File photo of a student writing at a desk. (WTTW News)
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Students at private schools across Illinois are at risk of losing their scholarships if state lawmakers don’t extend the Invest in Kids Act, which is slated to end Dec. 31.

Flooding in Chicago. File photo. (WTTW News)

President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration for Cook County. It comes more than a month after nearly 9 inches of rain flooded parts of Chicago, with the West Side hit particularly hard.

IEMA and FEMA workers assess flood damage on the West Side. (WTTW News)

West Siders were hit particularly hard by floods nearly a month ago. More than 8 inches of rain flooded basements and ruined people's belongings.

Community activist Jitu Brown. (WTTW News)

Community activist Jitu Brown says that we are still seeing the reverberations of the decision to close 50 Chicago schools in 2013.

Renderings of Katherine Johnson and Gwendolyn Brooks are captured in part of Bronzeville’s “Renaissance Mural.” (WTTW News)
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The historic Bronzeville neighborhood on the city’s South Side sits just south of McCormick Place, and has been known for decades as a hub of Black arts and culture in Chicago. Wednesday, City Council paved the way for a massive new development that could reshape the community’s future.

In this April 20, 2020 file photo, Jitu Brown, national director for the Journey for Justice Alliance, speaks to reporters outside Mercy Hospital & Medical Center in Chicago. Brown said school closures and other city policies have disproportionately affected people of color and contributed to Chicago's loss of Black residents. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia / Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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After decades of organizing by parents, activists and unions, Chicago is on the verge of having a fully elected school board for the first time in its history.

(WTTW News)

South Side residents have reason to hope that Mercy Hospital could yet be saved from closure. We speak with three people who are fighting to keep the city’s oldest hospital open.

State Rep. Rob Martwick, D-Chicago (Chicago Tonight)

Calls for an elected Board of Education in Chicago are nothing new, but a pair of current and former politicians are continuing their efforts to end mayoral control over the city's seven-member board.

Betsy DeVos (Keithalmli / Wikimedia Commons)
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Like many of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet selections, his education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos, a Michigan billionaire and GOP mega-donor, has been met with controversy.

Jitu Brown appears on “Chicago Tonight” in September 2015.
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In an election cycle hitting on high notes such as hairdos, walls and mishandled emails, the topic of public education seems to have been left by the wayside.

It's day 31 of the Dyett High School hunger strike and there's still no sign of a deal that could end the standoff. Two activists participating in the strike explain what triggered their actions and why the arts-themed school that CPS has in mind for their neighborhood falls short of their demands.

We take a closer look at the new-look Chicago Public Schools with Andrea Zopp, a Chicago Board of Education member who voted to shutter 49 schools, the former interim CPS CEO Terry Mazany, as well as Wendy Katten of Raise Your Hand, and Jitu Brown of Journey for Justice.