joining us on the weekend review.

I'm Nick Blumberg.

Amanda has the evening off.

Mayor Brandon Johnson says some alders are acting more like adolescence.

Some of the steps and measures that are being taken.

These are some of visions of having tantrums right now.

It's time to grow up.

People.

Chicago have time for The mayor cuts his proposed property tax increase in half to 150 million dollars.

>> That's as a budget deal is still a ways off with a December 31st.

Deadline approaching fast after months of negotiations with no contract, Chicago teachers, Union members rally trying to put pressure on the school CEO and calling on the mayor for an assist.

Meanwhile, Cook County Board, President Toni Preckwinkle applauds passage of the county's budget with no property tax or fee hikes.

Prosecutions should be based on facts.

>> Prosecution should not case on.

thanks to This was a vindictive persecution, not prosecution.

Lets them make any mistake about that.

>> The state Supreme Court overturned Jussie Smollett's conviction for faking a hate crime against himself and in federal court, former alderman turned FBI mole Danny Solis takes the stand in the corruption trial of former House Speaker Michael Madigan.

>> And now to our week in review panel.

Joining us are Jake Sheridan of the Chicago Tribune, Melody Mercado of Block Club.

Chicago, Rima, I mean, of Chalk beat Chicago and Rob Heart of WBBM Newsradio.

Thank you all for being here.

Let's get right to it, Jake.

We just saw some of Mayor Johnson's evident frustration with the city Council there.

Is it fair to say that frustration goes both ways right now?

It's definitely goes both ways.

You know, the city council.

>> Is super frustrated with the original 300 million dollar proposal.

That's why they struck it down.

You know, has has played in the intro.

The mayors, current proposal is 150 million dollar property tax hike with $150 of other tax reasons.

That's mostly on cloud computing software and subscription.

your Netflix as well as some efficiencies in federal stimulus money spending.

you know, whether or not that new 150 million dollar property tax hike actually sticks.

That's a huge question.

The city Council right now, aldermen are still really frustrated with that property tax hike.

Do we have a good sense of how they got to one 50 versus 302 alders feel like?

>> The mayor and his budget staff are being transparent are collaborating.

You know, I think when the original 300 million Dollar Property tax hike came out.

>> Most aldermen were really frustrated with that number and felt like the mayor wasn't speaking with them.

The mayor certainly said that he's collaborating more and, you know, when I speak with alderman, it seems like they feel that way, too.

But some were caught off guard by this.

150 million dollar number when it came out on You know, I think a lot of alderman still want to see that number come down more they sense more collaboration.

I don't know if they feel like the budget that the property tax hike is where they wanted to In reporting, for example, alderman Jeanette Taylor saying, okay, let's get down to one 20.

So it seems like they still want more.

Yeah, yeah.

several aldermen of told me they want to see that number 0.

So we're actually lands.

It's definitely be interesting to see.

I think there's a really good chance to come down farther.

think a lot of people want to see it at I mean, you know, Rob, this is a tactic you see sometimes propose a huge increase and then walk it back to lessen the blow.

Given the infighting, though, that, you know, Jakes reported on another folks.

Does that feel like what's happening here?

Is this a negotiating tactic or is this just genuinely kind of a messy budget process?

I think it's a messy budget process.

I mean, the question here is your asking.

>> As the mayor of the city of Chicago with a 14% approval rating.

You are asking members of the city council to vote for a property tax hike which in and of itself as politically unpopular and puts their political futures in jeopardy.

And unless you can say look down the line, I'm going to protect you electorally in 2027.

Do you take that risk?

Yeah, it's it's pretty big gamble for a lot of folks.

Melody.

It's not necessarily going to plug the city's budget deficit, but the block club, CBS investigation out this week.

>> We kind of city is owed some 28 million dollars in police overtime payments from special event.

Organizers.

Why haven't they paid up?

>> Yeah.

And that 20 million dollar figure is just from this year alone.

talking tens of millions of dollars of unpaid geared toward street festivals and special events.

But basically departments are not talking to each through a lot of record requests.

We found that the city is actually not retroactively charging for this over time, although they are required to by city ordinance.

And of course, festival producers that I've talked to have not necessarily know that they're supposed to be paying this back and personally about the festival organizer.

I don't know if I would want to avoid Milton Valieva expensive police overtime.

