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Illinois elected leaders react to Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:00 GMT

CHICAGO  — Political leaders across Illinois are weighing in after the Supreme Court on Thursday struck down affirmative action in college admissions, ending decades of precedent and starting a new ear in higher education.Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action in college admissions, says race cannot be a factorThe ruling has elicited reactions from some of Illinois' highest-ranking officials, with many slamming the Supreme Court's decision to overturn affirmative action.The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Affirmative Action is a travesty — reversing nearly 45 years of precedent that advances equity throughout our country’s higher education institutions.The damage caused to Black communities by slavery and Jim Crow Laws, to Hispanics and Native Americans by a legacy of discrimination and oppression has not nearly been reversed. For centuries, students from historically underrepresented and underserved communities were locked out of higher education — preventing upward mob...

Search for CPD's next superintendent down to 6 candidates: report

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:00 GMT

CHICAGO — The search for Chicago's next police superintendent is now down to six candidates. The Sun-Times reports the finalists include five police department veterans and an outsider who previously worked for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.  Johnson names former CPD chief Fred Waller interim superintendent Counterterrorism Chief Larry Snelling; his retired predecessor Ernest Cato, III; Street deputy Migdalia Bulnes; Constitutional policing and reform Chief Angel Novalez; Labor Relations Commander Donna Rowling; and Shon Barnes, the police chief in Madison, Wisconsin, who spent about a year as COPA's director of training and development. The new civilian oversight body in charge of leading the search has until July 14 to pick three finalists and send those names to Chicago Brandon Mayor Johnson.  Officer shortage a cause of concern for interim CPD boss amid crime spike The chosen candidate will replace interim police superintendent Fred Waller, who came out of ret...

Woman, 26, rescued from Lake Michigan: CPD

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:00 GMT

CHICAGO -- A 26-year-old woman was rescued from Lake Michigan by a CPD officer Thursday afternoon, police said. According to police, officers responded to a call of a person in the water near the 100 block of East LaSalle Street in Lake Michigan. Police said an officer jumped into lake Michigan with an emergency life raft and swam out to rescue the woman. Driver arrested after several fireworks found inside stolen U-Haul in Posen The woman and the officer were able to exit the water safely within minutes. The woman was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition. The officer was also transported to an area hospital in fair condition. There were no other injuries were reported. Chicago Police Department will be holding a press conference to discuss the incident Thursday afternoon.

See the Blackhawks' picks, trades on Day 2 of NHL Draft

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:00 GMT

CHICAGO — After an exciting and historic first round on Monday, the Blackhawks still have plenty of selections to make on Day 2 of the 2023 NHL Draft. Going into the day, general manager Kyle Davidson had nine selections at his disposal to either keep or trade. WGN News Now is following all of the picks and moves on Thursday, and you can see updates throughout the day.1:30 p.m. - That's a wrap!Davidson and the Blackhawks wrapped up their 11-selection 2023 NHL Draft with a selection each in the sixth and seventh rounds. The team took their fifth center in the draft with the 167th overall selection they acquired from the Flyers earlier in the day, selecting Milton Oscarson from Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League. He also played with Sweden's U20 team in the World Junior Championships this year.With their 11th and final pick, the Blackhawks picked their first defenseman: Janne Peltonen of Karpat of Finland's SM-Sarja U20 league. Noon - Two more centers & forward join the Blackhawk...

What happens if bad weather hits the NASCAR Chicago Street Races?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:00 GMT

CHICAGO — Among the many variables for the first NASCAR race in downtown Chicago is, of course, the weather.While heat is commonplace at tracks for the stock car company around the country, what would happen if the event were hit by rain or severe storms during a race?As one might imagine, NASCAR already has a plan for those scenarios in order to get the two scheduled events - the Xfinity Series race on Saturday and the Cup Series race on Sunday - finished in full. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)What if it rains?On road and street courses, NASCAR has typically had the ability to run in the rain and will do so in Chicago should that happen on Saturday or Sunday, according to Chicago Street Race president Julie Giese.Special wet weather packages are available for the teams, which typically include rain tires along with a windshield wiper on the cars. NASCAR has run a few road and street course races in the rain in their history, including recently at the Cup Series event at Wa...

