Emanuel Backs Schools Chief '100 Percent' On School Closings
Mayor Rahm Emanuel was applauding Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett for blasting her critics who labeled the district's school closing plan "racist."
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Mayor Rahm Emanuel was applauding Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett for blasting her critics who labeled the district's school closing plan "racist."
Singing the civil rights anthem "Woke Up This Morning," Congressman Bobby Rush called it "The Freedom Bus."
Aldermen grilled Chicago Public Schools officials and Chicago Teachers Union members Wednesday, over the plan to close 53 schools at the end of the school year, while the head of the school district answered critics at a Board of Education meeting.
To hear Chicago Teacher's Union President Karen Lewis tell it, we should believe nothing that the mayor and school officials say about the plan to close more than fifty schools. She spoke at the Rainbow-Push Coalition this morning, reports WBBM's Mike Krauser.
A few ways teachers can take that crushing anguish they've acquired while fighting for their communities and relieve it just the tiniest bit.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel staunchly defended his administration's plan to close more than 50 schools, as well as the head of the Chicago Public Schools, as thousands planned to gather downtown to protest school closings.
Protesters filled Daley Plaza, marched through the Loop and rallied again in front of School board headquarters to protest the board's plan to close 53 schools on Wednesday. More than 100 of those protesters were detained and ticketed after staging a sit-in outside City Hall.
Chicago Public Schools will close 54 school programs and 61 buildings in an effort to close a $1 billion budget deficit.
As the Chicago Public Schools prepares to announce its final list of schools that will be closed or consolidated at the end of the school year, district officials were promising investments for schools that receive affected students.
The head of the Chicago Public Schools said Tuesday, despite what critics say, closing some underused or poorly performing schools would be better for the children in them in the long run.
A group of about 50 teachers, parents and students from the Chicago Public Schools boarded a bus to Springfield Tuesday morning, to make their voices heard about school closings.
Chicago Public Schools officials denied rumors Friday that they had banned the graphic novel "Perseopolis" from its schools, explaining they only determined it was inappropriate for use in 7th grade curriculum.
Chicago Public Schools will move to a per-pupil funding model next year, intended to give principals more flexibility in determining how they spend their school's dollars — while bringing all schools, including charters, onto the same funding formula.
Chicago Public Schools officials announced Friday that they plan to move all schools to the same calendar next year, doing away with "year-round" schools, in an effort to make it easier for parents to plan their work and daycare schedules.
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis was drawing fire Tuesday over comments made in a speech last month, after a YouTube video surfaced of her jokingly saying "off with their heads" about the wealthy.
The Chicago Teachers Union accused the Chicago Public Schools system of "educational apartheid" on Friday.
Ten people who were arrested Friday night after camping outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Fifth Floor office in City Hall, to call attention to school closings, were released Saturday morning.
The head of the Chicago Public School system said Friday that the District needs more time to decide how many schools might have to close next school year, and to get the public involved in making the decisions.
A day after Jean-Claude Brizard stepped down as head of the Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said she thinks Mayor Rahm Emanuel set up Brizard for failure.
The Chicago Teachers Union announced late Wednesday that teachers have voted to ratify a new contract with the Chicago Public Schools.
As teachers in southwest suburban Evergreen Park begin a strike, teachers in the Chicago Public Schools are ready to vote on the new contract that ended their strike last month.
Chicago Public Schools students who missed seven days of classes because of the teachers strike will be making up those days.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has received mixed reviews from two high-profile Chicago politicians for recent TV ads featuring the mayor commenting on the new contract for Chicago Public Schools teachers.
About 357,000 Chicago kids were back in their classrooms Wednesday. So were their teachers. But the shock waves from the nine-day teachers' strike were still being felt, and not only in Chicago.
Now that the teachers' contract is settled, the big question is how Chicago plans to pay for it.
Six people were seriously injured in a house fire in Chicago's West Englewood neighborhood early Wednesday morning.
Andrew Benintendi drove in the go-ahead run with an infield single in the ninth inning, four Chicago pitchers held Seattle to one hit, and the White Sox beat the Mariners 2-1.
A Glen Ellyn family is demanding criminal charges after they said their mail carrier attacked a hospice nurse as she was leaving their home.
Jacob Misiorowski pitched six scoreless innings, Brice Turang was 3 for 4 with a two-run homer, and the Milwaukee Brewers topped the Chicago Cubs 5-2 to move into first place in the NL Central.
It's the last call for one of America's longest-running beers.
The Internal Revenue Service is permanently barred from pursuing claims against President Trump or his company based on prior tax returns, part of a controversial settlement deal between the Justice Department and Mr. Trump.
Survivors say they'd asked for more medical support before the Iranian drone strike that killed six U.S. soldiers at their command post in Kuwait in the war's first 24 hours.
An attorney for Chicago Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) on Monday called an ethics investigation into the alderman's conduct a malicious "travesty."
In a move aimed at curbing the growing problem of "teen takeovers," D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is threatening to bring charges against parents if their teens violate the local curfew.
State Rep. Josh Turek and State Sen. Zach Wahls squared off Thursday over which candidate can flip Iowa's open Republican-held Senate seat, as millions in outside spending reshapes the primary's final stretch.
