From budget savings to public safety, start the first few days of fall catching up on the biggest issues facing Chicago.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks to the news media on June 12, 2024. (WTTW News)
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By Heather Cherone
Few issues have roiled the Chicago City Council like the debate over the cost of housing, feeding and caring for the more than 48,500 migrants who have made their way to Chicago since August 2022. They’re in the country legally after requesting asylum and receiving permission to remain in the U.S. while their cases are resolved.
The most brutal debate came in April, when Mayor Brandon Johnson asked the City Council to set aside an additional $70 million to care for the city's newest residents, bringing the total the city expected to spend during the second year of the crisis up from $150 million to $220 million.
The City Council agreed, but not before the racial fault lines dividing Chicago were once again on display, costing Johnson a significant amount of his political capital. But a renewed surge of migrants that many officials said was certain to arrive in Chicago never materialized, in part because of changes at the border. That means the city won't need the money Johnson fought so hard to earmark, making the latest chapter in the city's efforts to care for the migrants a politically costly exercise in futility.
Here are some more facts:
Because the surge of new migrants never materialized, the city now expects to spend less than $141 million to care for migrants this year. That is approximately $9 million less than the $150 million City Council earmarked a year ago when it approved the city’s 2024 budget.
Chicago expects to save at least an additional $16 million by closing three shelters by the end of October. The city paid $8 million per month to operate those shelters, according to data provided to WTTW News by the city’s budget office.
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(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
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Has Chicago been hampered by a lack of political will when it comes to matters of public safety? How can the city better address mental health crises and other emergencies? What are some alternative solutions to policing that can better serve the public and free up police to investigate more serious crimes? These are questions that researchers from the Policing Project at New York University School of Law’s Reimagining Public Safety Initiative have attempted to answer with a new report.
How did this report come about?
What did they find?
Police are called into many situations for which they lack the necessary training or skill set — including situations involving drug use, homelessness and noise complaints. An overreliance on police leaves serious problems unaddressed.
Researchers suggest expanding upon existing alternatives to traditional policing. They also said CPD needs to build a comprehensive community policing strategy to build connections with the people it serves.
The report found many Chicago residents, particularly in marginalized neighborhoods, feel unsafe and distrustful of both the police and the local government. Racial bias, slow response times and ineffective crime prevention efforts were major concerns.
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Chicago police officers surround an SUV driven by Dexter Reed moments before shots are fired on March 21, 2024. (Civilian Office of Police Accountability)
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Saturday was the six-month anniversary of Dexter Reed's death. The 26-year-old was killed after four Chicago police officers fired 96 bullets in 41 seconds during a West Side traffic stop. Reed was hit 13 times shortly after he shot and wounded an officer.
Since then, Reed's family has sued the city, alleging his civil rights were violated by the officers who stopped him and shot him to death. On Oct. 3, lawyers for the city and the family are set to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Cummings in an attempt to settle the case.
Here's what else you need to know:
None of the officers who shot at Reed has returned to active duty.
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling has refused a call from Civilian Office of Police Accountability Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten to relieve them of their police powers.
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Back in the Day: September 24, 2014 - Vern the Coyote
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Vern the Coyote (Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Facebook)
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Do not be alarmed by the first few sentences of this story: It has a happy ending. On this day a decade ago, a train conductor who was on his morning commute pulled into the employee parking lot at the Waukegan train station with what looked like a fox stuck in the grill of his vehicle. When an animal control officer appeared on the scene, the vehicle's driver said he thought he hit something. He could feel it, but he didn’t see anything. It turns out, the animal wasn't a fox, but a coyote. It
survived, too. The Barrington-based Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation agreed to take the coyote, who had suffered three fractures in his legs. They named him Vern. For months, they slowly nursed Vern back to health, and in March 2015, they released him back to the wild. Flint Creek director Dawn Keller told the State Journal-Register that coyotes, when freed, "run like the dickens to get away from us. That's what Vern did."
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How do you feel about the new stadium proposals from the White Sox and the Bears? Tell us what you think.
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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