CPS

Chicago Public Schools claimed a 1.2 percent increase from last year on first-day attendance.

Students took part in boycott of classes to "support the schools, support the teachers."

The alderman suggested using so-called "unmanned aerial vehicles'' to protect students.  

Yet Mayor Rahm Emanuel said it can even be extended to "the whole city, not just Safe Passage routes."

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at least former CPS boss Jean-Claude Brizard appreciated his sense of humor.

No incidents were reported along Safe Passage routes as students returned to school.

Parents walked their kids to school a block from where a 14-year-old boy was shot dead Sunday.

Students had plenty of company on their walks to several area schools Monday morning.

Officials and volunteers reported no problems for students walking from shuttered Ross Elementary.

The 100-year-old school will open next week as Crane Preparatory Medical High School.

Protesters gathered outside the Mayor's Office to call for a citywide boycott on Wednesday.

But Ald. Bob Fioretti bemoaned the lack of a South Loop neighborhood high school.

More students could be siphoned from public schools, leading to more CPS closings, activist said.

Organizers are calling for a TIF redistribution, but a Logan Sqaure alderman says refund isn't likely.

CPS said it has accepted requests for charter schools the same way for ten years.