>> Good evening and thanks for joining us on the weekend review.

I'm Nick Blumberg.

After months of debate and a stalled attempt at a vote, the new parking meter deal clears Chicago City Council.

>> When we talk about it.

The deal of the century.

For whom?

what expense.

Despite some lingering dissenters, the resale sales through in a 46 to 3 vote.

>> Something is profoundly wrong when one in 5 people's gas customers is already in debt to the utility.

And the answer for them is another rate hike.

>> Elected officials and reform advocates demands.

State regulators reject a proposed 144 million dollar people's gas rate increase and called for changes to its pipe replacement program.

Meantime, a federal judge grills prosecutors over their handling of the botched brought 6 case.

Chicago school board.

President hopeful revelry drops out of the race, claiming a fire hose of special interest spending.

The South Siders sweep the Houston Astros to move on to the Division series and the Cubs season stumbles to a finish San Diego.

>> And now to our week in review panel.

Joining us are Sean Mulcahy of the Chicago reader.

Rima mean of Chalk Beach, Chicago, on the dawn of the Chicago Sun-Times and Nettles of Chicago Public Media.

Thank you all for being here.

We appreciate it.

so before we get to some of those stories, Sean, you had a piece that broken the reader this find out that federal prosecutors tapped into local surveillance networks to bolster they're midway blitz related prosecutions.

What are the details there?

federal prosecutors are able to access 300 photos, flock license plate readers from throughout the Cook County suburbs.

In addition to some pod camera footage, security camera footage within the city of Chicago.

>> And it's kind of interesting on one hand because this is something that's pretty routine.

This happens like pretty often within criminal investigations.

But it's notable because the way that this information pass from local surveillance networks to private their to federal agents, to use to prosecute protesters and people who are following immigration agents is something that advocates that is pretty concerning.

Yeah.

And it seem like these were likely this data was likely turned over willingly like not necessarily subpoena.

Yeah.

Lawyer that I talked to in the case said that the information like they didn't understand have any information that it was a subpoena, which indicates that either the police turned it over willingly or that fence already had access.

And either way, I think it's a little bit unsettling.

Yeah, especially given you know how widespread these license plate readers are.

These police cameras, you know, this is information that all over the place potentially.

Yeah, I think the bigger issue is not just the way, you know, just the technology itself, but the ways in which it used to mean it's being deployed for one purpose.

And then now, you know, being used for other purposes without oversight without transparency.

definitely something that folks are concerned about Even some elected officials.

Well, and, you know, speaking of those, prosecutions, are on a federal judge, April Perry not taking her eye off.

That failed Broadview 6 case had some pretty tough questions for the U.S.

Attorney's office this week.

>> Yes, absolutely.

So this week in Coy, Judge Perry had some questions about some of the ethical process of how the broad view 6 case was handled, run.

As a reminder, the broad view 6 is up 6 people in Chicago who were protesting outside of the Broadway immigration facility during Operation Midway Blitz, although a large crowd of people what are said to have pushed ice vehicle.

only 6 people charged with conspiracy to impede an agent.

And the case really fell apart and may when the judge found out that a prosecutor was speaking with grand jurors outside of the grand jury.

court room and also dismissing people who didn't agree with the feds case and to top it all off to al Qaeda, insult to injury this behavior and these actions, although that prosecutor get removed herself from the case that activity was removed from the transcripts when they were given to Judge Perry.

So this could lead to her assigning a special prosecutor to look into the behavior of the federal prosecutors who are here in the Chicago office.

Yeah, she didn't take that off the table in this year.

You see no more questions still.

But >> very much.

As you say, still a pass to put out little.

>> L V a changing gears here a minute.

You know, yesterday an estimated more than 9,000 lawfully present immigrants and refugees.

They lost their Medicaid coverage under new federal guidelines.

You profiled a Syrian family whose son has a pretty serious genetic disorder.

Tell us about them.

