It can be hard to tell one tree from another in winter, but there's a simple trick to identifying invasive buckthorn.
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Bears Opt to Make Sweeping Changes, Fire GM Pace, Coach Nagy
Matt Nagy's fate seemed sealed as the Bears struggled through a 6-11 season that ended with a loss at Minnesota on Sunday. But it was not clear if Ryan Pace also would be let go or retained in either his current role or a different capacity.
Lightfoot Taps Longtime Police Reform Advocate to Lead Oversight Board
Adam Gross will help launch the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability after serving as the director of the police accountability program area for BPI, a public interest law firm.
Monday Classes Canceled As CPS-CTU Standoff Drags On
“Although we have been negotiating hard throughout the day, there has not been sufficient progress for us to predict a return to class tomorrow,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted Sunday.
Chicago's COVID-19 Fight With CPS Teachers Hangs Over a 2nd Week as Talks Resume Sunday
Talks between Chicago school leaders and the teachers' union resumed Sunday amid a standoff over remote learning and other COVID-19 safety measures that canceled three days of classes.
The Battle Against Buckthorn: A Look at How Local Volunteers Fight Back Against the Invasive Species
Skokie Lagoons may look like an oasis of green but a lot of that lush vegetation is actually an invasive species called European buckthorn. WTTW News tagged along as a group of volunteers charged into the thicket and tackled this enemy.
Biden’s Low Profile on Guantanamo Rankles as Prison Turns 20
Advocates for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center were optimistic when President Joe Biden took office. Many are now increasingly impatient.
Illinois Social Workers’ Field Safety Remains Concern After Killing
Illinois officials are seeking answers after the killing last week of a state child welfare worker during a home visit — the second such tragedy to occur in less than five years.
Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, January 8, 2022 - Full Show
The standoff between CPS and the teachers union leaves parents in the lurch. Plus, contracts for domestic workers. And meet a local man turning his pandemic hobby into a business.
Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, January 8, 2022 - Full Show
Parents react to this week’s shutdown of Chicago Public Schools. The story of civil rights legend Mamie Till Mobley gets told on the small screen. Plus, a downtown office building partners with a Black-owned art gallery.
CPS Parents on School COVID-19 Safety Standoff
Students briefly returned to class for the first two days of this week, but since Wednesday, classes have been outright canceled as teachers refused to work in person and CPS refuses to go remote, leaving families in limbo once again.
Nonprofit Serves Up Mental Health Resources to Hospitality Workers
The pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on the physical, emotional, and financial health of restaurant workers, especially those in the Latino community. Three years ago, a group of hospitality workers created a nonprofit aimed at getting mental health care for struggling workers.
New Law for 2022 Requires Contracts for Home Workers
The Chicago Domestic Workers Contract Mandate covers jobs like nannies, home care workers, and home cleaners. It requires their employers to give them a written contract with mutually agreed-upon terms.
East Side Man Starts Small Business Using Tuft Love
In the early days of the pandemic, many Chicagoans used social media to learn new skills and hobbies. One of them is Juan Lopez, a lifelong East Sider who used TikTok videos to teach himself a new skill that he turned into a small business last summer.
Parents Frustrated as Teachers Refuse to Work In-Person, District Cancels Classes
Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union have been battling all week over whether it’s safe to have kids in the classroom as COVID-19 cases rise. The dispute has led to classes being canceled for three days as teachers refuse to work in-person, and the district refuses to go remote.
Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush Announces Retirement
In a major announcement this week, longtime Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush announced he will not be seeking another term.
New ABC Series Tells Life of Mamie Till-Mobley
After the abduction and lynching of her son in 1955, Mamie Till-Mobley became a teacher and civil rights activist. Now her life and influence are the focus of a new limited series.
Showcase of African and African American Artists Comes to Prudential Plaza
The exhibit titled “African Diaspora: Chicago” features 20 collage and acrylic mixed media pieces, all related to Chicago. It opened in May, and a new collection of pieces just went up in November. The current exhibit will run until May 22.
Chicago Teachers Call For Temporary Remote Learning, Drop Universal Testing Demand in Latest Offer to City
The Chicago Teachers Union on Saturday sent a new proposal to the city hoping to resolve its ongoing labor action in which its members have refused to work in schools in-person during a spike in COVID-19 cases
Chicago Parents Suing CTU in Push to Get Kids Back in Their Classrooms
In the lawsuit, parents claim the union’s action is actually an “illegal strike” — language that’s also been used by Mayor Lori Lightfoot. They want a judge to order teachers to return to their schools and resume in-person learning.
Racially Polarized Debate Over Chicago Ward Map Spills into 2022 With Raucous Hearing
Any hope that a holiday break could reset the raging dispute over the map that will shape Chicago politics for the next decade and determine the balance of power between Black, Latino and Asian Chicagoans was extinguished Friday as members of the City Council clashed during the first of four public hearings scheduled this month.
The Week in Review: CPS Teachers Buck In-Person Learning with Omicron Surge
Chicago schools shut down in a dispute between teachers and administrators. Arne Duncan teases a potential mayoral run. Remembering Jan. 6. And Lightfoot vows a reset on crime in 2022.
Supreme Court Skeptical of Biden’s Workplace Vaccine Rule
Fully vaccinated and mostly masked, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared skeptical Friday of the Biden administration’s authority to impose a vaccine-or-testing requirement on the nation’s large employers.
Arbery Killers Get Life in Prison; No Parole for Father, Son
Three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery were sentenced Friday to life in prison, with a judge denying any chance of parole for the father and son who armed themselves and initiated the deadly pursuit of the 25-year-old Black man.
Carvana Tower Wins Key Commission Vote in Skokie, But Mitigations for Birds Fail To Impress Critics
In response to concerns about putting a see-through glass tower in the path of migrating birds, Carvana revised its plan to incorporate bird-friendly components. Critics called the proposed mitigations “woefully inadequate.”
FDA Shortens Timing of Moderna Booster to 5 Months
U.S. regulators on Friday shortened the time that people who received Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine have to wait for a booster — to five months rather than six.
