicago tax incentives. The incentive money is tied to United’s 2007 move to its corporate headquarters at 77 W. Wacker Drive, along the Chicago River.  Because of...

CPS Pays Parents for Good Behavior

Blatantly stolen from Second City Cop: Is the lure of a $25 gift card enough to persuade a parent who’s not involved in their child’s education to get involved? Seventy Chicago Public Schools that have struggled to engage parents are about to find out. At Mayor Rahm...

CPD Brass Wasting Money Trying to Track Gunshots

The Police Department began using gunshot detection technology early last month in two 1.5-square-mile areas to try to better pinpoint the location of gunshots, Superintendent Garry McCarthy disclosed Thursday. The sensors sometimes give officers information before...