Stories by Matt Masterson

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said those staffers who are not fully vaccinated by Friday’s deadline must consent to weekly testing, but will not be immediately barred from working, as had previously been threatened.

Federal prosecutors announced charges against five reputed members of the O-Block street gang, accusing them of participating in a criminal organization responsible for murder and of “violently” protecting the gang and its territories on the South Side.

A mass shooting in Wicker Park that left one person dead and four others wounded Sunday morning was among 31 shooting incidents over the holiday weekend, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Northwestern's Board of Trustees on Monday announced Rebecca Blank, 66, will become Northwestern’s 17th president beginning next summer.

Through the end of June, the CPD has hit some level of compliance with 266 out of 507 possible paragraphs under the consent decree, Independent Monitor Maggie Hickey said in a new status report published Friday.

Louis Capriotti, 46, entered a guilty plea Thursday, court records indicate, admitting to leaving what a federal judge had previously described as “very explicit and concerning” voicemails.

Kim Foxx held a rare press conference Tuesday to respond to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, calling it “inappropriate” and “wrong” for the mayor to publicly push for criminal charges in last Friday's shooting “without the benefit of all of the evidence.”

Michael Aguirre was held without bail during a court hearing Wednesday following his arrest this week on a charge of first-degree murder stemming from the killing of 14-year-old Savanah Quintero.

Former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett will stand trial on felony disorderly conduct charges beginning Nov. 29, nearly three years after he allegedly orchestrated a hoax attack against himself outside his Streeterville apartment.

The shooting happened Monday morning in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood, according to Chicago Police Department Deputy Chief of Detectives Rahman Muhammad. 

The victims included a 17-year-old boy, who was killed inside a South Side home Saturday evening, according to Chicago police.

The number of shootings and homicides in 2021 continues to outpace 2020’s rates, as Chicago has now seen 2,726 shootings and 616 homicides through the first nine months of the year.

Pedro Martinez, Chicago Public Schools’ new CEO, said Thursday the district will provide more COVID-19 testing and work harder to keep families in the loop on case information amid confusion and criticism through the first month of the school year.

The former Chicago Public Schools CEO is taking over a scholarship organization that’s promising to “redefine the education landscape” in Chicago.

For the second time in less than a month, customs officials working at O’Hare International Airport have seized packages containing several counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards shipped from overseas.

Monday marked the first day of Wyndham Lathem’s trial, which began more than four years after he and another man allegedly stabbed 26-year-old Trenton Cornell-Duranleau dozens of times.

Sixty people were shot, eight fatally, in 46 separate shooting incidents across Chicago over the weekend, according to the Chicago Police Department. Among the victims was a CPD officer who was wounded in a triple shooting late Friday.

Timothy Wynn, 18, was ordered held without bail during a court hearing Thursday, following his arrest on felony charges of home invasion and first-degree murder in the shooting death of 36-year-old Ben Sims.

Some Chicago public schools will retain their resource officers, following a split vote by the Board of Education to approve a one-year, $11 million contract with the Chicago Police Department.

The former San Antonio Independent School District superintendent now finds himself leading a district that is struggling to execute contact tracing and COVID-19 testing as students resume in-person learning.

The Board of Education will vote this week on a one-year, $11 million extension to continue its school resource officer program despite an ongoing push from some students and advocates to have police removed from schools.

According to Chicago police, 58-year-old Tony Landers has been charged with a single count of aggravated assault stemming from the Saturday night incident near Racine and Leland avenues.

Disney II Magnet High School, Prosser Career Academy and Walter Payton College Prep are among the 325 schools recognized nationally for their “overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.”

A 27-year-old tow truck driver who was was attempting to provide service in the 100 block of West 57th Street was among those fatally shot over the weekend. According to police, there were 45 separate shooting incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

A Cook County judge has ordered Nathaniel Butler Sr. to be held without bail following his arrest in connection to the killing of 35-year-old Jerome Jenkins. That ruling came a day after Butler’s two sons were also held without bail.

In a follow-up to its June 2020 report, the Chicago Office of Inspector General on Thursday found the CPD still cannot ensure it is producing all relevant records in its possession for criminal and civil litigation.