CHICAGO—City Begins Converting Loop Office Buildings to Housing -Chicago’s La Salle Corridor Revitalization Initiative kicked off last week, beginning with the transformation of a historic 14-story Loop office building into...more
CHICAGO—City Incentives Aim to Attract Data Centers -
Chicago is positioning itself to capitalize on the data center boom, with the City Council adopting an ordinance offering incentives for developers to store municipal...more
3/20/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
Data Centers ,
Employment Policies ,
Gig Economy ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Wage ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Real Estate Development ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Incentives ,
Technology
BALTIMORE—City Moves Closer to Creating Consumer Protection Agency -The Baltimore City Council advanced a bill to establish its own consumer protection agency, modeled after similar agencies in nearby Howard and Montgomery...more
3/6/2025
/ Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Housing Market ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Reform
CHICAGO — Restaurant Workers Prepare as ICE Arrests Cast Uncertainty -Chicago restaurant workers are bracing for possible U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests, despite no confirmed raids. Fears have led...more
2/20/2025
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Eviction ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Reform ,
Real Estate Development ,
School Districts ,
State Funding ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
Worker Protection Standard ,
Workplace Safety
CHICAGO — Restaurants on Guard Against ICE -
Immigrants comprise roughly 40% of Chicago's restaurant workforce. Some restaurant owners have begun educating employees on their rights, providing required paperwork, and...more
2/5/2025
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Wage ,
Real Estate Development ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
CHICAGO — Data Shows City’s Labor Market Stabilizing -
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said the latest jobs report suggests the labor market is stabilizing at full employment and is not a sign of an...more
1/23/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
City Planning Departments ,
Economic Development ,
Housing Developers ,
Immigration ,
Infrastructure ,
Local Ordinance ,
Public Policy ,
Public Safety ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rent Control ,
Sanctuary Cities ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Policy ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Wildfires ,
Zoning Laws
CHICAGO — Jobs Slightly Down Since Last Year, State Data Shows -
The Chicago metro area experienced a 0.2% drop in non-farm jobs between November 2023 and November 2024. While private education, health services, and...more
1/9/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
Arenas and Stadiums ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Funding ,
Homeless Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
Low Income Housing ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
PHILADELPHIA — City Council Moves to Ban AI Rent “Price-Fixing” -
The Philadelphia City Council advanced legislation that would empower the City to sue landlords for alleged “price-fixing” of rental rates, particularly...more
11/7/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Price-Fixing ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Public Transit ,
Real Estate Development ,
Rental Property ,
Surveillance
LOS ANGELES — L.A. Metro Testing AI Weapons Detection System-
L.A. Metro is considering implementing a weapons detections system being tested in Chicago that uses existing security cameras to scan the transit passengers...more
10/10/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Food Safety ,
Landlords ,
Local Elections ,
Mayors ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Public Transit ,
Real Estate Development ,
State Elections ,
Tax Increment Financing ,
Urban Planning & Development
CHICAGO — City’s ShotSpotter Contract Ends-
After months of contentious debate among city leaders, the City of Chicago ceased use of the gun detection technology ShotSpotter.
NEW YORK — Top Taxi, Rideshare Insurer Facing...more
9/26/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Forensic Accounting ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Mayors ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Political Contributions ,
Public Health ,
Real Estate Development ,
Strike ,
Tax Increases ,
Taxation ,
Unions
CHICAGO — CTA Launches AI Surveillance to Stop Gun Violence at Transit Stations-
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) recently rolled out an artificial intelligence (AI) surveillance tool to detect guns at stations, a move...more
9/12/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Bribery ,
Charging Stations ,
City of Chicago ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Government Officials ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Housing Developers ,
Mayors ,
Medical Debt ,
Public Safety ,
Public Transit ,
Real Estate Development ,
Small Business ,
State Budgets ,
State Elections ,
Strike ,
Tax Assessment ,
Teachers
BALTIMORE — City Council Investigates DPW Working Conditions -Baltimore City Council members criticized Department of Public Works (DPW) officials over unsafe workplace conditions following the death of a sanitation worker,...more
8/29/2024
/ Bribery ,
City Councils ,
City of Chicago ,
Eviction ,
Homeless Issues ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Housing Developers ,
Public Employees ,
Public Health ,
Public Transit ,
Real Estate Development ,
State Budgets ,
State Taxes ,
