🌤️ Good and bad education news

Under Pressure, Chicago Colleges Are Expanding

The University of Chicago will offer free tuition for families with incomes below $250,000 starting in fall 2027, in addition to covering housing and meals for those making less than $125,000. The news is being celebrated as yearly tuition at UChicago now exceeds $70,000.

The news also comes as college class sizes grow overall amid funding fears.

Growth at UChicago: Just a week before the free tuition news broke, UChi announced plans to expand its undergrad class size to about 9,000 students. That’s a roughly 20% increase, which could help fill the school’s $160 million operating deficit. The school says it’s on track to eliminate the deficit by 2028.

• In August: The school paused Ph.D. admissions across several arts and humanities subjects. 

Meanwhile at Northwestern: In January, Northwestern announced it had admitted its largest class in years in 2025: 2,139 undergrad students. Projections for next year look similar. The incoming class size hovers around 2,100 with a relatively static acceptance rate of 7%.

• Nationwide: Waitlist acceptance rates are even lower as applicants and schools both cast an increasingly wide net. 

Federal funding woes continue: After President Donald Trump froze $790 million in federal research for Northwestern, the school laid off hundreds before eventually striking a $75 million deal with the administration. Meanwhile, UChicago expects a loss of $40 million in grants by the end of 2026.

To secure funding: Both Northwestern and UChicago agreed to a slate of policy changes over the past year.

• At Northwestern: As part of that $75 million deal, the school agreed to tighten rules over protest; terminate designated spaces for Middle Eastern, North African, and Muslim students; use the government’s definition of sex and gender; and more.
• At UChicago: The University of Chicago cut ties with the PhD Project, an organization that works to diversify postgrad student pools. UChicago Medicine also discontinued all pediatric gender-affirming care.

House Subpoenas Head of CPS

Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King must testify in front of the U.S. House education committee on how CPS handles issues of sexual content and gender identity. The congressional hearing will discuss the Say No to Indoctrination Act and Stop the Sexualization of Children Act, which would prevent federal funding from going to schools that teach gender identity or have “sexually-oriented” material. [WBEZ]

• Learn more: Inside the DOJ’s pressures on Illinois schools. [City Cast Chicago 🎧]
• Hold up: What’s all going on with CPS? [City Cast Chicago 💻]

Will Pritzker Free Larry Hoover?

Co-founder of the Black Gangster Disciples Nation Larry Hoover’s federal life sentence was commuted by Trump last year. However, the 75-year-old remains behind bars in Illinois for ordering a 1973 killing. Now, his fate is up to Gov. JB Pritzker. Some high-profile Chicagoans are lobbying for Hoover’s release, at odds with Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke. [Sun-Times]

• The whole story: The rise and fall of Gangster Disciples co-founder Larry Hoover. [City Cast Chicago 🎧]

Rare Eel in Chicago River

An angler pulled up the slippery critter in River North. American eels are born in the Atlantic Ocean and travel to freshwater systems as adults. But to reach Chicago, this eel would have had to navigate electric barriers or make a long-haul swim through the Great Lakes. [Block Club]

Bears’ 2026 Schedule Dropped

The Bears have five primetime games next season, the most since 2000, in addition to two standalone games. On Thanksgiving, the Bears take on the Detroit Lions. On Christmas, they will host the Green Bay Packers. It’s on 🧀 [Chicago Bears]