Protesters Say Budget Cuts For Schools 'Making Things Worse'
Parent Anita Caballero said the mayor's contention that he's improving schools makes no sense.
Watch CBS News
Parent Anita Caballero said the mayor's contention that he's improving schools makes no sense.
A group of parents and several local elected officials teamed up Tuesday to call for an end to severe budget cuts at the Chicago Public Schools.
It's a bittersweet final day for thousands of students at Chicago Public Schools; at 19 elementary schools, it's the last day of class before they close for good.
Some Chicago Public School parents are worried that budget cuts will mean sacrificing electives.
Parents took over a classroom at Lafayette Elementary to protest the city's plan to shut down the school after this year.
Chicago Public Schools officials have offered lunchroom workers severance packages to get them to vacate their jobs, and help the district close its estimated $1 billion budget deficit.
Wednesday marks the beginning of school closings in Chicago, with 28 elementary schools preparing for their final day of class before they close for good.
A day before the first set of school closings was set to begin, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis had some harsh words about how the Chicago Public Schools are funded and managed, blaming much of the district's problems on racism.
Parents and students protested earlier this evening outside of speaking engagement by the head of Chicago Public Schools, reports WBBM's Nancy Harty.
Claiming the move to close 49 elementary schools won't save any money, opponents of the Emanuel administration's plans protested outside CPS headquarters on Monday, asking state leaders to step in.
The City of Chicago, which plans to close dozens of schools this summer to save money, has received 11,000 requests for help getting children to their new schools along safe-passage routes and will hire 600 adults to work along the routes.
About 800 of teachers and staff at schools set to close next school year or are targeted as "turnaround" schools were laid off on Friday.
City and Chicago Public Schools officials said Friday they're working with police and parents to designate hot spots where safety is an issue and there could be trouble as kids go to new schools next fall.
Chicago Public Schools officials have announced nearly $21 million in new cutbacks as it continues work to close a $1 billion budget deficit. The latest cuts come on top of more than $31 million in central office cuts earlier this year.
Joe Bradley had just dropped his last student off near 51st Street and Indiana Avenue. Before long, the shooting started, CBS 2's Brad Edwards reports.
Until a new judge can be assigned to a lawsuit filed by the Chicago Teachers Union and parents from 10 elementary schools, CPS attorneys agreed the district wouldn't take any permanent actions at the schools in question.
With 49 elementary schools set to close next week, Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett was outlined a five-year plan to make sure the district's students are prepared for college or a career after finishing high school.
Chicago Teachers Union officials fear the city could soon follow Philadelphia's steps and send out thousands of layoff notices. On Friday, the Philadelphia School District notified more than 3,000 employees of layoffs.
A Chicago Public School teacher has been removed from the classroom after being charged with rape.
With 49 elementary schools set to close this summer, and the district facing an additional $412 million in pension costs, the Chicago Teachers Union estimated hundreds – if not thousands – of teachers could be laid off to reduce district spending.
We now know 49 Chicago elementary school will close this fall. So, what will happen to all of those buildings - once the children leave?
A group of parents from three elementary schools that are closing on the South Side took a trip to the North Side on Thursday, and tried to enroll their kids at a school whose name is synonymous with wealth and privilege.
The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, argued the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Board of Education should have followed hearing officers' recommendations to keep 10 of the schools open when the hearing officers found CPS did not follow proper guidelines.
The head of the Chicago Public School system will be doing a little chest-thumping today about the high school graduation rate.
Three years ago, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation requiring schools to always have someone in the buildings trained to care for a child with diabetes. CBS 2's Jim Williams reports.
Crown Point police said the victim died on Sunday after being hit by the motorcycle on Saturday night.
All three men made their first appearance in court on Monday morning.
Several homes were damaged in south suburban Lansing on Monday as severe storms pounded the Chicago area.
First responders in Downers Grove are trying to rescue two workers who became trapped in a storm sewer during the first round of sudden and severe storms Monday.
Police said they've recovered the body of 28-year-old Gabriel De Sagun on Sunday.
Candidates for Chicago mayor may start circulating petitions on Tuesday for the election in February 2027.
The plans include arresting migrants in Ohio and quickly putting them on deportation flights to crisis-stricken Haiti, the internal documents indicate.
President Trump cracked jokes at the redo of the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Friday night, after an armed assailant upended April's dinner.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has purchased commercial spyware that can covertly take control of phones, collect messages, photos and location information.
A new lawsuit argues that Wisconsin's elections commission is wrongly blocking absentee voters from canceling their ballots and requesting new ones, with nearly 91,000 ballots already returned ahead of the Aug. 11 primary.
The Trump administration is taking aim at power grid operator PJM Interconnection over rising electricity bills that affect Illinois and Indiana residents.
Chicago remained the most bed bug-treated city in the country, according to Orkin's latest annual rankings covering a full year of residential and commercial treatment data.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul this week warned residents cleaning up from last month's storms to be on the lookout for scams.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday signed several new consumer protections into law, including a ban on junk fees.
CBS News Chicago has learned that Illinois home insurance premiums are not only higher than the nation's average, but going up faster too.
