Good afternoon! I love how groundhogs control the seasons in the U.S. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Mayor Johnson says he’s not rethinking a push to remove police officers stationed at public schools

The recent fatal shootings of three public school students has elevated concerns about school safety at a time when Mayor Brandon Johnson and his allies push to remove police officers stationed at schools.

But the mayor said he is not rethinking this position, my colleague Sarah Karp reports.

“The policies of old have failed us,” Johnson said. “Why would I go back on my word? Why do I have to change my mind and go back on something that has failed us.”

The three students were not on school grounds when they were shot. Daveon Gibson, 16, was down the street from Senn High School on the North Side when he was killed on Wednesday. And Robert Boston, 16, and Monterio Williams, 17, were near Innovations High School in the Loop when they were fatally shot last Friday.

Johnson said his plan would not completely remove officers, who would still be present for morning arrivals and afternoon dismissals.

My colleague Sarah Karp today also looks at how the shootings have raised calls to bring anti-violence workers into high schools. [WBEZ]

2. An ambitious plan to reduce shootings in Chicago by 50% in five years

Community groups this week announced a plan to raise $400 million through a public-private partnership to try to halve the numbers of shootings and homicides in Chicago, my colleagues Tina Sfondeles and Andy Grimm report.

A 50% decline in murders from last year would put the city at fewer than 400 — a total the city last saw in 1965, when there were 395 slayings, according to the Chicago Police Department.

“If you’ve watched the news over the last couple of days, and I’m sure everybody here knows and is aware because of your boots on the ground, you know what’s happening,” Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said. “Our young people are being murdered and losing their lives.”

But Snelling noted that the number of killings in Chicago was down during the second half of last year.

“One is too many,” he said. “So whatever we need to do to prevent the violence that we’re seeing, whatever we can do to protect our neighborhoods, to protect our children, let’s continue to do that.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

3. Pritzker says he’s ‘disappointed’ in the City Council’s Gaza cease-fire resolution

Gov. JB Pritzker criticized the wording of the symbolic resolution and said it “doesn’t really send much of a message, in my opinion, to the White House,” my colleague Tina Sfondeles reports.

“I was disappointed that no consideration was given to the women who were raped by Hamas fighters who crossed over into Israel to kidnap people. That the deaths that were caused by those terrorists were not acknowledged,” the governor told reporters yesterday.

Pritzker’s criticism of a resolution comes amid behind-the-scenes tensions with Mayor Brandon Johnson over the migrant crisis.

But the governor has downplayed that friction, telling reporters this week that he and Johnson are collaborating well.

“I’m always willing to stand with the mayor, and he and I — as I’ve said to many of you all along here — we get along,” Pritzker said. “I know that everybody wants to amplify, you know, when there’s some disagreement, but our staffs work together every day and so many things are happening because of that collaboration.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

4. Lurie Children’s Hospital takes systems offline because of a possible cyberattack

A systems outage at Lurie Children’s Hospital that began Wednesday is a result of a cybersecurity matter, the hospital said.

“We are taking this very seriously, are investigating with the support of leading experts, and are working in collaboration with law enforcement agencies. As part of our response to this matter, we have taken network systems offline,” the hospital said in a statement Thursday night.

The outage is affecting the phone, email and electronic systems at all of Lurie’s 55 offices in the Chicago area, my colleague Phyllis Cha reports.

The hospital is open and continuing to provide care to patients. Officials are also working to establish a call center. [Chicago Sun-Times]

5. A Chicago Symphony Orchestra flutist says goodbye to Muti – in Europe

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is wrapping up a sold-out European tour, its final with Italian maestro Riccardo Muti, an icon who has left an indelible mark during 13 years with the orchestra.

“They love him in Europe. Like, really love him,” said Emma Gerstein, the orchestra’s second flutist, who has been touring the continent with 100 of her musical colleagues for much of the past month.

In three weeks, they played 14 concerts in six countries to sold-out audiences who crowded to see one of Chicago’s premier cultural exports.

To capture this unique moment, Gerstein filed this tour diary from five stops on the tour. She chronicled high points — including two concerts at Vienna’s famed Musikverein — and private moments that the public doesn’t usually get to see, like bathtub laundry and missing her young son, who is 2, back in Chicago. [WBEZ]

Here’s what else is happening

• Half of U.S. adults say Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has “gone too far,” according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. [AP]

• The U.S. economy added a surprising 353,000 jobs last month, signaling a resilient labor market. [NBC News]

• A journalist is making history in Mexico for delivering the news in drag. [AP]

• With tattoos, Swifties are sure to never forget Taylor Swift’s Soldier Field shows last summer. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Oh, and one more thing …

Do you listen to WBEZ’s Curious City, a podcast that answers questions from the public about the Chicago area?

If so, my colleagues would like to hear your thoughts. There’s a listener survey online for the podcast, and people who participate will have the chance to win a $100 gift card. [SurveyMonkey]

Tell me something good …

The nephews were over this weekend and we gave them a bunch of books. What were some of your favorite books as a kid?

Evelyn writes:

“In the early 1960s the family moved to a new home — new to us, that is. Among the items left behind by the previous owner, besides the piano in the basement, was a copy of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. With apologies to the library at the Hebrew Academy of Northwest Indiana (based on the stamp in the book, I believe the original source of this volume), I read the book and loved it.

“To this day, some 60 years later, I still have that book. Every few years, I pull it from the bookcase and enjoy the story of good vs. evil, tesseracts, Meg and Charles Wallace and Calvin and Mrs. Which, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Whatsit. I don’t need a movie version of the story to take me back — I have the original and can still let loose with my imagination to see the characters and the landscapes in my mind.”

And Laura writes:

“My most favorite book as a child was Harriet the Spy, which I read so many times that the spine broke and I had to keep it together with a rubber band.”

Thanks for reminiscing with me over books this week. It was nice hearing from y’all!