Stories by Matt Masterson

Criminal charges are pending against one man, while a second suspect remains at large following the incident in the 7700 block of South Yates Boulevard, according to the Chicago Police Department.

In a new status report, the Chicago Police Department said it “doubled down on its efforts to accelerate compliance” during its latest reporting period after missing 70% of its deadlines in the previous period.

Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey accused Mayor Lori Lightfoot of cutting off negotiations by issuing a “final offer.” He said the union is “deeply disappointed” by that decision.

“We are deeply disappointed to announce that we still have not reached a deal,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday.

“We are disappointed to report that at this time, no deal has been reached between CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union leadership,” the school district said in a tweet late Wednesday.

The Invisible Institute, a journalism nonprofit based on the city’s South Side, has published an online archive documenting former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge’s "violence against more than 100 Black men, from the 1970s to the 1990s.”

According to Chicago Police Department data, the 51 homicides recorded in January mark the most in that month since 2017. There were also 218 vehicular hijackings reported last month, compared to 77 in January 2020, according to CPD data — an increase of 183%.

Chicago teachers who did not show up for in-person work Monday will not be locked out of their Google education suites in a “gesture of good faith” from city leaders hoping to reach a deal over a safe school reopening plan and avoid a potential strike.

Thousands of pre-kindergarten and special education cluster program students within Chicago Public Schools are once again being told to stay home Friday as the school district and Chicago Teachers Union have yet to reach a deal on a school reopening plan.

For the second day in a row, Chicago Public Schools is telling the parents of pre-kindergarten and special education cluster program students to keep their kids at home Thursday as the district and Chicago Teachers Union have not yet reached agreement on a safe school reopening plan.

Board President Miguel del Valle on Wednesday said Chicago Public Schools “sincerely wants to come to an agreement” with the Chicago Teachers Union on a safe school reopening plan as a potential teachers strike looms.

In a letter to parents, Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson said the district has “no choice but to ask parents to keep your children home” after the teachers union instructed its members not to report for in-person work Wednesday ahead of a possible strike.

Akeem Kosoko is facing federal charges after he allegedly conspired with a local postal carrier and others in a scheme to steal and sell coronavirus relief checks.

The district on Tuesday announced it had entered into partnerships with five community organizations to “reimagine” school safety strategies as new alternatives to the existing school resource officer program.

Illinois is poised to become one of the first states to eliminate cash bail after the state legislature passed a sweeping criminal justice reform bill earlier this month. Now proponents who pushed for that change hope the measure can be used to reform pretrial services elsewhere.

Chicago Public Schools said 60% of the 5,352 pre-kindergarten and special education cluster program students who opted for in-person learning showed up at their school last week. That amounts to about 3,200 students.

The state of Illinois is expanding vaccine eligibility beginning Monday, meaning school-based staff and other front-line employees will be able to start getting inoculated

In just the first three weeks of 2021, there have already been 144 carjackings across Chicago, according to police, continuing the spike seen throughout last year.

During a hearing Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Gabriel Fuentes pointed to the “very explicit and concerning” voicemails allegedly left by Louis Capriotti in ordering the Chicago Heights man held without bond during his case.

Voting members of the Chicago Teachers Union approved a resolution Wednesday night which could mark the first step toward a potential strike if the union can’t reach a deal with Chicago Public Schools on a safe reopening plan amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The judge handling Jussie Smollett’s case wants to keep a potential trial focused on the events that occurred the night the former “Empire” star allegedly filed a false police report, rather than the controversy surrounding his initial charges and their subsequent dismissal.

A Chicago police lieutenant is suing the city, claiming a new safety team designed to address neighborhood concerns and improve community relationships has instead focused on making baseless traffic stops in order to meet illegal self-imposed quotas.

CPS CEO Janice Jackson said the school district is still having conversations with the Chicago Teachers Union on in-person staffing levels, and she believes “we’ll get to a resolution on that.” But she said the conversation can no longer be about whether or not to reopen schools.

The head of Chicago Public Schools said the district is “willing to compromise” on an agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union to safely reopen schools as the first week of in-person learning since last spring comes to a close.

Just over a week after he was taken into custody on a bond violation, former Chicago Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno will be released from the Cook County Jail on condition he begin alcohol treatment following his arrest on drunk driving charges.

Denroy Garcia, 16, was charged as an adult after he allegedly shot and killed 33-year-old Shuai Guan during an attempted carjacking last month.