Mayor's Office

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is appointing a 13-member advisory committee to determine how to use nearly 50 Chicago Public Schools that were closed this year; Committee will be chaired by Wilbur Milhouse, owner of one of the most prominent African-American construction and engineering firms in the city

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday praised hundreds of safety workers that are charged with overseeing designated “Safe Passage” routes along which thousands of Chicago Public Schools students will be walking to welcoming schools when class begins Monday; Emanuel has increased the number of safety workers assigned to the routes by 600 in the last few weeks

Four town hall meetings are scheduled to gather information for a report on how to limit youth smoking as part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s push for efforts to curb the use of menthol cigarettes and prevent companies from marketing to younger residents; City’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection is increasing enforcement against those who potentially sell tobacco products to minors along CPS Safe Passage routes

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday said that Gordon Nash and Daniel Collins, both of the law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, will join city Corporation Counsel Steve Patton and Inspector General Joe Ferguson in the investigation into the conduct of former Comptroller Amer Ahmad; Ahmad was last week indicted in Ohio on federal corruption charges; Emanuel also defended his appointment of Ahmad

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday said that the city’s move on Saturday to raze the Whittier Dual Language School field house, located at 1900 W. 23rd St. in Pilsen, was “exactly the right thing to do”; Structure was deemed unsafe by the Department of Buildings, but its demolition sparked criticism from community members

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration produced a letter Monday showing it knew about the circumstances surrounding a kickback scheme involving former Chicago comptroller Amer Ahmad when he was serving as Ohio’s deputy treasurer; Administration has claimed that it was not aware of any controversy involving Ahmad until he was indicted last week

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday said he will call for city Inspector General Joe Ferguson and Corporation Counsel Steve Patton to investigate former city Comptroller Amer Ahmad; Ahmad was indicted on Thursday in Ohio on federal corruption charges for an alleged $500,000 kickback scheme he orchestrated while working for the state

City workers will this week place fliers on cars parked downtown that display disabled-parking placards communicating that beginning next year, only those presenting a newly-designed placard are eligible for free parking at metered spaces and that able-bodied drivers abusing the system are subject to fines of up to $1,000, and could have their vehicles impounded; Effort is part of an initiative by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to root out fraud in the city’s free parking program

Number of food deserts in Chicago has decreased 21 percent since Mayor Rahm Emanuel took office 27 months ago, his administration announced; Food deserts are defined as areas located more than one mile from at least one retail food establishment with over 10,000 square feet of space, not including fast food restaurants or gas stations

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office on Thursday announced four new food trucks to receive licenses from the city; Trucks are: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Starfruit, Mar and Husky Hog BBQ, the first barbecue truck with an onboard smoker