Yeah.

I think that's the kind of thing that unless the bill comes to probably keep quiet.

I mean.

>> Do you think there's going to be effort to force organizers pay up here?

>> I think that there needs to be some sort of collaborative effort to make this more equitable for possible producers.

It's no secret that producing street festivals, your favorite neighborhood.

She festivals have gotten more expensive because of inflation.

And and the street festivals are not allowed to retroactively charge an entrance fee.

So they're not they're not able to work with a lot of of money here when when it comes to profit.

But at the end of the day, it is a city ordinance.

And the question is, do we get rid of that?

Do we fix it somehow to maybe offer some additional cuts to that where it may be their only paying a percentage.

CPD has said that they don't have a seat at the table here and they're asking that they could be retroactively more part of this process with case so that they can figure something out.

Police are tired.

They're working a lot of overtime.

Cpd has a shortage right now.

It's no secret and so pulling some of your officers from the South side are working special divisions and what not to patrol a street festival is not actually extremely productive for CPD.

And it seems like in warm weather, there's about 50 festivals every weekend, too.

>> You know, reim at the same time that the mayor is working on the city budget.

Choppy reporting this week, the Chicago teachers Union is asking the mayor to help move things along with their contract negotiations.

Do we have any sense of whether the mayor's jumping into the sea tu contract debate, whether he's got the bandwidth for So we're not aware of a formal response to the union.

President Stacy Davis, Gates is formal letter to the mayor asking him to kind of step >> Of course, the mayor and the CTU are very close allies.

I, you know, he I am sure you get regular updates about contract negotiations from his allies or from his deputy mayor labor prison early.

But, you know, pretty early to tell us and other news organizations that the the Johnson administration doesn't actually feel like CPS as bargaining.

Good faith.

They are pretty extraordinary comments that she made last night.

And so that could be a signal that city Hall may may step in here and turn up the heat a little bit.

It's interesting.

Usually in the past couple rounds of negotiations, you seen seat.

He's bashing the mayor here.

They're asking the mayor to jump into the fray.

Yeah, absolutely.

And a different political environment.

The CTU responsible for getting the mayor elect, you know, and so they see a friend city hall.

They see someone who is ideologically aligned with a I think that helps explain some of how how different negotiations are approached this time around.

Yeah, I want to come back to to you.

But, you know, Jay, kind of put a bow on some of the budget conversation.

How close does it look like?

We're going to get to the December 31st deadline before this deal?

You know, I was talking with an alderman today at City Hall, and I told them I think there's a one percent chance that I'm gonna have to cancel many said you said it's higher than one percent So, you know, I will certainly get closer than we've been recent years.

You know, most budgets, our resolve by now, we're going to get into the mid December without a doubt.

>> There's a lot of holidays.

Lot of people are out of town.

It's hard to make and it's going to be harder to do the kind of deal making that's going to be needed to close this.

So, you know, it's it's a really they deal with the city goes past December 31st.

I don't think anyone in the city council.

I don't think that anyone the mayor's office wants to do that.

So they got to get a deal, it might be closer to new years than other years.

Okay.

Well, hopefully you don't have to put the champagne away just yet.

We'll see what in a remote back to to the CTU.

They held a rally yesterday pledging to >> resist President-elect Trump in the project.

2025 agenda that's been laid out by the Heritage Foundation.

What exactly was the union calling for their so the you know, exactly kind of what you said that if there are mandates federally that are, you know, will be targeted.

It will be targeting LGBTQ students, for example, are marginalized populations.

>> They want to push back against that.

They raise question of whether Trump is going to get rid of the Department of Education and what that means for funding for schools.

But they also use the rally to turn up again.

The Heat on CPS CEO Peter Martinez and really just calling for CPS to come to a deal.

And, you know, district leaders actually yesterday kind of presenting their side of negotiations.

And so yesterday was very heavy on both sides, kind of publicly, despite a little bit about what's going on.

Yeah, it seems like from from other reporting, the 2 sides are still fairly far apart.

There might be dependent fact finder coming in.

But >> who knows what comes of that?

It still seems pretty contentious still seems pretty contentious.

You know, we don't have any sense that this is heading towards a strike as it has in previous contract years.

>> Yeah, things are really tense.

And of course, for the past couple months, CPS CEO Martinez's job has been in question.

