The City Council’s “Common Sense Caucus” toured Rikers Island on Tuesday, where they touted supposed improvements to the notorious detention complex standing in direct contrast to a daming recent report from a federal watchdog that sharply criticized the conditions at the facility.
If the new zoning chair and Council floor leader is more pragmatic than some of his critics expect, it could be a positive step for progressive politics in Chicago. But if he stymies projects by making unreasonable demands, it could impact the new mayor’s ability to create jobs and grow the tax base.