Strike ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Mayor Adams has issued an Executive Order, directing city agencies to review city-owned and controlled land for potential housing development. The executive order formally establishes the City Housing Activation Task Force,...more
Gig Economy & Technology NEW YORK —
City Deploys Drones for Major Storm Warnings-
New York City emergency management officials have deployed five teams with multiple drones to warn residents in basement or ground-floor...more
8/15/2024
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Homeless Issues ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Housing Developers ,
Landlords ,
Migrants ,
Over-Time ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Reassessments ,
Strike ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
CHICAGO — U.S. Steel South Works Site Wins Massive Quantum Project -Illinois is investing in quantum computing on the Far South Side of Chicago at the former U.S. Steel South Works plant on Lake Michigan. The goal is to...more
8/12/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Ballot Measures ,
City Councils ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Grants ,
Heat Exposure ,
Mass Shootings ,
Migrants ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
State Budgets ,
Strike ,
Taxation ,
Theft ,
Wage and Hour ,
White Collar Crimes
BALTIMORE — Gig Work on the Rise in Baltimore Area-
Gig work is on the rise in the Baltimore area, becoming a predominant lifestyle choice for many individuals. The trend underscores a significant shift in employment...more
7/3/2024
/ Cell Phones ,
Charging Stations ,
Employee Rights ,
Eviction ,
Gig Economy ,
Healthcare ,
Homeless Issues ,
Migrants ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Public Schools ,
Real Estate Development ,
State Budgets ,
State Elections ,
Transportation Industry
Mayor Adams has appointed a new Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services, Johnny Celestin. Celestin most recently served as Deputy Director for the Mayor’s Office of Minority- and Women-Owned Business...more
CHICAGO — City Council to Consider Requiring Testing, Guidelines for City Government AI Tools-
Chair of Chicago City Council’s Committee on Economic, Capital & Technology Development Gilbert Villegas (Ward 36) introduced a...more
5/9/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Federal Funding ,
Homeless Issues ,
Local Elections ,
Lyft ,
Mayors ,
Political Parties ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Ridesharing ,
State Budgets ,
Transportation Industry ,
Uber ,
Vacant Properties ,
Wages
CHICAGO — CTA Calls on Private Companies to Submit Tech Solutions to Improve System-
Last week, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) launched the CTA Innovation Studio — calling on private-sector companies to submit ideas...more
3/14/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Homeless Issues ,
Machine Learning ,
Migrants ,
Police ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Public Transit ,
Real Estate Development ,
Sports Betting ,
Tax Revenues
BOSTON — City Leading AI Industry-
Boston-area companies are leading in the development of new artificial intelligence (AI) and managing data for AI use. A new report estimates that Boston’s expertise in tech and health...more
2/16/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
California ,
City Councils ,
Commercial Real Estate Market ,
Federal Employees ,
Homeowners ,
Migrants ,
Natural Disasters ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Real Estate Development ,
Redistricting ,
State Budgets ,
Subcontractors ,
Tenants ,
Transparency
CHICAGO — After Latest Shooting, Rideshare Drivers Protest Outside Midway Airport for Change-
Several rideshare drivers protested outside Midway Airport last Friday for better safety and stable pay. The Chicago Police...more
BALTIMORE — Mayor Scott, BDE Introduce Free Public Wi-Fi Network -
In December, Mayor Brandon Scott and the City’s Office of Broadband and Digital Equity (BDE) launched FreeBmoreWiFi, a citywide free public Wi-Fi network....more
1/4/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
ATF ,
Immigrants ,
Mayors ,
Migrants ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Voting Rights
Gig Economy & Technology-
DETROIT — Electric Delivery Startup BrightDrop Becomes Part of GM- BrightDrop, a General Motors (GM) commercial electric vehicle startup formed in 2021, will no longer operate as a subsidiary and...more
11/30/2023
/ Affordable Housing ,
Amazon ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Electric Vehicles ,
General Motors ,
Homeless Issues ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Political Candidates ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Real Estate Development ,
State Elections ,
Strike ,
UAW
CHICAGO — Harris School Introduces New Technology, Society Initiative- The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy is introducing the Harris Technology and Society Initiative, a two-pronged strategy that...more
11/20/2023
/ Election Results ,
Hospitals ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Discrimination ,
Local Elections ,
Migrants ,
Nonprofits ,
Paid Leave ,
Political Candidates ,
Public Health ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Technology ,
Universities ,
Work Permits
BALTIMORE — AI to Help Baltimore Agencies Bridge Language Gaps-
By year’s end, the City of Baltimore will be deploying a new AI-backed service to help 911 dispatchers communicate with callers in their native language...more
10/19/2023
/ AirBnB ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Casinos ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Crime Statistics ,
Foreign Language ,
Homeless Issues ,
Illegal Drugs ,
Interest Rates ,
Migrants ,
Nonprofits ,
Opioid ,
Political Candidates ,
Political Parties ,
Public Transportation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Redistricting ,
Sales Tax ,
Short-Term Lease ,
State Budgets ,
Strike ,
Tipped Employees ,
UAW ,
Wage and Hour