Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jackson Potter called on CPS to avoid staff layoffs. Potter pushed for more funding, including from new state taxes and a city pool of tax dollars known as Tax Increment Financing, or TIF.“For the governor to say we’ve done everything we can is patently false,” Potter said. “We need to do more — that is their own commitment.”

As of Monday, there are an astounding 12 Democrats running to succeed Jan Schakowsky. Among the better-known names are Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, and three members of the General Assembly: State Senators Laura Fine (17) and Mike Simmons (7), and State Representative Hoan Huynh (13). With so many candidates, it’s conceivable that a Democrat collecting a mere 20 percent of the vote in next March’s primary could win the party’s nomination and then be considered the heavy favorite to win the general election.

Turnover in a central office is typical after a superintendent leaves, said Jason Grissom, a professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University. Much of that is by design, when new leadership brings in a slate of staffers with them. But significant turnover can be cause for concern, Grissom said, if leadership leaves en masse — particularly during a time of uncertainty for a school district.

Video of the fight shows someone taking swings at a K-9 handler, and hurling a trash can at his dog. The chaos continued; full of punches, shoves, and dog bites.

One of the most frequent areas of contention before she was appointed was the mayor’s request the district take out a multi-million dollar high-interest, short-term loan to cover the budget gap. Would King consider that request? She didn’t say no. “We have everything on the table and what’s driving the decision that we will ultimately come to? Students first,” she said.

The City Council and Mayor Brandon Johnson have already approved a record $206 million in such deals this year, an amount that towers over both the budgeted $82.6 million and year-end totals from the past. That sum includes $19 million to be paid by the city’s insurers, but not another $120 million from two court verdicts the city plans to contest.

According to CPD’s latest numbers, there’s been a slight increase in crime on the CTA this year with 872, compared to this time last year, when there were 866 incidents. Theft and robberies are the most common crimes with at least 382 incidents reported on CTA trains, according to police.

On July 1, 2025, numerous ordinances protecting workers in Chicago took effect. The changes include increased protections under Chicago’s Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance, previously scheduled increases under the City’s Minimum Wage Ordinance, as well as updates to the City’s Fair Workweek Ordinance.

Abdelhadi gave a raving presentation at the socialist conference, denouncing UChicago. She punctuated her unhinged comments with profanity: “F— the University of Chicago, it’s evil, you know it’s a colonial landlord. Like, why would I put any of my political energy into this space? I kind of had a little bit of disdain for people who spent their time doing that…” She went on to explain that it was really not an academic but an activist calling that brought her to UChicago:

“During my tenure as inspector general, the city’s Law Department has repeatedly demanded to attend interviews in investigations, including ones into allegations of bribery, retaliation via the withholding of city services and retaliation against individuals who made protected reports to OIG, as well as an allegation that a now-former elected official violated ethics rules by soliciting political contributions from city employees. Because I will not permit City Hall to compromise the confidentiality and independence of OIG investigations, these demands have resulted in the cancellation of interviews and the near-certain loss of relevant evidence.”

“Federal funding should never be used as a tool to coerce local authorities into compliance with unlawful mandates,” the city’s Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry said in a statement. That threat of losing federal funds has also injected “significant confusion and uncertainty” in Chicago’s 2026 budget process, lawyers argue. Chicago is facing a $1.1 billion budget hole in 2026 and an even greater projected spending gap in 2027.

“The most environmentally friendly thing Chicago Public Schools could do is reorganize their extremely under-enrolled campuses, but instead, CTU wants to spend tax dollars on solar panels and other ‘green school initiatives,” said Mailee Smith, senior director of labor policy for the Illinois Policy Institute. “Consolidation would benefit both students and the environment, however, this would likely eliminate union positions, which CTU would never allow.”

“When federal COVID-19 relief funds run out next year, the school board will face difficult decisions, including the need to consolidate schools. Chicago must craft its strategy not only to lift students but also entire neighborhoods. In the painful but necessary 2013 closings, no effort was made to replace shuttered schools that had served as neighborhood anchors or to ameliorate the harmful effects of closings. The message to affected communities was one of disinvestment and despair. “