Stories by Matt Masterson

The Head Start programs from Illinois and a handful of other states are suing the Trump administration after officials proposed slashing federal funding for early childcare and education programs across the country.

The Trump Administration has launched another investigation into Chicago Public Schools, this time targeting its newly-created Black Students Success Plan, claiming it discriminates against students based on their race.

Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to reject Michael Madigan’s request for his convictions to be tossed out, claiming the former House speaker repeatedly lied on the witness stand when he testified in his own defense at his landmark corruption trial earlier this year.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois late last week filed a motion informing U.S. District Judge John Blakey that it will not move forward with a planned forfeiture trial following the speaker’s conviction in February.

Charles Green, 44, was charged Friday with two counts of murder and one count of aggravated arson after he allegedly started the fire that led to Meyer’s death.

The 21-member board voted to approve the deal during its monthly meeting at Chicago Public Schools’ Loop office Thursday — the last step necessary to finalize the new labor agreement.

Robert Crimo III, 24, on Thursday was handed seven consecutive life terms, along with the maximum of 50 years in prison on each of the 48 counts of attempted murder he faced.

The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted 9-0 in favor of selecting the embattled CPS chief from a pool of three finalists to become the state’s next Department of Elementary and Secondary Education commissioner.

The settlement comes after a complaint filed in Chicago’s federal court alleged Walgreens pharmacists filled illegal prescriptions for excessive quantities of opioids and prescriptions for a particularly dangerous combination of drugs.

Northwestern officials say the university intends to fund at-risk research, days after the Trump administration announced plans to freeze nearly $800 million in federal funding.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson and other public officials lauded the program after a Northwestern University study found that specific “hotspots” where peacekeepers have been deployed have seen drops of more than 40% in gun violence.

The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday announced Martinez as one of three finalists for the job as its next commissioner. He and the other candidates will each interview for that role Thursday in a public meeting before the board.

CTU officials on Monday morning announced that 97% of its members who voted last week cast ballots in favor of the contract proposal, a mark union President Stacy Davis Gates called “overwhelming (and) historic.”

The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee withdrew its records request during an emergency court hearing in Chicago after Northwestern professors sued the committee, claiming its investigation into the university’s law clinics violated their First Amendment rights.

“Our solidarity has brought us this far,” CTU President Stacy Davis Gates and union leadership wrote in an open letter to members. “Your vote decides what happens next.”

More than 1,000 faculty members, alumni, students, attorneys and local community members have signed letters calling for “solidarity and resistance” from Northwestern’s leaders as it faces accusations of civil rights violations from Washington.

The business and law schools at the University of Chicago and Northwestern were each ranked among the best in the country according to a new list from U.S. News & World Report, which looked at the nation’s best grad school programs of 2025.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced plans for a new advisory committee that will review research, develop recommendations and design a new model for the future of the guaranteed basic income pilot program.

According to a university spokesperson, settlement documents are currently being finalized after Northwestern and the former student athletes recently engaged in a mediation process that resulted in the agreement.

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.