A measure out of Springfield that would grant Chicago Public School principals the ability to unionize is facing criticism from a credit rating agency and economic analysts.

House Bill 5107 passed both chambers in the 102nd General Assembly and would require CPS to negotiate separately with its teachers and principals for all collective bargaining issues. Fitch Ratings said this will add another layer to a system already struggling with collective bargaining issues.

Chicago motorists who block bus lanes, bike lanes, crosswalks or loading zones might soon get nailed by surveillance cameras installed on CTA buses, “city vehicles,” light poles and other property pinpointed by City Hall.

Nearly 20 years after a CTA experiment with bus surveillance cameras failed miserably, Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to try it again and then some in a designated downtown area that has the “highest concentration of serious crashes, traffic congestion, public transit service, pedestrian and commercial activity in Chicago,” according to the proposed ordinance.

Lori Lightfoot won every Chicago ward in her first bid for mayor after her campaign took off like a rocket, fueled by promises that she alone could put an end the notion that placing Chicago government and integrity in the same sentence is an oxymoron at best, or a joke at worst.

But Lightfoot’s campaign for a second term has been weighed down by a growing amount of evidence that not only has she failed to fulfill campaign promises to “bring in the light,” but also that she has at times governed more like an old-school machine politician than a reformer. For her part, Lightfoot has said that her administration has made strides in pushing back against corruption.

Faculty at the University of Illinois Chicago will remain on strike after a Wednesday bargaining session failed to yield the desired results.

Jan. 18 was the second day of protests after a 12-hour negotiation session on Monday failed to produce a contract both the university and the union could agree upon. The decision to strike came after faculty had worked nine-plus months without a contract.

One relief program is heading back to pre-pandemic levels on March 1st.

The Illinois Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has been giving out additional emergency monthly allotments since April 2020. The program’s funding of the extra pandemic benefits from the federal government is scheduled to end after February, and Illinois officials are warning people ahead of time they will need to adjust.