Betsy DeVos-founded, Republican-funded school choice group backs Vallas campaign for Chicago mayor

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/30 5:12A Nader Issa

Chicago mayoral candidate and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas received backing from prominent school choice advocates, including the Republican-funded American Federation for Children. Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file An education lobbying...

Dollars vs. decentralization: Johnson’s and Vallas’ vastly different fixes for CPS

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/29 3:04A Nader Issa

Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson (left) and Paul Vallas offer very different plans for Chicago Public Schools. Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times file photo Chicago Public Schools’ next chapter hangs on the result of the April 4 mayoral runoff...

Paul Vallas running for mayor of Chicago because ‘our house is on fire’

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/28 12:37P Fran Spielman

Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas greets the crowd during his election night party on Feb. 28, when he finished on top in the first round of voting. Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times-file Paul Vallas on Tuesday portrayed himself as the...

Vallas urges trade unions to get out the vote, accuses CTU of ‘dirty tricks’

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/27 12:47P Fran Spielman

Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas is accusing the Chicago Teachers Union of putting up bogus campaign signs linking him to a Trump slogan. Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times file photo Mayoral challenger Paul Vallas held a get-out-the-vote rally Monday with...

Illinois Democrats spending big to combat ‘extremist conservatives’ in school board races

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/25 11:09A Susie An | WBEZ

The Democratic Party of Illinois is recommending 84 school and library board candidates across around the state. It’s also sending direct mail against 74 candidates whom it calls “extremists.” M. Spencer Green / Associated Press In an...

Chicago State University faculty inch closer to a strike

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/24 1:15P Lisa Philip | WBEZ

Chicago State University Sun-Times file Faculty members at Illinois’ only predominantly Black public university could go on strike as early as April 3. University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100, representing 160 professors, lecturers,...

Brandon Johnson, Paul Vallas debate police, Kim Foxx — and ‘dismissing people’

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/22 4:52P Mitchell Armentrout

Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson (left) and Paul Vallas participate in a roundtable discussion Wednesday at WFLD Fox Chicago Studios in the Loop. Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times As Chicago’s two mayoral contenders clashed Wednesday night over...

‘Now is the time’ for new mayor, General Assembly to avoid $600M CPS deficit, Board of Ed says

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/22 3:25P Nader Issa

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez says the Illinois General Assembly must help the district avoid a nearing financial cliff. Pat Nabong/Sun-Times In an urgent plea in their last public meeting before the April 4 mayoral runoff, Chicago...

Elissa Tenny to retire as president of School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/22 6:14A David Struett

Elissa Tenny, president of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the first woman to lead SAIC in its more than 150-year history, plans to retire next year. Provided Elissa Tenny, the first female president of the School of the Art...

Mayoral rivals Brandon Johnson, Paul Vallas debate CTU, Trump, middle-class values

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/21 5:08P Fran Spielman

Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson (left) and Paul Vallas (right) listen to moderators during a mayoral runoff debate at WGN Studios on Tuesday. Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times Paul Vallas on Tuesday branded his runoff opponent Brandon Johnson...

Illinois educators try to tackle pandemic learning loss with high-impact tutoring

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/21 10:05A Susie An | WBEZ

Jessica Macias works with third graders on math for one hour, three times a week at a Park Forest school. “It is not homework help,” she says of the high-impact structured tutoring. Susie An / WBEZ After dismissal on a recent day at Mohawk...

Vacationing Lightfoot fires Jim Franczek, longtime labor negotiator, for doing Sun-Times podcast

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/20 12:26P Fran Spielman

Jim Franczek, Chicago’s chief labor negotiator, has been fired by Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Sun-Times file As the city’s longtime chief labor negotiator, attorney Jim Franczek worked for and survived four Chicago mayors: Jane Byrne, Harold...

University of Chicago graduate student workers unionize

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/17 12:01P David Roeder

University of Chicago graduate students working in teaching and research at the university have voted to unionize. Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times file Graduate students involved in teaching and research at the University of Chicago have voted...

Match Day Jittery moments as UIC medical school graduates find out where they will spend the next 6...

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/17 11:48A Stefano Esposito

Identical twins Gaia Santiago (center), 29, and Chiara Santiago open letters that reveal their residency programs during “Match Day” Friday at the University of Illinois-Chicago’s Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum. Pat Nabong/Sun-Times After four...

Chicago’s mayoral candidates have radically different approaches to fixing public schools. Here’s...

Chicago Sun-Times - Illinois Education News 3/17 10:17A Nader Issa

Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson (left) and Paul Vallas prepare for a mayoral debate at ABC7 Chicago’s studio Thursday. Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times Two candidates remain on the ballot for Chicago’s April 4 mayoral runoff election...