City Hall from the Chicago Sun-Times

Mayor says he made ‘bad’ parking meter deal better

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday there’s nothing he can do to make a “bad” parking meter deal that’s “worse than we knew” into a good one but he made it better by swapping a longer paid parking day for free neighborhood parking on Sundays and wiping $1 billion in future liabilities off the books.

Ricketts: New Wrigley Field revenue needed for Cubs to stay

Cubs’ Chairman Tom Ricketts spoke so softly Wednesday when he uttered the dreaded “M” word, that some in the audience wondered if they’d heard him correctly. “If it comes to the point that we don’t have the ability to do what we need to do in our outfield, then we’re going to have to consider moving,” said Ricketts as he made a pitch for a planned $300 million Wrigley Field renovation. The city’s mayor says he’s not worried.

Mayor’s floor leader blasts Catholic Church over water squabble

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s City Council floor leader lashed out at the Catholic Church on Wednesday for rejecting the mayor’s compromise offer on water fees for nonprofits even after, the alderman claimed, failing to clean its own house on the priest sex abuse scandal. “They’re clearly not owning up to the fact that there are people out there damaged by the church and they’re talking about free water. Really?” said Ald. Pat O’Connor (40th).

Ricketts: New Wrigley Field revenue needed for Cubs to stay

The Cubs need the millions in revenue that Wrigley Field renovations would generate or the team will have to consider moving, Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said Wednesday. “If we don’t have the ability to generate revenue in our outfield. we will have to take a look at moving. There is no question,” he said.

Science charter school gets zoning approval after heated debate

Concept Charter School got the go-ahead Tuesday to open a new charter school in a McKinley Park industrial building but not before a heated debate about the wisdom of opening charters while closing public schools.

Work is stopped on UNO high school after state halts funding

Construction was halted Tuesday on a new, state-funded charter high school being built on the Southwest Side for the state’s largest charter-school operator, the politically influential United Neighborhood Organization, after the project’s general contractor said UNO has fallen behind in its payments for the work. The move came five days after Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration suspended funding to UNO following Chicago Sun-Times reports on insider deals.

Conservatives and black clergy unite against same-sex marriage

Black clergy from Chicago and the south suburbs on Monday began another round of robo-calls narrated by the Rev. James Meeks to condemn same-sex marriage, urging people to compel their state lawmakers to oppose a pending Illinois House bill. The effort though, represents a marriage of another kind. The Chicago-based African American Clergy Coalition joined forces with the National Organization for Marriage, pooling resources as the groups aim to kill same-sex marriage legislation that has already advanced from the Illinois state Senate.

Emanuel offering compromise on turning off free water spigot for non-profits

The mayor backpedaled Sunday on his decision to take away free water to nonprofit organizations, putting forth a proposal that would restore the perk to groups with assets under $1 million.

City keeping red-light firm so it can cut ties later

Mayor Rahm Emanuel reluctantly agreed Friday to extend for a second time Chicago’s contract with a red-light camera vendor at the center of a bribery scandal to make certain the city can sever the relationship for good.

City asks judge to toss out legal challenge to new ward map

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to declare Chicago’s new ward map unconstitutional on grounds that it violates the one-man, one-vote principle and uses “grotesque shapes and boundaries” to protect incumbents. The city’s arguments include: that the League of Women Voters lacks legal standing to file; that wards differing in population by less than ten percent do not constitute an equal protection violation” and that re-districting is a “peculiarly legislative function” that has been “traditionally respected” by the courts in the absence of “invidious discrimination” on the basis of race.

Emanuel quashes zoning change for charter school

Concept Charter School’s application for a zoning change to take over an industrial building in McKinley Park was supposed to be on the agenda at Tuesday’s Zoning Committee meeting. Sources said the item was removed under pressure from Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office.

Cardinal George diving in to political controversy over City Hall turning off free water spigotto churches

Cardinal Francis George is diving into the political controversy caused by Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s decision to cut off the free water spigot to struggling churches and non-profits that provide a safety net of social services to needy Chicagoans.

The Cardinal is scheduled to appear Tuesday …

State cuts off money to UNO charter schools over insider deals

Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration has cut off funding to the state’s largest charter-school operator, the politically influential United Neighborhood Organization, over insider deals it says violated the terms of a $98 million state grant, according to a letter obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. The deals involved millions of dollars in state funds that went to companies owned by two brothers of a high-ranking UNO executive, Miguel d’Escoto.

Aldermen press Emanuel to keep promise on inspector general

The City Council’s Progressive Caucus moved Thursday to hold Mayor Rahm Emanuel to the campaign promises he made to strengthen and expand the inspector general’s powers and give the IG unfettered access to city documents.