Ankur Thakkar’s road to being the social media guru at the Chicago Mayor’s Office was a little indirect, but he finds that all of his interests led him to where he is today and apply to his current position. After working at the University of Chicago for 11 months, Thakkar started working in government...
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On Feb. 13, Ald. Rick Munoz of the 22nd Ward introduced the Free Speech and Protection of the Press ordinance at city council. It prohibits police from blocking access to social media and cell phone networks during the G8 and NATO summits in May.  He is putting his ideas, and suggestions from voters and constituents...
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Andrew L. Wang, reporting for Crain’s details a proposal in front of the Chicago City Council to approve a tax-increment financing grant to Experimur LLC, from the Emanuel administration. The novel idea is to use TIF money like venture capital. The city is making a bet on Experimur’s future with what city officials call a...
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Some Chicago residents are not buying what Mayor Rahm Emanuel said about the reasons behind installing new speed cameras in Chicago.
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Ukrainian Village residents rallied at City Hall against the proposed closing of the local Wood Street police station Monday.
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Despite a dramatic protest by mental health activists outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office that lasted 10 hours, the city council unanimously approved the 2012 budget, which includes downsizing the city’s 12 mental health clinics to six sites.
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Carole Brown, chair of Chicago’s TIF Reform Task Force, said Monday that the city has approximately $100 million in surplus TIF money, which should be returned to the general fund. Brown said 20 to 30 percent of the city’s TIF funds, which total about $550 million, were surplus. Brown was appointed in May by...
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Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, as part of his first budget proposal, may enact a new tax on parking garages in the Downtown and River North areas of Chicago.  The new parking premium of $2 per day is designed to cut down on downtown congestion as well as build new revenue to invest in existing...
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Do we have your attention? The Wicker Park Committee Meeting is sponsoring a presentation by the Metropolitan Planning Council to talk about the new proposal for a Bus Rapid Transit Network.  The recently proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network would be dedicated, express bus lanes along high traffic corridors throughout the city.  Two of...
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