Mayor Brandon Johnson is doubling Chicago’s mobile mental‑health vans, using $5.2M in federal relief while long‑term funding hinges on a contested social‑media tax. Advocates praised the move but warned the weekday, daytime schedule still leaves gaps overnight.

ISBE stepped in Thursday to halt planned closures of two LEARN campuses in North Chicago, keeping LEARN 6 and LEARN 10 open while contract talks continue.

Phone service at Sauk Village was cut off this week after trustees stalled a vendor payment. The outage left residents scrambling while the police chief paid to gas squad cars.

A $16.5 million package of settlements tied to a Burge‑era wrongful conviction, a fatal police chase and an accessibility lawsuit heads to the Finance Committee next week.

South suburban leaders met in Markham to protest recent Southern redistricting and launch voter-education and turnout efforts after a Supreme Court ruling.

Commissioners advanced a plan to add license‑plate readers while deferring AI cameras at the Cook County Jail amid heated privacy and oversight concerns.

Mayor Brandon Johnson will travel to Rome May 26–30 to meet Pope Leo XIV on May 28. The visit — funded by World Business Chicago — is billed as a conversation about voting, immigrant and workers’ rights.

A review of disclosure records shows Illinois campaign accounts spent millions at restaurants from Gibsons to Chicago Cut, prompting fresh scrutiny of the rules. Large fundraiser tabs and repeated meal entries raise questions about oversight.

Burke’s campaign accounts still write checks — $10K to Ald. Ray Lopez and $1K to Niles’ mayor — despite his conviction and recent prison confinement.

Illinois lawmakers advanced HB5295 to separate abortion and gender‑affirming care records and stop out‑of‑state access, requiring health networks to add safeguards by 2027.

CPS cut hundreds of custodial jobs last year and moved cleaning in‑house. Principals and custodians say later shifts, understaffing and new pest complaints have left buildings dirtier.

The Chicago Board of Ethics ordered Paul Vallas to pay $214,000 after finding his campaign accepted donations from people doing business with the city.

As book bans climbed nationwide in 2024–25, Illinois’ 2023 law ties state library grants to the ALA Bill of Rights, creating a funding-based brake on removals. PEN America’s new data shows the scope of the national trend.