The Chicago Teachers Union has called a news conference at noon Friday to discuss details of an agreement reached with Chicago Public Schools over the longer school day issue.
Neither side would provide specifics of the agreement Thursday.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is softening the blow of his library cuts — and raising city sticker fees across the board instead of confining the increase to large vehicles — to accommodate rebel aldermen and win the 26 votes he needs to approve his 2012 budget.
[...] The mayor’s original plan called for raising the city sticker fee for large vehicles by $15 and broadening the umbrella of drivers forced to pay the new $135 fee for “large passenger vehicles” to include 184,000 more vehicles.The decision to reduce the weight threshold from 4,500 pounds to 4,000 pounds came under fire from City Clerk Susana Mendoza and others because it would have forced soccer moms and other mini-van drivers to pay $60 more for their city stickers.
The mayor’s new plan would maintain the 4,500-pound weight limit in favor of across-the-board increases of $10 to $85 for small and medium-sized vehicles; and $15 to $135 for the larger ones. That means all 1.26 million drivers who buy city stickers would pay more, except for senior citizens and motorcycle owners.
Emanuel also followed Mendoza’s recommendation by raising the penalties for failing to display a valid city sticker — from a $120 fine and a $40 late fee to $200 and $60, respectively.