Unlike the busy “Magnificent Mile” shopping district on Michigan Avenue in the downtown Chicago Loop, the business district on South Michigan Avenue in Roseland has fallen from more than 90 percent occupancy decades ago to around 10 percent now. Among the surviving businesses is Edwards Fashions. Owner Ledall Edwards hopes transportation will spur more to return.

In each incident, the burglars crashed a dark sedan into businesses and destroyed the front window or glass door. The burglars then took cash register drawers containing cash. Police did not specify how much money was stolen.

Now with pandemic aid running out, the $10 billion school-district budget doesn’t cover all the district’s pension costs or the union’s requested raises of 5% to 6% a year. The mayor’s solution, first reported over the summer by Chalkbeat: borrow $300 million.

“The mayor has been repeatedly dishonest in this whole process. He first said he wasn’t going to replace the Board of Ed, and then he did; and then he said he didn’t want to fire Pedro, and clearly he installed people to do that exact thing,” said Ald. Bill Conway.

Still reeling from a controversial Democratic caucus where State Sen. Napoleon Harris replaced Tiffany Henyard at the top of the Thornton Township ticket, Henyard declared, “I am history. I am the 21st Century History. I am your Rosa Parks, your Harriet Tubmans. [sic] I am that person. Somebody has to say never, never ever give up.”

Thornton Township still does not have crucial insurance or funds for important programs after Friday’s meeting devolved into chaos. The Thornton Township board agreed on very little as Supervisor Tiffany Henyard and critic Trustees Chris Gonzalez and Carmen Carlisle, once again, went in on each other.

CPS has estimated it will cost CPS $3.2 million to keep all seven schools open next year. A presentation from the school district estimated it would then cost $21 million to $28 million to convert all seven schools into district-run schools. Approximately 2,000 students and a few hundred staff members would be affected if the campuses were to close.

“In addition, this proposed budget for community safety casts a broad net, understandably. It includes everything from entry programs, which we support, to needed funds for matters related to domestic and intimate partner violence. However, putting all these safety issues in one big budgetary basket disguises the fact that the city is still behind in contributing its fair share to the larger civic project of combating gun violence.”

State Rep. Kam Buckner warned the instability could harm CPS as it seeks funding from Springfield. “We need statewide support to get our young people what they deserve and when others see the dysfunction, when they see what’s going on and what happened last night, it complicates the efforts of folks like me who want to bring more dollars to the districts.”

A current dispute with SEIU and militant stances against police are just two reasons other city unions have reason to believe the Chicago Teachers Union cares little about solidarity and a lot about its own interests. And the priority given by city hall to the schools over city departments and agencies can be seen clearly in both salary increases and employee headcount. There are 10,000 more non-teaching positions at Chicago Public Schools than there are total police officers in Chicago.

In a statement after the vote to fire Martinez, the Chicago Teachers Union said the “decision turns the page on dysfunction and moves us towards a culture of collaborative, proactive, and equity-minded leadership.”