Fran Spielman
City Hall reporter
Fran Spielman covers City Hall for the Chicago Sun-Times.
Los reguladores medioambientales estatales determinaron que se habían detectado demasiados metales peligrosos y otras sustancias tóxicas en la propiedad que no permitían alojar con seguridad a solicitantes de asilo.
Ald. Anthony Beale’s proposed referendum would have asked voters in the March 19 primary: “Should the city of Chicago limit its designation as a sanctuary city by placing spending limits on its public funding?”
State environmental regulators determined there were too many harmful metals and other toxic substances detected on the property for it to safely house asylum-seekers.
Beale tried briefly to suspend the rules Wednesday for immediate consideration of a new version stating: “Should the city of Chicago limit its designation as a sanctuary city by placing spending limits on its public funding?”
Mayor Brandon Johnson was forced to call for a recess after public observers gathered in the third-floor gallery overlooking the City Council chambers banged on the glass and shouted from their seats.
The proposed quick fixes include a six-month delay — until July 1 — in the requirement that businesses give Chicago employees five paid sick days and five paid vacation days per year.
Ferguson replaces Laurence Msall, the public finance expert whose death in February left a giant hole in the watchdog landscape.
Nonprofit groups complained they could not afford to jump through regulatory hoops or pay hefty fines for honest mistakes. On Monday, the Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight passed a revised ordinance aimed at easing those concerns.
The settlement goes to the City Council for approval at Wednesday’s meeting. It would go to the children of Michael Craig, 61, who was shot and killed by police in 2021 after Craig called 911, saying his wife had “a knife on me, on the bed, on my throat.”