Tag Archives: chicago

Rahm passes his first Chicago budget – unanimously.

Chicagocityhall

City Hall: 50-0 for Rahm.

Regarded as a triumph by some – freshman Mayor Rahm Emanuel passed his first $6.3 billion budget of Chicago this week with unanimous support from the City Council – following the old traditions of the former mayor Richard M. Daley.

From the Sun-Times:

By pitching a shutout in his first big game on a new field, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has strengthened his hand when it comes to tackling the next big challenges ahead: pension reform and winning contract concessions from police and fire unions.

Emanuel’s $6.3 billion 2012 budget — and the $220 million in taxes, fines and fees needed to pay for it — scored a 50-to-0 vote in the City Council on Wednesday.

Full story.

Rahm plans 100 miles of new bike lanes.

Rahm

Yep, right there. Rahm's Lane.

Good old Rahmbo is all over again. Boat Houses yesterday, Bike Lanes today. Connecting to a long mayoral tradition in Chicago and aiming for the spot as most bike-friendly city in the US.

From Reuters:

CHICAGO (Reuters) – New Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to make Chicago the most bike-friendly place in the United States, building on a long pedigree of bike advocacy in the city that dates to the 19th century.

In 1897, mayoral candidate Carter H. Harrison II successfully campaigned as “the cyclists’ champion.” Bike-riding mayor Richard M. Daley expanded on-street marked bike lanes to 115 miles in his 22 years in office.

Emanuel plans to outdo both Daley and other bike-friendly U.S. cities.

In four years, he wants to create 100 miles of protected bike paths — not just painted lines on the street but paths separated from car traffic by posts or other dividers. By next summer, he wants the city’s first large-scale bike-sharing program, starting with 3,000 bikes.

Full story.