East Chicago, Indiana is being placed on a precautionary boil water advisory starting Monday morning for planned installations that could affect water safety.
A new Northwestern Medicine study on long COVID shows women show more neurological symptoms than men.
A lettuce supplier to fast-food giant Taco Bell has been linked to a nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of people, the CDC said.
Chicago just barely made the top 20 in the American College of Sports Medicine's 2026 ranking of the country's fittest cities.
In a major turnaround in the opioid crisis, overdose deaths are falling across Chicago and Cook County.
The food deserts on Chicago's South and West sides could spread even wider if seven Save A Lot grocery stores close.
Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois are both seeking rate increases that would raise monthly bills by as much as $28, while their parent companies seek regulatory approval to merge — a deal a consumer watchdog says would give one company control of nearly all regulated water customers in the state.
The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from several states secured a right-to-repair settlement Wednesday with agriculture equipment giant Deere & Co. — commonly known as John Deere — that requires the company to let farmers and independent shops fix their own equipment.
Chicago Soul Café opened Monday at 6248 S. St. Lawrence Ave.
The Chicago Bears this weekend said they are assessing land at Wolf Lake Terminals in Hammond, Indiana, for a possible new stadium.
Carly Simon, the singer known for 1970s hits like "You're So Vain," announced she has Parkinson's disease and also was treated for basal cell carcinoma.
Paramount Skydance on Friday said it would delay the deal until as late as June 2027.
Iowa announced a fall exhibition game against Kansas at the Field of Dreams ballpark, where major and minor league games have been played since 2021.
Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" is the first film shot entirely on 70mm IMAX cameras, and Cinemark Seven Bridges in Woodridge is 1 of roughly 30 theaters nationwide equipped to show it that way.
Brenda Fricker won an Academy Award for 1989's "My Left Foot," played the Pigeon Lady in "Home Alone 2" and appeared in "A Time to Kill" and "So I Married an Axe Murderer."
Monday's storms tore the roof off a dollar store in Evergreen Park, while in Summit, roads were left flooded, leaving some vehicles stranded.
The body cameras officers are using can translate and detect 57 languages using AI. Fairfax County police began this pilot program in February.
Chief meteorologist Albert Ramon has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
Police say the victims are two men, ages 19 and 44, and a 56-year-old woman. Four other people, including a 2-year-old boy, were wounded.
An "extremely dangerous" tornado hit parts of eastern Wisconsin Monday. The tornado was spotted near Appleton, Menasha and Lake Winnebago, about 30 miles southwest of Green Bay, around 12:15 p.m.
Another round of storms is sweeping through Chicago, prompting more watches and warnings. An earlier round left a wake of damage and flooding.
First responders in Downers Grove are trying to rescue two workers who became trapped in a storm sewer during the first round of sudden and severe storms Monday.
A Lisle, Illinois, man accused of causing a deadly boat crash on the Fox River this past weekend allegedly had a blood alcohol content level nearly three times the legal limit at the time.
Crown Point police said the victim died on Sunday after being hit by the motorcycle on Saturday night.
All three men made their first appearance in court on Monday morning.
While Mayor Brandon Johnson hasn't announced if he will run for re-election next year, he's boasting about lower vacancy rates for Mag Mile buildings and taking credit for the positive changes.
A Lockport foster parent said he lost his kids, job and home for months after a mix-up that landed his name on the Illinois Sex Offender Registry.
Record heat and major air quality issues created by wildfire smoke were key topics as some of the top climate leaders from around the world gathered in Chicago this week for the Aspen Institute's annual climate summit.
Police say a man and a woman were last seen speaking with the victim before the shooting.
Neighbors in the Avalon Park neighborhood said their community has been plagued by squatters, weeds, rats, and water leaks – all thanks to an abandoned home that's been sitting vacant for years.
The son of Chiefs assistant coach Eric Bieniemy has been arrested and charged with a shooting that wounded his mother, Mia Bieniemy, according to authorities in Virginia.
Center fielders Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones and second baseman Jeff Kent were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.
Murakami hit a 385-foot, two-run homer in the bottom of the first that gave Chicago its first lead of the game. It was his first homer since May 27th.
Ryan O'Hearn hit a grand slam on his 33rd birthday, as the Pirates held off the Cubs 8-7 to avoid being swept in the three-game series.
The south Chicago suburb of Robbins, Illinois, on Sunday honored retired NBA basketball player Dwyane Wade with a new street name and a day of celebration.
The son of Chiefs assistant coach Eric Bieniemy has been arrested and charged with a shooting that wounded his mother, Mia Bieniemy, according to authorities in Virginia.
Chicago police issued an alert this past weekend about a string of ATM-related thefts on the city's South and Southwest sides.
Crash-and-grab burglars hit a Shell gas station on the cusp of Chicago's Lakeview and Lincoln Park communities early Monday morning.
A robber jumped through a drive-thru window at a McDonald's in Chicago's Belmont Cragin community early Monday morning.
Police believe a suspect in the deadly shooting at a food festival in Seattle was among those who were killed, as another suspect remains on the loose and a teenager is in custody.
