It’s Thursday. Take a minute to read the latest headlines about your city from WTTW News. In today’s newsletter: articles on schools, policing, pests and more.
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CPS CEO Macquline King, left, and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates are pictured in file photos (WTTW News)
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With a Thursday vote looming on the next Chicago Public Schools budget, a revised proposal from the district looks to avoid furloughs to close its $732 million deficit, but still leaves 1,601 layoffs on the table — including 759 teachers.
After calling the first proposal “dead on arrival,” Chicago Teachers Union president Stacy Davis Gates on Tuesday acknowledged progress, but still said the amendments come up short.
CPS officials are calling for a vote on the budget at Thursday’s board meeting, well in advance of the Aug. 29 deadline set by state law. But a number of factors — including pushback from the union — are complicating that timeline.
The revised proposal from the district released earlier Tuesday avoids furloughs by increasing the estimated TIF surplus revenue by $85 million, a maneuver that is possible because the city does not declare its annual TIF surplus until later in the year. Last year’s record TIF surplus sent over $500 million to the schools.
Where CTU and CPS stand:
CPS CEO Macquline King on why changes to the budget were necessary:
“We removed furlough days, and we increased the TIF assumption to $285 million from $280 million. I felt that was important because we entered into the two-week hearing period of the initial proposed budget. But after hearing from the community about the layoffs and the instability and the potential of the budget not passing. We decided that it was best to move forward with removing the furlough days in order to pass the budget.”
Davis Gates and CTU are seeking state funds to close the budget gap.
“The governor and the General Assembly have to get real. If you can opine about calling a special session for the Chicago Bears, certainly you can call a special session when the largest school district in the state of Illinois is telling you they’re having difficulty reaching payroll because you haven’t given them the money that they’re legally required to have.”
King on why the board needs to pass a budget by the end of July:
“This year the situation is a little different. The cash flow for the district is different. In order for CPS to make payroll, we have to secure a short-term loan, and that application is due. We’re expected to close Sept. 2 in order for a payroll on Sept. 4.
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(Nigel Harris / iStock)
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Chicago has a rat problem and it isn't likely to improve if the city doesn't come up with a new playbook, according to a just-released analysis by the city's watchdog.
By relying almost exclusively on complaints logged with 311 to determine where abatement is needed, Chicago's Bureau of Rat Control — under the Department of Streets and Sanitation — is playing defense rather than offense, the report concluded.
“This audit shows the need for a unified strategy, coordinated across city departments, to cut rats off from the resources that let them thrive and multiply,” said David Glockner, Inspector General for the city of Chicago. "Without a change in tactics, it will be nearly impossible to make lasting progress.”
The report also criticized the city's heavy reliance on rat poison — known as rodenticide — as opposed to preventative tactics considered best practice within pest management.
“When the city responds to successive complaints without removing rats’ food and shelter through sanitation and habitat modification, it engages in ‘rat harvesting’: eliminating one generation of rats only to make way for another,” the report states.
These rodenticides often wind up having dire consequences for other wildlife, particularly raptors that eat rats, leading wildlife advocates to urge the city to discontinue the poison's use and consider alternatives such as rat birth control.
More context:
The audit focused on a period from July 2023 through July 2024. The objective was to determine whether Chicago's approach to addressing rat infestations aligned with the principles of Integrated Pest Management, a framework endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
In general, the audit found that Streets and Sanitation's rodent control program was complaint-based, not integrated with other City services, and that its primary goal was to poison rats.
The report concluded that Streets and Sanitation should undertake proactive surveying; establish meaningful thresholds for intervention; prioritize non-toxic methods of rat control such as sanitation and habitat modification; and evaluate outcomes of abatement efforts.
