Stories by Aida Mogos

Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union have been battling all week over whether it’s safe to have kids in the classroom as COVID-19 cases rise. The dispute has led to classes being canceled for three days as teachers refuse to work in-person, and the district refuses to go remote.

The pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on the physical, emotional, and financial health of restaurant workers, especially those in the Latino community. Three years ago, a group of hospitality workers created a nonprofit aimed at getting mental health care for struggling workers.

Parents react to this week’s shutdown of Chicago Public Schools. The story of civil rights legend Mamie Till Mobley gets told on the small screen. Plus, a downtown office building partners with a Black-owned art gallery.

The Chicago Teachers Union on Saturday sent a new proposal to the city hoping to resolve its ongoing labor action in which its members have refused to work in schools in-person during a spike in COVID-19 cases

In the lawsuit, parents claim the union’s action is actually an “illegal strike” — language that’s also been used by Mayor Lori Lightfoot. They want a judge to order teachers to return to their schools and resume in-person learning.

Any hope that a holiday break could reset the raging dispute over the map that will shape Chicago politics for the next decade and determine the balance of power between Black, Latino and Asian Chicagoans was extinguished Friday as members of the City Council clashed during the first of four public hearings scheduled this month.

Chicago schools shut down in a dispute between teachers and administrators. Arne Duncan teases a potential mayoral run. Remembering Jan. 6. And Lightfoot vows a reset on crime in 2022.

Fully vaccinated and mostly masked, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared skeptical Friday of the Biden administration’s authority to impose a vaccine-or-testing requirement on the nation’s large employers. 

Three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery were sentenced Friday to life in prison, with a judge denying any chance of parole for the father and son who armed themselves and initiated the deadly pursuit of the 25-year-old Black man.

In response to concerns about putting a see-through glass tower in the path of migrating birds, Carvana revised its plan to incorporate bird-friendly components. Critics called the proposed mitigations “woefully inadequate.” 

U.S. regulators on Friday shortened the time that people who received Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine have to wait for a booster — to five months rather than six.

Chicagoans woke up Friday to sub-zero temperatures, the first time in nearly a year the mercury has dipped into the negatives. In anticipation of the cold snap, officials issued reminders and tips.

The Chicago Principals and Administrators Association said it was “blindsided” by the announcement. “Principals don’t determine the resources and conditions that leave some schools ready to open and others unable to,” it said. 

Interviewed before this week’s anniversary of the attack, 10 of the House members who were in the gallery talked of being deeply shaken by their experience, recalling viscerally the sights and sounds amid the chaos.

One-on-one with Mayor Lightfoot as classes are canceled for a second day. Will there be school tomorrow? Local members of congress and observers reflect on one year since the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

While a few school buildings may be open to students, Chicago Public Schools has once again canceled classes as negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union continue. 

The Clearing community on the Southwest Side of Chicago is home to many city employees and families and the southern portion of Midway Airport. We spent the day talking to people about how the neighborhood is adapting to all the changes throughout the pandemic.

The Chicago Bears aim to end a disappointing season on a high note by beating the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in what could be Matt Nagy’s last game as the team’s head coach.

The ideas that contributed to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol one year ago are still alive and well, according to experts and recent polling. A year after the violent riot, some reports show that many of these ideas have become more mainstream and the far right has gained supporters.

Staff absences and the omicron variant-driven surge have led some big districts including Atlanta, Detroit and Milwaukee to switch temporarily to virtual learning. Where schools are holding the line on in-person learning, getting through the day has required an all-hands-on-deck approach.

One year after the violent insurrection, Donald Trump is hardly a leader in exile. Instead, he is the undisputed leader of the Republican Party and a leading contender for the 2024 presidential nomination.

“For the first time in our history, a president not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol,” President Joe Biden said. “But they failed.”

Knowing that most teachers wouldn’t show, even with the warning that they would therefore not be paid, CPS canceled class for Wednesday, and now Thursday too.

Illinois is setting record highs for the number of coronavirus cases and hospitalization rates with more than 6,800 now in hospitals due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, hospitals across the state are working to maintain the ability to take patients, and are delaying certain procedures amid a bed shortage.

What’s the political fallout of the standoff between the teachers union and the city? The race for the 1st Congressional District heats up after Bobby Rush announces he's stepping down. And U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger decides his future on the eve of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot anniversary.

COVID-19 hospitalizations for children have reached a record high in Chicago. The city is currently seeing a daily average of about seven hospitalizations. Despite these numbers, some data suggest the omicron variant is causing a milder illness in kids.