Chicago

The community engagement tech supplier helped the city’s public school system, one of the largest in the U.S., gather feedback during the search for a new leader. The company expects more such work.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office has published the first of what is expected to be several reports detailing the technology delays and assigning blame for where the fault lies.

Suburban school districts on the outskirts of Chicago are staffing technology committees, implementing guidelines, training teachers and planning pilot programs to embrace AI as a necessity in the coming school year.

A cyber attack by a Russian hacking group in February compromised private student data, and the district is advising those affected to change their passwords and remain vigilant in looking out for identity theft.

A cyber attack in late 2024 exposed names, dates of birth, student identification numbers and Medicaid identification numbers, but not Social Security numbers or financial information, of current and former students.

The University of Chicago’s proprietary chatbot, PhoenixAI, leverages OpenAI models but serves as an open-ended platform for faculty, students and administrators to experiment and find new use cases.

Transit pilot projects in Los Angeles and Chicago are deploying camera technology to identify vehicles blocking bus lanes and issue citations. The programs are designed to make the services more efficient.

Owners of vehicles parked in bike and bus lanes downtown can now receive warnings and, soon, tickets in the mail, as a delayed program to test automated ticketing for the parking infractions has begun.

It’s been two weeks since Mayor Brandon Johnson ended the city’s contract with the company that owns and operates the ShotSpotter gunshot-detection technology, despite opposition from the City Council.

The City Council is signaling once more its commitment to keeping acoustic gunshot detection technology in Chicago, even if that effort continues to pit aldermen against Mayor Brandon Johnson.

ShotSpotter’s days in Chicago are numbered, but some aldermen are trying — once again — to throw the gunshot detection system a last-minute lifeline as its time ticks down.

The utility ComEd is working with Illinois nonprofit QUILT to improve middle-mile broadband infrastructure across Chicago’s South and West sides while reducing costs. The initiative is enabled by a federal grant.

The university's Hyde Park Labs, set to open in 2025, will provide lab and office space for life sciences, data science and renewable energy researchers, and host venture capital firms ready to support new technology.

The site, long home to steel manufacturing, is expected to land billions in investment from California-based tech company PsiQuantum, which is working to build the first commercially viable quantum computer.

Every one of these attacks is an outrage, disrupting commerce, threatening the prospects of otherwise healthy organizations and requiring lavish investments to harden systems against hacking.

The South Side grid, partially powered by solar panels, came online in May and successfully generated enough electricity for more than 1,000 customers in Bronzeville. Next up: linking with another microgrid.

Plus, more initial proposals for BEAD funding have been approved, census data reveals insights on the digital divide, and more.

Alarmed by the reach and rapid expansion of license plate cameras, privacy advocates have filed suit in Illinois, saying the cameras violate the Constitution’s protections against unreasonable search.