BALLOTS ARE STILL BEING TALLIED IN THE COOK COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY'S RACE.

THE AFTERMATH OF MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON'S REJECTED, BRING CHICAGO HOME PROPOSAL AND IT'S KICKOFF TIME FOR CHICAGO'S ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD HERE WITH ALL THAT AND MORE IS OUR SPOTLIGHT SPOTLIGHT POLITICS TEAM OF AND AUTHENTIC.

AND HEATHER SHARON, MY VERY, VERY GOOD FRIENDS OUTSIDE.

YOU GET YES, I'M VERY EXCITED.

WHEN I GET TO SEE BOTH OF YOU.

ALL RIGHT.

SO IT'S BEEN ONE WEEK NOW SINCE THE PRIMARY ELECTION, THEN THE BALLOTS ARE STILL BEING TIED TO CLOSE TO CALL.

BURKE JUMPED OUT TO AN EARLY LEAD.

HEATHER, AS WE KNOW THAT HAS DIMINISHED WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.

SO THE DIFFERENCE RIGHT NOW IS 1600 VOTES AFTER THE COOK COUNTY CLERK COUNTED ABOUT 800 MAIL-IN BALLOTS TODAY.

NOW, SO FAR AS OF THIS TAPING, WE HAVE NOT HEARD ANYTHING FROM THE CHICAGO BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS.

>> SO WE ANTICIPATE SOME RESULTS FROM THEM TODAY.

WIND WILL GET THEM WHAT THEY WILL SAY.

WHO KNOW?

WHY IS IT TAKING SO SO THIS IS THE NEW NORMAL FOR ELECTIONS.

YOU HAVE JUST ABOUT HALF OF PEOPLE VOTING IN PERSON ON ELECTION DAY.

YOU HAVE HALF OF PEOPLE VOTING BY MAIL.

IT TAKES LONGER TO COUNT MAIL-IN BALLOTS YET TO VERIFY SIGNATURES.

YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE POSTMARKED BY THE RIGHT NOW IN PREVIOUS ELECTIONS, THIS IS HAPPENING TO SENSE TWENTY-TWENTY SINCE THE PANDEMIC REALLY CHANGED THE WAY PEOPLE VOTE.

IT DIDN'T MATTER BECAUSE THE LEADS WERE LARGE ENOUGH THAT IT DID NOT COME DOWN TO THESE TINY, TINY MARGINS OF JUST REALLY SORT OF DECIMAL POINTS AT THIS POINT.

THAT'S WHY THE SYSTEM IS UNDER SUCH SIGNIFICANT STRESS.

AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO WAIT AT LEAST UNTIL APRIL 2ND, WHICH IS WHEN IS THE LAST DAY FOR BALLOTS TO ARRIVE AND WHEN ELECTION OFFICIALS WILL CERTIFY THE IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALLY HONE IN ON THAT JUST FOR A BIT TO NOTE THAT THIS IS STANDARD POLICY THAT ILLINOIS HAS GIVEN 2 WEEKS FROM ELECTION DAY FOR THAT MAIL TO FILTER THROUGH THE USPS AND TO ARRIVE AS LONG AS IT'S GOTTEN SO IT'S GOT TO BE POSTMARKED.

THAT IS THE RULE.

NOT EVERY STATE DOES THAT ILLINOIS IS FAIRLY LIBERAL WITH THAT TWO-WEEK DEADLINE, GIVING THAT THAT FULL TIME FOR THE MILL TO WORK ITS WAY THROUGH THE SYSTEM.

>> NONETHELESS, THAT IS WHAT IT IS SO TRUST IN THAT IT'S NOTHING NEW.

AND, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS SOME BY THE CHICAGO BOARD OF ELECTIONS HERE IN COUNTING, ALTHOUGH NEITHER CAMPAIGN IS ALLEGING ANY KIND OF FUNNY BUSINESS, RIGHT?

SO WHAT HAPPENED WAS THIS THAT THERE WERE 9,000 MORE BALLOTS SET TO BE COUNTED IN SORT OF THE PROPER PLACE?

