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This Monday, WTTW News has stories on a hiring scandal at a CPS high school, a new initiative to help local pollinators and more.
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Lane Technical College Prep High School in Chicago is pictured on June 16, 2025. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News) |
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How did a former Chicago police officer fired for sexual misconduct involving a minor and placed on a do-not-hire list end up working for Chicago Public Schools?
For Darius Alexander, now 41, persistence paid off after he was hired as a security guard following dozens of applications for employment with the district over seven years, according to records obtained by WTTW News.
Alexander’s hiring raises questions about whether any of his described work history clouding his past behavior while a police officer should have set off warning flags for CPS administrators — or whether improved interagency coordination between the school system and the city about do-not-hire lists might have prevented the former officer from being hired for a job where he had direct interaction with high schoolers.
Alexander was hired by the Chicago Police Department as an officer in 2006. He was eventually terminated due to his involvement in a 2012 case where he reportedly asked for sexual favors from a 17-year-old Crystal Lake girl after her friends were arrested and her mother’s car was impounded.
Following his ouster in 2019, Alexander was placed on the city’s do-not-hire list. Despite his firing and that designation, Alexander was offered a permanent position at Lane Technical High School in 2021, records show.
It wasn’t until WTTW News began investigating Alexander’s background that school officials took a deeper look into his past, eventually resulting in his exit.
The school district scheduled a discharge hearing for Alexander in 2024 but he quit before the district reached a decision, and a do-not-hire designation was placed in his file for falsifying multiple employment records and concealing his former employment with CPD, records show.
“Alexander’s conduct came to the Board’s attention because of a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request,” according to files related to the investigation. That records request was sent by WTTW News. His CPS suspension was first reported by WTTW News in 2023. |
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Moths are often called the forgotten pollinators. Here’s a hummingbird clearwing moth visiting wild bergamot (bee balm). (National Park Service, Shenandoah National Park / Flickr Creative Commons) |
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Morton Arboretum has gotten into the matchmaking business.
Thanks to a recent update to the arboretum’s website, gardeners will find it easier to broker a love connection between plants and pollinators. The descriptions for nearly 300 plants have been expanded to include a “pollinator and wildlife” section that provides a deeper dive into which flowers benefit what pollinators, and vice versa. Where previously descriptions only vaguely mentioned whether a plant might be “beneficial to pollinators,” they now will reference, say, the particular species of moth that uses a plant as a larval host.
“We wanted to drill down and get a little bit more detailed,” said horticulturalist Sharon Yiesla, plant knowledge specialist in the arboretum’s Plant Clinic.
It’s an addition the arboretum has been thinking about for more than a decade, but the timing was ripe to finally take action, Yiesla said, as more and more people have become interested in native plants, an interest that for many is now extending to pollinators.
How to use it:
To access the arboretum’s “pollinator and wildlife” information, simply enter a plant’s name in the website’s search box. If that plant has a known relationship with pollinators, it will show up in the “more information” section. Yiesla noted that updating the website is an ongoing process, with more plant profiles continually being expanded to include the pollinators they benefit from or serve.
For gardeners looking to maximize their landscape’s pollinator potential, Yiesla’s best advice is to mix things up: plant flowers in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes, and pay attention to bloom seasons, aiming to have something flowering from April into October. |
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(Wavebreakmedia / iStock) |
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By the mid-20th century, Meigs Field, which was located along the lakefront near Soldier Field and the Adler Planetarium, was the busiest single-runway airport in the country. It was primarily used by politicians and business elites to jet in and out of downtown. But Mayor Richard M. Daley had other plans for the land. The man-made peninsula that Meigs Field sat on was owned by the Chicago Park District.
And for years, some Chicagoans, Daley included, argued the lakefront land should instead be used as a park, open to all residents. But a series of political deals and pushback from aviation and business advocates kept the airport open. So Daley hatched a plan.
By cover of night in March 2003, the mayor’s demolition crew arrived at the airport and carved giant Xs into the runway, rendering it unusable. And all this was done without telling the City Council, the state or the Federal Aviation Administration.
The surprise move left several planes stranded.
Daley defended the stunt as a necessary post-9/11 security measure to prevent planes from flying near downtown Chicago. But critics and pundits say the mayor was merely dodging a prolonged and expensive legal battle with various groups fighting to keep the airport open.
No matter the purpose of the plot, Chicago had to pay the FAA a $33,000 fine and an additional $1 million to repay grant funding. Daley’s midnight caper became a textbook example of mayoral clout, and Meigs Field became Northerly Island Park — home to an outdoor concert venue and an urban nature sanctuary. |
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Back in the Day: June 23, 2010 - Lightning Strikes Twice |
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According to the National Weather Service, 15 years ago today — on June 23, 2010 — Chicago experienced a “Severe Weather Event.” Tornadoes were reported in the area, strong winds and potential floods threatened and temperatures were muggy in the upper 80s. As the storm raged above the city skyline, Chicago Tribune photographer Chris Sweda was on assignment for the paper to document the tempest. He trekked up to the top floor of the John Hancock building and snapped a miracle shot: two bolts of lightning simultaneously hitting the spires of both the Willis Tower and the new Trump Tower. It’s an incredible photograph that captured the imagination of Chicagoans. NPR published a story about the snap, writing, “As Sweda's photo was zapped around the world, many people wondered if it had been some kind of computer-concocted spectacle. The Tribune convincingly explained that it was truly the providence of putting a gifted photographer in the right place at the right time.” You can see the image for yourself here. |
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This Week’s Civic Events and Meetings |
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Every Monday, WTTW News highlights the best ways to get involved with local government.
City Club of Chicago
On Monday at noon, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates sits down for an interview with City Club of Chicago CEO Dan Gibbs. Tickets and details here.
Show Up Chicago
A panel discussion and civically minded happy hour party will happen at the Hideout Monday night. "Off the Rails: How can we fix Chicago mass transit?" will feature state Rep. (and former mayoral candidate) Kam Buckner and Block Club Chicago transit reporter Manny Ramos. Tickets and details here.
City Club of Chicago
Mariyana Spyropoul, clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, will be interviewed at a City Club event at noon Thursday, June 26. Tickets and details here.
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What’s your favorite public pool in Chicago? Tell us why. |
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
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5:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
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Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more. |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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