Tom Butala

Mayoral candidate Willie Wilson on Thursday said Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy has “got to go.”

While speaking at a City Club of Chicago event, Wilson said that McCarthy has failed to adequately reduce violent crime since coming to Chicago from Newark, New Jersey in 2011. Wilson argued that in order to achieve acceptable reductions in crime, the city needed to promote more native Chicagoans to top Chicago Police Department positions.

Washington, D.C.-based Common Cause is urging Chicagoans to vote for a ballot referendum later this month that they hope will spur elected officials to take action to limit the influence of special interests in city elections.

State officials on Friday called on Illinois school districts to administer the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exams to all their students.

Earlier this week the U.S. Department of Education threatened to cut $1.2 billion in federal funding for the Illinois State Board of Education because Chicago Public Schools decided to give the test to students at only about 10 percent of its schools.

After a Cook County Clerk’s Office report showed a decline in county lobbyist activity in 2014, County Clerk David Orr on Wednesday suggested lobbyists should be required to engage in “real-time” activity reporting.

During a Monday City Club of Chicago address, mayoral candidate and 2^nd Ward Alderman Bob Fioretti said he would establish “tax-free zones” to spur development of small business districts.

Fioretti said the zones, which would have a lifespan of five to 10 years, would be located in lower-income neighborhoods in an effort to encourage the growth of small businesses. He also promised to continue Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s efforts to advocate for the creation of business incubators and micro-lending programs.