It’s a new week, Chicago. Kick it off with these stories from WTTW News.
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(WTTW News)
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Chicago taxpayers have paid $2.7 million for a system designed to alert officials about which officers have been the subject of repeated police misconduct allegations, according to records obtained by WTTW News.
But it is not clear how — or why — Benchmark Analytics was selected by officials in the Johnson administration in the fall of 2024 to create the system required by the federal court order known as the consent decree, which is designed to force the department to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers.
The Chicago-based firm was founded and is led by Ron Huberman, who served as one of Mayor Richard M. Daley’s chiefs of staff. A former Chicago police officer, Huberman also led the city’s Office of Emergency Management Communications, the Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago Public Schools during the Daley administration.
The city’s contract with Benchmark Analytics, signed in November 2024, called for the Chicago-based firm to be paid $1.2 million for a year of work, and allowed for two extensions, each lasting 12 months. In September 2025, the city agreed to a one-year extension, agreeing to pay the firm $1.5 million, bringing the total paid to Benchmark Analytics to $2.7 million, according to documents obtained by WTTW News.
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by WTTW News, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Procurement Services said it had no records documenting the competitive process that led to Benchmark Analytics’ selection or any other proposals from other firms.
More context:
By law, city departments are required to let companies compete for most contracts to ensure that taxpayer dollars are paid to the most qualified firm capable of doing the best work for the lowest cost. Before a contract can be awarded, the city must typically get multiple bids for the same work.
However, city law allows officials to bypass a competitive bidding process in some cases, including for “contracts for the services of individuals possessing a high degree of professional skill where the ability or fitness of the individual plays an important part,” according to the city’s procurement website.
Those decisions, made by Sharla Roberts, the commissioner of the Department of Procurement Services, are required to be documented and posted on the department’s website. There is no record of Benchmark Analytics being authorized to create the early intervention system after officials determined it was the only firm that was qualified to do so.
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File photo of a CTA train in Chicago. (WTTW News)
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The Chicago Transit Authority’s acting president said Wednesday that a long-elusive goal is in sight, telling board members that ridership on the agency’s buses has reached 90% of its pre-COVID levels.
Calling the gains a “really exciting milestone,” CTA leader Nora Leerhsen also told directors that weekend ridership has surpassed the levels seen before the onset of the pandemic.
More context:
Leerhsen chalked up some of CTA’s recent successes to increased investment in service, including its frequent network of routes with buses scheduled to come every 10 minutes. Four more routes are slated to be added to the network later this year, with later night and more weekend service set to come online to capitalize on summer ridership.
Agency leaders also applauded improved crime numbers on the system. According to the Chicago Police Department, the most serious crimes on the system dropped 40% between May 2025 and May 2026. CPD said that last month violent crime on transit dropped 20% year to date and property crime fell 35% year to date.
Leerhsen and directors credited additional transit missions launched in coordination with CPD and the Cook County Sheriff’s Police, including ride-alongs on buses and officers stationed along routes.
The agency’s leader also told directors additional non-law enforcement resources will come online later this year with the addition of violence intervention and crisis intervention specialists. Those non-police efforts have long been a priority for several board members, who said they’re eager to hear additional details, which Leerhsen promised to provide at July’s meeting.
Directors on Wednesday also approved an amendment to the agency’s budget reflecting additional funding as part of the transit overhaul approved by state lawmakers this year. CTA Chief Financial Officer Tom McKone told directors the additional $54 million will be used for “rider-focused investments” including safety and security, service improvement and expansion, and enhanced cleaning.
Despite celebrating the agency’s recent positive news, Leerhsen said the agency is committed to building on those gains and not becoming complacent.
“This work cannot stop,” Leerhsen said. “This is not a victory lap. It is not over.”
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Video gambling machines are pictured in a file photo. (WTTW News)
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State officials approved applications from six Chicago bars and restaurants on Thursday, the same day that Mayor Brandon Johnson asked the Chicago City Council to reverse its decision to green light video poker and slots across the city.
The Illinois Gaming Board agreed to allow video gambling in three Mount Greenwood taverns — Bar 106, Lawlor’s Bar and Hippo’s Bar — as well as Beverly’s Cork and Kerry, Half Sour in the Loop and brunch restaurant Eggsperience in Lakeview, records show.
City officials must also issue each location a license to operate video gambling terminals before they can start allowing their customers to try their luck.
But if Johnson and his allies on the City Council have their way, those video poker and slot machines will never get plugged in.
Some backstory:
The City Council’s Committee on Workforce Development is set to meet at 10 a.m. Monday to consider an ordinance that would “authorize one or more agreements with the casino developer to enhance casino workforce capabilities and to disallow video gaming terminals.”
A spokesperson for Johnson said Friday afternoon that the committee would only hold a hearing about the proposed ordinance and will not call the measure for a vote. That could indicate his office is struggling to convince at least 25 alderpeople to reimpose the ban the City Council lifted six months ago.
Johnson’s effort to reimpose the long-standing ban on video gambling in Chicago bars and restaurants opens a new front in the political battle over video gambling in Chicago, which was authorized as part of the city’s 2026 spending plan that took effect over Johnson’s objections.
The city’s budget relies on $6.8 million in revenue from video gambling.
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More From WTTW News:
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Back in the Day: June 15, 1927 - Construction Begins on Arlington Heights Racetrack
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Over the past five years, a stretch of land in Arlington Heights, Illinois, has been a flashpoint in the ongoing stadium negotiations between the Chicago Bears, Illinois and now Indiana. The team agreed to purchase the 326-acre site in 2023 for $197.2 million, but now seems to have its eyes set on a move to Hammond, Indiana. Ninety-nine years ago, however, one California millionaire, H.D. Brown, purchased the land to create a racetrack. On this day in 1927, construction crews broke ground on the $2 million project. The horse-racing field would open later that fall and would hold races until its closure in 2021.
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The 2026 Summer Festival Guide
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Every Monday, WTTW News highlights the best ways to get involved with local government.
City Council’s Committee on Finance
At 11 a.m. Monday, the City Council’s Committee on Finance will hold a regular meeting that includes a subject matter hearing on “An ordinance authorizing the approval of the ownership transfer pursuant to the Chicago Metered Parking System Concession Agreement.” No votes will be taken. For more information, click here.
Show Up Chicago
Head to the Hideout at 6 p.m. Monday for Show Up Chicago, “a combination community gathering, cocktail hour and political panel show.” This month’s installment is about how “Chicago is the only major city that operates without a city charter, and according to many experts that’s one of our problems. Why don’t we have a charter? What would it do for us? How can we get one?” Joe Ferguson, former city inspector general and president of the Civic Federation, is a guest. RSVP here.
City Council
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Chicago City Council will hold a full regular meeting. Public comment will be accepted until 9 a.m. that day. For more information, check the source website.
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What's your favorite beach in Chicago? Tell us why.
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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