Fran Spielman interviews Chicago Housing Commissioner Lissette Castañeda and Alderman Gilbert Villegas (36th) about competing renter-protection proposals as rents rise and landlord ownership becomes less transparent. Castañeda backs Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Protecting Renters Ordinance (PRO), citing skyrocketing rents, corporate consolidation, and the need for a rental registry, expanded inspections and landlord services, just-cause protections to curb 10,000 annual no-fault evictions, and relocation assistance for certain no-fault displacements. Villegas supports an alternative packaged as the FAIR ordinance, agreeing on an annual registry but arguing PRO adds bureaucracy, creates unfunded mandates that will raise rents, and risks litigation; he emphasizes increasing housing supply, cutting red tape, and tiering obligations by landlord size.

Fran Spielman interviews Chicago Civic Federation president and former inspector general Joe Ferguson about the pending sale of Chicago Parking Meters LLC’s remaining 57 years to Stone Peak Partners, which City Council must authorize by Sept. 30. Ferguson says the city has limited leverage and should negotiate marginal contract improvements—especially reducing “true-up” reimbursements—rather than reject the transfer and risk lawsuits, financial damages, and reputational harm.

Fran Spielman interviews Ald. Marty Quinn of Chicago’s 13th Ward, who announces he will not seek re-election after four terms and 15 years on the City Council, citing the demands and unpredictability of ward service, sacrifices to family life, and readiness for new challenges with no job lined up. Quinn reflects on the council’s evolution from a seniority- and ward-focused body under Rahm Emanuel to a more legislative, independent, and coalition-driven council under Lightfoot and Johnson, including opposition to Johnson’s head tax and last year’s budget coalition.