Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Illinois' lingering unemployment debt could hurt employers, workers
Illinois has more than a billion dollars of unemployment trust fund debt that lingers. Left unpaid, some worry things could get worse for employers and employees.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released updated unemployment numbers for the 50 states. Behind only Washington D.C., Illinois finished 50th on the list and had an unemployment rate of 4.5%, which is unchanged from last month and still above pre-pandemic levels.
Chicago Tribune: CPS sees record graduation rates, but pandemic-era declines in math and reading proficiency are ‘sobering’
Chicago Public Schools leaders, students and faculty gathered at Gage Park High School early this week to celebrate the district’s record 82.9% four-year graduation rate. In addition, the district boasted $1.5 billion in scholarships awarded to the Class of 2022, as well as freshman-on-track rates rising to pre-pandemic levels, a measure of the percentage of students likely to graduate.
Just two days later, though, district officials offered a more “sobering” look at student achievement with a presentation to the Board of Education of new testing data highlighting what they called “an overall decline in student performance.”
Chicago Sun-Times: For Chicago schools parking deal, Board of Ed turned to Lori Lightfoot fundraiser
For three years, the Chicago Board of Education has been trying to collect more than $360,000 from a parking company co-owned by former Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios’ son-in-law James T. Weiss, who is under federal indictment for bribery on an unrelated matter.
According to Chicago Public Schools officials, Weiss and his company, Blk & Wht Valet, owed CPS that much for using school lots, mostly near Wrigley Field, for paid parking.
State Journal-Register: Eight District 186 schools move to 'commendable' level; some test scores, rates lag
While eight elementary schools in School District 186 moved into the “commendable” category, the district lags behind the state in graduation rates and chronic absenteeism, according to the 2022 Illinois State Board of Education report card, released Thursday.
The percentage of elementary-age students taking the Illinois Assessment of Readiness who “did not meet” or “partially met” achieving performance levels rose as did the percentage of high schoolers taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) who “partially met” or “approached” achieving performance levels.