GOP Gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady and his running mate for Lieutenant Governor, Jason Plummer, sat down with the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board Tuesday on a far ranging interview that touched upon many subjects. Among them, Brady said that he would not stand in the way of public school districts amending curricula so that Creationism could be taught in schools. Brady explained his stance by straddling the issue like a lifelong politician. "My knowledge and my faith leads me to believe in both evolution and creationism,” he said. “I believe God created the earth, and it evolved." more ›

More bad news for and from the Sun-Times: business editor Dan Miller, a 2006 inductee into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame, resigned today as seven non-union employees were laid off, including editorial board members Michelle Stevens, Lloyd Sachs and Michael Gillis, and Assistant Managing Editor Avis Weathersbee. Miller wrote in an email that he thinks the Sun-Times will be sold in a matter of months. [Crain's, Trib] more ›

Barrington Community Unit School District 220 canceled its classes today because its fleet of school buses were vandalized. Unknown culprits slashed the tires on "24 to 26 large buses and 15 to 17 smaller ones," apparently with an ice pick. School bus tires cost about $200, which means someone's on the hook for a lot of damage. A note from the district's superintendent says about 7,000 of Barrington's 9,200 K-12 students take a school bus... more ›

You'll remember the story of Dave Warwak, the middle school art instructor in Fox River Grove who put down the paints, chalks and paste to passionately talk to his students about the virtues of the vegan lifestyle. If by "passionately" we meant "beat the kids over the head about how all hot dogs are sketchy-assed." When he was busted for doing that, he took the concept of "keeping it real" to Chappellian levels, demanding that... more ›

As the rest of the media fawned over the new city council, and reminisced on the follies of councils past, other silliness was going on in the realm of politics in the City by the Lake. Let's take a look at what's up here in town: The Old Council Does One Last Thing. Following up on an issue that we wrote about a while back, it seems that the City Council's zoning committee has held... more ›

For readers who have arrived via search engine, Chicagoist features no real teacher on teacher action, but the Sandridge Elementary School District does. more ›

Kids tend to have a bad rep when it comes to premarital sex, teen pregnancy and the like. That's why Chicagoist believes in a firm, informative sex education class (huh huh, we said firm). It's the whole "The More You Know" thing, right? more ›

Is it just us, or is it still exceptionally creepy when you hear that a teacher was having sexual relations with an underage student? Better yet, isn't it still exceptionally creepy when you see the picture of the teacher that was having sex with the underage student? Well, we've got two more in the Chicago area to add on our road to desensitization. more ›

Mutant deers, Nazi gingerbread men, depraved preschoolers and creepy teachers - it's been a busy week for stupid, so let's jump right in. A 4-year-old Texas boy has been accused of sexual harassment by the La Vega Independent School District after hugging a teacher’s aid and rubbing his face into her chest. School officials say his actions warrant the accusations. We say give him a break – the little shit just wanted some motorboat action.... more ›

We've all heard the expression "like a kid in a candy store," but how does "like a kid in a Wal-Mart" sound? Eh, even as a kid, we would have taken it. It sounded great for 25 underprivileged children from North Chicago, who received the opportunity to shop at Wal-Mart for the holidays with their local friendly police officers in tow. more ›

Public humiliation seems to be the new fad sport. From "American Idol" to those people dressed as fruit that you see sometimes, everyone wants in on the chance to exploit themselves. Even still, we at Chicagoist are not sure if that was a smart move on Dr. Rich Mitchell's part. more ›

Is it just us, or has this been a really long week? No? Just us? Well our partners in stupid sure managed to get a lot done this week. And for that we thank them for a job well done. We’re all about efficiency. Whether you’re filling out a spreadsheet or committing a felony – work smart people! A 32-year-old Rolling Meadows woman managed to raise all sorts of hell Monday evening, and during the... more ›

It’s always hard to come back after a three-day weekend and be hopeful. But here are a few things that let us know the world is going to be okay: more ›

As debate raged on late last week about whether a 14-year-old Ecuadorian girl was rightfully denied admission to Elmwood Park High School, the girl in question was busy not giving a shit. The Tribune caught up with the girl’s family in South Florida, where she has been living since the ordeal began last fall. After a relative told her the school had finally given in and she could now be an Elmwood Park Tiger, she said, “Like I would want to go back there.” more ›

Suburban Elmwood Park bills itself as a “great place to live, shop, work and play.” They might want to change that to a great place to live, shop, work and play, unless you’re a teenage immigrant. Specifically, a 14-year-old Ecuadorian girl here on a temporary B-2 visa. Then, not so much. Elmwood Park School District 401 refused to allow the girl to enroll in classes citing federal immigration law. They say the feds have been... more ›

What kind of a city do we live in where a high-school senior gets expelled simply for shoving his testicles in a freshman’s face? more ›

Yesterday in Park Forest 43 sixth-graders and four kingergarteners were sickened by their school’s food. more ›

Rolling Meadows has a taxpayer-funded monthly newsletter that includes the sort of schmaltz you would expect: an upcoming antique car show, the suburb’s 50th anniversary, the police department’s volunteer advisory council, and it includes one thing you might not expect: a nearly full-page “article” with the headline: “Who’s That Hard-Working Midas Man? He Looks Just Like Mayor Ken Nelson.” more ›

Continuing today's "Fun With Drugs in Schools" theme, Chicagoist just had to let you know about the suburban dad that is using the time-honored method of newspaper advertising to allege hard drug sales in the halls of a local school. Park Ridge's Dominic Vecchio, whose grammar school-age children attend schools within the Maine Township High School District, spent $900 of his own cash to publish an ad in last Thursday's Park Ridge Herald-Advocate (a Pioneer... more ›

Because we needed a bit more evidence that the No Child Left Behind law is counterintuitive, the feds have ordered 11 Illinois school districts to suspend their after-school tutoring programs because their schools are not meeting standards set by the NCLB. The following Illinois school districts must either provide private tutoring or pay for district-wide tutoring without federal money: North Chicago School District 187 School District U-46, Elgin Community Unit School District 200 Wheaton Chicago... more ›