>> Yeah, I spoke to Omar who lives in the suburbs Chicago.

His parents are both his main care takers and they really have learned all they've been here.

How to monitor all these different machines that really help him continue living every single day.

And they're really depends in on Medicaid.

And, you know, they've been happy that since they've come to the U.S.

he has been able to stabilize, but they're really worried what's going to happen next.

Refugees like Omar are still eligible for something called emergency Medicaid.

But that's just essentially if you go to the hospital to an ER room and that's for a life threatening on this.

It's a way for the hospital to get reimbursed for that type of care other than that refugees can still access community health centers.

But for someone like Omar, who needs a lot more medical attention, that may not be the solution for him.

so the Syrian community network has really been working to try to experts cite his family's green card application because if refugees or some of other immigrants that were kicked off of the program, if they do get their green cards, they will be eligible for Medicaid again.

So that's something that the family is really trying.

To hope.

And, you know, the parents told me when I went to their living room and, you know, I saw how they had transformed this living room space into essentially kind of what you would walk into into a hospital room they said they could go without health insurance.

But there their primary concern us after son continues to get access to care.

Do we know what you know?

Is there any sense of timeline in terms of >> processing their their application, getting them toward a more sort of stable status terms of being able to remain in the U.S.

>> That's really the big question because they had already applied for their green card application.

And so what they recently they asked for it to be expedited.

the Syrian community network, they work with all types of refugees and they tell me they're really this family is among hundreds who are pretty much in the same predicament.

There's a lot of people who have been waiting for their green cards, but USC?

Ah, yes, that's the federal agency that process that they haven't been processed, applications for refugees and in some.

Times they've having too.

brief at them, even though they were vetted when they were product here through the refugee resettlement process.

Yeah.

So potentially a rocky road ahead.

>> All right.

Rima.

And then there were 3 essential revelry exited the race for Chicago school board president, although his name >> will still appear on the ballot.

What did he say about why he's dropping out?

>> Yeah.

When you know one reveler, he launched his campaign last year.

He said that he was really going to avoid special interests.

He wanted to appear is the independent candidate fast forward to this week when he announced that he's dropping out and he said those very special, you know, same special interests had dumped so much money into the campaign that they were sort of crowding out the voices everyday Chicagoans are the Chicagoans that he was hoping to sort of, you curry favor from get support from.

And he said that he couldn't ask his supporters and friends and family everyone who's been behind his campaign to keep donating for what looked like a losing campaign.

And of course, there was also some.

>> Back and forth with with other board candidates this week.

That's right.

So now, as you said, and then there were 3.

That was the title of our newsletter.

The about but board candidate for president candidate Victor Henderson said that, you know, he called on Jessica Banks, who is another person who is running for school board president to drop out of the race.

He talked about these allegations surrounding her firing years ago as a principle which, you know, she said was in She believes CPS to that in retaliation for her speaking out against some issues and CPS at the time.

But there are new allegations that she had effectively, you know, sought to or leverage her relationship with an interim CEO Macklin King, who is now the district superintendent to remove her name from the do not hire in Ochopee and WBZ in the Sun-Times partnered to do.

And, you know, a deep dive into these allegations against her.

And in that reporting, thanks has really denied that CPS CEO is also denied that there was any quid pro quo there regardless.

Henderson is is calling on her to leave the And there is also, you know, and some of the deep dives you did.

>> You know, you took a look at how incumbent school board members running again, voted on some of the big items that came up before the board.

Obviously, there's, you know, kind of a laundry list of things.

Was there anything that that stood out to where they're sort of patterns or anything you noticed?

>> You know something I noticed I'm sure your viewers that the people are paying attention know about the budget fights.

They know about some of these more high high profile things.

One thing I found really interesting the board recently past.

When I say recent, I mean, a few months ago for this year passed a legislative agenda, which is, you know, really a wish list that the board will bring to state lawmakers and say, you know, this is what we want.

