Chicago's NPR News Source

Lauren FitzPatrick

Staff Reporter Watchdog
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Education
More than half of Chicago school board candidates face ballot challenges
A total of 42 challenges were filed against 27 candidates, meaning some of the school board hopefuls face more than one. Challenges could focus on improperly filed paperwork or the number of signatures.
By Nader Issa , Sarah Karp , and 1 more
 
Chicago Sun-Times
Education
CTU endorses slate of candidates for Chicago’s first elected school board
Just days after the candidate filing period ended, the CTU is out with 11 endorsed candidates for 10 seats, including parents, educators, faith leaders and community organizers.
By Sarah Karp  and Lauren FitzPatrick
 
CTA’s Kimball Brown Line L station yard
CTA touts ‘Second Chance’ program for ex-offenders but few end up with permanent jobs
By Lauren FitzPatrick  and Frank Main
 
man walking bicycle on sidewalk in dusty air
Environment & Public Health
Johnson doubles down, appoints official negligent in Little Village dust storm debacle to run Buildings Department
By Brett Chase  and Lauren FitzPatrick
 
Joy Cunningham speaking with Toni Preckwinkle
Politics
Joy Virginia Cunningham declares victory in Illinois Supreme Court primary
By Sophie Sherry  and Lauren FitzPatrick
 
When Mayor Brandon Johnson took office, he pledged to take care of all of Chicago, so the disconnect in representation among his top political appointees has attracted calls from the Chicago City Council Latino Caucus and the Asian American Caucus for him to do better.
Politics
How Brandon Johnson’s inner circle compares to past mayors’
By Lauren FitzPatrick  and Justin Myers
 
Ann Lightfoot, 90, Lori Lightfoot’s mother, chats with Chicago Sun-Times reporter Lauren FitzPatrick in the parking lot of St. James AME Zion Church in Massillon, Ohio, in 2019.
Politics
Ann Lightfoot, proud mom of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, dies at 95
By Mitch Dudek III  and Lauren FitzPatrick
 
Skinner West Elementary, a selective-enrollment school of the Near West Side.
Education
CPS assistant principal stole $273K from after-school program, prosecutors say
By Lauren FitzPatrick  and Nader Issa
 
WBEZ
Education
14 high-level Chicago Public Schools officials falsified records to get COVID-relief loans
By Lauren FitzPatrick
 
Elijah Stiffend is a class of 2023 graduate of Englewood STEM High School, which opened in 2019 to consolidate incoming students from four underenrolled nearby high schools closed by Chicago Public Schools. This is one model proposed as an alternative to mass closings of low-enrollment schools.
Education
10 years after mass CPS school closings, enrollment is even worse. What can be done?
By Nader Issa , Lauren FitzPatrick , and 1 more
 
Jaylen Robertson waving American flag
Education
CPS help was short-lived for Chicago schools that absorbed students from schools closed in 2013
By Lauren FitzPatrick , Sarah Karp , and 2 more
 
Archie Hayes sitting
Education
Chicago promised students would do better after closing 50 schools. That didn’t happen.
By Alden Loury , Sarah Karp , and 2 more
 
The former Ross Elementary School on the South Side is one of the 50 Chicago public schools shuttered in 2013. The school is one of the 26 buildings that haven't been returned to use 10 years after the closings.
Education
Ten years after Chicago closed 50 public schools, more than half remain shuttered and unused
By Lauren FitzPatrick , Nader Issa , and 2 more
 
George and Gladys Smith and their son George Jr. live across the street from the now-shuttered Woods Elementary in Englewood. Members of the Smith family have lived on the block since 1883. They say the area was in decline and the population dropping before 2013, but the closing of Woods was a turning point.
Education
Chicago closed 50 public schools 10 years ago. Did the city keep its promises?
By Sarah Karp , Nader Issa , and 2 more
 
WBEZ
Education
Chicago's mayoral candidates have radically different approaches to fixing public schools. Here's why.
By Nader Issa , Lauren FitzPatrick , and 1 more
 
The aftermath of a February 2021 crash involving a packed-snow ramp on the Stevenson Expressway in which two people were killed and two others injured.
Grieving parents warn: Packed snow at side of elevated roads can be deadly
By Stephanie Zimmermann  and Lauren FitzPatrick
 
state supreme court candidates
Politics
Democrats hold on to majority on Illinois Supreme Court as Judge Elizabeth Rochford declares victory
By Matthew Hendrickson  and Lauren FitzPatrick
 
WBEZ
Education
CPS advances plans for a Near South high school despite opposition, threat to withhold state funding
By Nader Issa , Sarah Karp , and 1 more