The mayor has asked him to resign and he's he's still overseeing Chicago schools.

And there's a lot of leadership shakeups happening at the same time that these negotiations are happening.

So it's very tense.

What I'll say.

Yeah, I mean, in the CTU is, you know, among lots of different organizations thinking through what a second Trump administration might look like.

But if you look at an organization, you know, like a labor union, Rob, how much exactly is there that they can do to to you know, this, whatever this administration tries to enact so they can put they can plant their flag.

But I think there's a much larger issue, though.

We talk about local >> institutions and what they're going to do.

And a second Trump administration.

And that is look at the map of the city of Chicago on Election Day, November 5th of this year.

>> And where Republicans and where Donald Trump made his greatest gains mean, obviously it's where the cops and the firefighters live at his apartment.

Greenwood.

But if you look at at the near Southwest side, a lot of Hispanic neighborhoods is where Donald Trump made his greatest gains compared to 2020.

And if if I'm a local institution trying to figure out how do you plot a course of the future?

Look back to Election Day and see, why did why were they receptive to his message?

What did they like about what the the Trump campaign was selling and then cater your response to addressing some of their needs.

>> Yeah, trying to to meet folks where they're at which could be a tall order for some of the CT leadership given, you know, a lot of the progressive positions that they stake out.

As we mentioned in the setup package of the state Supreme Court overturned Jussie Smollett's hate hoax.

Hate crime convictions say that 5 times polity is this never ending saga coming to an end.

Finally, please.

I I hope so.

Yeah.

I think for everyone's sake, I think I you know, I think we can say that this book is close.

And I think that >> we're seeing one person in particular take a victory lap here.

And states attorney Kim Foxx.

>> Who has repeatedly said that it should have been overturned because essentially you can't try someone twice.

She argues that that is what happened.

And and so, you know, I think it's sad.

And and hopefully this time, yes, on interview with her, she was saying this is criminal procedure.

once I mean, is she sort of closing out her tenure?

>> You have to imagine this is a positive note for you to be ending Yeah, absolutely.

And we've seen her making the media tours as well and she's really push how she feels that some people will call more progressive agenda has been successful and overturning about 250 wrongful convictions making work to bring into light issues with police, torture and things of that nature.

And Jake, that the city budget is all drama.

Meanwhile, the other side of the building over head Cook County, they pass this sort of good news budget this week.

Just how stark a contrast are we looking at here?

Yeah, well, the procedure is one big difference, You know, the the county got their budget through.

>> Like basically instantly.

Meanwhile, the city is months into a process that doesn't really have an end in sight and no one's really sure where it's going to go right now.

You know, I think the other big difference, of course, is the county didn't after his property taxes, which is the good news that President Toni Preckwinkle is talking about.

Yeah, and you have a lot fewer commissioners that you have to to try.

instead 50 many mayors trying to agree you know, with robbed former Alderman Danny Solis began his testimony this week in Michael Madigan's corruption trial wasn't on the stand for very long before they broke for the week.

The judge also told the jury they should expect to be in court well into January.

Any surprise there given the pace so far?

I am getting flashbacks to 2005, 2006, which I cannot believe that 20 0, 5, is almost 20 years ago.

But Georgia George Ryan corruption trial, which I covered when I when I first came back to Chicago as a reporter, that trial began in October of '05 deliver.

It continued all the way until April that and that is when the jury reached its verdict.

>> And that was so long ago when you go to the Dirksen Federal Building and babysit jury deliberations, maybe they have a verdict today.

This is before smartphones.

So like you had rely on the kindness of strangers like maybe palm, could give you his old beat up Sun-Times.

And you could read that the past the time, but that that that that happens.

I mean, if you're a juror that trial and you could go well into next year because you have to go through every single little thing.

Your financial records and stuff like that.

Forensic accounting.

that's that's that's public service for you.

It certainly is.

It's not always pretty.

But someone to take with.

>> Remove with with vote counting coming to an end this week.

Voter turnout for school board races pretty high of 53% of registered voters.

What do you think?

Got Chicago and so engaged in this election?

Yeah.

So the fact that this happened in a presidential race year in a general election, huge reason that's according to experts and the Board of Elections.

>> And we'll see more of that in future school board elections that happened in presidential election years.

