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Parents left scrambling after school closure – Chicago Tribune

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Good morning, Chicago.

Thanks to a 2017 law, hundreds of Illinois schools tested their drinking water for lead, a toxic metal that is especially dangerous for children.

Officials who found elevated lead levels had to notify parents, and they had to send all of their test results to the state. But nobody in state government made the information publicly available. Because we believe these results are important as a matter of public health, we obtained and analyzed the data and are reporting on it.

While the lead testing did identify thousands of problem fixtures across the state, we found significant flaws in state oversight and in the law itself that weakened its ability to protect children.

– Emily Hoerner

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People raise their hands as they leave Allen Premium Outlet following reports of a shooting, May 6, 2023, in Allen, Texas. A shooter opened fire at the outlet mall, killing at least 8 people.

People raise their hands as they leave Allen Premium Outlet following reports of a shooting, May 6, 2023, in Allen, Texas. A shooter opened fire at the outlet mall, killing at least 8 people. (LM Otero/AP)

Federal officials are looking into whether the gunman who killed eight people at a Dallas-area mall expressed an interest in white supremacist ideology as they work to try to discern a motive for the attack, a law enforcement official said. The official cautioned the investigation is in its early stages.

Gloria Austin holds on to her granddaughter Chloe Jordan outside the Hope Learning Academy school in Chicago on Friday. “You cannot just stick these young children anywhere and expect them to receive the same level of attention, care, compassion and education,” Austin said.

Gloria Austin holds on to her granddaughter Chloe Jordan outside the Hope Learning Academy school in Chicago on Friday. “You cannot just stick these young children anywhere and expect them to receive the same level of attention, care, compassion and education,” Austin said. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Hope Institute — the Springfield-based operator of the contract school, which has around 240 students in kindergarten through fifth grade — abruptly opted this spring not to renew its operating agreement with Chicago Public Schools after it expires in June.

Siblings Shelia Wideman and Kenneth Wideman walk to Kenneth’s car after leaving Cutting Edge Hair Gallery in Evanston on April 14, 2023. They have inadvertently pushed Evanston to pay cash reparations. The Wideman's were picked as two of the first 16 Evanstonians to receive $25,000 to go toward a mortgage payment, the down payment on a house, or housing repairs as part of Evanston's reparations program. But Shelia and Kenneth Wideman each live in their own apartments and have no interest in becoming first-time homeowners.

Siblings Shelia Wideman and Kenneth Wideman walk to Kenneth’s car after leaving Cutting Edge Hair Gallery in Evanston on April 14, 2023. They have inadvertently pushed Evanston to pay cash reparations. The Wideman’s were picked as two of the first 16 Evanstonians to receive $25,000 to go toward a mortgage payment, the down payment on a house, or housing repairs as part of Evanston’s reparations program. But Shelia and Kenneth Wideman each live in their own apartments and have no interest in becoming first-time homeowners.

(Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune)

Most national conversations around reparations for Black Americans center on compensating descendants of enslaved people. Evanston, though, focused its initial effort on repairing the damage caused by a 50-year period of housing discrimination that often deprived Black residents from building wealth through homeownership and kept them segregated to a tiny enclave on the city’s western edge.

The Regina Pats' Connor Bedard, right, talks with the Prince George Cougars' Riley Heidt during on-ice testing ahead of the CHL/NHL Top Prospects game on Jan. 24, 2023, in Langley, British Columbia.

The Regina Pats’ Connor Bedard, right, talks with the Prince George Cougars’ Riley Heidt during on-ice testing ahead of the CHL/NHL Top Prospects game on Jan. 24, 2023, in Langley, British Columbia. (DARRYL DYCK/AP)

The Chicago Blackhawks have just an 11.5% probability to win the No. 1 selection in Monday night’s NHL draft lottery — and dibs on phenom Connor Bedard — but all isn’t lost if he’s not available when the Hawks pick on June 28.

Shawn Okpebholo, Wheaton College professor and composer of "The Cook-Off," in a courtyard of the Fine Arts Building on April 26, 2023.

Shawn Okpebholo, Wheaton College professor and composer of “The Cook-Off,” in a courtyard of the Fine Arts Building on April 26, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune)

If you haven’t heard Shawn Okpebholo’s music, you will soon.

The Wheaton College professor has been a regular presence in programs by city ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony’s contemporary MusicNOW series.

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