Matt Farmer

A couple of voices from Mayor Emanuel's "education reform" choir are up in arms because some public school teachers are now talking seriously about the possibility of a teachers' strike in Chicago later this summer.

The mayor's folks are outraged by such talk -- and by recent reports of mock...

February was an interesting month for sixth-grade math teacher Octavia Sansing-Rhodes. On February 28, WGN-TV and St. Xavier University named Sansing-Rhodes their "Teacher of the Month" and awarded her a $1000 check for her fine work at Chicago's Herzl Elementary School.

That honor, however, was bittersweet because...

If Jennifer Cheatham, the Chief Instruction Officer for Chicago Public Schools, were an NBA team, she'd undoubtedly have a lousy road record.

Last Thursday night, Cheatham brought her PowerPoint-based offense to Morgan Park High School on the city's South Side, where, for two painful hours, she was outhustled and...

As soon as the Chicago press started getting worked up last week about a high school student who may or may not have slipped some gang symbols into his winning city sticker design, I telephoned San Francisco.

I wanted to talk to my old buddy Marc Paschke, who's been...

Let's face it -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel has no idea how to handle Chicago's "Rooftop Reverend," Pastor Corey Brooks. For the last 10 weeks, Brooks has been living in a dark green tent atop the now-shuttered Super Motel at the corner of 66th and King Drive.

Back...

Many Chicagoans took time out earlier this week to celebrate the 83rd birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As usual, our elected officials tripped over each other in their annual attempts to demonstrate their ongoing commitment to the late Dr. King and the principles he championed.

Our mayor spent...

Did I miss a recent press conference at Chicago's Collins Academy? You know, the shindig where Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard announced that Collins, as of November 2011, was no longer on academic probation.

Did I sleep through their slickly produced slideshow highlighting the spike in...

Chicago's Walter H. Dyett High School was set up as a house of cards. Former CPS CEO Paul Vallas was the architect. His successor, Arne Duncan, served for years as the absentee landlord. And current CEO Jean-Claude Brizard was recently cast in the role of the evicting sheriff, having served...

If you've spent any time at all listening to CPS officials during the past few months, you've probably heard plenty of talk about the need for "quality seats" in Chicago's public schools. But you probably haven't heard CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard explain just what a "quality...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been catching heat ever since he proposed to cut $11 million from Chicago's library system -- a move that could result in roughly 300 layoffs and reduced operating hours for branch libraries throughout the city.

Emanuel assured reporters, however, that he does...

Judging by local media coverage of Mayor Emanuel's weekend speech to the graduating seniors at Collins Academy, you might think that thousands of Chicago parents will soon be calling in favors to get their kids admitted to the small West Side public high school.

According to the Chicago Tribune,...

Ron Huberman didn't bother to phone Olympic gold medalist and WNBA superstar Cappie Pondexter last spring before firing the entire faculty at Marshall High School. Had the former CPS CEO made that call, he surely would have heard about Tony Skokna, Pondexter's old history teacher.

The sharp-shooting Pondexter,...

Two months from now, Rahm Emanuel will be in charge of Chicago's public school system. Don't be surprised, however, if the Mayor-elect and his wife end up sending their own kids to private schools.

Emanuel knows, of course, that he'll take some heat if he and his wife decide...

Quick -- can you tell me in 20 words or less whether Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar favors an increase in off-shore drilling?

What about Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke -- where does he stand on loosening trade restrictions with China?

Truth is, both of these guys could...

It's been two years, and I still haven't gotten a thank-you note from Rufus Williams for helping to cover the $640 dinner tab he rang up at Table 52 on the Gold Coast back in January 2009.

Who knows? Maybe the former president of the Chicago Board...

My family and I live on the far north side of Chicago, just blocks from the Evanston border. This month, however, I've been spending most of my free nights and weekends down south in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. If you're guessing there might be another woman in the picture, you're correct....

Sunday, October 3 was not an official school day for my eight-year-old daughter, who is one of 400,000 kids enrolled in the Chicago Public Schools system. CPS, however, still managed to teach my child three important lessons on Sunday. And like many of life's most important lessons, these will never...

Good morning, kids. My name is Ron Huberman and -- for the time being -- I'm still the Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools. Thanks for inviting me out to Philip Rogers Elementary School today.

I want to start out this morning by talking a little bit about secrets....

Be honest. Did you even bat an eye when you read this weekend's headlines? Cubs lose to the Brewers by thirteen runs. Bears eke out an ugly win against the lowly Lions. And another uniformed Chicago cop gets shot in broad daylight.

If these stories didn't faze you, it's...

If you're one of those wide-eyed parents who told your children that the 2008 election of Barack Obama signaled the start of a "post-racial" America, be sure to shield your kids from the inevitable ugliness of Chicago's upcoming mayoral election.

When Mayor Daley's 21 year reign comes to an end...