Active shooter drills, yes. Cameras, no. Here’s what Illinois mandates for safety in schools.

School districts have a lot of autonomy in putting together school safety plans and don’t receive much guidance on how to prevent shootings.

Manuel Martinez / WBEZ

Private fundraising in Chicago Public Schools — who wins and who loses?

Fundraising by CPS schools has skyrocketed since 2010, WBEZ found. And the big fundraising is by schools where most of the students aren’t low-income.

Caroline Kubzansky / WBEZ

North of Chicago, a contaminated site will be reused for solar energy

Yeoman Creek Landfill in Waukegan will soon be home to 20,000 solar panels — part of a trend to reuse Superfund cleanup sites. The site used to be a dumping ground for hazardous waste from homes and industry in the 1950s and 1960s.

Manuel Martinez / WBEZ

Displaced by a devastating fire, members of a South Side church remain faithful and vow to rebuild

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church is using a funeral home for weekly services as it makes plans to rise from the ashes.

Libby Berry / WBEZ

A 5-year-old asks: Why doesn’t everyone think like me?

Five-year-old Elliott was getting ready for bed one day when he asked his mom, “What is an opinion?” Elliott’s question is the latest in WBEZ’s “Kids Ask” series, in which kids, parents and experts weigh in on the tough questions kids ask that parents don’t always know how to answer.

Juneteenth Celebration Virtual Event

Join United Way of Metro Chicago this Juneteenth on June 17 at 8:30 a.m. for a free virtual event featuring Chicago-area community leaders of local nonprofits sharing stories of driving positive change in historically disinvested neighborhoods. Moderated by social justice artist and Folded Map Project creator Tonika Lewis Johnson.

Register today.

UPCOMING EVENTS

WBEZ

WBEZ Presents: Mindmeld - A Mindworks Takeover

Date: Saturday, June 4
Price: Free
Location: Mindworks - 224 S Michigan Ave, Suite 102

Join WBEZ for a day of scientific studies and activities. Visitors can engage with eight highly interactive exhibits that reveal known concepts from behavioral science. And by participating in research experiments, visitors can test scientific hypotheses that examine new frontiers in the understanding of judgment and decision-making. Participants will be awarded prizes for their participation in this research.

WBEZ

Nudge for Good: Richard Thaler in conversation with Greta Johnsen

Date: Tuesday, June 7
Price: Free
Location: Virtual & In-Person

Mindworks and WBEZ offer a special opportunity to hear from bestselling author and Nobel Prize recipient Richard Thaler. Thaler will be joined in conversation by Nerdette host Greta Johnsen to discuss his groundbreaking work on Nudges and choice architecture. Throughout the evening, we will explore the concept of nudges to better understand the external and internal forces that influence our everyday decision-making.

WBEZ

Chicago, do you have water debt? We can help.

Date: Saturday, June 11
Price: Free
Location: Universidad Popular - 2801 S. Hamlin Ave.

To help residents affected by this crisis, WBEZ, Elevate and Universidad Popular are partnering to host a FREE community workshop. The workshop will give you the information and resources you need and provide a step-by-step breakdown of the water billing and collections process and more.