Stories by Matt Masterson

A Chicago man who authorities say was “hunting for victims” now faces more than a dozen felony charges after he was arrested in connection to the sexual assaults of five women over nearly three years on the city’s North Side.

Chicago has a new interim top federal prosecutor as Andrew Boutros took his oath of office and was sworn in Monday as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

The former 25th Ward alderperson provided key evidence that helped secure the convictions of longtime 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke and powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

According to new data from the Chicago Police Department, there were 108 shootings and 35 homicides throughout the city last month, totals which are down 32% and 27%, respectively, over the same month last year.

Wednesday’s vote comes two days after the union announced it had reached a tentative agreement with Chicago Public Schools following nearly a year of bargaining.

CTU leaders called the four-year deal a “historic achievement” that represents the fulfillment of promises Mayor Brandon Johnson made to transform CPS into a school district that offers a well-rounded education to every Chicago child and security to its employees.

The firm of Jenner & Block on Friday filed a lawsuit seeking to stop President Donald Trump’s order, which it says was made to punish firms that worked with those who investigated the president prior to his second term in office.

CTU on Friday confirmed the union’s big bargaining team will meet Monday afternoon to weigh the potential deal.

Specific dates have not yet been set, but U.S. District Judge Manish Shah on Thursday said each of the so-called “ComEd Four” — former CEO Anne Pramaggiore, Madigan’s longtime confidant Michael McClain, and ex-ComEd lobbyists John Hooker and Jay Doherty — will be sentenced in July.

In a filing in Cook County’s circuit court, the archdiocese accused the unnamed defendants of a “quid pro quo” scheme in which they allegedly peddled false claims of abuse in order to extort money from the church.

The U.S. Department of Education has launched investigations into Chicago Public Schools, the Illinois State Board of Education and Deerfield Public Schools alleging violations of sex discrimination.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights on Friday announced it has begun investigating 45 universities for failing to follow their “civil rights obligations to end the use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities.”

More than half of those charged in Cook County with felony firearm cases involving modified weapons have been detained pending trial during the first three-plus months under new State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke.

Officials from Chicago and Illinois are sounding the alarm as the U.S. Department of Education plans to lay off about half of its workforce, putting its future in peril while causing “chaos” for students and schools throughout the country.

Northwestern and Illinois Wesleyan universities were among those that received notice from the department of potential Title VI violations stemming from what it called “antisemitic harassment and discrimination.”

The Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools each released findings Monday which showed, for the first time in several years, that the state is seeing some improvements in the number of educator hires.

Kwame Raoul’s office joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general who are seeking a temporary restraining order against numerous federal agencies to stop what he’s called the “illegal mass layoffs.”

Brittany Hall, 31, of Chicago, was charged this week with five counts of sexual abuse of a ward and three counts of abusive sexual contact.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias on Thursday announced that of the nearly 385,000 votes his office received between January and February, more than 165,000 (43% of all ballots) were cast for the existing flag.

CTU leaders met outside Chicago Public Schools’ Loop headquarters ahead of Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting where they expressed hope that a new contract could be finalized soon if district leaders agree to their final demands.

Twenty people were killed in the city last month, according to new preliminary figures released Wednesday by the Chicago Police Department. That marks a decline of 35% compared to February 2024.

Opening statements were set to begin Monday morning at the Lake County Courthouse, where Crimo was accused of 21 counts of first-degree murder and 48 counts of attempted murder charges stemming from the 2022 mass shooting.

The 21-member board at its monthly meeting Thursday voted to amend language in a revised resolution that would now aim to save five Acero schools: Cisneros, Casas, Fuentes, Tamayo and Santiago.

In a letter to families Wednesday, officials with the Acero charter school network said the individual was taken into custody by ICE agents, though the agency itself did not respond to a request for comment.

Antonio Reyes — who was charged this week with five new counts of first-degree murder as well as four counts of attempted first-degree murder — now stands accused in six separate fatal shootings.

The Acero charter network announced last year plans to shutter Cruz K-12 as well as Casas, Cisneros, Fuentes, Paz, Santiago and Tamayo elementary schools due to declining enrollment, increasing personnel and facilities maintenance costs.