Fall Out Boy releases cover of Billy Joel's 'We Didn't Start the Fire,' to mixed reviews

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:00 GMT

(WJW) – Fall Out Boy released a cover of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" Wednesday and the band is getting a lot of mixed feedback. The music video opens by saying the band is, "Covering newsworthy items from 1989-2023." Billy Joel’s original version of "We Didn’t Start the Fire" was released in 1989 and the catchy, rapid-fire lyrics reference major political, cultural, scientific, and sports events dating back to 1949, the year Joel was born. Small size, big benefits: These are the best small cities of 2023, study says The song includes references to present-day sports, political figures, and celebrities, from LeBron James to Boris Johnson.Fall Out Boy also makes mention of school shootings at Sandy Hook and Columbine, as well as the police killings of Tamir Rice, George Floyd and Sandra Bland. Other topics mentioned in the new version include: "World Trade," "deep fakes," "Kanye West," "Y2K," "Boston bombing," "Taylor Swift," "Obama, "Twilight," "Tiger King" and "Michael...

College professor in Maryland made female students remove shirts, commented on their bodies, investigation finds

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:00 GMT

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (WDCW) – The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) concluded a sexual harassment investigation into a professor at Montgomery College in Maryland, finding that he harassed several female students by requiring them to remove their shirts and stand in their bras in a classroom setting. OCR said the professor, who was teaching at the school's Takoma/Silver Spring campus, then commented on the students' bodies in what was referred to as a medical demonstration.The students promptly reported the harassment, including targeted harassment that occurred outside of class. The school immediately placed the professor on paid leave pending a Title IX investigation.The professor was fired within three months of the initial harassment reports, following an investigation by the school. Around 30,000 prisoners soon to be eligible for free college In a factual summary published with OCR's letter to Montgomery College President Dr. Jermaine F. Williams...

Station No. 6 food truck to open in Rosetown American Legion in Roseville

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:00 GMT

Station No. 6, a popular food truck that mainly operates in the suburbs, is opening a bricks-and-mortar restaurant — but in a slightly untraditional way.The operation, known for its smash burgers and other hearty fare, will open in the Rosetown American Legion in Roseville on July 12. It’s a business model that has been working well for 328 Grill owner Mik German, who operates out of the St. Paul Park American Legion.German, in fact, hooked up Station No. 6 owner Josh Matthews with the Legion, which had been struggling to keep its kitchen staffed.Matthews, who had been looking at food halls and not feeling like they were a good fit, said he immediately felt at home at Rosetown, which has plenty of space, a big kitchen, a patio, a huge parking lot and regular customers already built in. Plus, it matched up with his ethos.“We’ve always given back to people who serve,” Matthews said. “First responders, if they come to the window in uniform, I’m always giving them discounts. And w...

Administration respond to Coalhurst sidewalk inquiry

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:00 GMT

By Nikki JamiesonSunny South NewsA council inquiry hopes to start a conversation on beautifying Coalhurst.During their regular June 20 meeting, Coalhurst town council discussed an inquiry on implementing a town-wide sidewalk edging program.“I put in this inquiry to administration as a question about the sidewalks and overgrowth as this is something I’ve been noticing a bit more in town lately and was not clear on the process for encouraging individual (properties) to enforce the overgrowth on very bad yards in specific cases,” said coun. Deborah Florence.One goal of council’s Strategic Plan, under Piller C: Land and Environment, is to make the Coalhurst an attractive place to live. One way council could help achieve this is to get the community to help in beautifying the town, such as keeping sidewalks trimmed and in good repair. Under the same pillar, it also speaks on protecting and honouring the land where the community is built upon, which involves keeping their storm water and ...

UCP prepared to grapple with strong opposition: MLA Hunter

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:00 GMT

By Trevor BuschSunny South NewsWhen the ballots were all in and counted on May 29, there was no doubt Alberta’s United Conservative Party had secured a majority election win.But as the dust settled, it was also clear Danielle Smith and the UCP would be returning to the provincial legislature with far fewer MLAs in tow than Jason Kenney did in 2019.Dropping from 60 to 49 while the NDP increased their seat total from 23 to 38 has created a more balanced legislature than in the previous four years, and a much stronger opposition should ensure the UCP will be held to account.“It will affect it,” said Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter. “And first of all, there’s nothing wrong with a strong opposition. I think that it keeps the government on track and keeps us frosty with the things that we need to do. And so there’s nothing wrong with that.”In the 2019 election, the UCP took 54.9 per cent of the vote, to the NDP’s 32.7 per cent. In 2023, the UCP dropped to 52.6 per cent, while the NDP leapt ...