Illinois
Aurora teacher named 2024 Illinois Teacher of the Year
CHICAGO (CBS) — A fifth-grade teacher in Aurora has been named Illinois Teacher of the Year for 2024.
Illinois State Board of Education Chair Dr. Steven Isoye, Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204 Superintendent Dr. Adrian Talley, and Georgetown Elementary School Principal Jill Keller surprised Dr. Rachael Mahmood with the award on Thursday.
Illinois State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders chose Mahmood from 13 finalists from across the state.
Mahmood has been a teacher since 2005, spending the last nine years at Georgetown Elementary School in Aurora.
“Amidst an incredibly talented pool of educators across our state, Dr. Mahmood rose to the forefront,” Sanders said in a statement. “Despite never feeling like she belonged in school as a student, she became a teacher and found her calling.
“Her journey fuels her passion for making each of her students understand that they belong. She has a passion for the craft of teaching and embodies the qualities of an exceptional educator and inspiring leader.”
Mahmood is known for creating relationships with her students and their families that leave a lasting impact.
“Our role as educators is to adopt an asset-based mindset, leveraging the strengths, funds of knowledge, and social/cultural capital that each student brings to the classroom,” Mahmood said in her nomination materials for the award.
“By harnessing our students’ natural gifts, we inspire them to see that their ability to be successful, both inside and outside of the classroom, already lies within them. As we move with the natural gifts of our students, don’t forget they ride on the coattails of the strength and richness of their families and communities. We must not only partner with our communities but also learn from them.”
Mahmood will take a state-funded sabbatical from teaching for the 2024-25 school year to represent Illinois in the National Teacher of the Year program, serving as an ambassador for the teaching profession.
Sunday, December 14, 2025 6:16PM
WINNETKA, Ill. (WLS) — “Home Alone” is one of the most popular Christmas movies of all time.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
The holiday classic debuted 35 years ago. Now, the iconic house featured in the film is in the spotlight, again.
It underwent an interior renovation and was sold earlier this year.
Now, ABC7 learned that it will be transformed back to the way it looked in 1990, when film audiences got to peek inside it for the first time.
John Abendshien is the former owner of the Winnetka house. He has fond memories of the days spent filming the movie.
READ MORE | Original owner of ‘Home Alone’ house writes memoir about iconic movie
Abendshien said he and his family stayed and watched while the movie was being shot.
He has written a memoir called “Home but Alone No More.”
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A suspect in a deadly stabbing was apprehended early Sunday morning following a pursuit from Cicero that ended up on Chicago’s Far South Side.
Around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Cicero police were called after Ubano Diaz, 73, was tsabbed in the 3200 block of South 54th Court in the west Chicago suburb. Diaz was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died, Cicero police said.
Police immediately identified a person of interest, who was found driving out of the town. They launched a pursuit as the suspect headed northeast on the Stevenson Expressway.
At 1:21 a.m. Sunday, Illinois State Police were called in to assist Cicero police with the pursuit as the suspect cruised up the Stevenson Expressway at California Avenue.
The pursuit kept going along the Stevenson and Dan Ryan expressways before finally ending at 119th Street and Vincennes Avenue west of I-57 in Chicago’s Morgan Park neighborhood.
The driver of the vehicle was taken into custody at that point, Cicero and Illinois State Police said.
There were no crashes or injuries during the pursuit.
Police believe the stabbing was an isolated incident, and there was no threat to the public.
State police did not specify the route of the pursuit.
One person is dead after a fire inside a condo complex in south suburban Glenwood on Saturday evening.
It happened around 5 p.m. in the 900 block of 194th Street.
Glenwood fire officials said that crews responded to a second-floor unit inside the three-story building that was engulfed with flames.
It was confirmed that one person died in the fire. Their identity was not released.
Neighbors in adjoining condos were displaced. The Red Cross was working to provide further assistance to those affected.
Glenwood fire said they are working with the state fire marshal to investigate what led up to the blaze.
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