Consumer and environmental advocates said Monday that they found overcharges buried in the most recent rate-hike request by Nicor.
One week away from Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of the summer travel season, with gas prices remaining high, negotiations were set to resume Monday at the largest oil refinery in the Midwest.
Chatham residents say they're losing a vital resource as Walgreen's prepares to close its store near 86th and Cottage Grove.
According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Chicago was $5.17 on Friday, up from $3.75 a year ago.
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas Company customers are likely to see minor credits on their bills for the next three years, thanks to a $125 million settlement agreement announced Thursday by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
A person suspected of having hantavirus in Winnebago County, Illinois, turned out to be a false alarm, officials said Monday.
The DuPage County Health Department has confirmed its first positive tests for West Nile virus in pools of mosquitoes this year.
The Kane County Health Department was set Monday to offer a free mental health awareness webinar.
At least 80 deaths have been reported in a new Ebola disease outbreak in Congo and Uganda, authorities said.
Engineers at Northwestern University have created a wireless polygraph to detect stress.
The owners of Gene & Georgetti steakhouse are suing a concessions operator over their expansion at Midway International Airport.
DraftKings announced Monday that it is closing its sportsbook operation at Wrigley Field after only about two years.
After more than 80 years, there will be no Ann Sather restaurant location in the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue in Chicago's Lakeview community, effective in June.
Flight attendants at Chicago-based United Airlines have approved a new labor contract, marking their first pay increases in six years.
The Chicago Fire FC announced Wednesday morning that its new stadium in the South Loop will be named McDonald's Park.
The Chicago-born house music track, which began as a personal poem in 1982 and became a defining anthem of the city's house music scene, has been selected for permanent preservation by the Library of Congress.
The Library of Congress revealed this year's list of 25 recordings to be preserved for future generations on the National Recording Registry.
David Allan Coe also had hits with "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" and "The Ride" among others.
Some youngsters got a behind-the-scenes look at the magic of making opera Sunday at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Matt DeCaro, an actor who was a familiar face on the Chicago stage for many years, died this weekend.
Meteorologist Laura Bannon has the extended forecast.
Meteorologist David Yeomans has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
Investigators are gathering evidence and working to learn more about the two teenage gunmen responsible for the deadly shooting at an Islamic center in San Diego. So far, they have recovered dozens of guns and a crossbow from two homes they've searched.
The World Health Organization held an emergency meeting Tuedsay on the Ebola outbreak in Africa. An American doctor is among those testing positive.
A Glen Ellyn family is demanding criminal charges after they said their mail carrier attacked a hospice nurse as she was leaving their home.
Six people were seriously injured in a house fire in Chicago's West Englewood neighborhood early Wednesday morning.
A Glen Ellyn family is demanding criminal charges after they said their mail carrier attacked a hospice nurse as she was leaving their home.
In the wake of the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, many Muslim Chicagoans say they're not surprised and that conditions in the world right now are right for attacks like this to happen again.
It's the last call for one of America's longest-running beers.
Many Metra riders with disabilities have been forced to reroute their trips due to Monday's closure of the only elevator providing access to the Electric Line at Millennium Station in downtown Chicago.
Many Metra riders with disabilities have been forced to reroute their trips due to Monday's closure of the only elevator providing access to the Electric Line at Millennium Station in downtown Chicago.
Pothole complaints continue everywhere, but especially on one street in the Pullman neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.
People in Lincoln Park and Lakeview have rallied against a plan to build a new industrial ComEd electrical substation in their neighborhoods, pushing local and state leaders to get involved.
Monday marks one year since Illinois enacted Karina's Law — legislation aimed at taking firearms out of the hands of people accused of domestic abuse.
Tenants at a South Shore apartment building said they've noticed their rent fluctuating by hundreds of dollars a month due to a change in how their utility billing system is set up.
Andrew Benintendi drove in the go-ahead run with an infield single in the ninth inning, four Chicago pitchers held Seattle to one hit, and the White Sox beat the Mariners 2-1.
Jacob Misiorowski pitched six scoreless innings, Brice Turang was 3 for 4 with a two-run homer, and the Milwaukee Brewers topped the Chicago Cubs 5-2 to move into first place in the NL Central.
Rickea Jackson's promising first season with the Chicago Sky is over after it barely began after suffering a torn ACL in Sunday's win against the Minnesota Lynx.
The Chicago Bears met with NFL owners on Tuesday in Orlando to brief them on their push for a new stadium in either Arlington Heights or Hammond.
Touted prospect Colt Emerson launched a three-run homer for his first major league hit, and the Seattle Mariners stopped a three-game slide with a 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
A man was shot and killed in the north Chicago suburb of Skokie early Tuesday.
A man is being held in custody on charges that he tricked two young women into believing he was an art student working on a photography project in Chicago's Northalsted district, and went on to sexually abuse one of them.
A suspect was due in court Tuesday on charges that he shot and killed his ex-husband's new husband in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood.
A truck driver was sentenced to over 13 years in prison for smuggling $9.4 million worth of cocaine in a shipment of Skims, Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand.
Police in Michigan City, Indiana, were searching Monday for the person they said shot and killed a 14-year-old boy.