Snow blankets Chicago, Jan. 12, 2024. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
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CPS announced classes will be in session for all students Wednesday as the frigid temperatures the city has seen this week have begun to dissipate.

A passer-by walks through a gate to the Harvard University campus, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass. (Steven Senne / AP Photo)

Generations of Americans have held firm to a version of free speech that makes room for even the vilest of views. Today, that idea faces competition more forceful and vehement than it has seen for a century.

(Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

State law allows districts to switch to e-learning if an emergency like weather prevents students from being in school physically. But if districts want the option, they must have an electronic learning program established in advance.

Claudine Gay testifies before Congress.

Claudine Gay resigned after backlash to her testimony at a congressional hearing where she was criticized for not doing enough to tackle antisemitism on campus. She also faced accusations of plagiarism. Gay’s supporters, however, said her ouster reflects a system that wasn’t built for people of color.

File - Students make their way through the Sather Gate near Sproul Plaza on the University of California, Berkeley, campus March 29, 2022, in Berkeley, Calif. (Eric Risberg / AP Photo, File)

Students can usually fill out the FAFSA starting in October, but the 2024-2025 version only became available last week because the Department of Education was still working on the new form.

(Credit: Cottonbro Studio via Pexels)
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The Illinois secretary of state’s office, which oversees a number of library grant programs, said the new law does apply to prison libraries as they are eligible for grants.

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Chicago Public Schools was among 67 winners of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s first Clean School Bus Program.

Tom Ginsburg of the Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression at University of Chicago. (WTTW News)

“Those schools, the presidents that were up there testifying, while they were saying, ‘oh you know we preserve freedom of speech, we value freedom of speech,’ they in fact do have records of suppressing speech,” says Tom Ginsburg of the Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression. 

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Those findings were among numerous cases highlighted in an annual report published Tuesday by CPS Inspector General Will Fletcher, which examined investigations undertaken by his office between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.

Top left: Radio Free Honduras plays in Little Village. (WTTW News) Top right: Felix Martinez was named residential sanitation driver of the year. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News) Bottom left: Artist Mia Lee. (WTTW News) Bottom right: Art Johnston and Pepe Peña in the documentary “Art and Pep.” (Provided)
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Over the last year, WTTW News introduced you to a variety of Chicago-area residents. Some accomplished extraordinary feats, while others made a difference in their communities through small acts of everyday work.

Haugan Elementary School principal Heather Yutzy and students. (WTTW News)

“We’re trying to put ourselves in the place of these families,” Haugan Elementary School principal Heather Yutzy said. “If we were in this situation, what would we need for our kids?”

(MD Duran / Unsplash)

A growing number of students are working to earn as many college credits as possible while they are still in high school. But even as the popularity continues to grow for “dual credit” offerings, a new study shows disparities between racial, economic and geographic groups are also widening.

Valerie Goss, the head of the faculty union at Chicago State University, and Illinois Federation of Teachers President Daniel Montgomery embrace at an April 3, 2023, rally on the campus of Chicago State University. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois)
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Report finds public university employees paid 21% less than state agency workers in similar jobs

At public universities across the state, staff and faculty unions have faced a contentious year of negotiations and, in some cases, strikes. Pay has been a major issue on several campuses and the unions are now looking to Springfield for potential reforms to the state’s higher education funding.

Part-time faculty members at Columbia College hold a rally on Oct. 30, 2023. (WTTW News)

The Columbia College Faculty Union (CFAC), which represents nearly 600 part-time faculty members, announced Thursday its members had officially approved the contract, which put an end to a record-long 49-day strike.

File photo of a child in a classroom. (WTTW News)

In a major departure from past policy, the Chicago Board of Education has announced it intends to move away from a system built on school choice.

Part-time faculty members at Columbia College hold a rally on Oct. 30, 2023. (WTTW News)

College administrators and the Columbia College Faculty Union (CFAC) — which represents nearly 600 adjunct faculty members — jointly announced the tentative deal that would put an end to the record-long strike.