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New Student Loan Changes Create Barriers for Borrowers

The student loan debt crisis is now up to $1.7 trillion. Many federal loan borrowers were temporarily relieved of repayments during the pandemic, but they’re set to resume Feb. 1. And there’s no movement on canceling student debt.

City Council Grants Police Board Power to Remove Chicagoans from Yet-To-Be Finalized Gang Database

The Chicago City Council voted 29-18 on Wednesday to grant the Chicago Police Board the power to overrule the Chicago Police Department and remove a Chicagoan from its gang database.

Deere Workers Approve 3rd Contract Offer, Will End Strike

The latest proposed contract maintains the 10% immediate raises that the last deal offered, and it makes what the United Auto Workers union called modest changes to the details of Deere’s internal incentive pay program for workers.

Seahorse Daddy Goes Into Labor at Brookfield Zoo, and the Video Is #BirthingGoals

Brookfield Zoo is in the midst of a seahorse baby boom and caught the arrival of its newest little ones on camera. Dad made it look easy.

10 Things to Do This Weekend: Nov. 18-21

Holiday lights, intricate artwork, butterfly yoga and stand-up comedy usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

CPS Leaders Working on ‘Contingency Plans’ Ahead of Possible Winter COVID Spike

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez on Wednesday said his team is beginning to set up plans and solidify a specific health metric that can be used to decide when to shut down in-person learning within a school or across the district itself.

Illinois Students Rally to Defend LGBTQ Book as School Board Hears Objections Over Its Content

The increasingly heated debate over the presence of certain books in school libraries was aired at a Downers Grove school board meeting this week.

Parents of Murdered Children Demand Steeper Penalties for Killing Kids

Illinois has intentionally reduced its prison population, and made changes to sentencing laws to reduce offenders’ time behind bars. Now some victims’ family members are calling for the state to reverse directions when it comes to those who murder children.

‘We’re Behind the Eight Ball’: Debate Rages Over New Chicago Ward Map With 15 Days Until Deadline

The leaders of the Chicago City Council’s Black and Latino caucuses said Tuesday that they could endorse a new Chicago ward map with 18 wards with a majority of Black voters and 15 wards with a majority of Latino voters.

No Verdict After Daylong Deliberations by Rittenhouse Jury

The jury at Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial deliberated a full day on Tuesday without reaching a verdict over whether he was the instigator in a night of bloodshed in Kenosha or a concerned citizen who came under attack while trying to protect property.

A ‘Sister Act’ Production Bound to Raise the Spirits of Musical Theater Believers

Reneisha Jenkins’ direction, along with the wonderfully playful, hip-swiveling choreography of Christopher Chase Carter and the impeccable music direction of keyboardist Diana Lawrence, has infused the show with genuine emotional heat as well as laugh-generating irreverence and comic sparkle.

Where Does the City Plant Trees? A Ward-by-Ward Analysis

Chicago has a long history of segregation and racial inequity. Now, a new data analysis by the DePaul University Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence shows inequity is rooted even in the planting of city trees.

Chicago’s 2008 Climate Action Plan Came Up Short, New Analysis Shows

Three mayors in the past 15 years have all promised to combat the effects of global climate change. But some critics and scientists, along with a new data analysis by the DePaul University Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence, reveal their efforts have fallen short. 

Illinois’ Copy of the Gettysburg Address Is Coming Out of the Vaults, and It Has a Weird Back Story

Illinois’ handwritten copy of the historic document once belonged to the guy who was the main speaker at Gettysburg and whose own two-hour oration was followed by Abraham Lincoln’s 272-word masterpiece.  

Chicago’s First Physical NFT Gallery Drops Digital Art

A special kind of art gallery in Chicago is emerging as a brick-and-mortar trailblazer in the digital art world. The art space imnotArt in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood bills itself as the city’s first physical NFT gallery and one of the first of its kind in the world.