Top left: Field Museum staff collected 1,000 dead birds Thursday from the grounds of McCormick Place. (Courtesy of Taylor Hains). Top right: The cinderblock shell of an illegal building in Humboldt Park, obscuring the landmarked Receptory and Stable building, will be demolished. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News). Bottom left: Chicago Public Schools building. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News). Bottom right: Migrants outside a Chicago police station. (WTTW News)
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The escalating migrant crisis dominated political news in Chicago this week. Meanwhile, WTTW News investigated instances of Chicago Public Schools hiring fired Chicago police officers to work as security guards. Here are five stories you may have missed.

Northwestern players celebrate after guard Ty Berry scored a 3-point basket during the second half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Iowa in Evanston, Ill., Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Northwestern and Texas A&M barged into the AP Top 25 men's basketball rankings after each had a pair of impressive wins last week.

A child arrives with her parent to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11-years-old at London Middle School in Wheeling, Ill., Nov. 17, 2021. (AP Photo / Nam Y. Huh, File)

As of Tuesday, just over 17% of children ages 5 to 11 were fully vaccinated, more than two months after shots for the age group became available.

Jason DeSanto, senior lecturer at Northwestern University School of Law, picks apart President Barack Obama's sixth State of the Union address. What were the areas of focus? What are the implications for the year ahead?

The Memory Archives aims to preserve the stories of Holocaust survivors in the Chicagoland area. The joint project between Northwestern and University of Hamburg students premieres Thursday night.

Joel Weisman and his panel of journalists discuss the ramifications of the Northwestern football team’s effort to unionize. Watch the web extra video.

A National Labor Relations Board hearing is underway to determine whether or not Northwestern University's football team can form a union. Eddie Arruza has the latest developments from today's hearing.

Is too much sitting linked to disabilities later in life? We chat with Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine professor Dorothy Dunlop, who is researching the issue. Read the full study.

We chat with Dean Everette Dennis about Northwestern University’s Qatar campus, and the communications hub in Doha that is forging a new path for journalists in the Middle East. Read an interview.

We break down President Obama’s State of the Union address with Northwestern Law Senior Lecturer Jason DeSanto. Watch the address.

Researchers in the fight against Alzheimer’s may have found a way to detect the disease early on. They discovered small toxins related to Alzheimer’s, which builds up in the brain, attacking the brain’s memory centers. Collaborators  are trying to discover a way to protect the brain from these toxins, or even better, prevent them from building up in the first place. Dr. William Klein, an Alzheimer’s disease researcher at Northwestern University, joins us with details. Read facts and figures about Alzheimer's disease and watch a video.

Do you find medication instructions confusing? We talk with a Northwestern professor on a quest to make prescription labels clearer and more consistent so patients will get the most out of their medication.

MOOC poster; image credit: Mathieu Plourde

Northwestern University launches its first Massive Online Training Course, or MOOC. Professor Owen Youngman's course -- Understanding Media by Understanding Google -- kicks off on Sept. 16. He joins us to talk about the MOOC, and about this controversial trend in higher education.

How Water Defined 19th Century Cities

As Chicago debates whether nonprofits should be allowed free water, we discuss the origins of the city's water system. Northwestern University's Carl Smith joins us with stories from his latest book, City Water, City Life.

Former Duke standout and assistant coach Chris Collins returns home to the Chicago area to revitalize the Northwestern men's basketball team. In his first head coaching job, Collins aims to turn the Wildcats into perennial Big Ten contenders and finally get them to the NCAA Tournament. He joins us.

A new documentary takes you deep inside India's clean water crisis through the eyes of Northwestern University students struggling to figure out how they can help – or whether they can at all. It premieres on WTTW11 at 9:00 pm. We get a preview.