|
Happy Friday, Chicago. WTTW News has the latest stories on education, local landmarks and what’s going on with the weather. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
(WTTW News) |
|
Federal education authorities have threatened to withhold grant money from Chicago Public Schools unless the district agrees to do away with its Black Student Success Plan and revise policies regarding transgender students.
Months after launching an investigation into that CPS plan, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights this week sent a letter to Chicago Board of Education President Sean Harden informing him they will not certify the district’s Magnet Schools Assistance Program grant or other federal funding unless those changes are made.
“The Black Students Success Plan, however, is designed for and exclusive to black students and black educators,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for Civil Rights, wrote in the letter. “It is not, for instance, available to white or Asian American students and educators. This is textbook racial discrimination, and no justification proffered by CPS can overcome the patent illegality of its racially exclusionary plan.”
The district’s Black Student Success Plan aims to bring in more Black teachers, reduce suspensions against Black students, promote teaching on Black culture, increase belonging and close opportunity gaps. It provides a five-year roadmap to improve the outcomes of Black students, who make up a third of the district’s population.
Additionally, Trainor’s letter claims CPS guidelines regarding the “Support of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students,” are “facially discriminatory.” He demanded CPS reverse course and only allow students to participate in sports or access “intimate facilities” like locker rooms based on their biological sex at birth, rather than their gender identity.
What’s happening in area colleges?
The U.S. Department of Education is cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to universities serving predominantly students of color — known as minority-serving institutions, or MSIs. The move is part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on diversity initiatives.
The funding cuts could impact local Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), such as the University of Illinois Chicago and North Park University. These schools have that federal designation from having at least 25% or more Hispanic full-time enrollment. Illinois has 39 HSIs, the second-highest number after California.
Predominantly Black institutions (PBIs). Illinois has seven predominantly Black colleges (PBIs), like Chicago State University, the second-highest concentration after Georgia.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Learn about sponsorship opportunities. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
From left: Pui Tak Center, the National Public Housing Museum and mural restoration for Second Presbyterian Church. (Courtesy of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates / Ryan Barayuga / John Cramer) |
|
Nine preservation projects in Illinois, including three in Chicago, are being recognized as part of an annual awards program highlighting “exceptional preservation efforts,” the preservation nonprofit Landmarks Illinois announced Wednesday.
The Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards recognized preservation projects this year with awards for environmental sustainability, stewardship, adaptive reuse, cultural heritage conservation and more.
The awardees in Chicago are the National Public Housing Museum; Chinatown’s Pui Tak Center and the building’s owner, Chinese Christian Union Church; and the volunteer group Friends of Historic Second Church working to preserve the South Loop’s Second Presbyterian Church.
The National Public Housing Museum is receiving an award for adaptive reuse, along with the Richard H. Driehaus legacy award. The museum, which opened in April, uses the last remaining building of the Jane Addams Homes, a historic site of public housing on the Near West Side.
Pui Tak Center and the building’s owner, Chinese Christian Union Church, are receiving the award for cultural heritage conservation. The church led numerous large-scale restoration projects for the Chinatown gathering space, including a recent $1 million project to repair masonry, terra cotta and the building’s unique canopy, according to a Landmarks Illinois news release.
The volunteer group Friends of Historic Second Church is receiving the award for stewardship for its efforts to preserve Second Presbyterian Church in the South Loop. They helped raise $4 million for preservation projects and achieved National Historic Landmark status for the church interior.
Read more about the winning projects here.
This year’s winners will be honored at a public awards ceremony Nov. 7 at Theater on the Lake in Chicago. Winners also receive a $1,000 prize.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
(Pixabay) |
|
As Chicagoans continue to enjoy a string of 80-degree days in mid-September, a new report warns of the dangers of lingering summer heat. According to Climate Central, summer temperatures are extending deeper into fall in more than 90% of major U.S. cities.
