Bill Sullivan

@byaliceyin Which Phil’s!

chuckling at the yelp reviewers just discovering the humble beauty behind Phil’s 😍

@jasonc_nc Nuts. Federal regulations make your hypothesis ridiculous. Besides CFD is not know for picking fancy anything. The age of the fleet demonstrates it quite plainly.

This is a truly terrible situation Chicago is in and they aren’t alone. Here’s the thing. We know exactly why. And how to fix it. Stop buying overpriced, oversized all-custom trucks with poor reliability. Move to standard commercial chassis with specialized body, aka how it’s done everywhere else. In return is a more reliable emergency apparatus that costs less to buy, less to maintain, with less downtime. That can be easily repaired by a typical large truck shop with readily available (lower cost) OEM parts. US fire department’s addiction to big, custom trucks are a direct reason why so many trucks are sitting awaiting repair, rather than ready for service. It’s also now a very real public safety risk, while blowing ever more massive holes in city budgets to justify vanity decisions. Bonus: reduces ability to turn maintenance and procurement into an opportunity to steer overly expensive contracts to favored parties. Often former firefighters collecting a retirement pension while engaged in their new role as government contractor, “consultant” or so on. Sometimes collecting both from the very same city.

@Austin__Berg @gilbert36ward Maybe you can offer some improvements it’s still like Swiss cheese.

Worth noting: @gilbert36ward has an ordinance to address this.

NEW: An analysis from the Chicago Sun-Times released today found more than 10,000 municipal employees owe a combined $19.5 million in delinquent fines, tickets and water bills to Chicago City Hall. Seems like a simple fix: Make payment plans a condition of employment. City Hall can legally garnish as much as 25% of an employee’s paycheck.

@chi_urbanist 5 percent is an odd bar to set.

Republican voter turnout in Chicago for the 2026 Illinois primary

@RaymondALopez @ChicagoWater In my day they called those trailer parks. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I proposed a tiny home village & expansion under both mayors Emanuel & Lightfoot. While there was some interest, @ChicagoWater always proved to be the roadblock unable (or unwilling) to create mechanisms for multiple metered accounts on a single city lot.

@susanamendoza10 Blighted? That’s a serious stretch. The districts need to expire and a moratorium placed on new ones until serious reforms are made.

What is TIF and why is it so important in Chicago development? A Tax Increment Financing District (TIF) is declared when the area included in its boundaries is deemed to be in serious need of development and investment by Chicago’s City Council. Property tax revenues fund a variety of expenditures across the city: infrastructure, schools, parks, police, etc. When a TIF district is created, the current property tax revenue level is frozen. As new development occurs in the TIF District and property values rise, the resulting increase in property taxes - the "increment" - is separated from regular tax revenue. This incremental revenue is used to pay for improvements and development over a 23 year period. TIF's revitalize blighted areas, fund major infrastructure projects and attract businesses that create jobs. TIF districts generate money specifically for development in the parts of Chicago that need it the most, but when TIF funding is redirected for operating expenses instead of for economic development, it leaves Chicago’s neighborhoods without the tools they need to continue their growth. Raiding TIF funds is bad for Chicago and it needs to stop so we can continue to reinvest back in the neighborhoods that need it the most. #chicago

@godgrrl We need you back on the beat looking into the Bishop from Winona.

Bob and Leo are Chicagoans. The bishop should know better. Pope clout wins.

@chicagobars I want to meet the bar back or bartender who has time to wash glassware in a college bar.

I want to meet the college bar anywhere that serves in glass during major local sporting events.

@WestLoopTom Very true. The study is remarkable. The only concern I have is my belief that many of those positions are filled with sworn personnel that most likely are being kept of the street because they lack the ability to be on patrol.

Too many on desk duty.

@needhamchicago @CWBChicago The study’s findings conclude that only 57 more sworn positions need to be added. The additonal patrol resources come from using civilians to perform a host of jobs.

@CWBChicago Excerpt: “overstaffed districts would maintain their headcount while the understaffed districts would receive additional officers” Seems unlikely in light of city finances

A new 767-page study of the Chicago Police Department finds some of Chicago’s most violent districts may actually have MORE officer availability than expected. cwbchicago.com/2026/04/767-pa…

@CWBChicago The study seems to have hit a nerve. The same reactions that have led to paralysis on staffing changes for decades

@CWBChicago The study did not say “safe” districts need more cops and “violent” districts have too many. It used workload and proactive time, and found 13 of 22 districts already met the 40% target. The issue was deployment relative to workload, not “safe vs. dangerous.”

