Venezuelan refugees reunited with their cat, thanks to rescue group; ‘We couldn’t leave her as if she was a toy’

They say love comes suddenly and unexpectedly, sometimes during the most tumultuous times in life, said Carlos Salazar, a native of Venezuela who now lives in Rogers Park. He met his partner Efren Monsalve in Peru after they escaped the turmoil and economic crisis ravaging their home country. They found a home in each other, they said, now sitting on a couch in their apartment, seemingly a million miles away from friends and family. But their family wasn’t complete. They’d been missing their cat, Katzel, after they had to make the hard decision to leave her in Peru when they […]

Chicago Board of Education unanimously approves new strategic plan for district schools

Parents, students, teachers and advocates filled dozens of seats in the auditorium at Chicago Public Schools’ Downtown offices ahead of the vote that would determine the district’s way forward – for the next five years. Shortly after the Board of Education’s unanimous vote to approve its new five-year strategic plan, the room burst into applause, but not all who observed the vote were pleased. After the vote, among the five speakers who signed up to address the board, Angel Alvarez, a South Chicago native and CPS alumni, reprimanded the board for its new plan, stating that it “failed to address […]