Pat Dowell

Four projects on the Near South Side are one step closer to reality, potentially bringing a health care center, plus businesses and homes to the area. The City Council will vote on the proposals Wednesday.

Policy Kings will include apartments, retail and restaurants in the former space of Cain's Barber College. The first stores could open as soon as October.

The coffee shop's owners hosted pop-up events for budding entrepreneurs during the shutdown, and those will continue in the future.

The project received a $75,000 Chicago Community Trust grant for predevelopment planning, which is expected to last two to three years.

Her position leaves just one casino proposal — Rhode Island-based Bally’s plan to build a resort in River West — whose local alderman has not come out against a gambling site in their own ward.

Carjackings in parts of the Near South Side have gone down in 2022, but 3rd Ward residents have raised concerns about if people are being arrested and charged for violent crime.

South Side activist Tyrone Muhammad said the venture will give formerly incarcerated people a path into the industry while allowing them to bypass stringent licensing required for dispensaries selling more potent products.

Increasing the city's real estate transfer tax on property sales of more than $1 million could help house 12,000 families over 10 years, activists said.

Ald. Pat Dowell also plans to use the newly launched channel to share information about community events and businesses.

Ald. Pat Dowell and a developer have wanted to bring Pete's to the former Stateway Gardens site for years. Pandemic-related problems stalled the project, but the development team is finally moving forward.

Masks will be available noon-3 p.m. Thursday at Ald. Pat Dowell's State Street office.

She is the first candidate to throw in her hat since Rush announced he will not seek a 16th term representing Chicago’s South Side and south suburbs.

The sports betting ordinance was amended to include a 2 percent tax on gambling revenue, but several alderpeople said it's not enough.

"How are you paying attention to Englewood when you have three or four other communities to monitor?" a longtime resident said. "We need to get aldermen in one big area and say, 'OK, this is Englewood.'” 

As unvaccinated aldermen fight the city worker vaccine mandate, other elected officials are frustrated by a lack of remote meeting options.

Margaret Hie Ding Lin Park, a backdrop for sports commercials starring Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose, is getting a new half court and other upgrades.

Kicking off the season with its first event of the year, the farm near 42nd and Calumet aims to reconnect with the community after a devastating year.

The $250 million Big Deahl project, a fourth location of Small Cheval and a plan to landmark Emmett Till's former home were also approved by the zoning committee.

Community leaders on the ground and in the statehouse are working on solutions to quell city violence as the parents of Sincere Gaston mourn.