Annals of Decriminalization
Drug use among teens, by race and drug of choice; the continued rise of prescription opiate abuse; no further insight into Emanuel’s thoughts on decriminalization; and more.
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'Perry v. New Hampshire': Eyewitness Testimony on Trial
A Supreme Court case raises fascinating, eerie questions about the reliability of eyewitness testimony and how courts should deal with it. But the answers probably won’t be as engaging.
Chicago Budget: Mayor Emanuel Gets Pushback, and Gives
After criticism from the public and a healthy number of aldermen, the mayor cuts back on some of his cutbacks and spreads the sticker-fee pain a bit.
How Do You Solve the Bill Cellini Problem?
The quiet, unelected power broker has long presented a dilemma for journalists and voters alike. Reining them in requires a lot of unsexy concentration from writers, readers, and legislators.
CTU President Karen Lewis: Race, Class at Center of Education Debate
In part two of my conversation with the Chicago Teachers Union president, she shares about her time at Dartmouth College, why she left the classroom for the CTU job, her thoughts on the poverty gap, and more…
The Expansion of Chicagoland and Midwestern Poverty
A Brookings study looks at changes in concentrated poverty during the last decade: the Midwest got hit the hardest, and across the country the gains of the 1990s have vanished.
The Chicago Marijuana Debate Continues
The mayor and Joe Moreno weigh in on pot decriminalization and/or legalization; emergency visits from weed, inhalants, and pharmaceuticals; Portugal’s approach to decriminalization; and more.
Chicago Homeless News: Old and New
As winter prepares to descend on Chicago, there’s pushback against city cuts to services for the homeless, but the state cuts remain dramatic. Plus: Leveraging street charity, then and now.
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis on Rahm, Brizard, Arne Duncan, and the Longer School Day
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis has had some ugly squabbles with Rahm Emanuel—the longer school day battles, for starters, including his recent charge that the union is “cheating children out of an education”—and, in my opinion, she has often emerged the loser. Last week, she filed the CTU’s latest coverage of their public argument … Read more
The Top Private Schools in Chicago and the Suburbs
LESSONS LEARNED: Across metropolitan Chicago, private elementary schools offer options for students and their parents seeking an alternative to the public-school model