Good morning, Chicago.

Bogus threats at schools in the Chicago area have left students and staff anxious and law enforcement on high alert, part of a troubling nationwide trend that began in September, experts say.

The threats, besides being disruptive and extremely stressful, can produce “swatting fatigue,” or “threat fatigue,” experts say, and have hit various suburbs and at least one Chicago public school in the last few weeks. They turn into a waste of resources for law enforcement, and can cost in the six figures, according to experts.

The FBI’s Chicago office received about 84 reports of “incidents,” meaning reports of some type of school-centric threat, whether founded or unfounded, between October 2021 and September 2022, said FBI spokesperson Siobhan Johnson. Between January 2023 and March 3, they have received approximately 10 incident reports per month, Johnson said.

If reports continue at this rate, it would be a hike of about 42%.

Read the full story by Rosemary Sobol.

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On Tuesday Jay Doherty, Anne Pramaggiore and John Hooker will be defendants at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in one of the biggest political corruption cases the state has ever seen. They will be joined by the fourth co-defendant: Michael McClain, a longtime confidant of then-House Speaker Michael Madigan.

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