Neither CPS officials nor a spokesperson with the Department of Education would comment on the nature of the investigation, but a CPS source says the probe stems from complaints of antisemitism filed with the DOE’s Office of Civil Rights leading up to a Jan. 30 student walkout.
Israel
The emotional debate was over a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. Chicago became the largest city to pass such a resolution after Mayor Brandon Johnson cast a tie-breaking vote.
“The City Council, if they’re going to talk about the challenge of war in the Middle East, you’ve got to make sure that you include all the perspectives,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. “They did not do that.”
Chicago is now the largest American city to adopt a cease-fire resolution, joining Minneapolis, San Francisco, Oakland, Atlanta and Detroit.
Students from Ogden International High School and Walter Payton College Preparatory High School marched to City Hall, carrying signs and chanting slogans such as “Viva Vida Palestina” and “our tax dollars are being used to commit war crimes.”
Brandon Johnson, a Democrat, is now the mayor of the biggest American city to call for a cease-fire, putting him at odds with President Joe Biden and most members of the Democratic Party.
Now in its seventh week, the war has leveled vast swaths of Gaza, fueled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank, and stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East.
More United Nations aid workers have been killed in Gaza than in any other single conflict in the organization’s 78-year history, a stark reminder that humanitarian staff have not been spared from Israel’s relentless bombardment of the besieged strip.
Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez (33rd Ward) posted a tweet Thursday morning to X, formerly known as Twitter, that read: “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free.”
The Anti-Defamation League and the Council on American-Islamic Relations saw increases in reported instances, many involving violence or threats against protesters at rallies in support of Israel or in support of Palestinians over the last two weeks as war broke out between Israel and Hamas.
U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Chicago, and U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Chicago, joined “Chicago Tonight” to discuss aid to Israel, the House Speaker race and a growing number of migrants arriving to Chicago from the southern border.
Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie, were out of the Gaza Strip and in the hands of the Israeli military, an army spokesman said. Hamas said it released them for humanitarian reasons in an agreement with the Qatari government.
One U.S. aircraft carrier and its strike group are already in the eastern Mediterranean and a second one has left the U.S. and is heading that way. In addition, three Marine warships are moving into the region.
The family hasn’t heard from either mother or daughter since a week ago, after Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack.
Hamas’ attack, which began in the early morning hours of Saturday, has killed more than 1,300 Israeli civilians and soldiers, with the fate of more than 100 hostages, including a mother and daughter from Evanston, unclear, according to the Associated Press.
The latest Israel-Hamas war has claimed at least 2,800 lives on both sides since Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Oct. 7.
