Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
Last week marked the end of the school year for Chicago Public Schools.
It also capped the fifth year of the district’s teacher residency program, which aims to bolster teacher ranks amid a workforce shortage.
In today’s newsletter, we take a look at the program and its progress.
Plus, we’ve got reporting on a CTA bus crash in Bridgeport, why some Chicagoans are deep-frying cicadas and more community news you need to know below. 👇
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
CPS teacher residency program growing, helping to fill classrooms
Reporting by Nader Issa
Finishing strong: On the last day of classes for Chicago Public Schools, Yesenia François was finishing up her fifth year as a teacher and her first at Nixon elementary in Hermosa. With the help of a CPS program aimed at bolstering teacher ranks amid a workforce shortage, she took up the profession after family challenges derailed her education.
The program: François was in a 12-member teacher residency pilot program in 2018 that promised to help participants earn a master’s degree and their own classroom. This was an opportunity for parent volunteers, classroom aides and career-changers to pursue a passion.
Charting progress: Five years in, the program is making good progress — including growing by the hundreds. A cohort of 193 teachers was honored at an induction ceremony Monday after finishing their year of residency and earning teacher licenses. They’ll have their own classrooms in the fall. CPS has already recruited 225 prospective teachers for next year’s program.
‘Checks all the boxes’: Ben Felton, CPS human resources chief, said the program “checks all these boxes for us that are so important,” such as filling vacancies in areas where it’s especially hard to find teachers: special education, English learner classrooms and high-poverty schools where educators come and go more often.
How it works: Participants take college courses while shadowing a CPS teacher full time. They have to pay about $20,000 to $30,000 in tuition at one of five local colleges and universities that have partnered with CPS. They get paid $40,000 plus benefits for the residency year, and several scholarships are available to help with tuition. In their second year, the teacher gets a raise and a classroom of their own. They have to commit to working at CPS for at least two years.
Promising data: Early data shows about 88% of participants are sticking with CPS five years in. Officials hope that will help with the district’s teacher retention problems, especially if the program keeps growing. CPS hires about 1,500 teachers every year, so next year’s 225-member cohort will account for about 15% of those hires.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
- 5 injured in 11-vehicle crash: Five people were hospitalized, including a CTA bus driver, when a bus crashed into the renovated Ramova Theatre and nearly a dozen vehicles Monday morning in Bridgeport, according to Chicago police and one of the theater’s owners.
- Feds investigating data breach: Federal authorities are conducting a criminal investigation into a massive data breach that potentially affected as many as 1.2 million patients at Cook County’s public health system and a total of 14 million people across the country, WBEZ reports.
- New initiative to expand gender-affirming care: The Illinois Department of Human Services announced that the new Transgender and Gender Diverse Wellness and Equity Program will provide organizations with comprehensive and medical care for transgender, gender-diverse and LGBTQ+ people.
- Puerto Rico Town renamed: Community and business leaders have renamed a stretch of Division Street in Humboldt Park “Barrio Borikén” in honor of the Caribbean island’s indigenous roots.
- Woman wins $552 million jackpot: The Chicagoan won the Mega Millions jackpot via the iLottery app last week and wants to remain anonymous. It’s the largest prize won by a mobile app winner in the country.
- IHSA approves shot clock: The Illinois High School Association announced on Tuesday that a 35-second shot clock will be required in varsity boys and girls basketball beginning with the 2026-27 school year.
- Buddy Guy to play NASCAR Chicago: Fresh from a spectacular closing-night set at the Chicago Blues Festival on Sunday, the blues legend is heading to next month’s racing weekend event as part of a star-packed music lineup.
SUN-TIMES STAFF SUGGESTS 🧇
Chow down at Stax Cafe
I caught up with my colleague Brian Ernst, director of digital operations on the visuals desk here, who recommends stopping by Stax Cafe for a good meal.
All-day breakfast: “I’m a sucker for breakfast places,” Brian tells me. “Any place that gives me the option to get pancakes and bacon well into the afternoon, especially when sleeping in on weekends, always rises to the top of the list. One of those places is Stax Cafe.”
Two locations: Stax Cafe has two locations in the city, one in Little Italy — Brian’s favorite — and another in River West.
What to order: “I tend to fluctuate between sweet and savory and that’s exactly how their menu is set up,” Brian tells me. “You can indulge your sweet tooth with Stuffed Nutella Raspberry French Toast or a Lemon Poppyseed Waffle, and embrace the savory with a classic Eggs Benedict — or my go-to, their Lumberjack Skillet, that puts every possible savory flavor together.”
Take a sip: “To top off a total ‘treat-yo-self’ Saturday or Sunday morning, add a cappuccino and Stax Old Fashioned, a brunch take on the classic cocktail that adds maple syrup to the mix,” Brian says.
📍Stax Cafe, 1401 W. Taylor St.
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Locals indulge in cicada snacks — available every 17 years
Reporting by Mary Norkol
As it turns out, a blanched cicada tastes kind of like asparagus.
You’ve probably heard by now that the periodical cicadas are back after 17 years in the ground. For some bug enthusiasts, that means a new snack.
Kacie Athey, a University of Illinois researcher of cicadas, and Geoff Marshall, an Albany Park nature lover who works in marketing, both described the insects as tasting like the long green vegetable once they’ve been blanched. But there are ways to make them more tasty, they both said.
After trying one blanched cicada, Marshall battered some in beer batter, fried them and served them up to his friends, proud to introduce a new delicacy that might freak some people out.
“Like any self-respecting American, I’m going to deep-fry them in a little beer batter,” he said before cooking for his friends. “Anything’s good in garlic butter, right? I’m hoping it’ll be kind of like popcorn shrimp.”
Cicadas, like crickets and ants, are edible and, some would even say, delicious. Anyone with a shellfish allergy, though, should steer clear. Cicadas could cause a reaction similar to eating crab or shrimp.
As part of a push to get people more comfortable and educate them on eating insects, the Field Museum and Big Star restaurant are hosting “Bug Bites,” a special event serving crickets on tlayuda. They also plan to serve an ant sauce on a taco.
Watch: Our photographer Tyler Pasciak Lariviere tries one of Marshall’s fried cicadas in a recent TikTok we posted.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Should the city go ahead with plans to build a permanent casino in River West? Tell us why or why not.
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Editor: Satchel Price
Newsletter reporter: Matt Moore
Copy editor: Angie Myers
