< Back Aldermen pass 2026 spending plan including debt sale over opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson Chicago Tribune Alice Yin and Jake Sheridan Dec 19, 2025 https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/19/aldermen-pass-2026-spending-plan-including-debt-sale-over-mayor-brandon-johnsons-opposition/ Previous Next

< Back Nominee to lead Chicago animal control draws critics and defenders ahead of confirmation vote Chicago Tribune Jerry Wu Mar 10, 2026 https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/10/chicago-animal-control-susan-cappello/?share=6n1actaipwswtaw6bgoa Previous Next

2026 CAPS Meeting Schedule Look up your beat meeting location here .

Honorary Street Designations Alderwoman Cruz may propose four honorary street designations per calendar year. Read below for more information about this program. Honorary street designations are available for organizations or individuals who have made a significant contribution to the City, state, nation, or world. New honorary streets: Cannot honor a living individual (nominees must be deceased). Can be no longer than two blocks in length. Cannot be placed where there is already an honorary street designation. Remain in place for five years (but can be renewed by the alderperson for an additional five years. To nominate an individual or organization, please send a brief summary of the proposed honoree and their contributions along with the proposed location to Jason Liechty, 30th Ward Director of Policy and Zoning, at Jason.Liechty@cityofchicago.org . Visit the unofficial Honorary Chicago website for even more information about honorary streets in Chicago!

City Council The City Council is the legislative branch of government in Chicago. The Council adopts laws, approves the annual appropriations ordinance, examines issues facing the City, confirms mayoral appointees, and conducts other legislative business on behalf of the citizens of Chicago. Members of the City Council are officially termed "alderperson" under state law, but in practice they refer to themselves as "alderman," "alderwoman," "alderperson," and/or "alder," according to their preference. Next meeting date: Friday, November 14 Links: Legislation search Calendar of meetings Links to live webcasts of Council and committee meetings are displayed on the homepage of the City Clerk once they have commenced. Look for the blue "WATCH NOW" banner. Project Name This is your Project description. Provide a brief summary to help visitors understand the context and background of your work. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start. Project Name This is your Project description. A brief summary can help visitors understand the context of your work. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start. Project Name This is your Project description. Provide a brief summary to help visitors understand the context and background of your work. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start. Project Name This is your Project description. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start. Project Name This is your Project description. Provide a brief summary to help visitors understand the context and background of your work. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start. Project Name This is your Project description. A brief summary can help visitors understand the context of your work. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start.

< Back Grayland Metra Station Back Open After Years Of Construction Block Club Chicago Molly DeVore Aug 15, 2025 https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/08/15/grayland-metra-station-back-open-after-years-of-construction/ Previous Next

30th Ward Newsletter Archive May 15, 2026 May 1, 2026 April 20, 2026 April 3, 2026 March 25, 2026 - Property Tax Appeals March 20, 2026 March 6, 2026 February 20, 2026 February 6, 2026 January 23, 2026 January 5, 2026 December 21, 2025 December 12, 2025 November 28, 2025 November 14, 2025 October 28, 2025 October 21, 2025 October 3, 2025 September 20, 2025 September 5, 2025 August 22, 2025 August 15, 2025 August 8, 2025 July 26, 2025 July 15, 2025 June 27, 2025 June 13, 2025 May 30, 2025 May 13, 2025 May 3, 2025 April 7, 2025 March 7, 2025 February 7, 2025 January 13, 2025 December 16, 2024 December 10, 2024 Sign up for our newsletter - click here!

< Back Storytime con Yuyo Podcast - Ruth Cruz Concejala De Distrito 30! Ep. 29 (Youtube) Storytimeconyuyo (YouTube) - Sep 2, 2025 https://youtu.be/gLgwUWH72Ec?si=PnyRbw2dU-JvvCYO Previous Next

< Back Statement on My Vote in Favor of the Council’s Alternative Budget Alderwoman Ruth Cruz Dec 20, 2025 After hearing from many constituents, countless conversations with stakeholders, and much personal deliberation, I came to the very hard decision to support the alternative budget proposal developed by members of the City Council. At the end of the day, most of Mayor Johnson’s proposal and the alternative proposal were the same, differing by less than 2 percent of the overall City budget. There is no grocery tax. There is no garbage fee increase. There is no significant property tax increase; rather, only a small increase to preserve jobs and books and materials budgets at the Chicago Public Library. Both proposals include increases in the personal property lease tax, much of which is paid by large corporations who use cloud computing services. Both proposals include increased collection of debts owed to the City by residents and businesses. (This fact has been lost in the heated rhetoric around debt collection in recent days.) Both proposals included a historic TIF surplus declaration, which will benefit schools and other agencies. And both the Mayor’s most recent proposal and the alternative budget include: Increases for gender-based violence prevention. Additional positions for the Department of Animal Care and Control. Funding requested by the Mayor for violence prevention and youth programs. No cuts to the library book budget. I am also happy that the alternative budget maintains youth mentoring programs that the Mayor’s original budget had eliminated. Like the Mayor’s proposal, the alternative is not perfect. I have serious concerns about several aspects, including additional debt collection measures and removal of a provision to require additional City Council approval for police overtime over $200 million. But we need to keep City government running, and we need to keep up with our obligations. Failing to do that in the past led to huge budgetary problems and extreme cuts to services that affected our communities. The old pattern of kicking cans down the road has continued to contribute to the difficulties we face today. We MUST do better now - for our kids and for the future. It has been clear for some time that Mayor Johnson’s budget did not have the support needed to pass through the Finance Committee, let alone the Council. From the start, I was clear about the things that concerned me about the Mayor’s proposal. As I considered my vote, I reached out to leaders of the alternative budget effort and strongly expressed my concerns about the debt collection and police overtime issues and encouraged them to find common ground with the Mayor on the head tax. Ultimately, given the choice between two imperfect budgets, I had to decide which was the better, more viable option. I made the decision to cast my vote for the alternative budget with our future in mind. From the beginning, the alternative budget included a full advance pension payment. This is a major plus for me, since it will help preserve the City’s credit rating, keep future borrowing costs down, and preserve more funding for programs and services in the future. A few days ago, at the very last minute, the Mayor did finally introduce a proposal to make the full advance pension payment - something I had been asking the Mayor’s office to do for weeks! - but without any path for successfully moving it forward. For the record, I had no problem with the head tax. I strongly believe that large corporations should pay their fair share, but the budget is about more than just one issue. The alternative budget I supported still includes a significant increase in the personal property lease tax, much of which falls upon large companies that use cloud computing services. Do not let this difficult vote in a difficult situation cloud or confuse the issue - I fully support progressive ideas for revenue and will continue to advocate for progressive tax policy. Moving forward, I will immediately begin working with my Council colleagues and the administration to make sure there are adequate guardrails to protect vulnerable families in debt collection efforts, keep a careful watch on police overtime, and make structural reforms that improve the City’s financial position. This was a tough call, and I know this decision will not be supported by some of you. I understand that. But the voters elected me to make difficult decisions when necessary, and this is one of those times. We had to pass a budget and keep our government running - and the alternative budget represented the only clear path forward. I stand by my vote. Previous Next