Said Sequoiah Brown, a member of the local school council at Poe Classical School on the Far South Side, “You should be trying to bring up the others to that standard, not taking from one to give to the other. That is not how equity works.” Poe is a selective enrollment elementary school that is 85 percent Black; about 40 percent of its students are from low-income families.

Mayor Brandon Johnson created the position in an executive order last October, and last month Chicago-native Sendy L. Soto became the city’s first person to occupy that role. The position was made possible through funding by a multi-year grant from Funders Together to End Homelessness.

“There are a host of things that I will be requesting on behalf of the people of Chicago,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. That includes public funding for a new football stadium, school funding, and stopping legislation that would prevent the Chicago Board of Education from closing schools or making changes to selective-enrollment campuses until an elected Board is fully seated in 2027.

This report details the true causes of Chicago’s pension problem, how state law made matters worse, recent attempts to address Chicago’s pension funding crisis, and CTBA’s proposal for responsibly re-amortizing the pension debt to generate roughly $11 billion in savings.

Tax revenue from Medinah Temple has consistently fallen short of the city’s projections. The budget anticipates $35 million in local tax revenue from Bally’s, averaging out to $3 million a month. As of the end of March, Medinah Temple has generated about $3 million in tax revenue this year for Chicago.

Two decades ago, people who were shopping for new homes “had over 1,000 developments to choose from,” said Erik Doersching, CEO of Tracy Cross. “Now it’s under 250.”

After letting the house sit empty for nearly two decades and racking up violations with the city’s Department of Buildings, CHA officials say they’ll move forward with “alternative plans” for the home, after an assessment found needed repairs could total nearly $500,000.

The second Black man to serve as Chicago mayor, Johnson tapped more Black Chicagoans to serve in positions of authority than Chicagoans of other races, according to an analysis. Johnson tapped an equal number of men and women.

About 120 faculty and staff stood in solidarity with student protestors during a press conference. “As educators, it’s our responsibility to nurture not only the intellectual, but the moral development of our students. When they choose to stand up for what they believe in, they’re applying the lessons of history, ethics, governance and social justice,” said Jessica Darrow.

Talks between protesters and the school have been “suspended” as the University called the protesters’ requests “inconsistent with the University’s principles.” The statement says, in part, that the school has not agreed to “reduce” campus security or police presence based on negotiations.

The Chicago Fire Department also responded to the scene near Cermak Road and Washtenaw Avenue, but they found no one with injuries to take to the hospital.

“The clear implication of such leave is elected leaders – such as Mayor Brandon Johnson – who are bankrolled by the union into office can then appoint union friends to office without those friends having to permanently step away from their CPS jobs. In the meantime, those friends can continue to accrue teacher pension credit while working other jobs.”

The Chicago Teachers Union is demanding in its 142-page list this: “BOARD shall coordinate with the City of Chicago and the Chicago Transit Authority to secure free CTA fares for all CPS students and employees.” Here’s the math: 176 school days of round trips for 323,251 students at a $0.75 per ride plus 176 school days with an additional 12 employee days for 43,919 workers at $2.25 a ride is 130,297,896 trips at a cost of $122,493,738.

The Illinois Gaming Board reports that the number of video gaming machines in the state has quickly increased by more than 50 percent — from 31,481 in March 2019 to 47,570 in March 2024. The state takes 34 percent in taxes, keeping 29 percent for itself and giving 5 percent to the municipalities where the devices are located.

One protester said it’s her way of expressing her “Latinidad” and her religious identity. “Liberation struggles all over the world are inherently interconnected, because the systems that perpetuate violence against us are connected,” she said. “Zionism is not a thing that exists only in the state of Israel or is perpetuated by Israel alone, but exists in Latin America.”

The original intent of the group was to re-hoist the American flag on the Quad’s flagpole after the University took down a Palestinian flag mounted by those participating in the encampment.

Last weekend, at least 13 people were shot in Chicago, police said.