While Chicago Public Schools' enrollment plummeted between 2010 and 2025, its white student population rose significantly, per a new Axios analysis.

The big picture: The enrollment shift bucks previous trends of white flight from urban school districts and reflects broader demographic changes reshaping the city.

• Experts say the data highlight a growing preference among some white-collar workers to raise families in urban centers rather than move to the suburbs.

By the numbers: The district lost 86,457 students from 2010 to 2025 but gained 2,630 white pupils.

• Latino and Asian student enrollment remained relatively steady at 44–46% and 3–5%, respectively, according to CPS data.
• But Black enrollment fell sharply — from 43% to 34% — while white enrollment rose from 9% to 12% of the overall student body.

What they're saying: Rob Paral, a demographer at the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago, tells Axios it's pretty clear that "there's a class of educated people that have a strong city preference."

• "They're voting with their feet, and they're investing in the neighborhoods that they're in. They're spending their money to live in the city."

Zoom in: CPS saw a 7% rise in white enrollment at a time when the overall population of people 18 and under in Chicago fell by 19%, according to U.S. Census figures.

Between the lines: CPS' growing flock of selective-enrollment schools may have influenced some families to stay.

• A 2024 Axios analysis of CPS racial and economic data showed that affluent white students were overrepresented in the district's top five selective-enrollment schools.

Reality check: While the percentage of white students is rising in CPS, it doesn't begin to reflect the overall population of the city, which today hovers at about 32% white, 30% Latino and 28% Black. In CPS, those figures are:

• White: 12%
• Black: 34%
• Latino: 46%

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The schedule for the 2026-27 NFL season was released last night and the Bears are one of the league's biggest attractions.

The latest: The NFL gave the Bears seven nationally televised games, including two appearances on "Monday Night Football" and a Thanksgiving matchup against the rival Detroit Lions.

• The Bears host rival Green Bay on Christmas Day.
• Other marquee games include a "Thursday Night Football" game on Oct. 22 against the New England Patriots and a Saturday night game on Dec. 19 versus the Buffalo Bills.

Why it matters: The Bears have gone from a rebuilding franchise to a primetime staple in less than two years under coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams.

Zoom in: The team's social media is having fun with the schedule release, tapping wide receiver Rome Odunze — whose signature hairstyle already draws comparisons to the late painter Bob Ross — to unveil the 2026 schedule in a parody of "The Joy of Painting."

Context: The video, which is titled "Happy Little Matchups," features Odunze calmly painting each opponent onto a canvas in Bob Ross style.

What they're saying: "I used to put Bob Ross on in the background sometimes to just relax," Odunze tells Axios. "So I knew a little bit about it, some of his signature sayings."

• "This is my introduction into the acting world," he added. "I'm hoping the talent scouts out there are watching this one."

Keep reading

🏛️ A Republican-led U.S. House committee subpoenaed Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King to appear next month to answer questions about the district's compliance with the Civil Rights Act, Title IX and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. (Tribune)

A firefighter died from injuries sustained during a training exercise yesterday afternoon in West Ridge. (Sun-Times)

🧑‍⚖️ Ald. Jim Gardiner is suing the Chicago Board of Ethics and the former city Inspector General for $1 million for allegedly trying "to harass, punish, and drive him out of elected office" in 2023. (WTTW)

🏞️ An American eel was found in the Chicago River, raising slippery questions. (Block Club)

We're all suckers for some nostalgia, and you can travel back to the turn of the century on Monday.

The big picture: Petterino's, in the heart of the Theater District at Dearborn and Randolph, celebrates its 25th anniversary, complete with a throwback menu of dishes and prices from its 2001 opening.

What to expect: A three-course $25 prix fixe with menu highlights from then and now, including tomato bisque, spaghetti and meatballs and tiramisu, among other options.

• The anniversary is a trip down memory lane, too, with the menu displaying 2001 prices alongside current prices.

The menu includes:

• Blue Point Oysters — $1 each compared to $3 each in 2026
• Margherita Pizza — $14 compared to $22
• Prime 14oz NY Strip — $32 compared to $62

Flashback: Lettuce Entertain You launched the steak and seafood joint in February 2001, adjacent to the Goodman Theatre's newly-opened space at 170 N. Dearborn St.

Catch up quick: The restaurant got a revamp — and new owners — in 2021 when The Good Plate Hospitality Group took it over from LEY.

• Much to the relief of Goodman ticket holders and regulars, the new owners maintained the original's kitsch but spruced it up.

If you go: Doors open at 11am Monday, with a celebratory champagne toast at 6pm.

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A fan fell almost 10 feet into the visitor's bullpen at Rate Field Wednesday night. The game was delayed as the fan was taken to the hospital in reportedly good condition.

• The melee reminded me of all the times fans stopped play or other wild things happened off the field in Chicago sports history.

Today's quiz: Stadium hijinks.

Last week's college quiz resulted in several winners. Congrats to Mary M., Tim A., Matt A., Mark S., Bret D., and first-time winners Michael L. and Tom K.!

• Screenshot your perfect scores and I'll shout you out next week.

Take the quiz here

TimeLine Theatre riveted audiences Thursday night with a timely new adaptation of Ibsen's "An Enemy of the People" in its brand-new Uptown space.