Also, you know, an expert was telling us that the fact that this was a novel election, that this was something that you noticed, advocates and organizers have been pushing for for a long time.

Also helped in so lots of different factors there.

And, you know, I should note that 53% of registered voters, but of the people actually showed up to the polls.

It was actually closer to 80%.

Really?

So a good deal interest there.

yeah.

I mean it as we look forward to having a fully elected school board in a couple of years.

You have to wonder whether that enthusiasm will hold once it's lined up with the midterms.

Yeah.

And you know this the same expert I talked to said that, you know, you're going to have some incumbents running, but then you're also gonna have new new seats opening up.

And so >> that could keep the energy going.

But if you look, you know, 5.10, years out and you kind of see it when down to 20%, you should be.

>> Totally surprised.

But I'm choosing to stay optimistic.

So, there was also really interesting.

You Chicago study out this week about English learners.

They found >> folks to become fluent by 9th grade.

They graduate at higher rates than their peers late arriving English learners graduate at lower rates.

Tell us a little bit about, you know what, what that study found and what it point to with the approach CPS needs to take.

Yeah.

So when you look at public data for English language learners that focuses on just kids who are currently learning English as a new language.

The research study, you know, to kind of separate those things out and draw attention to the fact that this group of students, there's a lot of nuance there.

And so they found yes, that former English language learners really out pace, graduation rates grades SAT scores.

>> Compared to their peers district-wide.

But then when you look at kids who have who have not necessarily been deemed by the district fluent in English, they overall average.

Lower GPA is are less likely to graduate on time.

And so, you know, the point was that this should help us target supports for different kinds students and try to figure out, you know, what might what might be behind those those figures?

Yeah, I mean, you know, when you look at all the, you know, the thousands of new arrivals that the city has seen in the last couple of years.

>> melody, when you think about tailoring support to students the work we've seen CPS schools, all sorts of, you know, parts of the try to help meet the needs of these folks.

Just how important is it to take these sorts of things into account when you have, you know, an influx of folks coming into town.

I mean, incredibly important.

These are folks that, you know, >> are highly likely to stay within the city of Chicago.

And it's worth investing in these young people so that they can get back to the city in terms of whether that mean.

>> State staying here buying a home, having a family.

>> You know, going for that career that they've always wanted to and not having a language barrier being something that stops them from doing that.

Yeah, mean, it.

>> You know, these sorts of issues, the classroom resources that CTU wants to see.

I mean, how much did you know?

Does this play at all into the question of contract negotiations?

Yeah.

So one of the things that the union says they're really far apart on is beefing up bilingual staffing.

You know, the district has routinely violated state laws when it comes to providing enough filing, you'll staffing.

>> The district is in a very tough financial position right now.

And so that appears to be one reason why they're so far apart hiring lots more people more than they already have.

And when you look at, you know that the ongoing back and forth over CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, you know, the the district or the union, rather, you know, trying to call Mayor Johnson in for support on the contract negotiations.

I mean, how difficult does that make it take to to get a deal done when they're still all this uncertainty about the leadership at the top of CPS.

>> I think it makes it probably incredibly difficult to to not have a ton of directions, not have that stability to close the deal.

You know, it's it's really hard.

>> There is some more education news this week.

Rob.

Lisa, President elect Trump Tap former wrestling executive Linda McMahon to lead the U.S. Department of Education.

She also ahead of the Small Business administration during Trump's first term.

Is she there to to dismantle the Education Department?

It's been a target before.

Well, I think that it has been a target before over the course of the decades.

That has been part of like the conservative wishlist going back.

>> To the establishment of the Department of Education in the early 80's when it was cleaved off of the Old Department of Health, Education and welfare.

Probably easier to do that in 1982.

Compared to today because if you want to dismantle the Department of Education and do as President elect Trump says, send it back to the states.

You're saying to the 50 states including some states that elected him overwhelmingly.

Here you go.

Please establish and put together a large education bureaucracy to take care of all the functions that Uncle Sam took care of.

And on top of that, you have a lot of parents nationwide who may have children who are reliant on services funded by the Department of Education and going back to Old City Council discussion, members of the House and Senate.

If they feel that their electoral future is in jeopardy, they're not gonna be behind that.

Yeah, mean, is is this the kind of thing that but CPS is looking at with perhaps worry or they sort of feeling like let's see where this goes.

