School Board President Sean Harden said that the board members attended on their own, without the direction of the mayor, to “observe and be part of the support” for CPS.

“On the weekend before Christmas, when you might expect a Chicago mayor to be riding a snowplow or be out shopping or eating in the Loop, kids and cameras in tow, all hearty good cheer and exhortations for Chicagoans to please spend their holiday money in Chicago, Brandon Johnson was avoiding questions about why he plotted to fire the head of Chicago Public Schools on the last day of school before holiday break and during Shabbat.”

There is a more than $5 fee affecting Peoples Gas residential customers. Commercial property owners say their new fee is $52 a month. It was done after state legislation required the Illinois Commerce Commission to make all gas utilities find a way to provide discounts to customers with lower incomes.