The City Council Committee on License and Consumer Protection passed an ordinance on Wednesday intended to deter towing companies from illegally relocating vehicles parked on private property.

The ordinance requires towing companies to take at least one picture of unauthorized vehicles parked on private property prior to towing those vehicles. Towing companies would have to make those photographs available to vehicle owners. The photographs will have to clearly show the date and the time, the entire vehicle, the location and the license plate. 

The Illinois House on Wednesday voted 99-14 to advance a bill that would give the Illinois attorney general authority to challenge in court pension boards' payments to retired government workers who are convicted of a felony.

State Rep. Elaine Nekrtiz (D-Northbrook), the bill’s sponsor in the House, said the AG must be given the authority to challenge pension boards that illegally allow felons to receive pension benefits.

The Chicago Public Library's Harold Washington Library has received new energy-efficient lighting as part of the Chicago Infrastructure Trust’s Retrofit I initiative.

Using an average of 35 fewer watts per light fixture across a total of 6,000 metal halide light bulbs will help the city save “some real money” on energy costs, Public Building Commission Project Manager George Marquisos told members of the Infrastructure Trust Board during a meeting on Thursday. He also said the new bulbs provide far brighter and cleaner lighting than the previous bulbs.