Subuk Hasnain

The Cook County Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners on Tuesday passed an intergovernmental agreement with the Prairie Research Institute of the University of Illinois for the development of a Natural and Cultural Resources Management Plan.

According to Arnold Randall, superintendent of the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the district will use “scientists and professionals who are in the environmental [and] ecological world to help us assess our ecological value and … help us to create an overarching plan for restoration.”

The Chicago Transit Authority Board on Wednesday approved the elimination of 149 positions as part of an effort to save $13 million per year.

Of the positions eliminated, about 45 are currently vacant, according to CTA officials. Forty of the positions are filled by union employees, and each union worker will have the opportunity to apply for a different position or will be reassigned to another position. About 64 non-union employees affected by the cuts will be let go on Nov. 11. 

The Chicago City Council Committee on Health and Environmental Protection on Tuesday approved a measure authorizing the city’s Department of Public Health to move forward with an agreement with the Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago to host AmeriCorps volunteers.

The City Council Committees on Human Relations and Public Safety held a joint hearing on Wednesday to address concerns about the rising incidence of human trafficking in Chicago and to call attention to measures designed to prevent the practice.

Current law concerning human trafficking defines the victims as children involved in sex trade, adults age 18 or above who are forced or deceived into commercial sex acts and anyone forced into any form of labor or services.