Former CTU President Karen Lewis receives honorary street in front of headquarters Friday
The street in front of the Chicago Teachers Union headquarters on the Near West Side will be renamed for Karen Lewis.
Watch CBS News
The street in front of the Chicago Teachers Union headquarters on the Near West Side will be renamed for Karen Lewis.
From the arts and sports to politics and activism, 2021 saw the loss of some notable Chicagoans who helped define the culture of the city for generations. Here is a look at 22 notable Chicagoans who passed away this year.
"To call her a firecracker wouldn't be enough to say. She was more of a stick of dynamite. So she was a hugely, unbelievably a true labor leader," said Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th).
The Chicago Teachers Union will pay respects to its former president Karen Lewis with a virtual shiva.
Former Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis has died.
The latest Chicago Public Schools is the city's first teachers' strike in seven years, and the seventh in the past 40.
The past few years she has battled brain cancer.
Karen Lewis, who has led the Chicago Teachers' Union through some tumultuous negotiations with the city, is retiring.
Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis is undergoing brain surgery on Wednesday, sources said.
"It was so minor that doctors could barely see it upon my initial examination, so please know that my spirits are high," Lewis said.
The head of Chicago's Teachers Union is far from pleased about president-elect Trump's pick for education secretary.
The head of the Chicago Teachers Union said she is satisfied with the contract deal worked out with Public School system. But, she said there are still some uncertainties.
It took 18 months for all three players to reach a tentative agreement, and according to labor expert Bob Bruno, everyone walks away with a win and a loss.
The Chicago Teachers Union has set a strike date of Oct. 11.
The Chicago Teachers Union will ask rank-and-file teachers, for a second time, if they want to authorize a strike.
Strike preparation workshops for teachers are taking place next week.
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis denied any eminent strike.
With Illinois lawmakers unable to reach a deal on a state budget, and the head of the Chicago Public Schools warning schools might not open in fall without state funding, the Chicago Teachers Union said the problem could be solved "if people start acting like grownups."
In perhaps her sharpest rhetoric yet, the head of the Chicago Teachers Union has likened Governor Bruce Rauner to a terrorist, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
A day after the Chicago Teachers Union turned down a four-year contract offer from the Chicago Public Schools, CEO Forrest Claypool warned the union it will be moving forward with a plan for layoffs.
The governor said the CTU "Big Bargaining Team" turning down a four-year contract offer from the district should serve as a wakeup call that it's the teachers union calling the shots at CPS, not Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
A bargaining team for the Chicago Teachers Union unanimously rejected a contract offer from Chicago Public Schools Monday afternoon.
A vote on Monday could pave the way for a new contract for Chicago teachers. Members of the Chicago Teachers Union bargaining team were set to vote on the latest offer from the Chicago Public Schools.
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said contract negotiations with the Chicago Public Schools have been going well, and she thinks a strike can be avoided.
A day after the Chicago Public Schools and its teachers began the final stage of contract talks, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis declined to predict whether teachers would strike, but said negotiations are not going well.
Michael Busch had two hits and two RBIs, helping Colin Rea and the Chicago Cubs top the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5.
A man was in custody after a woman was found strangled to death on Thursday night in northwest suburban Schaumburg.
The FBI and police in west suburban Naperville were investigating an armed robbery at a Bank of America branch on Friday morning.
A man was charged after loaded guns and drugs were found inside a Country Club Hills home on Tuesday.
Chief Geoff Guttschow, who has an autistic child who drives, says the Blue Envelope Program gives officers a tool to recognize when a driver may need additional communication support.
Elmwood Park, Center Cass, Oak Lawn Hometown, and Atwood Heights are among the Illinois districts being investigated by the Justice Department over classroom instruction on gender and sexuality.
Negotiations over a $500 million dollar government aid package for Spirit stalled after bondholders balked at the terms.
The longest shutdown of a federal department in U.S. history came to an end on Thursday when President Trump signed a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security following a breakthrough on Capitol Hill.
The Coast Guard will run out of funding to pay personnel on May 1, with the first missed paychecks expected May 15.
Illinois lawmakers are not planning to pursue a constitutional amendment on redistricting after a key U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday.
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.
Chicago gas prices are spiking as the war with Iran drags on, with regular gas nearing $6 in some spots and premium already selling for more than $7 in some places.
In the legal venue of anti-trust enforcement, the state is not taking on the Trump administration, but rather filling a void that state officials say the Trump administration has vacated.
