Gov. J.B. Pritzker is pictured during a March 18, 2024, press conference. (WTTW News)
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Under the new law, voters will elect 10 members in Novembers while Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will appoint 10 members of his choosing, plus the board president. That leaves the board under mayoral control until 2027, when the city would move to a fully-elected school board.

State Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Westchester, speaks at a news conference Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at the Illinois Capitol to highlight the findings of a new report on state funding for public universities. She was the co-chair of the commission that found Illinois underfunds public universities by about $1.4 billion. (Andrew Campbell / Capitol News Illinois)

A state commission found that dedicating an added $100-135 million annually to public universities would allow Illinois to bridge the funding gap in 10-15 years.

(WTTW News)
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A plan headed to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk will allow voters in November to choose half of the Chicago Board of Education. Johnson will appoint the other half, plus its president.

Chicago Public Schools headquarters. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
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Chicago is on the path to getting the hybrid school board preferred by Mayor Brandon Johnson, with the Illinois Senate’s begrudging approval of legislation Tuesday finalizing the transition to an elected school board.

(WTTW News)

Illinois signed a contract for $640,000 for a report that could help legislators determine the value of the state’s recently defunct private school scholarship program, but a lack of data makes its findings “inconclusive.”

La Tiendita in Pilsen provides free necessities to people in need. (WTTW News)
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The free shop is located inside a Chicago Public Schools Parent University, which offers classes and workshops on topics like financial literacy, career development and more.

(WTTW News)
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 In a unanimous vote last Thursday, they decided to eliminate uniformed police officers from the 39 public high schools that still have them.

(WTTW News)

Dartmouth College, and Rice, Vanderbilt and Northwestern universities agreed to pay a total of $166 million to settle claims filed in a 2022 class action lawsuit alleging the schools colluded on the amount of financial aid awarded to students, while favoring applicants from wealthier families. 

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

The DNC is scheduled to run from Aug. 19-22 at the United Center. Classes this fall for CPS students are now slated to begin Aug. 26 and run until June 12, 2025.

Demonstrators march in Chicago on Wednesday, June 24, 2020 to show their support for removing police officers from schools. (WTTW News)
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The seven-member board unanimously approved the resolution, which directs CPS CEO Pedro Martinez to implement a new whole school safety policy, which “must make explicit that the use of SROs within District schools will end by the start of the 2024-2025 school year.”

Students at Lane Tech High School staged a walkout on Jan. 30, 2024, in support of a cease-fire in Gaza. (Paris Schutz / WTTW News)
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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.

(WTTW News)

The first major overhaul of the FAFSA form since the Reagan era was supposed to make the process simpler and quicker. So far, that’s not been the case.

President Joe Biden speaks at Culver City Julian Dixon Library in Culver City, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. (AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Joe Biden, who is in the midst of a three-day campaign swing through California, made the announcement as part of a new repayment plan that offers a faster path to forgiveness, putting the spotlight on his debt cancellation efforts in his reelection campaign.

Youth activists organized a peaceful march to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s home on Aug. 13, 2020, to demand the removal of resource officers from Chicago Public Schools. (Matt Masterson / WTTW News)

A new resolution from the city’s Board of Education directs Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez to enact a new whole school safety policy, which “must make explicit that the use of SROs within District schools will end by the start of the 2024-2025 school year.”

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

District officials are lauding the findings from Harvard and Stanford researchers, which showed CPS was first in reading recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic among large school districts across the country.

(WTTW News)

The Board of Education next week will vote on whether to replace Aramark with seven other vendor companies to provide custodial and professional services for district schools.