Stories by Matt Masterson

With less than two months until his federal racketeering trial is set to begin, the R&B star has been transferred out of Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center and into a new detention facility in New York City.

Chicago Public Schools is advising administrators against contacting police in non-emergency situations and will remove “criminalizing” language from its student code of conduct in an effort to help eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline, according to a proposed set of revisions.

A year after the launch of a program aiming to provide 100,000 Chicago Public Schools students with free high-speed internet for four years, city officials have announced plans to extend the program further.

The Illinois House on Wednesday approved legislation that will turn the current seven-member appointed board — the lone appointed school board in the state — into a 21-member body with elections beginning in 2024. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has strongly opposed the bill, calling it “very ill-constructed.”

In the six months since Anjanette Young and Mayor Lori Lightfoot sat down for a face-to-face meeting, little has been done to correct the issues that led to the botched raid at Young’s home in 2019 or address her ongoing lawsuit against the city, her attorney said Wednesday.

Marvin Flanagan and another suspect allegedly fired assault rifles at a Humboldt Park resident during an attempted home invasion late last year, Cook County prosecutors said Tuesday.

According to police, several people were at a gathering inside a home in the 6200 block of South Morgan Street when shots were fired following an argument. Four victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

Jose Torres, a former Chicago Public Schools official who previously led the second-largest school district in Illinois, will serve as interim CEO once Janice Jackson’s contract expires at the end of June.

Diego Vargas, 26, entered a guilty plea on Thursday on a single count of maliciously attempting to damage and destroy a building by means of an explosive device, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Karol Chwiesiuk is facing five misdemeanor charges, including disorderly conduct, disrupting government business and entering a restricted building, according to a federal complaint filed Friday.

Damien Davis was allegedly driving at speeds between 90 and 100 mph last month when he struck another car on Western Avenue, killing 1-year-old Jamyah Harris.

Paul Woebel, 47, allegedly donned a wig to disguise his appearance before brutally attacking his ex-wife as she walked down a sidewalk last month in Lake View East, leaving her with a fractured skull and arm as well as other injuries.

Two months ahead of his upcoming racketeering trial in New York, R&B star R. Kelly is seeking to part ways with the two Chicago-based attorneys who have been handling his many criminal cases.

Educators at the all-male charter schools will receive pay raises, back pay for the last three years when contract negotiations were ongoing and commitments from administrators to follow special education requirements to support students.

Thirty-four Urban Prep Charter Academy teachers walked off the job Monday morning, weeks after a unanimous vote to strike over pay raises and an alleged refusal by the charter operator to provide some legally-mandated special education services.

Hailing the move as a “transformational moment” in the history of his department, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown on Friday announced the launch of a new community policing strategy he said will center on engagement and building trust.

Michael Williams, 30, allegedly punched through a window at his ex-girlfriend’s home earlier this week and fired multiple shots into the West Side residence, striking both the woman and her 20-month-old son.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot expressed concern the bill could have a “negative impact” on her ability to find the next CEO of Chicago Public Schools and said students and parents “don’t feel like they’ve been heard” by legislators about the bill.

Chicago Public Schools is currently the lone district in Illinois with a school board appointed by the mayor. But under legislation approved Tuesday evening by the Illinois Senate, the Chicago Board of Education would transition into a fully elected body by 2027.

The homicide total over the holiday weekend was the lowest in 10 years, police Superintendent David Brown said Tuesday, as department officials credited the city’s newly announced summer safety plan with helping to limit violence.

As Chicago hits the unofficial start of summer this weekend, city officials have announced a citywide strategy aimed at preventing summer shootings and homicides by focusing resources in historically violent areas on South and West sides.

Two months after the fatal police shootings of 13-year-old Adam Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez, the Chicago Police Department unveiled a new policy on foot pursuits it says will better prioritize the safety of officers, the public and those being pursued.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Chicago Police Department relied on “extensive” undercover and covert surveillance operations during the multiyear probe targeting those distributing or attempting to distribute heroin and cocaine across Chicago, authorities said Thursday.

Members of Adam Toledo’s family wiped away tears on what would have been his 14th birthday as they announced a new program for boys to develop skills and values in a rural environment away from city streets.

All elementary and middle school students in Chicago Public Schools will advance to the next grade level, regardless of their academic success during the current academic year, under a new resolution to be considered by the district.

Following one of Chicago’s deadliest weekends of 2021, and with the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder and Memorial Day ahead, police Superintendent David Brown says he plans to continue limiting time off for officers this week.