The analysis looked at weather station data from 246 cities, comparing temperatures from 1970 to 2024. In Chicago, summer temperatures are stretching six days later into fall, the analysis showed. That’s slightly less than the average of 10 days. Miami topped the list, with summer temperatures extending six weeks longer.
While Chicagoans might appreciate the extra days of warmth, the report's authors outlined a number of concerns related to lingering heat:
-
Health risks for vulnerable populations, as well as for people working outdoors.
-
Higher energy demand for air conditioning, which both increases costs and increases emissions.
-
Later frost may lengthen the growing season for some crops, but it could also require more water resources. And it will allow plants such as ragweed to persist longer, adding to the misery of allergy season.
-
Wildfire season could be prolonged, affecting air quality as smoke spreads.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Learn about sponsorship opportunities. |
|
|
|
Back in the Day: September 19, 2010 - Would-Be Wrigley Field Bomber Arrested
|
|
On Sept. 18, 2010, Sami Samir Hassoun, a then-22-year-old Chicago resident from Lebanon, placed a backpack that he thought held a bomb inside a trash can near Wrigley Field by Clark and Eddy. According to a later criminal complaint, he wanted to spark a "revolution" in Chicago, "kill the nightlife, and cause "embarrassment on the city of Chicago" that would lead Mayor Daley to resign." He chose Wrigley Field because a Dave Matthews Band concert was happening and the damage from a bomb would cause massive casualties. It turns out, the device was a fake, given to him by undercover FBI officials who had met with him multiple times throughout the summer. Later that night, after midnight on Sept. 19—15 years ago today—FBI officials, who had been trailing him all night, arrested him. Hassoun eventually received 23 years in prison for the would-be bombing. “Hassoun was an example of the so-called lone offender,” said an FBI agent. “He had no ties to organized terror groups, but he was clearly a terrorist—and potentially an extreme danger to the public. We were fortunate to have stopped him.” |
 |
|
|
|
|
The 2025 Chicago Festival Guide |
|
Every Friday, WTTW News highlights notable events, fairs, markets and neighborhood gatherings to check out.
Sept. 18-20: Englewood Jazz Festival | Map
Performers include Renee Baker's Modern Black Ensemble, and Alexander McLean Project, featuring Dee Alexander and John McLean.
Sept. 18-Nov. 2: Jack’s Pumpkin Pop-Up (West Town) | Map
Close to Salt Shed is an actually fun Halloween-and-fall-themed pop-up.
Sept. 19-21: Old Town Oktoberfest || Map
Want to drink a German beer in a Chicago neighborhood? Try this. =
Sept. 20: Oktoberfest (Highland Park) | Map
Want to drink a German beer in a Chicago suburb? Try this.
Sept. 20-21: Jerk, Seafood & Vegan Festival (West Loop) | Map
Here’s an afternoon of music and delicious food.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where's the best place to get an Italian beef in Chicago? Tell us how you order one.
|
|
|
|
Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. Here's what you had to say:
“In Chicago- that’s the key phrase. Al’s Beef on Taylor. Dipped, sweet & hot. If it’s Chicagoland, it’d be Johnnie’s.” — Michael B.
"If only someone put together an index of the best Chicagoland beefs.. oh wait, I did that for you!" — @DaaRougarou (Read the full index.)
“Patio Beef in Edgewater,” Nick Blumberg, correspondent for WTTW News.
“Bob O’s on Irving Park” — Diana D.
"Fluky's on Touhy. Sweet peppers, dipped." — @stealthbirder.bsky.social
“Fred & Jacks on the South Side. 7600 S. Yale Ave. (at Vincennes)” — Ava Martin, assignment manager for “Chicago Tonight.”
“Mr. Beef on Orleans w/sweet peppers or Johnnie’s Beef (no peppers)” — Bob S. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
5:30 PM | 7:00 PM |
|
|
|
|
Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more. |
|
Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
|
|
|
|
