Today Mayor Daley appointed former Buildings Department Commissioner Mary Richardson-Lowry to the Chicago Board of Education and recommended her election as its new president, replacing Michael Scott who committed suicide in November. Besides her time as Buildings Commissioner, she also previously served as an assistant to the Mayor as well as with the city's law department. While she has an extensive law background - including almost eight years practicing with Mayer Brown - there's not much experience in running an education system in her background. more ›

At their meeting yesterday, their first since the death of board president Michael Scott, the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education moved forward with business, approving five new charter schools that will open across the next two school years. CPS had originally proposed six but withdrew one: the Chicago International Charter School. more ›

• Two people are dead and four were hurt in a fire this afternoon near suburban Bloomingdale.
• A week after his body was found in the Chicago River and a day after he was memorialized, the Chicago Board of Education met and honored Michael Scott.
• The Sun-Times has a profile of Joe Ferguson, the city's new Inspector General.