It’s warming up but don’t get too comfortable. It’ll be even colder soon enough.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chicago's new hybrid Board of Education meets for the first time at the Chicago Public Schools Loop headquarters on Jan. 15, 2025. (WTTW News)
|
Wednesday was a historic day in Chicago as the first-ever elected members of the Board of Education were officially sworn in, marking the first step away from mayoral control and toward a fully-elected body by 2027.
At Chicago Public Schools right now, no one—the Chicago Teachers Union or CPS—agrees on much of anything, except a desire to avoid deep cuts and layoffs. Because of that deadlock and a lack of funds, the nation’s fourth largest school district is mired in crisis at a moment of profound change. It will be up to the new 21-member board to steer the district out of the morass. For the first time in Chicago history, that board will include Chicagoans elected to oversee the education of more than 325,000 Chicago children.
When that board takes office Wednesday, it will end nearly 30 years of complete mayoral control that began in 1995 under former Mayor Richard M. Daley. Before that, community members would nominate school board members, with the mayor picking his favorites.
While the board now has its first-ever elected members, it will be members appointed by Johnson who hold the board’s top leadership positions.
The mayor previously tapped Sean Harden to serve as board president. And in the first sign of the new era for the board, appointed member Olga Bautista defeated elected member Jessica Biggs in a 12-7 vote to become the board’s new vice president.
Here's what they'll have to deal with:
Contract negotiations between CPS and CTU have become bogged down, with district officials and union leaders deeply divided over how to address the systemic issues facing Chicago’s students.
To pick outgoing CPS CEO Pedro Martinez's replacement while continuing to work with him.
Bracing for President-elect Donald Trump to take office. He has promised to immediately launch the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
(Wirestock / Stock)
|
The Regional Transportation Authority is pitching what it calls a “historic restructuring” that would grant the agency authority to more aggressively coordinate fare policy, service standards and capital projects among CTA, Metra and Pace — reforms the RTA said could create both cost savings and a vastly improved rider experience.
The proposal comes as the Chicago region’s transit agencies are facing down an estimated $750 million fiscal cliff next year when COVID-19 relief money runs out — and amid conversations in Springfield about tying increased transit funding to major changes to the existing public transit structure. Some lawmakers have floated merging RTA, CTA, Metra and Pace into a single agency, coupled with an additional $1.5 billion in annual funding.
The transit agencies have cheered the proposed funding boost, noting that Illinois invests far less in transit than other states — but have thrown cold water on the idea of a merger, arguing it won’t create the efficiencies or service improvements backers hope.
New CTA Interim President:
Outgoing Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter capped his nearly 10-year run leading the massive agency at a board meeting Wednesday, saying he’d be “forever grateful for this opportunity to serve our customers (and) the people of the city of Chicago.”
At Wednesday’s board meeting, directors appointed Carter’s chief of staff of more than six years, Nora Leerhsen, to serve as acting president of the CTA. Leerhsen, who has been with the agency for more than a decade, will be paid during her tenure based on the annual salary of $278,703.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Dead and dying geese in Plainfield, December 2024. (Provided by Chicago Bird Collisions Monitors)
|
Winter is normally a quiet time for Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, a lull between fall and spring migration seasons, when volunteers receive fewer calls for rescues. Not this year. In recent weeks, monitors have been fielding 10 to 20 calls per day from people reporting wild birds that seem to be suffering from the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza. The latest outbreak of bird flu, which started in 2022, has affected approximately 11,000 wild birds nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control. While that’s a tiny fraction of the 130 million detections in poultry flocks, monitors say the situation among wild birds this winter seems more prolonged and
wide-ranging than anything they've witnessed in the past.
Adding to the worry, Lincoln Park Zoo announced that a flamingo and harbor seal recently died from bird flu. The source of exposure is unknown, but zoo officials said contact with infected waterfowl was almost certainly the cause.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Back in the Day: January 16, 1945 - General Clark Hotel Fire
|
On this day 80 years ago January 16, 1945, one of the worst hotel fires in Chicago history occurred at the General Clark Hotel at 217 N. Clark St. The blaze enveloped the seven-story site killing 14 people and injuring several more. While then-Fire Marshall Michael J. Corrigan described it as the worst fire in the loop district in 25 years, the following would bring an even more deadly inferno to a downtown hotel when the LaSalle Building caught fire and killed 61. In a 1946 piece for the Atlantic,
Maurice Webster, a member of the Investigating Jury appointed by the Coroner of Cook County to investigate both fires, found a potential solution. "In my opinion, and in the opinion of several other members of the investigating juries, all of the fourteen lives lost in the General Clark Hotel fire could have been saved by the expenditure of about $2000 for self-closing doors into corridors and by substituting plain glass for wire glass in the skylights," he wrote.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Learn more about advertising & sponsorship with WTTW.
|
|
|
Arts and Culture Events Recommended by Marc Vitali
|
Every Thursday, WTTW News arts correspondent highlights the must-see happenings in arts and culture.
Chicago’s been invaded by puppet people, and resistance is futile. If you wish to experience theatrical wonder – and who doesn’t? – surrender to these inventive invaders. The 7th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival runs Jan. 15–26 with supernatural stories, crazy comedies and heavy dramas. Here are picks for Week One of the fest, with some strings attached.
“Dracula: Lucy’s Dream” – Studebaker Theatre
Spectacle and human-size puppets star in this gothic tale about a victim of Count Dracula. The company Plexus Polaire is a collaboration between Norwegian and French artists. Last year they staged a splendid “Moby Dick.” Jan. 15-19
“The House by the Lake” – Museum of Contemporary Art
Israeli puppeteer Yael Rasooly has a knack for visual storytelling, and this year she tells the tale of three sisters whose bodies are taken over by pieces of broken dolls. This one looks like marvelous fun with a serious edge. Jan. 17–19
“Anywhere” – Chopin Theatre
A marionette actually made of ice gradually melts in a poetic journey based on the myth of Oedipus. A collaboration between the Festival and Théâtre de l’Entrouvert, a French company that explores human connection. Jan. 16–19
“Made in Macau” – Links Hall
Based in Macau, the Rolling Puppet Alternative Theater celebrates Chinese culture through traditional and modern puppet styles. Here they explore the diverse heritage of Macau, a blend of Portuguese and Chinese influences. Jan. 16–19
“The Cabinet” – Biograph Theater
This beloved show staged by Cabinet of Curiosity tells the story of Dr. Caligari, who uses a sleepwalking slave to commit murder. Based on the German Expressionist film, “The Cabinet” returns to Chicago after 15 years. Jan. 16–19
TIP: Check the venues. The festival happens in many places across the city (although its hub is in the Fine Arts Building). Also, check to see if shows are age appropriate. It’s all on their handy website: chicagopuppetfest.org/
|
|
|
|
|
|
What was your most memorable snow experience in Chicago? Tell us when, where you were and what
happened.
|
|
|
Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
|
|
|
|
|
|
5:30 PM | 10:00 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
|
|
|
|
|
