Today’s Headlines for Wednesday, July 25

• Activists Discuss Plans to Take Over N. Lake Shore Drive Next Week (WTTW)
• Nearly a Third of City Property Taxes Is Diverted Into TIFs (Tribune)
• Lawmakers Question Possible Conflicts of Interest in Tollway Contracts (Tribune)
• Driver Who Killed Alyssa Lendino, 16, in Wheeling Was Fleeing Another Crash (Tribune)
• CCME: Ambulance Driver in Fatal Bellwood Crash Had Cocaine in His System (CBS)
• "Chicago Tonight" Looks at the CREATE Project to Unclog Local Rail Lines
• South Side Critical Mass Rides to Rainbow Cone on Friday 8/3

Get national headlines at Streetsblog USA

I’d like to give a big thanks to everyone who has donated so far this year to help us raise $50K by our August 1 deadline in order to win the $50K challenge grant from the Chicago Community Trust. The additional $25K The Trust is offering this year will allow us to hire a new part-time reporter to expand our coverage of the South and West sides, communities of color, and women's transportation issues.

Reader donations and ad renewals have been coming in steadily, we’ve gotten a few large gifts from some of our most loyal readers, and a couple other major contributions are likely to materialize in the near future. But with less than a month to go, we’re in the home stretch, and we need to raise more donations from readers like you, which typically make up about a third of the $50K we raise each year. Can you help us win the challenge grant by chipping in? You can make a tax-exempt donation on our Public Good page.

Thanks for your support, and have a great summer.

- John Greenfield, editor, Streetsblog Chicago