Things are status quo for right now.

Yeah, I think some of the concerns are around what the federal government provides, obviously, which doesn't make up.

>> You know, huge part of the district's budget, but that's where you get federal grants.

That's where title one money title I'm sorry.

Title One Money which supports, you know, schools with lots of kids from low-income households.

That's where that money comes from to.

So there's I think there's a question internally about, you know, what are we do if this funding kind of dries up or isn't quite available anymore?

Yeah, well, and you know, looking ahead to the second Trump administration, we also heard.

>> The mayor earlier this week reiterate some of his comments about Chicago remaining a sanctuary city.

Did we hear anything new from the mayor about preparations they're taking or is he just sort of reiterating their stance?

Know he's he's reiterating its stance.

He you know, he hasn't didn't really say anything new this week.

But, you know, it's it's stuck out to He's taken shots at Donald Trump, Thomas, like he's going a bit.

I think you called Donald Trump.

>> Soft and small.

And then he said unlike in Chicago were big and strong.

So, you know, he's he's taking a lot of shots of the president-elect.

>> I mean, is that the kind of thing that could potentially backfire?

I mean, you know, when Joe Biden in the White House are still is, you know, it's a lot easier for Mayor Johnson to pick up the phone and talk to someone has a good relationship with certainly having a Democratic president helps.

But it is the antagonism worth it You know, I'm not sure.

And I think time will tell.

The mayor was also clear that, you know, he's he's ready to try to work with Donald Trump where where their interests aligned.

So, you know, Donald Trump's also someone who hasn't taken jokes like that super well well, speaking of an outlet known for its jokes, a conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones is a site.

Infowars went up on the auction block, sold to pay off Sandy Hook families that a court found Jones defamed Chicago zone.

Satirical news hate the Onion bought it to make Infowars into a parity.

Melanie, what kind of an impact do you think that might have?

Well, Alex Jones is already fighting it.

And there's he's saying that there was a higher better.

>> But reality, it's financial package.

There was the money that's owed to the Sandy Hook parents.

They fungal that in into their bid.

And so that made their bid valued at 7 Million.

And Alex Jones is like, oh, you can't do that.

So he's trying to fight it in court.

But we'll see what happens.

I mean, at the end of the day, if they do end up getting it, turning it into a parody site which some people probably already are.

You?

That's better than what it is now will be interesting to see how that ends Robert, something like this likely to change minds.

I mean, is this just going to be like a digital version of the Cold Air reporter, something?

think what what the Trump era.

>> And the Alex Jones content and it's all kind of intertwined.

It's impossible to parity.

The reality shoots past parity every single time.

In fact, I think if the onion really wants to provide a service turn in 4 wars and the like old-fashioned art bell style conspiracies, like talk about area.

51 talk about, you know, people being abducted by aliens.

>> Talk about, you know, little green bring back old school conspiracies that this this stuff to give us the X files to get to the good stuff.

Well, I appreciate that you for certainly not little green men.

We appreciate having you all here.

Take Sheridan, Melody Mercado.

>> Rima, mean, and Rob Heart and we are back to wrap things up right after this.

>> Chicago tonight is made possible in part by the Alexander and John Nichols family.

The Pope Brothers Foundation, additional support is provided by.

>> And that's our show for this Friday night.

Don't forget, you can get Chicago tonight and the weekend review streamed on Facebook, YouTube and our Web site W T Tw Dot com Slash News now for the weekend review.

I'm Nick Blumberg.

Thank you for watching.

Stay healthy and safe and have a good weekend.

All right.

How how badly did everybody get hosed in the snowstorm yesterday morning?

Did you have to leave I actually had to cover rally and it stopped snowing, but started raining just the worst possible light for of the season.

Love to you know, you have to we know it's going to happen every year and yet we still cannot help but complain.

I think it's in DNA that was on the night was it was like a snow globe.

I couldn't see like what is this?

That's kind of a fun guy to look out at I just stayed remind that always makes me think of when I was a reporter in Phoenix, I was in a radio studio and I looked out the window when a sand storm was coming like we were just getting envelop allows you no visibility whatsoever.

>> But is a good have never experienced the help.

before I cannot to say it >> Closed caption was made possible by Robert a And Clifford Law a personal injury law firm committed to giving