SPOKESPEOPLE FOR THE CHICAGO BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS TOLD REPORTERS IT HOW THEY WERE RIGHT.

BUT BECAUSE WE SORT OF LIVE IN THIS ERA OF SORT OF SORT OF PEOPLE BEYOND HYPER ALERT FOR ELECTION RIGGING OR ELECTION SHENANIGANS.

IT REALLY ALARMED A LOT OF PEOPLE.

BUT AS YOU SAID, BOTH CAMPAIGN SAYS, LOOK, WE'VE BEEN THERE 24, 7 WATCHING THESE BALLOTS.

THERE'S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.

IT WAS JUST A MISTAKE.

AGAIN IS INCUMBENT, I THINK, WE AS JOURNALISTS TO REALLY BE ACCURATE, PRECISE ABOUT WHAT THAT IS.

>> THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS CAME FORWARD AND SAID OUR BAD, OUR COMMUNICATIONS ERROR, NOT ACCOUNTING ERROR.

>> THAT IS VERY SIGNIFICANT TO POINT OUT.

ALL THE BRING CHICAGO HOME REFERENDUM FAILED BY NEARLY 20,000 VOTES.

THE LEADERS OF >> THE SUPPORTERS OF THIS A REFERENDUM SAID THAT IT WAS JUST TRUST IN GOVERNMENT THAT HELPED DOOM WHAT THEY MEAN BY THAT?

WELL, THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THE CITY WOULD DO WITH THIS ROUGHLY 100 MILLION DOLLARS THAT THE MEASURE WOULD HAVE ALLOWED THEM TO GENERATE WOULDN'T REALLY GO TOWARD HOMELESSNESS.

WOULD IT REALLY OR WOULD THEY USE IT FOR OTHER PROJECTS OR WOULD IT PAY DOWN PENSION, DAN, OR WHAT WOULD IT THERE WERE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT.

>> BUT I THINK THAT THIS IS ALSO SORT OF THING ERA THAT WE'RE LIVING IN WITH.

THERE'S A LOT OF DISTRUST ABOUT GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE WANT ASSURANCES LOCK BOXES TO BRING BACK AN OLD TERM TO SAY IF WE SAY WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS, WE'VE GOT TO DO IT AND THERE HAVE TO BE SORT OF LEGAL PROTECTIONS.

THAT IS SOMETHING THAT SUPPORTERS OF SORT OF A DEDICATED FUND TO HELP THE UNHOUSED CHICAGO IS GOING TO HAVE TO GRAPPLE WITH GOING.

FLORIDA CITY OFFICIALS ARE SET TO MOVE MIGRANTS OUT OF 5 CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT SITES.

>> WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO BE MOVING INTO AND HOW MANY MIGRANTS WILL THIS AFFECT?

>> I BELIEVE THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT 800 MIGRANTS THAT ARE IN THE IS RIGHTY OF A FIELD HOUSE IS IN SUCH AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS I THINK, IMPORTANT TO FOLKS WHO HAD RELIED ON THOSE PARK DISTRICTS FOR PROGRAMMING THAT THEY WANT TO RETURN COME SUMMER HAVE BEEN FRUSTRATED THAT THERE.

>> YOU KNOW, LOCAL GYM WAS INSTEAD BEING USED AS HOUSING.

I DO THINK, HOWEVER, THIS, OF COURSE, >> DOES NOT NECESSARILY RESOLVE THE ISSUE THAT THE JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION SAYS WE HAVE SPOTS FOR THESE FOLKS BECAUSE THERE ARE NO LONGER AT THE PEAK OF MIGRANTS THAT HAVE COME SINCE REALLY THIS WHOLE THING BEGAN.

WHAT IS LEFT UNANSWERED, HOWEVER, WHAT IF THAT PEAK RETURNS, PARTICULARLY WE HAVE SAID IT BEFORE WE'LL SAY IT AGAIN.

ATTENTION REALLY ON CHICAGO BECAUSE OF THAT DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION.

