City briefings: Is a Chicago teacher pact within reach?

The Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools have begun meeting daily for bargaining sessions to focus on reaching agreement on a new contract.

The two sides have also agreed to forego help the teachers union sought from the state to force Chicago Public Schools to take the next legal step in negotiating a deal.

CTU attorney Robert Bloch said both sides will postpone a hearing scheduled before the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board for a month and proceed to fact-finding on Feb. 1 if no contract has been reached by then.

CPS spokeswoman Emily Bittner said the reason was that "both parties agreed that it's important to concentrate our energy on reaching an agreement that would prevent midyear layoffs, and we continue to negotiate in good faith on that critical goal."

Former prep athlete slain on Skyway

A former high school basketball and football star at De La Salle was killed and a woman wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon on the Chicago Skyway bridge over the Calumet River.

Elliott Brown, 25, was driving a BMW coupe southbound on the Skyway (I-90) near 98th Street about 1:30 p.m. when it was approached by a black SUV, authorities said.

Someone in the SUV opened fire, striking Brown in the BMW multiple times. A 23-year-old woman passenger was shot in the left arm, police said.

Catholic schools plan growth strategy

Three Chicago-area Catholic schools are slated to close this year, the latest shutdowns in a decades-long streak of falling enrollment and multimillion-dollar deficits.

But the nation's largest Catholic school system does not plan on getting smaller in the near future, superintendent Jim Rigg told the Chicago Sun-Times.

The school closing announcements came on the heels of a dozen schools closed or consolidated in 2013 and five closings last year. However, newly appointed superintendent of archdiocesan schools Rigg said the archdiocese will be looking for enrollment increases when it unveils a new strategic plan next year.

Cold weather kills Northwest Side man

A 60-year-old man died of cold-related causes early Monday on Chicago's Northwest Side.

Roman Knapik, 60, was found in the 5500 block of West Diversey, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Knapik was taken to Community First Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:01 a.m. Monday.

An autopsy found he died of hypothermia and cold exposure, with acute ethanol intoxication listed as a contributing factor.

Fatal fire was caused by welder

A blaze at a vacant South Side warehouse that left Chicago firefighter Daniel Capuano dead in December was set off by a construction worker and deemed accidental, the fire department announced Wednesday.

Daniel Capuano, a 15-year veteran of the department, was killed while battling a blaze at a vacant warehouse at 9213 S. Baltimore on Dec. 14.

The fire was caused by a construction worker using an arc welder that touched off insulation, according to Fire Media Affairs. The blaze was determined to be accidental.

County Democrats endorse Foxx

The Cook County Democratic Party endorsed Kim Foxx for state's attorney over incumbent Anita Alvarez after a strong push of support from Foxx's former boss Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

Party leaders met behind closed doors for about 25 minutes before announcing their decision.

The move comes after Alvarez has faced blistering criticism for the time it took her office to charge Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke in the shooting death of Laquan McDonald.

Alvarez has insisted that investigating and prosecuting police misconduct is time-consuming and something that is critical to get right, while critics have questioned her commitment to holding cops accountable for wrongdoing.

Reality TV celeb testifies in trial

The fraud trial of businessman Robert Michael revolves around dry banking regulations and a sham real estate deal.

But jurors got a glimpse of glamour Thursday when prosecutors called reality TV star Andrea Kelly to testify about her dealings with former Country Club Hills Police Chief Regina Evans.

Federal prosecutors say Michael and Evans designed a bogus real estate transaction involving the Regal Theater around 2008 to generate cash for Evans' entertainment business. Evans wasn't charged in the case but was sentenced to five years in prison in a separate matter for stealing more than $900,000 in state grant money.

• This week's City Briefing was collected in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. For complete versions of the items, check chicago.suntimes.com.