Stories by Matt Masterson

Attorneys for Brendt Christensen are hoping to postpone a February trial date after prosecutors announced their intent to seek the death penalty.

State legislators override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s amendatory veto of a trailer bill to the state’s new evidence-based funding formula. But school districts awaiting new state equity funding will still have to wait to get those dollars, according to one bill sponsor.

A local group focused on ending racial and class-based school segregation is asking the Chicago Board of Education to review alternative proposals to CPS’ plan to transform a high-performing Near South Side elementary into a high school.

More than two-thirds of CTU voting members cast ballots in favor of merging with the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff. “We've embraced our common struggle to support our workers, our students, their parents and our neighborhoods,” CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey said.

The Chicago Police Department is warning South and Near South Side residents of a string of burglaries after men apparently posing as utility workers broke into multiple homes over the past month. 

Nearly seven years after former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson took his own life, a bill bearing his name will aim to prevent the disease that is believed to have led to his suicide.

Janice Jackson was officially appointed Wednesday as the new CEO of Chicago Public Schools. But one of her first decisions is already drawing ethics concerns.

The president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools is again speaking out against a proposed merger between the CTU and the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, which could be finalized next week.

In a five-page filing Friday afternoon, U.S. Attorney John Childress says a “sentence of death is justified” against Brendt Christiansen if he is convicted in the death of 26-year-old Yingying Zhang.

Nearly 230 Chicago Public Schools are underutilized, according to new district data. That’s nearly equal to the number of schools the district says are operating efficiently.

Chicago Public Schools’ plan to build a new $85 million high school in Englewood, and shutter four existing schools, is proving to be a hard sell for several area residents.

Approving a new evidence-based funding model for public education last year was the first step in improving Illinois’ long-broken formula. Now the state has to find a way to pay for it.

Attorneys for Brendt Christensen have filed new motions challenging the federal jurisdiction over the potential capital case and seeking to have the top count thrown out.

As Chicago Public Schools faces a state-led public inquiry into its special education practices, it announces dozens of new positions to bolster its diverse learning supports at more than 50 schools across the city.

Staf at the McKinley Park-area charter school filed their intent to unionize on Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board.

Board member Arnie Rivera has been chosen as Chicago Public Schools’ new chief operating officer, but a tweak to the district’s school code is needed before he can take over.

Thomas Sierra, 41, spent more than half his life in prison, convicted of a murder he has claimed from the beginning he didn’t commit. On Tuesday, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office dropped the charges. “It’s a bittersweet situation,” Sierra said.

As CPS presses ahead with plans to open a new, state-of-the-art high school in Englewood, the Chicago Teachers Union is stepping up its campaign against the most controversial part of that plan.

Chicago Public Schools is moving ahead with its plan to shutter four Englewood-area high schools in favor of what it says will be a new “state-of-the-art” neighborhood option with an $85 million price tag.

Labritney Austin, of University Park, is facing a felony charge after she allegedly shot a woman in the shoulder in an incident that was recorded by the victim.

A 27-year-old suburban man who had been reported missing now faces criminal charges after federal officials say he used bomb threats and a gun to rob three Chicago banks in three days last month.

A wheelchair-bound Cubs fan claims the team removed handicap-accessible seating in the right field bleachers during its $750 million renovation project.

Staff at a Chicago high school reportedly spent nearly $3,200 in school gift cards on wedding favors, meals and casino purchases. That’s one of several investigations included in a newly released annual report from CPS’ watchdog.

Chicago Public Schools’ new leader Janice Jackson announces plans to hold community meetings throughout the city this spring in the hopes of sparking an open dialogue about the district’s biggest needs.

Cook County officials filed lawsuits this week against a half dozen drug companies and their subsidiaries, blaming them for aggressively marketing prescription painkillers that have led to a spike in overdose deaths.

Chicago Public Schools students are quickly approaching winter break, but some eighth-graders may have a little homework left to finish before the end of the week: fill out high school applications.