It’s the middle of the week and snowy. Bundle up with these stories from WTTW News.
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(WTTW News)
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The Citizens Utility Board, a consumer advocacy group, is sounding the alarm on data centers’ growing demand on the electrical grid, saying Illinois consumers can expect higher electric bills.
There are more than 4,000 data centers across the U.S., with another 3,000 planned or under construction, according to Axios.
In Aurora, some residents have already seen increased electric bills. In September, the city passed a 180-day moratorium on data center development amid concerns around environmental impact.
To help mitigate cost increases, ComEd recently signed transmission security agreements with several large-scale data centers.
And last week, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act aimed at bolstering Illinois’ power grids. The goal is to improve energy delivery, storage and production.
What are data centers?Simply put, data centers are large facilities that house servers dedicated to a wide array of services. A vast majority of data centers are used for storage and cloud computing.
Why are people concerned?There are concerns across the U.S. around the environmental impact of data centers since they require a significant amount of energy.
According to a report from Rhodium Group, a research provider, the increase in carbon emissions in the U.S. in 2025 is in part due to the demand placed on the electrical grid by large-scale data centers.
Additionally, the Citizens Utility Board found there has been a link between data centers and rising electric bills.
Sarah Moskowitz, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, said “phantom data centers” are one of the reasons behind price increases.
Phantom data centers are projects that are proposed but never materialize. Developers will apply for a certain amount of energy from a company like ComEd that the new data center is expected to need. But when the center isn’t built, ComEd has now ordered too much energy with no one to use it. That cost can then be passed on to consumers, Moskowitz said.
Existing data centers can also drive up consumers’ energy bills because when a center uses less energy than it ordered, the cost is typically spread to consumers.
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Volunteers for Pushing Envelopes Chicago meet every Monday to processing mail from the network of 600 incarcerated people across Illinois. (Blair Paddock / WTTW News)
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Every Monday, volunteers with Pushing Envelopes Chicago gather in the basement of Second Unitarian Church of Chicago to reply to letters from a network of 600 incarcerated people across Illinois prisons.
The organization’s P.O. Box contains a myriad of correspondence: thank you cards with a Mickey Mouse in a top hat, letters detailing horrific incidents in prison and applications from prospective pen pals, asking to be linked to a correspondent outside.
“They write the good, the bad; they write when they’re in an emergency, when they really feel like they need support,” said Io Brooks, a volunteer with the organization. “You see the Pushing Envelopes community in real time with all these letters.”
Since 2013, the prison abolition collective has processed mail from largely LGBTQ people incarcerated in Illinois. Volunteers respond with the collective’s quarterly newsletter, which includes stories and comics written by others incarcerated, legal education and re-entry resources. They’ll send holiday and birthday cards to members. They also match people on the inside and out to be pen pals.
How those materials are delivered has recently changed.
Now, incarcerated Illinoisans will not be able to possess the original, physical copy of the mail they receive from the organization — or anyone from the outside.
Some backstory:
Last week, a state legislative oversight committee permitted the Illinois Department of Corrections to formally adopt a permanent rule to scan most physical mail sent to incarcerated people and distribute it digitally on an individual’s tablet. That does not include privileged material, such as legal mail.
The ruling comes after AFSCME Council 31, the union that represents most correctional workers in the state, and Republican lawmakers, argued that scanning mail is necessary to prevent contraband from entering facilities. It’s unclear how many drugs enter IDOC facilities through the mail, according to data obtained by WTTW News in February.
Critics of the change, like Pushing Envelopes, say the loss of physical mail is devastating. It’s more meaningful to hold the letter sent from a family than to just read it on the tablet.
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(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
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Chicago Public Schools students will return to their classrooms to kick off the 2026-27 academic year on Aug. 24, according to the district’s newly proposed annual calendar.
The Board of Education is set to vote this month on the calendar proposals, which include 176 student attendance days for both the 2026-27 and 2027-28 academic years.
With the current academic year set to end June 4, 2026, students would have a slightly extended break before they return to school this coming fall.
More context:
According to CPS, the proposals were developed with “extensive input from school staff, parents, students, labor partners and community members.”
For the 2026-27 academic year, school will be closed from Dec. 21 through Jan. 1, 2027, for winter vacation, and from March 22 through March 26 for spring vacation. Students would also get a week off for Thanksgiving and no classes will be held Nov. 3 in observance of the upcoming elections.
High school graduation ceremonies would begin as early as May 28, 2027, while elementary graduation ceremonies would be held no sooner than June 7, 2027.
The 2027-28 academic year is scheduled to begin Aug. 23, 2027, and run until June 9, 2028.
The board is expected to discuss these proposals at its agenda review committee meeting Wednesday before voting to approve them at their regular meeting later this month.
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Back in the Day: Jan. 14, 2016 - City Releases Footage of Police Killing 17-Year-Old Cedrick Chatman
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Ten years ago today, a federal judge ruled to release videos that were originally held under protective order by the city depicting the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black teenager — 17-year-old Cedrick Chatman — by a white Chicago police officer on Jan., 7 2013. While the officers involved in the stop were initially cleared by the Independent Police Review Authority, the city had refused to release the videos that captured the incident. The raw footage, which came from multiple traffic and blue light cameras, showed Chatman fleeing from police before the shooting. Months following the video release, Chatman's family settled with the city of Chicago in a wrongful death lawsuit
in June 2016 and in December 2016 the city paid the family $3 million. Watch a "Chicago Tonight" segment on the video release that aired a decade ago on Jan. 14, 2016.
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Chicago-Area Live Music Recommendations for Jan. 14-20
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Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.
Thursday, Jan. 15:
Richard Lloyd Group, National Photo Committee at Hideout. Tickets.
The Television guitarist enlists a rising Chicago punk band as openers for this Tomorrow Never Knows Festival show.
Tobacco City, Lawrence Peters Outfit at SPACE. Tickets.
Golden harmonies, down-on-your-luck lyrics and neon-lit twang in Evanston.
Friday, Jan. 16:
Smushie, Fast Preacher at Gman Tavern. Tickets.
Love raucous and infectious ‘70s-inspired rock music? Head to Wrigleyville on Friday. Part of TNK Fest.
Adeline Hotel, Dusk, Wishbone at Hideout. Tickets.
Head to Bucktown for a stacked bill of stellar songwriters. Part of TNK Fest.
Rebirth Brass Brand at SPACE. Tickets.
The New Orleans legends play two shows in the Chicago area. The first is in Evanston.
Saturday, Jan. 17:
DIIV, Accessory, This House Is Creaking at Lincoln Hall. Tickets.
Post-punk vets get assists from two stellar Chicago bands.
Rebirth Brass Band at Thalia Hall. Tickets.
The New Orleans legends play two shows in the Chicago area. The second is in Pilsen.
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How do you feel about the Bears' 2025-2026 season so far?
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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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