(WTTW News)

Lori Lightfoot’s bid for reelection has been weighed down by a growing amount of evidence that she has governed at times more like an old-school machine politician than a reformer.

Timmy Knudsen, who is running for 43rd Ward alderperson. (Provided)

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced her choice of Timmy Knudsen less than 24 hours before the City Council’s Rules Committee is set to consider his nomination. A final vote by the Chicago City Council is expected Wednesday.

(WTTW News)

Seventeen people applied to replace soon-to-be former Ald. Michele Smith on the Chicago City Council and represent the city’s 43rd Ward, including Timmy Knudsen, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s handpicked chair of the city’s Zoning Board, the mayor’s office announced late Friday.

Ald. Michele Smith’s last day in office will be Aug. 12. (Provided)

Ald. Michele Smith’s resignation will be effective Aug. 12, she said. Mayor Lori Lightfoot must appoint a replacement by Oct. 12 — in the middle of the next aldermanic election

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is pictured at the July 20, 2022, Chicago City Council meeting. (WTTW News)

Authored by Ald. Michele Smith (43rd Ward), the chair of the City Council’s Ethics and Government Oversight Committee, and backed by the Chicago Board of Ethics, the package was significantly revised to win the support of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who blocked the measure from advancing for several months.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot addresses the news media Monday, July 18, 2022. (Chicago's Mayor's Office)

Mayor Lori Lightfoot criticized the Chicago Board of Ethics on Monday for acting “as judge, jury and executioner” when investigating officials for violating the city’s ethics ordinance.

(WTTW News)

The Ethics and Government Oversight Committee unanimously endorsed the reworked version of the proposal authored by Ald. Michele Smith (43rd Ward), the panel’s chair, and backed by the Chicago Board of Ethics. A final vote by the full City Council is set for Wednesday. 

(WTTW News)

The Ethics and Government Oversight Committee is set to meet at 3 p.m. Friday to consider a reworked version of the proposal authored by Ald. Michele Smith, the panel’s chair, and backed by the Chicago Board of Ethics. With the committee’s endorsement, a final vote could come on Wednesday.

(WTTW News)

The Ethics Committee plans to hold a hearing, and potentially a key vote, on Wednesday to consider a proposed overhaul of the city of Chicago’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance, without giving members of the public or the news media a chance to review its provisions.

(WTTW News)

An effort to overhaul Chicago’s ethics rules will remain stalled for at least another month, even as Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she has begun negotiating with Ald. Michele Smith, who introduced the measure in April. 

(WTTW News)

Chicago Board of Ethics Chair William Conlon said the package of reforms — which has been stalled since April without Lightfoot’s backing — should be “swiftly” passed by the City Council and signed into law.

(WTTW News)

The proposal crafted by Ald. Michele Smith (43rd Ward), chair of the City Council’s Ethics and Government Oversight Committee, and the Chicago Board of Ethics would hike the maximum fine for violating the city’s ethics ordinance from $5,000 to $20,000 as part of an effort to grapple with Chicago’s seemingly intractable legacy of graft and mismanagement.

(WTTW News)

The maximum fine for violating the city’s ethics ordinance would jump from $5,000 to $20,000 under a proposal set to be unveiled by Ald. Michele Smith that has the support of the Chicago Board of Ethics.

(WTTW News)

While Chicago has been without a permanent inspector general, former 11th Ward Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson became the 37th alderperson to be convicted of a crime since 1969. Alds. Ed Burke (14th Ward) and Carrie Austin (34th Ward) are awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to bribery and corruption charges.

The Chicago Park District’s River Park, located in Lincoln Square. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Three of the four lifeguards accused of wrongdoing resigned as a result of the investigation, while Chicago Park District Interim Inspector General Alison Perona recommended the fourth be terminated in connection with the allegations. 

(Jürgen Polle / Pixabay)

Four City Council members share their thoughts on the mayor’s budget proposal, the embattled park district, and more.