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A plan headed to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk will allow voters in November to choose half of the Chicago Board of Education. Johnson will appoint the other half, plus its president.

Chicago Public Schools headquarters. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
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Chicago is on the path to getting the hybrid school board preferred by Mayor Brandon Johnson, with the Illinois Senate’s begrudging approval of legislation Tuesday finalizing the transition to an elected school board.

Illinois State Capitol. (WTTW News)

State lawmakers left the capitol on Thursday without finalizing a plan to put in motion the 2021 law that seeks to diminish mayoral control over Chicago Public Schools. Competing plans from the state Senate and House are cause of the delay.

Chicago Public Schools headquarters. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
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The end to mayoral control of the Chicago Board of Education could come sooner than expected.

Chicago Public Schools headquarters. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
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A year from now, Chicago voters will for the first time decide who will run the city’s schools. But first, Illinois legislators have a lot of decisions to make about how that process will work. Chief among their responsibilities is dividing Chicago into 20 districts.

A Citgo refinery in Lemont. (WTTW News)

Oil refineries are discharging toxic pollutants into our waterways and the Great Lakes with little oversight from regulators, according to a new report from the Environmental Integrity Project, a nonpartisan nonprofit group that advocates for enforcement of environmental law

Supporters of an elected school board demonstrate in April 2019. (WTTW News)
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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.”

Byron Nuclear Generating Station in Ogle County, Illinois. (Christopher Peterson / Wikimedia Commons)

Lawmakers couldn’t clinch a deal on a comprehensive energy package before their regular session ended in May, but were called back to Springfield on Tuesday to try again. Instead, the Senate adjourned once again without taking action.

Illinois State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, takes the Oath of Office to become the Illinois Speaker of the House for the 102nd General Assembly for the Illinois House of Representatives at the Bank of Springfield Center, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, in Springfield, Ill. (Justin L. Fowler / The State Journal-Register / Pool)

On the 50th anniversary of his becoming a state representative, Michael Madigan lost the gavel to Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch – making the representative from suburban Hillside the first Black House speaker in state history.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (WTTW News)

With longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan pausing his campaign for another term as speaker, Democratic members of the Illinois House are scrambling as the other contenders for the job attempt to secure the necessary votes.

(Photo by Windows on Unsplash)

Internet access has been a lifeline for those staying at home. But for the 18% of Illinoisans without a broadband internet subscription, that lifeline is cut off. We discuss ideas for ensuring internet equity.

(Kate Ter Haar / Flickr)
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In the war against plastic pollution, Illinois legislators just announced a new battle plan that would tackle the problem from multiple angles.

(Ken Teegardin / Flickr)

Is the mayor’s plan for a real estate transfer tax hike dead on arrival or could a new so-called win-win compromise supported by some Democratic lawmakers create a path forward?