@CWBChicago The 22nd is at 54% proactive time, well above the study’s 40% target, and the report recommended 0 more patrol officers, just +2 sergeants for supervision.

@CWBChicago The study’s 22nd District example undercuts that claim: the 22nd had 54% proactive time, above the 40% target, and was recommended for 0 additional patrol officers.

@ChicagoMPO Expediency? Transparency? Nothing about @ChicagosMayor actions has come close to either of these goals. This is about enriching one man Walter Burnett. This administration has become more Trumpian with every move it makes

Mayor Brandon Johnson Statement on the CHA CEO Appointment Process: Following former Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) Board Chair Matt Brewer’s unilateral decision to appoint Keith Pettigrew as CEO of the CHA on March 17, 2026—an action fully inconsistent with the Housing Authorities Act and Bylaws of the CHA Board of Commissioners—I took immediate action to remove Mr. Brewer from his chairmanship and appointed Jawanza Malone as Board Chair. Mr. Brewer’s actions were in direct violation of the Open Meetings Act and long-standing CHA Board precedent. The resolution to appoint a CEO was not properly noticed prior to the March 17 meeting and still has not been included in the publicly available agenda materials, effectively denying Board members, CHA residents, and the public the opportunity to participate or the transparency required in decisions of this magnitude. His stewardship of this process disenfranchised both fellow Commissioners and the communities the CHA serves. I stand with the coalition of community members and stakeholders who have raised serious concerns about the legality and integrity of this process. CHA residents deserve leadership decisions that are transparent, lawful, and grounded in their lived experiences, not a process that prioritizes expediency over accountability. The legal deficiencies underlying Mr. Brewer's resolution are clear. In his capacity as “Operating Chairman,” a position which is not enumerated in the Housing Authorities Act nor the CHA Bylaws, Mr. Brewer did not have independent contracting authority, and any resolution granting the “Operating Chairman” such authority was outside of the powers granted to an individual Commissioner under the Housing Authorities Act. With my designation of Chair Malone, any authority Mr. Brewer may have had as “Operating Chairman” has been expressly revoked and any actions he purported to exercise in that capacity are null and void. With my appointment of  Chairman Malone, Mr. Brewer no longer holds any role that would permit him to act on behalf of the Board in an executive or contracting capacity. I remain fully committed to working with the Board and community stakeholders as we employ a transparent, lawful, and community-centered process to identify the next CEO of the Chicago Housing Authority. ###

@bob3860 @the_transit_guy Good catch.

@sullyhome @the_transit_guy Plus don’t forget the Brookfield zoo police, metropolitan water district police, and many more …

The 133 municipalities in Cook County collectively have the same population as Chicago; meaning 133 separate police departments serve roughly the same number of residents as the Chicago Police Department alone.

@mlcalderone I love the daily podcast of @MeetThePress

Rebecca Kutler’s strategy at MS NOW appears to be working, per first quarter 2026 ratings thewrap.com/media-platform…

@AldConway @Chicago_Police The study recommends +273 patrol officers. More broadly, it identifies a need for +661 sworn positions across all bureaus, but after civilianizing 604 sworn roles, the net recommendation is +57 sworn positions.

@AldConway @Chicago_Police It doesn’t conclude that. It recommends +57 sworn positions and +641 civilian positions relative to current filled staffing. It’s a more efficient allocation of sworn offices. I think you should be more interested in the proactive policing math. It’s a packed report

The @Chicago_Police Workforce Allocation Study has been in the process for years. Just released, it says: 1) We need more officers & 2) More investment in technology/data tools to support them Read this very thorough study here: chicagopolice.org/wp-content/upl…

@goodiedickman @CWBChicago The math is the best part. Measuring proactive policing time is eye opening. There is a lot to like in this document.

@CWBChicago It's a long read and I'm only a quarter through but a lot of the recommendations are purely mathematics and take in zero account of immeasurable human knowledge of the job.

A 767-page study of CPD’s workforce allocation is out. Among its findings: Some of the city’s most violence-plagued police districts have too many cops, while some of the “safest” districts don’t have enough. cwbchicago.com/2026/04/767-pa…