This is what we're going to advocate for.

That will benefit our district and in that legislative agenda, there is a call for millionaires tax and the legislative agenda.

I believe was unanimously and there were a couple absent people.

But really, you know, pass through with flying colors.

However, months after that, the board had voted on whether to at an advisory question to the ballot that voters will see on November.

3rd and that question asks voters, whether they you know, whether they would support a millionaires tax and there were there is a faction of the board elected members who were not present that day and did not and chose not to be there to actually vote on that.

And I I found that to be pretty where they All right, Ari, on at long last the saga of the Chicago parking meter this come to a everybody's favorite topic.

in Chicago.

>> So as we know, we have been under this not so happy.

>> Parking deal and now we are under a new parking deal which some people think will make us a little bit happier.

And basically that is because now that parking deal has been sold to a company cost, don't peak.

And in this deal, there is a profit share that we didn't have in the previous deal where the city of Chicago will get 5% of and the should billion or so could be used to make the city better rate.

And so of course not everybody is happy with this deal either.

I don't even know there could be a perfect solution unless we had a, you know, we could time But one, you know, it is it is very interesting and also to see how badly Stone Peak one this particular deal.

They were the owners of on the Air International and a group of all were pushing back Latino caucus, but not just them.

pushing back against the sale at first and they agreed to sail Army air.

And that was because this slide had actually begin transporting immigrants back to and don't even know if they were sending them to places that they weren't even part right.

But they were.

But they were doing deportation.

>> That was their business.

And so they sold it and make sure that they had.

So that business before this deal could go through.

So it's really interesting on both sides of this particular I'll the business and the city how badly people want this deal to go Yeah, I think there's at least a psychic value for Chicago resident, something out of the even if it is ingrained.

Sean.

Some other city council news over Mayor Brandon Johnson's objections.

Alders raised the threshold for approving new city debt from a simple majority of 26.

>> To 30 votes, can't they just kind of undo that rule with the future Inc?

Yeah, I mean, I think this is really as much a political play as this is like an actual policy moves.

Like you said, I mean, they can always adjust it.

>> Any point and I thought was interesting, you know, at one point in the debate, one of the sponsors of the ordinance said that didn't even really matter if it passed because their message got across anyway.

And you know, whether or not you can you can argue whether or not that's political bet.

It's pretty critical to me.

Yeah, but I mean, in terms of messaging, we're talking about it.

So they got us Another point of pushback from the council remain majority of all.

They're sent an open letter warning.

The mayor.

>> Not to try to close next year's budget cap with a header, property tax or rely on unsecured money from the state.

They didn't say explicitly, but it kind of read to me like they're worried are they don't want to see the mayor used a similar maneuver to what CPS did and its recent budget.

Yeah, I had the same reaction when I saw this.

I think the mayor was smears offices pretty was unhappy about this.

Obviously.

>> And I mean, just the you know, we're seeing some of the ramifications from CPS is budget vote and they're, you know, they're boards, narrow vote to assume more money is coming.

That hasn't yet common.

>> We're not sure if it's ever going to come.

We just reported that the district has rehired about a 3rd of staffers who are eligible for their layoffs to be reversed after the board's vote, which is is, you know, to 3rd, it's not a majority.

And we've seen that the rollout has been rocky, their teachers who are happy that they have their jobs back and then their school leaders who told me that, you know, the people that were eligible to come back are not who the school needs right now.

So up lot easier said than done.

I yeah, not always just a switch.

You can flip be a group of elected officials alders state lawmakers, consumer advocates as well.

They want.

>> State regulators to deny people's gas.

It's requested 144 million dollar rate hike.

company says they need it.

You know, there's a state mandate to replace these aging iron pipes that could be at risk of failure.

Do you think that safety argument might help when the day or is there just too much pushback here?

I think it's going to be a really tough sell, especially because.

