This week, we’re reading about Illinois’ regressive school funding formula, how Chicago communities are fighting deportation, and how CPS policies have worked to segregate Black students as well as Black teachers. A Just Chicago will have more on the new… 
The Illinois prison population has doubled in the last twenty-five years, mostly due to the “war on drugs,” and incarceration rates tend to be concentrated in high-poverty communities. CPS does not have enough social workers or counselors to help students… 
Laquan McDonald was 17 years young when he was executed by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke. The fatal details surrounding his murder have put Chicago front and center for questions around police conduct, competence, and corruption among the city's officials. Young Black organizers across the city are demanding a complete restructuring of how Chicago is governed and funded. 
Contrary to the claims of some econometric reformer types, money matters in schools. To understand why Illinois and Chicago don’t have to be like they are, we must survey the national picture of school funding. Illinois has a revenue problem, and Minnesota points the way toward a solution. 
On June 29, 2015, over 100 Chicagoans from dozens of nonprofit organizations, unions and universities came together in Bronzeville to discuss real revenue options that are based on sound research and already successfully implemented in states across the country. For… 
