The escalating migrant crisis dominated political news in Chicago this week. Meanwhile, WTTW News investigated instances of Chicago Public Schools hiring fired Chicago police officers to work as security guards. Here are five stories you may have missed.
Politics
Chicago City Council votes to end tipped minimum wage. The escalating migrant crisis exposes a city divided on what to do. And Northwestern’s fired head football coach sues his former employer.
The changes to how car buyers can get the federal tax break on EVs — part of the Inflation Reduction Act — were announced by the Biden administration on Friday and are being rolled out to car dealerships before they take effect starting Jan. 1.
Chicago joins Alaska, California, Guam, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Washington, D.C., in ending the tipped minimum wage.
Despite former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio on Friday, it’s not at all certain that any of the GOP candidates will be able to round up enough votes.
Officials are still scouting locations for the massive tents, which could shelter, feed and care for as many as 1,000 migrants in a single location.
The move is the latest effort to deal with swelling numbers of migrants as the Biden administration comes under increasing pressure from Republicans and mayors from the president’s own party to do more to slow arrivals.
It marked the latest in a series of contentious community meetings across the city as officials work to find housing for the influx of thousands of migrants being sent from the southern border.
Supporters say the plan would generate approximately $100 million annually to address the root causes of homelessness by building new permanent housing that offers wraparound services.
Tensions remain as the fight over the building has been seen by some as a symbol of the struggle to maintain Humboldt Park’s longstanding Puerto Rican heritage in the face of gentrification.
Next steps are uncertain, but there is no obvious successor to lead the House Republican majority.
City Clerk Anna Valencia acknowledged her office had erred, delaying a triumphant moment for Mayor Brandon Johnson and the progressive political movement that elected him to office earlier this year.
The 39-page report from the independent monitoring team, led by attorney Maggie Hickey, compiled the results of the feedback gathered from more than 400 Chicagoans at 17 community engagement sessions in February, March and April.
Damen Silos Demolition Permit Application ‘Deferred’ Pending Further Review, Mayor Johnson Announces
More than a year after the State of Illinois sold off the abandoned 23-acre Damen Silos property to MAT Limited Partnership, the fate of the silos — a favorite of urban explorers — is still up in the air.
Buses from Texas accelerate as Illinois counts 15,000 new arrivals in 13 months
Without naming GOP figures like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Pritzker blamed political leaders who “have shipped people to our state like cargo in a dehumanizing attempt to score political points.”
On Monday, the far-right Republican from Florida announced he was using a procedural tool — called a motion to vacate — to try to strip Kevin McCarthy of his office.
