Mayor's Office

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett on Monday announced that under a five-year plan, CPS will transition computer science from an elective course to a core subject, make at least one such class available at every high school and provide students with resources needed to develop computer applications

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration on Friday announced the installation of new speed cameras near Washington Park on Chicago’s South Side and Challenger Park in Lakeview; Cameras will issue warnings during a 30-day grace period and then begin issuing tickets on Jan. 19; Two new cameras bring the total count of cameras that monitor roads adjacent to 18 different city schools and parks to 33

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday announced his selection of Citadel LLC Managing Director Dan Widawsky as Chicago comptroller; Widawsky – who has over 20 years of finance, tax and legal experience – succeeds Amer Ahmad, who resigned this summer shortly before it came to light that he was under investigation for allegations that he was involved in an illegal kickback scheme while serving the State of Ohio

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Thursday announced the Your New Blue initiative, a $492 million proposal to overhaul the Chicago Transit Authority’s Blue Line between O’Hare and downtown; Project calls for the installation of 4G Internet connection in the Blue Line’s underground tunnels, and the time it takes to ride from O’Hare to downtown would be 10 minutes shorter as a result of the initiative

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has appointed Deputy Mayor Steve Koch to chair a task force charged with overseeing the transfer of Dominick’s grocery stores in Chicago to new operators; Dominick’s parent company announced it would exit the Chicago market, which would result in the closure of 72 area stores by the end of the year; Mariano’s Fresh Markets' parent company Roundy’s Inc. has agreed to acquire 11 Dominick’s stores, Jewel-Osco has acquired four and Whole Foods could buy seven

Mayor Rahm Emanuel released a statement Wednesday saying that he “strongly supports” President Barack Obama’s proposal to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10 an hour

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration said that, despite an invitation from the U.S. Olympic Committee to bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, it would not be bidding to host the games; Chicago in 2009 was eliminated in the first round in its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics

Despite mounting frustrations with the rollout of the Chicago Transit Authority's Ventra fare system, Mayor Emanuel on Tuesday stood by CTA President Forrest Claypool; Emanuel said the Cubic Transportation Systems contractor is responsible for the rocky Ventra implementation, not Claypool; Cubic was awarded a $454 million, 12-year contract to install and operate the system, and has spent $92 million on it so far, but has not yet been paid by the city

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday declined to comment on whether he received a commitment from state lawmakers to provide a solution for the city’s pension crisis; Chicago's public pension funds have an outstanding defecit of $19.5 billion, and Emanuel said financially struggling cities must be helped before the statewide pension deficit can be solved

Sources told Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed that Mayor Rahm Emanuel has established an intergovernmental task force between the Chicago Police Department, the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office charged with reducing and preventing domestic violence