Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: A Sun-Times/WBEZ analysis has found most of Illinois’ public universities and community colleges have failed to follow a state law requiring protections for immigrant students on their campuses.
🗞️ Plus: How state lawmakers want to rein in AI, Chicago Public Schools’ plan to cut teacher positions and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs fell to Atlanta, 5-2; the White Sox beat the Royals, 6-5.
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⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌥️
Mostly cloudy with a high near 61.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
Many Illinois public colleges fail to follow law to protect immigrant students from feds
By Mary Norkol and Lisa Kurian Philip
Fallen short: Last December, Illinois legislators passed a law requiring public colleges and universities to establish protocols for what to do if immigration agents come on campus — perhaps the only state to do so. But a Sun-Times/WBEZ investigation found most of the state’s public universities and community colleges have fallen short of meeting conditions.
No idea: Most institutions failed to spell out their protocols for documenting interactions with immigration agents and notifying students and staff if immigration agents are looking for them. Many college students said they had no idea their school was supposed to have these protocols in place by Jan. 1.
Who’s at risk: Across Illinois, more than 27,000 undocumented college students and more than 64,000 international students need a visa to study in the U.S. Many students are fearful of immigration enforcement and unaware of protocols such as who at the school they should contact in an emergency.
POLITICS ✶
State lawmakers want to rein in artificial intelligence
By Matt Trunfio and Anna Savchenko
AIn’t it: Without federal limitations on artificial intelligence, Illinois lawmakers are making a final push to regulate AI before the General Assembly’s spring session ends May 31. The bipartisan effort comes in response to a growing number of cases in which AI chatbots have pushed troubled teens over the edge, leading to self-harm or suicide.
The options: Ideas on how to combat the tech include asking major AI developers to create and adhere to a safety plan to mitigate “catastrophic” situations; requiring companies to tell customers if they are talking to a real person or a chatbot; putting legal responsibility for unintended consequences including suicide back onto developers; limiting educators’ AI use in classrooms; and targeting deepfakes during political campaigns.
Jail eyes $1.12M contract: In other AI news, a coalition of community and advocacy groups wants the Cook County Board of Commissioners to reject a proposed $1.12 million contract for the use of AI-powered surveillance technology at the county jail, arguing that officials should first address the number of deaths at the facility.
EDUCATION 🍎
CPS plans to cut teacher positions in bid to shrink $732M deficit
By Sarah Karp and Emmanuel Camarillo
Cuts planned: Chicago Public Schools told principals Tuesday that the district is planning to cut the number of regular teachers who work in schools next year, which could result in bigger class sizes. CPS officials refused to provide an estimate of how much less money schools will receive, how many total teachers will be laid off or how much the district stands to save.
Post-COVID impact: It marks the first time in three years that CPS, facing a projected $732 million deficit, is proposing cuts that will directly hit classrooms. Prior to that, the school district was flush with federal COVID-19 relief funding and did not face big shortfalls.
Our analysis: A Sun-Times/WBEZ analysis shows that between 700 and 800 classroom teachers could be laid off under the district’s new staffing formula. Based on the average teacher’s salary of about $100,000, that would reduce spending by $70 million to $80 million.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- Police wound man: A shootout between a 26-year-old gunman and two Chicago police officers left the gunman seriously hurt Monday night in South Chicago.
- ‘Safe haven’ milestone: Illinois is celebrating nearly three years without a baby being illegally abandoned, almost 25 years after a state law was passed allowing parents to surrender infants legally to designated places dubbed “safe havens.”
- Pressure to replace ShotSpotter: During a City Council hearing Tuesday, alderpersons urged Mayor Brandon Johnson, who had canceled the ShotSpotter contract shortly after taking office, to find a replacement for the gunshot detection technology.
- Wage freeze advances: Also at City Hall on Tuesday, a compromise advanced that would freeze the hourly pay of tipped workers at 76% of the minimum wage for the next two years for large restaurants and the next four years for smaller establishments.
- Remembering Amisha Patel: A community organizer who championed progressive causes, Ms. Patel had a knack for bringing people together and using art and imagery to draw attention to a cause. She died April 24 at age 50.
- Jeff Awards changes: The Jeff Committee, the nonprofit all-volunteer organization behind Chicago’s Jeff Awards, announced Tuesday that the Non-Equity Jeff Awards would pause all awards consideration of non-equity productions opening on or after June 1, 2026.
- Patti Smith honored: Rocker Patti Smith will receive the 2026 Harold Washington Literary Award from the Near South Planning Board, which gives the prize annually at a dinner to kick off the Printers Row Lit Fest.
MUST-READ COMMENTARY 🗣️
- Natalie Y. Moore: Don’t discount the patriarchy’s role in deadly domestic violence against Black women.
- Neil Steinberg: A recent trip to Europe shows that building arches and ballrooms is no guarantee of greatness.
- Rich Miller: Property tax relief is scant in the Bears stadium bill, an analysis shows. Even if the program is wildly successful, that’s still about $60 per homestead.
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
- DACA renewal delays: Immigration attorney and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient Dianne Rashid discusses the impact of unprecedented delays in the DACA renewal process.
- Piping plovers: Chicago’s love affair with the endangered birds is explained by guests Liza Lehrer, assistant director of the Urban Wildlife Institute; Bob Dolgan, director of a piping plover documentary; and Daniel Suarez, conservation director for Audubon Great Lakes.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
- ‘Dino Rap’: A CPS 6th grader has gone viral for his rap about dinosaurs. We talk to him and his musician/composer dad, Jeffrey Qaiyum, about their song and sharing passions with kids. Listeners weigh in.
FROM THE PRESS BOX ⚽🏀🏈
- McDonald’s Park: The Chicago Fire’s forthcoming stadium at The 78 has a new moniker, as part of a naming rights deal that’s a first for the fast food giant.
- Sky trust Sheldon: They gave up a 2028 first-round pick to get Jacy Sheldon. But her style of play is central to building the team’s new identity, writes Alissa Hirsh.
- High school football: The Hinsdale Central combine gives overlooked players a chance for college offers.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 4D: Former Chicago Bull Rajon ___
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Chicago Cabaret Week returns with new venues, Filipino love songs and Tony Bennett tribute
By Erica Thompson
Chicago Cabaret Week is expanding in 2026, bringing intimate and eclectic shows into more venues and neighborhoods.
Running through Sunday, the festival features more than 50 artists across multiple locations, including four new spots: Stars & Garters, Bughouse Theater, The Labyrinth Club and The Redhead Piano Bar.
This year’s lineup comprises vocal groups; burlesque performances; a play about the Equal Rights Amendment; and tributes to Carol Burnett, Linda Ronstadt and Tony Bennett. The event is organized by the nonprofits Working in Concert and Chicago Cabaret Professionals, and tickets are priced at $30 or less to keep the shows accessible.
Among the standout performers this year is Lou Ella Rose Cabalona, who on Friday will perform traditional Filipino songs and tunes penned by Filipino Chicagoans. She’ll present selections from “The Great Filipino Songbook” at the Epiphany Center for the Arts.
“There is a profound connection between Chicago and the Philippines when it comes to music,” Cabalona told the Sun-Times, citing the work of influential Filipino composers Francisco Santiago and Nicanor Abelardo, who migrated to the city in the 1920s and 1930s.
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Eydie Cubarrubia
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