A South Side foundation in memory of 17-year-old Boaz Flemister will fund counseling and competitions to help dancers process grief after his death.

Organizers canceled Chicago’s Little Village Cinco de Mayo parade for a second straight year, saying fear of immigration enforcement has left families reluctant to gather. The decision deals another economic blow to neighborhood businesses.

Tenured UIS faculty were set to return to class Monday after a strike that began April 3; negotiations over pay and classroom AI protections are ongoing.

BEDS Plus has started work converting the former Aloha Motel on Cicero Avenue into the Cicero Avenue Transitional Shelter, a motel‑to‑shelter rehab with private rooms and services. The project expands shelter capacity on Chicago’s southwest side.

Two Downers Grove friends won a $518,309 FastPlay Twenty 20s jackpot on the Illinois Lottery iLottery app; one plans to help pay for college while the other enjoys retirement flexibility.

Chicago Theological Seminary paused new admissions as trustees pursue a strategic plan to plug multimillion‑dollar losses after a sharp enrollment drop.

Scitopia Chicago is proposed for Washington Park: a free, teen-focused STEM destination with labs, fossils and live animals planned beside the Garfield Green Line. Organizers aim for a 2028 groundbreaking and 2029 opening.

Parents in Oswego say District 308 invited only nonwhite students to remedial summer programming, prompting calls for a clear explanation of how students were selected. The district’s summer-school page lists June sessions and online registration.

Residents at Lake Meadows say delayed transformer upgrades have left thousands without reliable air conditioning and are calling on ComEd to finish work and provide interim power.

A Chicago judge kept core hostile‑work‑environment and retaliation claims alive in a suit by two former McDonald’s executives, sending a narrowed case toward a September 2026 jury.

A 68‑acre Crete horse farm approved for a men’s recovery campus is ready to build but organizers say they still need public and private funding. The group is pressing opioid‑settlement and county grant dollars.

Mayor Johnson and the Greater Chicago Food Depository announced $4,500 micro‑grants to 67 local organizations to help pantries, small vendors and mutual‑aid networks facing SNAP changes.

The Chicago Park District has opened a 45‑day public notice period to consider naming a Washington Park playground for Ronald "Ronnieman" Johnson, who was shot in 2014. Neighbors and organizers now have a window to weigh in before a final Board vote.