All Stories
Homecoming hemlines and the fight over fall formal fashion: ‘The dresses are shorter than ever’
Chicago dad Exavier Pope will tell you he aced homecoming dress selection for his 17-year-old daughter, Emory. He had a few ground rules, of course. The dress couldn't have a...
Plan for new South Side high school narrowly passed by Chicago Board of Education, amid both opposition and praise
Despite declining student enrollment in Chicago Public Schools and lingering concerns from neighborhood groups, the Chicago Board of Education on Wednesday narrowly approved a plan to purchase land and take...
CPS loses another 8,300 students, its 11th straight year of enrollment declines
Chicago Public Schools appears to have lost its title as the nation's third-largest school district, with enrollment falling for the 11th consecutive year, according to data released Wednesday. CPS is...
CPS moves forward with Near South Side high school plan, despite opposition
A proposed $120 million Near South Side high school is moving closer to reality, with the Chicago Board of Education set to consider purchasing land and commissioning design services Wednesday,...
Chicago’s Harriet Tubman school — once united over its name change — now in turmoil over principal’s leadership; council has sought her dismissal
Chicago Public Schools leaders and elected officials gathered seven months ago to celebrate the renaming of a Lakeview elementary school to honor the abolitionist Harriet Tubman. The change was heralded...
Donnie Rudd dies in prison: Ex-attorney was convicted of killing his wife in a staged car crash 45 years after her death
Convicted murderer Donnie Rudd has died while serving his prison sentence — 49 years to the day after the death of his wife, whom he was found guilty of killing...
Governor signs disaster declaration, calls up National Guard to assist with migrants bused from Texas
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed a disaster proclamation to secure resources for the asylum-seekers bused to Illinois from Texas and has deployed 75 National Guard members to assist with the...
Pete Leki ‘made a magical place’ at a North Side school garden. Now his job — and the ecology program he created — is on the line. What went wrong?
Pete Leki, longtime director of the award-winning ecology program at a North Side elementary school, typically spends the first week of school welcoming students, ordering materials for the fall curriculum...
Kenwood high school ‘community member’ shot multiple times, dies on South Side, officials say
A teenage boy described as a Kenwood Academy High School "community member" who was fatally shot on the South Side Friday afternoon has been identified, officials said Saturday. Kanye Perkins,...
Former Urban Prep CEO who was forced to resign says sexual misconduct investigation was ‘flawed’: court filing
The former CEO of Urban Prep Academies — a celebrated Chicago charter school network that specifically serves Black male teens — says in new court documents that he was forced...