Got the Hortencia Zavala scholarship this week by @nahj_chi !!! 🥳 Definitely want to take a minute to shout out everyone (yes, everyone) that has helped me along the way! Roll credits! 1/n

The Cicero Voters Alliance in question?

There aren't too many Tibetans in the Chicago area, but just enough gathered up this week to mourn the deaths of 126 who died in an earthquake in the mountainous region:

RT @talia_soglin: Chicago Starbucks on strike Christmas Eve, per organizers: Broadway & Devon Lincoln Village Irving Park & Ashland Sheff…

Sketchbook Brewing Company was named the 2024 Skokie Business of the Year:

We're gonna need a bigger room. At a community meeting in Evanston over 1 (one!) bike lane and panels of the proposed lane are being removed to allow for more seating.

A Cook County Judge struck down Evanston's pioneer ranked-choice voting system. Evanston was the first city in the state to approve it, as other suburban municipalities are getting warmed up to it:

The mayor's day job was at one point a community college adjunct history professor. Some amusing (at least to me) reviews from his Rate My Professor:

Skokie's longest serving mayor, George Van Dusen, is not up for re-election:

One of the first things discussed was announcing the district and union met an agreement tonight, just before the meeting began.

Another packed and delayed Board of Ed meeting for D65 to begin shortly. Audience members in red showing support for teacher's union, who's contract expired over the summer.

D65 had to reduce its plans for a K-8 school to a K-5 school in Evanston's historically Black 5th Ward in January. As recently as September, its Board of Education was asked to consider pausing construction for it.

A Glenview couple saved a legacy Northbrook restaurant after the owner retired:

A $13 million building addition to a Skokie middle school got pre-emptive approval from the village:

Evanston Mayor reflected on the history of unfavorable attitudes towards veterans during politically divisive times. "Take it up with the Commander in Chief, because the men and women who volunteer to serve are doing something incredibly important."

Bessie Rhodes 7th and 8th grade will remain open at Evanston/Skokie D65. The latest in a tangled series of decisions made by the district's administration:

Tonight's D65 Board of Ed. meeting began with three apologies, one from Suptd. Turner and two board members, for the district's quick decision to close two grades at Bessie Rhodes. Public Comment has gone for 40 minutes now, multiple calls for board to resign.

D65 BoE meeting is already at capacity. 1 more thing: Tonight's agenda includes the hiring of an outside consultant to assist the district to cut $15 million in expenses a year, each year, for the next three fiscal years. Expect cuts in schools, teachers, special ed, transpo

T-Minus 10 minutes for the EvanstonSkokie D65 Board of Ed. meeting and this is what's going on just outside. Teacher's contract expired over the summer, a new one is yet to be approved. Among other things tonights agenda includes the hiring of an outside consultant to cut costs.

The District's teacher union, whose contract had expired over the summer, is also here:

Evanston Skokie D65 Supt. Angel Turner sent an apology letter to families affected by the sudden announced partial closure at Bessie Rhodes last week. A final decision if that closure will be announced at the end of the week: