Chicago students are working to improve their schools through student voice committees
As part of a shift in civics education, CPS is moving beyond facts and dates and toward helping students experience what it is like to create change.
The Democracy Solutions Project
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Illinois middle schoolers have to pass a civics ed class. How do you make sure it sticks?
CPS discourages civics tests based on rote memorization. Try a quiz using that approach — and see what schools are doing now instead.
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Can you pass an eighth grade Constitution test?
Take our 15-point quiz on the Illinois and U.S. constitutions, based on real questions students face.
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Want to fix American democracy? Tell us how.
As part of our Democracy Solutions Project, we want to know what you think are the biggest challenges facing our political system – and how to solve them.
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A run-in with an Illinois state trooper with extremism ties altered one man’s life
Jyran Mitchell was injured when he was wrongfully detained by an Illinois state trooper with ties to extremism. The officer was one of a dozen outside Chicago whose names appeared on an Oath Keepers …
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Who are the Oath Keepers?
The anti-government group is best known for plotting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but its notoriety extends years earlier.
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What does it mean for Chicago to be a sanctuary city?
The term has become conflated with policies that provide public benefits and resources, according to DePaul University’s Kathleen Arnold.
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Chicago’s migrant crisis tied to U.S. foreign policy
Juan González is a senior fellow at the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago. He says U.S. foreign policy is key to understanding why migrants flee to the city.
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Illinois is a haven against book bans, but advocates say the threat to democracy remains
Though the state has anti-censorship protections, residents should remain vigilant and vocal about their support for keeping library books on shelves.
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What would it take for Chicago’s City Council to be more independent?
Some say what the council needs is a parliamentarian, a robust budget office and some legal counsel. Others say the city needs a new constitution for true reform.
