Juan Perez Jr.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, from left, looks toward cheering City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin and City Clerk Anna Valencia during Lightfoot's inaugural speech at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on May 20, 2019.

With Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s inauguration, 3 women of color now hold top citywide offices: ‘Chicago was ready for this’

May 20, 2019 at 10:55 p.m.

Chicago's new treasurer and clerk helped score one of the bigger ovations of Mayor Lori Lightfoot's inaugural address Monday, when City Hall's new leader announced that the trio were the...

South Side alderman Leslie Hairston to be sworn in to office after election challenger William Calloway’s legal effort fails

May 18, 2019 at 1:24 a.m.

A South Side activist's attempt to delay the swearing-in of 5th Ward Ald. Leslie Hairston failed Friday, after a judge rejected a temporary restraining order sought as part of an...

Cleopatra Watson, of Pullman on the Far South Side, says she wants Lori Lightfoot to "clean house" when she gets into office and "address the people leaders want to forget."

The demanding expectations set forth for Chicago’s Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot

May 19, 2019 at 8:24 p.m.

When the Rev. Phil Jackson looks around his West Side community, he can't help but notice the visible signs of years of neglect: boarded-up brick bungalows and two-flats, overgrown vacant...

Amita Health will reject $5.6 million of city tax subsidies approved last year after fierce abortion debate

May 17, 2019 at 12:26 a.m.

A prominent faith-based health care firm said it would reject millions of dollars in tax subsidies for its Loop offices, a rare decision that arrived months after Mayor Rahm Emanuel's...

Jennie Huang Bennett addresses those gathered at a Chicago Public Schools infrastructure and construction budget hearing at the National Teachers Academy on Aug. 17, 2016, in Chicago. Bennett will serve as Lightfoot's top financial officer.

Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot names top officials in her new administration

May 16, 2019 at 1:25 a.m.

Chicago Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot announced her administration's first key hires on Wednesday, appointing central operatives who will help confront newly disclosed city budget problems and work with a revamped City...

People gather outside Chicago High School for the Arts for a protest and rally to bring awareness to contract negotiations for the Chicago Teachers Union on May 1, 2019.

Educators hit picket lines at three Chicago schools, but late deals avert strikes at two others

May 23, 2019 at 7:02 a.m.

Unionized educators halted classes and hit picket lines at three Chicago schools Thursday morning, as part of a coordinated strike that marks the latest phase in a citywide wave of...

Workers chant after walking from Harold Washington College to the nearby City Colleges of Chicago offices May 1, 2019, when hundreds of City Colleges staff members went on strike.

After protests and brief strike, hundreds of City Colleges staff return to work after reaching contract deal

May 28, 2019 at 10:11 p.m.

Staff at City Colleges of Chicago halted a daylong strike Thursday as they announced a contract agreement with administrators. Hundreds of full- and part-time clerical and technical workers formed picket...

Jesse Sharkey President of CTU, addresses the press and his supporters, during a rally outside the Arturo Velazquez Institute, Thursday April 25, 2019.

CTU demands Lori Lightfoot settle teachers’ contract quickly; meanwhile charter school, City Colleges staff plan strikes

May 23, 2019 at 7:01 a.m.

Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey fired a warning to Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot on Thursday: Settle a contract for 25,000 rank-and-file union members by the start of the coming school...

Nicholas Schuler, Chicago Public Schools inspector general, at a Chicago Board of Education meeting on Jan. 23, 2019.

Chicago schools inspector general suggests charter schools are underreporting cases of sexual misconduct

May 23, 2019 at 7:01 a.m.

Dozens of Chicago Public Schools workers are barred from classrooms, face criminal charges or termination for alleged sexual misconduct against students — but a top district investigator fears city charter...

CPS Inspector General Nicholas Schuler speaks to the board at a Chicago Board of Education meeting on Jan. 23, 2019.

90% of U.S. school boards are picked by voters, but not in Chicago. Here’s why that could change.

April 19, 2019 at 3:58 p.m.

When it comes to efforts to create an elected school board for Chicago, state lawmakers have spent recent years dancing the Springfield two-step. The House passes a bill to strip...

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