>> I mean, it's only about 7 to $8 each household trophy.

But but thing we've been hearing about the affordability crisis just how expensive things are.

You know, people are seeing gas getting more expensive.

Groceries are still climbing.

And so I think this is one more thing.

And I think people are just gonna push back.

And even though it too.

Pay for an infrastructure projects, I think people are going to want more oversight and that's what a lot of the alderman who were speaking earlier this week.

They wanted more oversight over at the funds that were spent.

San exactly what people gas has been Yeah.

I mean, 7 or $8 depending on who you are.

That's a lot of money.

Exactly.

Especially if people's gas like they are.

>> Have been making profits over the past 8 years, which is what critics of this have been saying.

So one in 5 of the company's customers are more than 30 days behind in their gas bill.

So adding that 7 or $8 on top of you already being behind your bills, like, you know, that led in so it's not an easy sale, especially if this is something that.

Peoples gas could make enough, they could make these improvements on the Yeah.

People see that the money coming in and they think, well, why didn't people my back things that we can't you do this for your business?

Yeah, Sean.

We learned this week OpenAI sent a warning to the city of Chicago saying that.

>> Its technology access an online city database city says this was a public facing dashboards that no sensitive information, but still kind likes.

Yeah.

I mean, I think this is like honestly, a perplexing situation in general like the whole.

>> Everything about this was honestly a little bit surprising.

It's I'm reading between the lines, it sounds like they might have access.

Maybe some data underlying like a public dashboard.

The city has all sorts of dashboards for Mike.

The violence reduction dashboard to like the budget.

So if I'm reading between the lines, perhaps with something like that, but I think the bigger issue is that both OpenAI and the mayor's office were not transparent about what was actually accessed here.

I would hope that in the future both Oregon is a both from a private and public perspective.

There's more transparency around what's actually going on.

Yeah, especially because we've been seeing these intrusions all over the place.

Yeah, it's just going to say that this is this is the highest high alert issue.

It's on everyone's minds and I'm also.

>> I also read that and wondered like OpenAI is is taking more precautions than I was a more precautions and it needs to.

But maybe.

>> Maybe they're just like we're just gonna put it all out there in case this gets worse.

Yeah.

And you you have to imagine to for city officials to be getting this news.

>> It's not necessarily very welcome.

Even if it wasn't anything that, you know, they need to be worried about because they have to be thinking about what's going to be happening with the future.

What more they need to Yeah.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, I mean, he said he had a lot of confidence in like >> by teeth apartment in the city and that there wasn't any sensitive information leaked.

But I do think >> people probably want more transparency into what exactly was accessed.

Was it just like that database of 3, 1, 1, calls or was it something that included employee information or maybe information that individuals give to the city each year.

>> Yeah.

journalists, we know how much information areas out there and how sometimes things that maybe should have been redacted.

I'm not know you're under which we like this.

This is helpful.

You know, it's it's.

>> The city may not want And I mean, the city or any other municipality, you know.

They may have really good it, folks.

They may have really robust systems.

They're not operating at the level of sophistication that Silicon Valley, I would Yeah.

I mean, I think at the end of the day, this is putting your trust in these corporations which have proven to be less than trustworthy.

Yeah, I think that's a fair way put it.

Alright alb the Chicago Park district had a town hall on further restricting the use of e-bikes and scooters on park paths.

There's an upcoming state law that caps in the 20 miles an hour.

But there are some folks that want to see the park district go further with that.

I mean, I think that makes logical sense, especially given like injury rates we've seen with these, particularly among young people.

Yeah, I think I mean, whenever you travel anywhere in the city.

>> I feel like I'm when I'm driving.

I always see someone that's on one of these types scooters.

And I very rarely see anyone actually wearing a helmet.

And I think in particular there's a lot of younger people who don't have a driver's license who are using these to get around or maybe just to kind of make a quick trip.

But it's very often you're there right along car by buses, I do think they're probably needs to be more.