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A Chicago Police Department vehicle is parked on Clark Street near Daley Plaza on June 15, 2026. (Victor Hilitski / WTTW News)
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A federal judge expanded the lawsuit accusing the Chicago Police Department of targeting Black and Latino drivers with a massive campaign of traffic stops to include all Black and Latino Chicagoans who have been pulled over in the past five years — or could be in the future, court records show.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which sued the city three years ago on behalf of five Black and Latino Chicagoans who had been repeatedly stopped while driving, “put forth a substantial amount of evidence demonstrating that CPD disproportionately stops Black and Latino drivers relative to white drivers,” U.S. District Court Judge Mary Rowland ruled.
There is also ample evidence that suggests “Black and Latino drivers’ cars are searched at disproportionately high rates relative to white drivers, despite the evidence that shows that searches of Black and Latino drivers are less likely to result in a finding of contraband,” Rowland concluded, finding that CPD’s traffic stops targeted an “undoubtedly massive” number of Chicagoans since June 26, 2021.
Chicago taxpayers have already paid $3.4 million to defend the lawsuit that accuses the CPD of making more than 1.5 million traffic stops between 2016 and 2023 based on dubious evidence of minor violations that took direct aim at Black and Latino Chicagoans but spared White Chicagoans, according to records obtained by WTTW News through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Lawyers for the city acknowledged that officers stop and search Black and Latino drivers at disproportionate rates but argued that those stops do not violate the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution or state law, Rowland wrote.
A trial will determine whether CPD’s “mass traffic stop program” illegally discriminates on the basis of race, Rowland wrote.
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More From WTTW News:
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While Mayor Brandon Johnson has yet to announce if he’s running for a second term, he still has the backing of one of his most prominent supporters: Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union.
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Back in the Day: July 30, 2021 - Cubs Trade Kris Bryant and Javy Baez
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When the Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2016, they did so with an infield core of first baseman Anthony Rizzo, second baseman Javy Baez and third baseman Kris Bryant. Five years later, however, the team failed to reach the same heights as their curse-breaking championship season, so President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer decided to make some changes. In late July, he traded Rizzo to the Yankees and just a day later, on this date five years ago, he dealt Baez to the Mets and sent Bryant to the Giants. The Baez trade included a package of prospects that featured outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, now the cornerstone of the Cubs' offense and having an MVP-caliber season.
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This Week’s Arts and Culture Events
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Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.
This is the annual summer weekend where Lollapalooza, the massive music festival, takes over Grant Park. If dealing with throngs of young music fans and a general admission four-day pass that costs $439 aren’t on your list this week, don’t fret because there are tons of other, much more relaxed arts and culture events happening this week. From a Shakespeare production in Rogers Park to a well-curated car-themed film series, here’s what’s on offer.
Museum: Unheard Voices of Care: Filipino Nurses in America — International Museum of Surgical Science
Throughout the summer, Gold Coast’s International Museum of Surgical Science has displayed an exhibit highlighting the history of Filipino nurses in America. It highlights the “tangled history of colonialism, misogyny and racism powering this unique migration story” with “hospital uniforms, medical equipment, awards, immigration documentation, photographs and personal mementos” and more. The closing reception is Sunday, Aug. 2 from 1 to 3 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but you are encouraged to RSVP here.
Theater: Midsommar Flight’s “As You Like It” — Touhy Park
One of Chicago’s best-reviewed theater shows is Midsommar Flight’s take on Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” For instance, the Chicago Reader raved of the Beth Wolf-directed production with, “anyone who toddles over to see this free production during this year’s run will be lucky.” This summer, the company has been staging performances across local parks and this weekend, they end their season at Rogers Park’s Touhy Park. This event is free to all, but it’s recommended that you reserve your spot for one of three shows happening July 31, Aug. 1 and Aug. 2.
Film: “Vroom, Screech” — Gene Siskel Film Center
From the dawn of cinema, car chases have been a staple of film. You’ve seen them in silent Buster Keaton movies to the more modern version of the trope with 1968’s “Bullitt.” If you’re a fan, head to the Gene Siskel Film Center for “Vroom, Screech,” a well-curated series of films with the best chase scenes, cars, and car-centric storylines. It opens Friday with a screening of “Bullitt” and runs until Aug. 27. For a list of movies and showtimes, click here.
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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