The four new classes starting in March offer the chance to dive into the deep end of the cinema pool. more ›

It is likely that the finger-pointing will continue as the fate of Chicago public school students, teachers, and parents is put on hold until Lewis and Brizard can come to some sort of agreement. more ›

Recently released ISAT test scores for Illinois students in grades 3 through 8 show that Chicago Public Schools students have improved in nearly all subjects, bringing some good news to CPS. more ›

One day you will sit down to a nice dinner out - it could be Italian food, maybe French, it doesn't really matter - peruse the restaurant's sake list and make an informed selection. At least that's the vision of Mason Horowitz and John Robinson, founders of Chicago Sake. The young company comprises a sake consultancy and, as of this month, a sake school. To see that vision realized in Chicago, they freely admit, will take some work. But it's clear that for them, bringing more awareness to this somewhat misunderstood and under-appreciated libation is a labor of love. more ›

• A 15-year-old boy was shot on his way to school at Brennemann Elementary School this morning; he was last reported in good condition.
• Counties that ban video poker could find themselves with less construction funding.
• Jacob Meister, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, has dropped out of the race and thrown his support behind Alexi Giannoulias.

• Do not be alarmed when the loud F-16s go screaming overhead tonight at 1 a.m.; there's a good reason for it.
• Looks like there will be a delay in the guilty plea of former Blago cohort Len Monk who was scheduled to do so tomorrow.
• A plant in Carol Stream was evacuated earlier today because of a chemical leak.

CSB School of Broadcasting will make its way to the auction block on May 8 after the school went bankrupt in early March, according to a Chi-Town Daily News report. more ›

After a show and tell gone bad, two second graders at an Merrillville, Ind. elementary school were suspended for bringing guns to school. One student brought a toy cap gun while the other brought a small, loaded hand gun. According to Merrillville Schools Superintendent Tony Lux, there was "nothing malicious involved." The two Iddings Elementary School students discussed the guns they had at home on Tuesday and decided to bring them to school Wednesday. Classmates told their teacher who confiscated the guns. Parents of the student who brought the real gun said the weapon was brought into their home over the weekend. The student's mother said she hid the gun, but the child still found it. The student who brought the toy gun will face no more than 10 days of suspension, while the student who brought the real gun will likely be expelled. more ›

It seems the Obama girls have a new school: the private, Quaker Sidwell Friends School, the same school that Chelsea Clinton and the Gore kids attended during that administration. Here's hoping it's as fun as the Constance Billard School for Girls. Also in the news is Long Island's Ludlum Elementary, which has just opted to rename the school after President-Elect Obama. Effective immediately, the school is now Barack Obama Elementary School. James K. Polk remains unimpressed. One more thing: you can check out his weekly address here. more ›

Wilmette Public School District 39 approved earlier this morning a 5-year contract with the teacher’s union. The new contract increases salaries 5 percent in the first two years, and 5.5 percent in each of the remaining three. 20 minutes have also been added to the day for kindergarten through fourth grade. more ›

Our winter just became more tolerable with the news that chocolate maker Barry Callebaut A.G. is opening a chocolate academy in Chicago. The academy, slated to open in June, will be in Callebaut's local headquarters in the Montgomery Ward building on West Chicago in River West and fulfills the company's desire to have an academy in the United States. more ›