Ameya Pawar

After hearing from aldermen, angry parents and community members in a meeting interrupted several times by protesters, the Chicago Board of Education today approved a plan to close 49 elementary schools and one high school program. The board voted 4-2 to...

In the cold light of day, the 2008 contract between the city of Chicago and Chicago Parking Meters LLC looks a lot like a $1.2 billion payday loan. That's the apt observation of freshman Ald. Ameya Pawar, 47th, as the City Council prepares to vote on...

Facing heat from aldermen who want to break apart Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s new deal with the company running the city’s parking meters, the mayor’s City Council allies took the unusual step Thursday of trumpeting support, but only for part...

The Ravenswood 'hood, already home to a craft beer bar, Fountainhead, and a brewery, Begyle, could see the arrival of even more beer courtesy of a brewpub called Band of Bohemia. Led by a team that includes an Alinea sommelier, Craig Sindelar, and a...

As Mayor Rahm Emanuel faces heat from aldermen who want to break apart his new deal with the company running the city's parking meters, his City Council allies took the unusual step Thursday of trumpeting support, but only for part of the proposal....

The big guy is coming to Chicago, and that can't be good for the not-as-big guy on the fifth floor of Chicago's City Hall. In politics, stuff rolls downhill. The big guy on Pennsylvania Avenue doesn't want stuff on his shoes, and neither does the not-...

The City Council today approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to allow a conglomerate to build nearly three dozen digital billboards along city expressways in exchange for a lease of at least 20 years. The deal with Interstate-JCDecaux passed 43-6. It had...

The second CTA fare hike in five years and a controversial plan that eliminates at least a dozen bus routes to free up money to add service on more crowded buses and trains were the focus of a public hearing Monday night on the CTA’s proposed 2013...

Chicago aldermen on Thursday advanced a plan to change the city’s disorderly conduct ordinance in a way they argued could help police disperse crowds at gang funerals as part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s get-tough stance on the gatherings. The new...

The CTA on Wednesday released the full roster of bus-route cancellations and changes that transit officials said are painful but necessary to reduce crowding on buses on the busiest routes. The hit list totaled 26 routes, more than double the 12 low-...

The Chicago City Council overwhelmingly voted today to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana possession. Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s  proposal passed 44-3, allowing Chicago police to issue pot-possession tickets starting Aug. 4. The move makes...

New financial disclosure statements show six of the Chicago City Council's 16 new aldermen have outside jobs or own businesses. Nine of the aldermen who were elected for the first time last year gave up other jobs, according to disclosures and...