A passenger on an American Airlines flight from New York to Chicago has been charged with making a false bomb threat that forced an emergency landing at Detroit Metro Airport last month, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Skyrocketing property taxes continue to be a hot-button issue in Cook County — particularly since last fall, when many residents saw their tax bills increase by 100% or more.
The second-largest physicians' group in the U.S. has issued a surprising switch in breast cancer screening recommendations.
A new $48 million wellness center opened Thursday in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. The goal is to improve the health and quality of life for people on the West Side of Chicago.
La Rabida Children's Hospital went all out for Earth Day on Wednesday, with volunteer cleanup efforts by staffers and activities for patients and families.
It has been several weeks since West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Illinois, abruptly shut down — and then on Wednesday, it just as swiftly partially reopened, with some services available.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 80% of deaths related to pregnancy are preventable, and Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
Activists worldwide will commemorate "May Day," also known as "International Workers' Day," on Friday.
A $170 million-plus plan announced this week will redevelop the Water Tower Place mall on the Magnificent Mile.
The Holiday Club in Chicago's Buena Park neighborhood will soon be going out of business, as the building that houses the popular bar is set to be torn down.
At a meeting on Tuesday, the Lincolnwood Village Board approved a pre-development agreement with the mall, providing a roadmap with the property owner for further preparations and government approvals for redevelopment.
The only remaining location of Pal Joey's pizzeria in Batavia, Illinois, will soon be going out of business, its owner announced this week.
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.
Jake was at the funeral for one of his closest friends when he learned of his parents' deaths, he said.
Tickets for the 2026 Ravinia Festival season went on sale Thursday morning.
CPS left it up to individual schools to participate in May Day events, but sources say only a few took advantage of district-provided buses, with most principals opting out.
A 15-year-old boy has been charged with shooting and killing a man while the victim was driving in March in northwest suburban Palatine, causing him to crash into several parked cars and a dumpster.
A man was in custody after a woman was found strangled to death on Thursday night in northwest suburban Schaumburg.
The FDA has approved cryoablation — a procedure that freezes and kills small breast tumors without surgery — for women over 70 with low-risk cancer, though some experts question whether it prevents recurrence as well as traditional lumpectomy.
A shark zeroed in on one of two surfers off the California coast and followed him for more than a mile before finally losing interest, the surfers said.
As many as 150,000 Illinois SNAP participants will lose their benefits on Friday due to new, stricter eligibility rules in the Trump Administration's "One Big Beautiful Bill."
Activists worldwide will commemorate "May Day," also known as "International Workers' Day," on Friday.
A second man was charged in the dollar store robbery that led last weekend's shooting at Swedish Hospital.
Negotiations over a $500 million dollar government aid package for Spirit stalled after bondholders balked at the terms.
A man was in custody after a woman was found strangled to death on Thursday night in northwest suburban Schaumburg.
An elderly woman has essentially abandoned her home of three decades because of constantly broken elevators at her high-rise condo building on the Southwest Side of Chicago.
Violent retail crime is on the rise in Illinois, according to a new report from the Illinois Organized Retail Crime Association.
A top administrator in the Libertyville school district has been placed on leave after a fiery school board meeting focused on how the district handled allegations of grooming leveled against a former teacher.
Potholes along one stretch of road in Chicago's Pullman neighborhood are so bad, people say they damage their cars just getting to work.
There are so many issues with the DNA evidence in the case that Payne's conviction has been overturned, and a retrial has been ordered.
Michael Busch had two hits and two RBIs, helping Colin Rea and the Chicago Cubs top the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5.
The Kentucky Derby will see a full field of 20 horses in the first leg of the 2026 competition for horse racing's Triple Crown.
Seven-time All-Star Skylar Diggins has only been with the Sky for about three weeks, but it's clear she's already one of the leaders of the team.
The Cubs have won 12 of their last 15 games.
Reese is all smiles as she returns to Chicago to face her former team, the Sky, in preseason action on Wednesday night.
Chief Geoff Guttschow, who has an autistic child who drives, says the Blue Envelope Program gives officers a tool to recognize when a driver may need additional communication support.
A woman has been charged with shooting a 15-year-old boy outside an indoor track facility near Gately Park in Chicago in 2024, after getting into a fight with another woman during a back-to-school event in the Pullman neighborhood.
Sexual abuse charges were filed this week against a Park City, Illinois, police officer.
Attorneys for the man convicted of the murders of two girls in Delphi, Indiana, have filed a new brief with the Indiana Court of Appeals to overturn his case.
Attorneys for a woman convicted of killing her 69-year-old landlord in Chicago's Arcadia Terrace community have filed an appeal.
