Good afternoon! This cat’s face jogs my memory of Chicagoans who know sunny days in winter don’t imply it’s hotter out. Right here’s what you could know at the moment.
Chicago Lecturers Union President Stacy Davis Gates says a fact-finding course of is “stacked towards” the CTU, my colleague Sarah Karp experiences.
State legislation requires that an arbitrator be known as in earlier than the CTU can transfer to strike. The arbitrator, known as a truth finder, is listening to from each side this week and is predicted to concern suggestions in early February.
The 2 sides have 15 days to determine whether or not to reject or settle for the findings. Although the union should wait 30 days to really strike, it will probably take a strike vote any time after rejecting the findings. The union is more likely to reject the findings, which suggests a strike might occur as early as March.
CPS CEO Pedro Martinez mentioned he doesn’t suppose the college district is transferring towards a strike however is anxious mother and father are getting annoyed with the bickering between the college district and the union.
CTU deputy basic Thad Goodchild mentioned the legislation calling for truth discovering was written by former mayoral foe Rahm Emanuel, who ensured it was advantageous to the college district. [WBEZ]
The Division of Justice this week threatened state and native officers who impede immigration enforcement by saying they might be investigated and face federal prosecution.
“I don’t sit round enthusiastic about the hypotheticals,” Johnson mentioned in an interview with WBEZ yesterday as he defended the town’s legislation defending undocumented immigrants.
Johnson mentioned he was not conscious of any subpoenas acquired by the town’s Legislation Division on this concern and tried to ease fears of prosecution for police or elected officers.
However Ed Yohnka, the ACLU of Illinois’ Director of Communications and Public Coverage, mentioned the threats might give sheriffs or elected officers an excuse to violate state legal guidelines that largely prohibit implementing federal immigration legislation. [WBEZ]
In the meantime, a political scientist advised WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell that sanctuary insurance policies encourage immigrants to cooperate with police. [WBEZ]
3. Questions loom as Trump’s sweeping DEI cuts hit federal companies in Chicago
Among the many unknowns are how the EPA’s environmental justice applications, which carry federal sources to areas hit heavier by air pollution, could be impacted. Federal workers on these applications had been ordered to cease work Wednesday.
Trump and a few conservatives have mentioned range, fairness and inclusion applications are discriminatory and “undermine nationwide unity.”
My colleagues Violet Miller and Lynn Candy report that an unknown variety of workers had been requested to depart the Railroad Retirement Board workplace at 844 N. Rush St. The board advised the Solar-Occasions at the moment none of its workers had been dismissed, although a statistic-gathering contract was ended and a volunteer board was disbanded.
The staff could be paid by means of their administrative depart till administration moved to terminate them on an undetermined date. It additionally set out a system for workers to report anybody making an attempt to cover connections to DEI applications in contracts or different official writing. [Chicago Sun-Times]
4. A homeless tent camp is ready to be faraway from Gompers Park on the Northwest Facet
The town will transfer encampment residents over the past week of February and supply them spots in shelters, Brett Chase experiences for the Chicago Solar-Occasions.
Some close by residents had pressured Ald. Samantha Nugent, thirty ninth Ward, for months to maneuver the tent camp from the 42-acre park at Foster Avenue and Pulaski Highway, saying that the variety of folks staying there rose considerably final summer time. At its peak, there have been greater than two dozen tents at Gompers in 2024.
A gaggle of neighbors calling itself Restore Gompers Park Coalition mentioned in an announcement it was “happy” and “motivated” by the information. The group alleged the tent metropolis residents broken components of the park and a few members have mentioned they felt unsafe. [Chicago Sun-Times]
5. New pandas debuted on the Nationwide Zoo in Washington, D.C.
After months of anticipation — together with pop-up bars and special-edition transit playing cards — Bao Li and Qing Bao have made their public debut within the U.S., NPR experiences.
The three-year-old pandas arrived in October however had been quarantined and principally solely out there to view by means of the zoo’s social media. (Right here’s a video of them rolling round within the snow.)
They’re anticipated to remain till 2034 underneath an settlement between the Nationwide Zoo and China. Any cubs they start will go to China by age 4, and the zoo is paying the nation $1 million per yr for tasks similar to panda habitat restoration and wildlife illness monitoring.
For these of us who is probably not in Washington anytime quickly, the Nationwide Zoo has a panda cam. [NPR]
Right here’s what else is going on
- Trump proposed “eliminating FEMA” whereas visiting North Carolina. [AP]
- Firefighters slowed the unfold of an enormous wildfire north of Los Angeles, however new blazes in San Diego County triggered evacuations. [NPR]
- Watch an iceberg the dimensions of Rhode Island head towards a penguin-packed island close to Antarctica. [AP]
- Mayor Brandon Johnson’s marketing campaign returned most of a $50,000 contribution from a fund run by a Metropolis Corridor lobbyist. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Oh, and another factor …
When pondering of dance performances, a couple of issues might come to thoughts: jazz, hip-hop, ballet. Chicago dancers Erin Kilmurray and Kara Brody are breaking out of that mildew fairly actually with their new work, Knockout.
“It’s actually athletic, huge musicality, numerous ground work and flipping round and dancing up the partitions,” mentioned Kilmurray, the director of the Chicago dance efficiency troupe The Fly Honeys. The efficiency is a commentary on womanhood that explores want, intimacy, energy and survival by means of struggle sequences, tango and modern dance.
Knockout opens at the moment and runs by means of Feb. 2 at Steppenwolf Theatre as a part of the venue’s LookOut efficiency sequence, which options native, up-and-coming expertise within the arts. [WBEZ]
Inform me one thing good …
Which artists or songs carry you pleasure everytime you hear them?
Amy writes:
“ ‘September’ by Earth, Wind and Hearth by no means fails to elevate my spirits. I defy anybody to take a seat utterly nonetheless whereas that track performs. The funky beat and the brass riffs compel you to maneuver your physique. If you happen to’re not singing alongside to the ‘Oh-We-Ohs,’ you’re lifeless inside.”
William writes:
“Loreena McKennitt — arms down. As for why: this Canadian composer, singer and songwriter has a observe file of music that speaks her reality, no matter it’s at any given second. Her track ‘The Mystic’s Dream’ from her 1994 album The Masks and Mirror notably resonates with me as a result of it alludes to the positively distinctive psychological states that humanity has had since mainly time immemorial (I’m a Medical Psychological Well being Counsellor). Suffice it to say that I discover this to be a really uplifting piece of music.”
Jacob writes:
“For me and my son Iggy, it’s Tyler the Creator. We each love nearly all the things he’s performed since Flower Boy and his new album Chromakopia is delivering all types of goodness throughout these frigid winter months. After I hear folks griping about how music isn’t prefer it was once, or how no person pays consideration to the album as an artform as a result of they care solely about streams, I level them to Tyler. Songs morph as they move, rising and blossoming with shocking dexterity, and the actions he makes from observe to trace are proper there with the album oriented rockers my mother and father revered just like the Beatles and Pink Floyd. It is a musician on the high of his recreation, in love with making songs and absolutely answerable for his artistic imaginative and prescient. Don’t consider me? Give 911/Mr Lonely a spin across the block and see the place it takes you.”
And B. Search engine optimization writes:
“I’m going again many years. Each time I hear REO Speedwagon or Chicago, I smile. Each are homegrown abilities, and who doesn’t love a great energy ballad every so often. Let’s be sincere; the Nineteen Eighties won’t ever die.”
Thanks for all of the responses this week! I acquired far more than I might embody, however I learn and appreciated all of them.