AND YOU CAN BE SURE THAT REPUBLICANS WILL WANT TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF CHICAGO.

WHAT HAPPENS THEN PARTICULAR IS THE JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION IS SCALING BACK SHELTER'S, NOT JUST AT PARK DISTRICT SITES, BUT OTHERS AS HEATHER SHARON, THAT THERE'S AN ALDERMAN IN BIT OF HOT WATER HERE BECAUSE OF A AND HE'S BEEN IN HOT WATER FOR FOR SOME OF THIS PROTEST ACTIVITIES THE GAZA SITUATION.

>> RIGHT IN FRONT OF A DESECRATED BURNED, THE AMERICAN FLAG OWNERS COLLEAGUES GOT ASKING FOR NOW.

SO THIS IS BYRON LOPEZ WHO'S BEEN VERY CRITICAL OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION'S HANDLING OF THE ISRAEL GAZA WAR.

E HE SPOKE AFTER A VETERAN WHO BURNED AN AMERICAN FLAG IN PROTEST OF THE ADMINISTRATION'S RESPONSE.

ALDERMAN A LOPEZ SAYS HE DIDN'T BURN THE FLAG.

HE DIDN'T REALIZE THE FLAG HAD BEEN BURNED AT THIS PROTEST.

HE SPOKE AFTER THAT HAPPENED.

>> THAT HAS NOT STOPPED SEVERAL OF MORE CONSERVATIVE COLLEAGUES FROM REALLY SORT LAYING INTO HIM.

THEY SAY THAT THIS IS AN INAPPROPRIATE THING FOR AN ELECTED CHICAGO OFFICIAL TO BE A PART OF THERE'S A PRESS CONFERENCE TOMORROW AND TALK OF CALLING A SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO ATTEMPT TO CENSURE ALDERMAN SICK PERHAPS WE'LL SEE THAT COME UP IN THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING IN A COUPLE SEEMS THERE WOULDN'T BE AN AFFRONT TO THAT, BUT IT'S PRETTY KILLINGS PICTURES AT THAT.

THAT FLAG IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM IS HARD TO BELIEVE.

YOU DIDN'T NOTICE AND WE JUST HAD AN ELECTION.

AND NOW FOLKS ARE CIRCULATING PETITIONS FOR THE NEXT ONE.

THIS FOR THE ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD.

YOU'VE GOT TO TRAIN YOUR EYE TO NOVEMBER AND WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT HERE, OF COURSE, IS THAT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT CHICAGO IS GOING TO BE ELECTING.

>> ALBEIT PART, NOT THE WHOLE CPS.

THE SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION AND FOLKS THAT WANT TO RUN HAVE TO GET THOSE PETITIONS CIRCULATING NOW.

AND THAT IS VERY MUCH SHORTEN TIME FRAME.

TYPICALLY, IF YOU WANT TO RUN FOR OFFICE, YOU KNOW, WELL IN ADVANCE HOW MANY SIGNATURES YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE, WHAT THE DISTRICTS LOOK LIKE BECAUSE THAT LAW WAS JUST SIGNED EARLIER THIS MONTH BY THE GOVERNOR.

ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO RUN REALLY HAS TO GET THEIR ACTS TOGETHER AND SOON BECAUSE IT IS A LOT OF SIGNATURES, A MINIMUM OF 1000, A MAXIMUM OF 3,000 IN ORDER TO RUN.

THIS, BY THE WAY, IS FOR A SCHOOL BOARD SEAT.

SO THAT IS WHERE CRITICS SAY THAT TOO HIGH OF A THRESHOLD, ESPECIALLY IN THAT IS GOING BE SOMETHING THEY BELIEVE BENEFITS REALLY AN ORGANIZATION THAT HAS BACKERS LIKE THE CTU DEFEND OTHERS SAY IT'S SIGNATURES, BUT THAT'S GOING TO BE TOUGH PURPOSES LIKE THIS TO GET THAT MANY SIGNATURES.

WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN THESE RACES ARE MAN OF AN ICKY.