Criminal Justice
Juveniles in police custody to get more legal protections in Illinois
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New legislation would require the presence of an attorney and videotaped interrogations when minors are questioned in serious crimes.
Immigration
Police interactions with immigrants targeted for reform in Chicago
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Asian and Latino activists campaign for tougher restrictions on how police deal with people who are undocumented.
The digital divide
The building blocks for digital learning
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Schools that have embraced technology in the classroom have much in common. But the one element that’s indispensable is cash.
The digital divide
A $27 million market
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CPS schools that bought ed tech products in 2015 spent an average of $30 per student, but the impact on achievement is still in question.
Education
Cutting benefits program for low-income families could cost CPS millions
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The cash-strapped school district eliminated a unit that helped eligible families sign up for public benefits. Now it could lose millions of dollars in state poverty grants, while thousands of children go without food and health insurance.
Catalyst Chicago
At education summit, calls for more revenue for schools
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Eleven aldermen and one state representative joined about 200 teachers, parents, activists and students at an education summit Saturday calling for progressive revenue solutions to the financial crisis at Chicago Public Schools.
Catalyst Chicago
Dozens of principals quitting CPS, even from “plum schools”
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Chicago Public Schools officials say 54 principals have resigned or retired so far this school year. The number could go higher, given the budget impasse in Springfield and what principals say is a lack of support from the district.
Catalyst Chicago
Charter school shutdowns loom under planned $700 million budget cuts
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Up to two dozen charter schools could shut down under budget cuts CPS recently released, sending up to 15,000 students in search of new schools. Charter advocates are working on proposals to reform state education funding.
finance and budgets
With no budget relief from Springfield, schools face massive cuts, layoffs
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District officials are now planning cuts of up to 39 percent in per-pupil money given to schools, a loss of about $700 million. A small group of principals was told to prepare for average cuts of 26 percent overall, when poverty grants and other supplemental funds are taken into account.
early childhood education
Child-parent centers boast strong results for kids, investors
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A preschool expansion program paid for with a private ‘social impact bond’ has already garnered good results for investors—but also for the mostly low-income children who attend the child-parent centers.