Fran Spielman

Defying Mayor Brandon Johnson, a City Council committee tried again Wednesday to strengthen Chicago’s curfew ordinance to prevent teen takeovers from turning violent. Last year, the City Council voted 27 to 22 to approve a snap curfew ordinance that would... See more

Mayor Brandon Johnson said Wednesday he is already preparing City Hall for a potentially painful round of mid-year layoffs if revenues fall short, infuriating the rebel bloc that muscled an alternative budget through the City Council after rejecting Johns... See more

Portraying Chicago as a “city in crisis,” U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley said Wednesday he’s running for mayor and will stay in the race no matter who jumps in — so that he can make the tough choices he says Mayor Brandon Johnson has avoided. From closing half-em... See more

Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday that Chicago’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve celebration hosted by Chance the Rapper, which came off without a hitch, proves there is no need for a revised curfew crackdown. On the eve of a showdown vote by a City Council commi... See more

A disciplined bloc of conservative and moderate members muscled their alternative revenue package through the City Council on Friday — minus Mayor Brandon Johnson’s corporate head tax — with five votes shy of the veto-proof majority they would need to ove... See more