The mayor brings in a new school board while the district faces a budget crunch. And alderpeople jam up City Council, angry over the CPS board and the end of ShotSpotter.

A federal court order requiring the Chicago Police Department to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers should be expanded to include traffic stops, but the city’s new police oversight board should be given some power over the hot-button issue, according to a new recommendation. 

Tens of millions of older Americans will see an increase in benefits this January when a new cost-of-living adjustment is added to Social Security payments.

Chicago Public Schools has been at the center of an intense media frenzy over the past week. Tensions continue to rise between Mayor Brandon Johnson and CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, and the district’s financial crisis is at a standstill while the CEO, mayor and Chicago Teachers Union all publicly voiced different methods to solve it.

Gun safety advocates want Illinois to shorten the period of time in which a gun must be reported as lost or stolen from 72 hours to 48 hours. The group also wants lawmakers to mandate that dealers check a gun’s serial number in a state database before it can be bought or sold. Gun rights groups oppose the changes.

Voters in Illinois are being posed three “advisory” questions that ask voters whether they support a specific policy but aren’t legally binding. Lawmakers may take the results into account when considering what policies to advocate for in future legislative sessions.

“This announcement is not made lightly,” Acero said in a statement. “It is made with compassion and an unrelenting commitment to the individuals we serve. We hope to welcome as many transitioning scholars as possible to our other network schools and manage this difficult transition with integrity, mindfulness and clarity of mission.”

The shelter at 27th Street and Pulaski Road, which opened in January at the height of the crisis that strained state and city resources, now houses 146 people, state officials said.

“There are no new taxes, fines or fees in this budget,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle told reporters in a preview of the vision she’ll outline in a Thursday morning speech. “It reflects our choices we made over the last 14 years and strong fiscal management.”

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said during an appearance on WTTW News’ “Chicago Tonight” he has repeatedly urged the mayor to use funds from the city’s TIF districts instead of borrowing money or making cuts to classrooms.

Mayor Brandon Johnson acknowledged Wednesday he decided not to veto the ordinance because of concerns it would set a “dangerous precedent.”

With the Chicago area’s transit agencies facing a $730 million fiscal cliff, state lawmakers have been working on a plan to preserve and improve public transportation.

“I’m not going to cut, and take away, layoff, fire, privatize so that other people can benefit, and the people of Chicago can lose,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “Not under my watch.”

“I truly believe in community input,” Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward) said. “I want the people to have a voice. I don’t know every nook and cranny of every neighborhood. And when I say the people, I mean the alderman.”

The longtime House speaker, along with his longtime confidant and current co-defendant Michael McClain, are finally set to go to trial this week, more than two and a half years after the men were first charged in a bombshell federal indictment that accused them of racketeering, bribery and wire fraud.

The entire CPS board calls it quits. Early voting gets underway in Chicago. And the presidential contest comes to the Midwest.