A closer look at how do we keep the as because it is good on the other way for people to get around.

But it's awful.

Like are we doing enough to regulate and keep people safely on the roads, especially if its teenagers that are using because some of these they're essentially like it's like a bike, but it can go as fast as motorcycle.

It seems like the kind of alarming sometimes.

>> Yeah.

And you have kids of all ages using public part, you know, like public parks are our things that I've lived in other cities.

And, you know, always come back home and our parks are like very special here.

And it's because they are for everyone.

So making sure that everybody's safe and able to county use parks the same way is a pretty important thing for us here in our city.

Yeah.

As someone who has been hit by someone on an e-scooter riding my bike through a public park, I would say.

>> I think some regulations might be a good idea here, OK, from public parks to ballparks has that for a segue a Cubs lose Sox win.

Let's focus on the positive with what we're here.

The kind of take away from that Sox series in Houston.

They they look great.

They looked amazing.

I mean, it's it's the transformation that they had is honestly baffling.

So it's been great.

super fun to watch.

It's been definitely I you know, I live on the north side of a Cubs fan.

It would've been much more fun to see them go.

But this could not get over bullpen issues.

But yeah, it was.

It was a really fun time.

I'm excited see how far they go.

>> It just means you have to come to this asset time, right?

It's time for the south side to shine like the gym.

Then we and we are welcoming everyone to the South side.

Let's celebrate.

Let's have a good time.

Come on down.

Well, this is a news program and I want to out there that we need to consider that the pope has.

>> via So we have been say it is a bit of divine see them in couple of 100 last season.

I'm very jealous that I didn't get one of the pope.

those are I really like though.

Yes, and now they're they're selling on the secondhand market for a lot of money.

I believe it well, and I mean, even as a Cubs fan, I'm happy to see the stocks doing well at any time and at Sox Park, it's a great time.

It's a long way good Yeah, I the thing very good food.

>> The thing that I thought was interesting watching them was the difference in the Lake.

Houston crowd was so like low blood pressure and kind of not they're kind of going after their own players.

The San Diego crowd was not.

And I think it's one of those like you can't really put a metric on it.

But having that enthusiasm had to play into the you know what happened on the field?

I think, yeah, I mean, I think especially like a wild card game where the stakes are so high, the atmosphere makes a ton of difference and yeah, I'm between, you playing there, just the cuts could get over it yet.

Well, the atmosphere here is fantastic.

But unfortunately, we are out of time.

So thanks to Sean Mulcahy, Rima.

I mean.

amount of gone and Ari on metals.

And we're back to wrap things up right after this.

>> Tonight's presentation of Week in review is made possible in part by an and rich com BNSF railway.

And Francine and Doctor Anthony Brown.

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.

No plans this weekend.

No problem.

Check out our website for our Chicago Festival guide from Pumpkin pop ups to Halloween haunts.

We've got you covered.

That's all it.

W T Tw dot com slash festivals.

Now for all of us here at the week in review.

I'm Nick Lumber.

Thank you for watching.

Stay healthy, stay safe and stay informed.

Have a great weekend.

>> Okay.

The Bears Stadium saga continues.

We learned that Governor Pritzker met with the NFL commissioner with minority owner Pat Ryann the bunch of state lawmakers.

So maybe maybe some progress here on keeping them in a little.

I don't know that they won't feel like this look at the hopeful sign.

I think it is.

want to say, I don't think that they really want happen today.

>> Love to call Chicago left to him.

And there's just doesn't sound the same >> And they're there.

So they were so good last season.

They're hopefully going to be 3 the season.

I think that that helps the bears organizations cars.

But I guess we'll see.

Yeah, love.

Williams said he likes on how tonight's to close captioning is made possible.

>> By Robert, a clip from and Clifford law offices, Chicago personal injury and wrongful death front that supports inclusionary excellence throughout the legal profession.