Elyssa Cherney

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, shown during his final week in office in 2019, has donated $100,000 with his wife, Amy Rule, to a City Colleges scholarship program.

Rahm Emanuel donates $100,000 to a City Colleges of Chicago scholarship he created as mayor, pledging to give annually

January 15, 2021 at 11:47 p.m.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is infusing a scholarship program he created at the City Colleges of Chicago with a $100,000 donation — and he pledges to keep contributing every...

A student gets her temperature checked as she arrives for the first day of classes at Southside Occupational High School in Chicago on Jan. 11, 2021.

Vaughn High was the first Chicago school to close due to COVID-19. Today, it’s among CPS buildings that will reopen to students for the first time since March.

January 11, 2021 at 4:26 p.m.

When Chicago's Vaughn Occupational High School closed in March after a classroom assistant had one of the state's earliest known cases of COVID-19, Cindy Fah-Ok agreed that swift action was...

Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson, left, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot hold a news conference on Jan. 8, 2021, about the return to in-person learning.

CPS ‘does not care about my health and safety’: Teachers call plan to withhold pay if they don’t show up for in-person classes Monday ‘heartless’

January 9, 2021 at 12:03 a.m.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago Public Schools will move forward with plans to reopen schools on Monday, despite ongoing objections by the teachers union and a large group of aldermen....

Medical technologist Joyce Chen prepares samples for the saliva-based COVID-19 test at the Molecular Pathology Laboratory at University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago on Dec. 11, 2020.

University of Illinois’ COVID-19 saliva test moves closer to FDA approval, but not fast enough to meet the demand: ‘Every school district in Illinois would love to have this’

January 5, 2021 at 1:55 p.m.

The University of Illinois has completed a critical step toward obtaining federal approval for its saliva-based COVID-19 test, but some lawmakers worry it's taking too long to help other state...

Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady gives an update about COVID-19 vaccines before receiving the first dose herself at Malcolm X College in Chicago Tuesday.

With COVID-19 vaccines for teachers possible by March, Chicago Teachers Union says reopening CPS schools now ‘doesn’t make any sense’

January 4, 2021 at 11:24 p.m.

Chicago Public Schools teachers and staff won't be vaccinated against the coronavirus before buildings are due to reopen for in-person classes, but eventually school nurses will help administer the inoculations....

A classroom sits empty at King Elementary on Sept. 8, 2020, the first date of the academic year for Chicago Public Schools.

CPS denies COVID-19 accommodations to hundreds of teachers and staff who are due to return to schools Monday

December 29, 2020 at 10:49 p.m.

About 7,000 teachers and staff are due to report to Chicago Public Schools buildings on Monday, but the district has denied accommodations or leave to the majority of educators who...

A COVID-19 Christmas — less glitter, but still some silver linings: ‘It gets back to what’s important’

July 5, 2022 at 2:23 p.m.

Kevin Hermanek crossed his legs while sitting in a wheelchair and peered out the tall first-floor window of a senior living facility in Lincoln Park where his daughter waited outside...

Ximena Castillo, 20, checks an order during her shift at a restaurant in Chicago's University Village neighborhood on Nov. 25, 2020.

‘Whirlwind of emotions’: Donors give more than $10,000 to pay off student’s tuition debt and help others during pandemic at Dominican University

December 24, 2020 at 10:30 p.m.

As her shifts at a Chicago restaurant grew scarce with the ban on indoor dining and her household's budget tightened, first-generation college student Ximena Castillo considered all the options that...

Addison Hall in the Concordia University Chicago campus at River Forest on Aug. 14, 2019.

Concordia University Chicago cuts 51 faculty and staff, closes 15 academic programs after ‘prioritization’ review

December 23, 2020 at 9:45 p.m.

Concordia University Chicago is letting go of 51 faculty and staff members and closing 15 academic programs due to budget concerns that have been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic and...

Overall enrollment at colleges and universities in Illinois is down compared with last fall following coronavirus-related disruptions. Only a few students are seen on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus in October 2020.

Illinois college enrollment down as COVID-19 pandemic disrupts higher education plans for scores of would-be students

December 10, 2020 at 7:31 p.m.

Total undergraduate enrollment at Illinois colleges and universities is down by 7.2% this fall compared with last year, worse than the national decrease of 4.4% recorded as students returned to...

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