John Byrne – Page 63 –

House Republican Leader Rep. Jim Durkin arrives to vote on a budget during the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly at the State Capitol in May.

After big wins last year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Democratic legislature start new session facing major challenges on pensions, property taxes and ethics

January 24, 2020 at 6:19 p.m.

Illinois lawmakers return to Springfield on Tuesday for a spring session that will be a test of whether Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Democratic-led General Assembly can address issues at...

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot? at the ?U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting on Jan. 23, 2020, in Washington.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot tells U.S. mayors Chicago deals with a mass shooting every week

January 24, 2020 at 5:08 p.m.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot had a message for fellow municipal leaders Friday on the scourge of mass shootings: Chicago has one nearly every week. Lightfoot moderated a panel at the U.S....

Mayor Lori Lightfoot heads toward her seat during a Chicago City Council meeting on Dec. 18, 2019.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot blasts aldermen over their debate of possible study of whether LGBTQ businesses face discrimination in getting government contracts: ‘Our children are watching.’

January 15, 2020 at 6:47 p.m.

Saying she bears the shame of staying silent earlier in her life when insults were hurled at black and gay people, Mayor Lori Lightfoot took the City Council to task...

Food is served in a polystyrene foam container on Jan. 15, 2020, at a downtown Chicago restaurant. An alderman is proposing a ban on polystyrene products and limits for the use of plastic utensils, stirrers, straws and condiment containers.

Chicago alderman’s plan would ban foam packaging in restaurants and reduce the use of plastic utensils, straws and more

January 15, 2020 at 6:58 p.m.

Is Chicago ready for its hot dogs to be swaddled in a more environmentally friendly manner? A City Council ally of Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduced a plan Wednesday to get...

Homes along The 606 trail in Chicago are shown Jan. 14, 2020.

Demolition moratorium around The 606 trail gets Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s backing, heads for City Council vote

January 14, 2020 at 5:49 p.m.

After questioning the legality of a demolition moratorium to address gentrification around The 606 trail last week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday endorsed a similar plan by Northwest Side aldermen...

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot arrives for a City Council meeting Dec. 18, 2019.

Lightfoot-backed study to look at possible set-asides for gay-, transgender-owned Chicago businesses advances

January 14, 2020 at 1:38 p.m.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot's move to study whether gay- and transgender-owned businesses should get city contracting set-asides similar to those for minority- and women-owned companies advanced Tuesday despite black aldermen's concerns...

Marijuana joints are assembled at Cresco Labs in Joliet on Dec. 17, 2019.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s on-site recreational weed smoking plan isn’t going to move forward this month

January 14, 2020 at 3:30 p.m.

Despite previously saying she had the City Council votes and wanted to move forward on a plan to allow people to smoke weed in Chicago tobacco shops, Mayor Lori Lightfoot...

Two views of an animated video portraying Officer Jason Van Dyke and Laquan McDonald is shown to the jury during the trial for the shooting death of McDonald at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Sept. 25, 2018.

Chicago aldermen reject proposed $125,000 lawsuit settlement for Laquan McDonald shooting witness

January 13, 2020 at 4:55 p.m.

Aldermen took the rare step Monday of rejecting a proposed legal settlement, denying a $125,000 payout to a woman who witnessed the fatal shooting of black teen Laquan McDonald by...

Voting machines at the polling place inside South Shore Fine Arts Academy on Feb. 26, 2019.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to spend nearly $19 million on new Chicago touchscreen voting machines before March primary election

January 13, 2020 at 4:24 p.m.

Chicago voters are poised to see updated voting machines that election officials said will provide more security in the March primary election, thanks to nearly $19 million Mayor Lori Lightfoot...

Henry Lucero, a deputy director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, at a news conference in Chicago on Jan. 10, 2020.

ICE arrests are down in Chicago area and agency blames recent state and local laws aimed at protecting immigrants

March 11, 2024 at 2:06 p.m.

Immigration advocates in Chicago for months braced for the possibility of large-scale arrests by handing out "know your rights" material and forming networks within neighborhoods. Those big immigration enforcement actions...

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