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Daily Whale Originals

City’s tourism bureau aims to draw more international visitors

After hitting key tourism benchmarks last year, the Choose Chicago tourism bureau is looking to attract more visitors from international markets in 2015.

During a Wednesday City Club of Chicago event, Choose Chicago President and CEO Don Welsh noted that the organization recently opened its fourth Chinese tourism office in Chengdu – one of China’s largest cities. Chicago’s tourism bureau is also working closely with government, media and tourism agencies in Mexico and Canada to draw international visitors.

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Q+A with state Sen. Pamela Althoff

In the wake of state lawmakers' bipartisan effort last month to address a $1.6 billion shortfall in the state’s budget for the current fiscal year, Sen. Pamela Althoff (R-McHenry) is looking forward to tackling next year’s budget during the spring legislative session.

The senator said Gov. Bruce Rauner and her fellow legislators must demonstrate they can serve as responsible stewards of the state’s finances to restore Illinoisans’ trust in state government.

Q+A with Chicago Board of Education Vice President Jesse Ruiz

Chicago Board of Education Vice President Jesse Ruiz helps oversee a school system with 400,000 students and 24,000 teachers.

Since Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed him to the board in 2011, Ruiz and his fellow Chicago Public Schools administrators have found themselves in a number of contentious battles as they work to address fiscal issues facing the school district. While making tough decisions that included the closure of 50 CPS schools in 2013, Ruiz said his focus has been on ensuring all young Chicagoans have access to a quality education.

Q+A with state Sen. Chris Nybo

State Sen. Chris Nybo (R-Elmhurst) is looking forward to being part of the new wave of Republican leadership in Springfield during his first full term in the Illinois Senate.

In a recent conversation with the Daily Whale, Nybo said he was enthusiastic about the opportunities for bipartisan cooperation that will be necessary to find solutions to difficult issues facing legislators this year.

Q+A with Foley & Lardner managing partner Myles Berman

As the managing partner of the law firm Foley & Lardner’s Chicago office since August 2012, Myles Berman combines his leadership role with a government relations and corporate transactions and counseling practice.

Founded in Milwaukee in 1842, Foley & Larder now has offices in 20 cities that include New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Shanghai and Tokyo. Berman described Foley & Lardner’s Chicago office as an “epicenter” of the firm’s Midwest practice.

Q+A with state Sen. Daniel Biss

Since joining the Illinois Senate in 2013, Daniel Biss has quickly become a leader on pressing fiscal and employment issues facing the state.

During his first year in the Senate, Biss was a key player in the passage of pension reform legislation that is currently being reviewed by the Illinois Supreme Court. The North Shore lawmaker is also responsible for measures designed to help Illinois workers save for retirement and allow for consolidation of some units of local government.

Q+A with state Sen. Andy Manar

State Sen. Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) has made education reform a top priority since joining the Illinois General Assembly in 2013.

In the 99th General Assembly, Manar has introduced a bill that would drastically overhaul the state’s 19-year-old school-funding formula in an effort to more evenly distribute public school funding between rich and poor districts. Manar introduced similar legislation in 2014. Last year’s measure, which faced strong opposition from Chicago-area Republicans, cleared the Senate in May but failed to advance in the House.

Q+A with 2nd Ward aldermanic candidate Alyx Pattison

Alyx Pattison’s first foray in politics and government service came as a fundraiser and aide to Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). Now an attorney, Pattison hopes to use the knowledge she gained in those roles while serving as alderman for the 2nd Ward.

Emanuel money does not guarantee incumbent aldermen victory

Despite vastly outspending Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and the other mayoral candidates before Tuesday’s election, Mayor Rahm Emanuel was unable to avoid an April 7 runoff. The mayor is not the only well-funded Chicago elected official who faces six more weeks of campaigning. Twelve of the 31 alderman who were supported by the mayor’s super PAC were forced into runoffs as well, and one lost outright.

All eyes on city races, but don’t forget about the suburbs

With Election Day slated for Tuesday, Chicagoans are watching to see if Mayor Rahm Emanuel can avoid a runoff and how a couple dozen close aldermanic races shake out.

But Chicago is not the only municipality with potentially close elections coming up. There are several other elections scheduled to take place in the Chicagoland area on Tuesday. Here’s what’s coming up in Lake, Will, Kane and DuPage counties.

Waukegan

In north suburban Waukegan (Lake County), three of the city’s nine aldermanic seats feature contested races in Tuesday’s primary.

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