Senior Juan Padilla, a youth leader with Communities United (at right in hoodie), leads Steinmetz  students in a downtown march against injustice on Nov. 10. Follow the group on Twitter @CommsUnited.

Throughout November and December, Chicagoans gathered in massive protests, many against Mayor Rahm Emanuel for his cover-up of the police killing of teen Laquan McDonald. The video of the homicide was released because journalists had sued the city under the Freedom of Information Act.

On Dec. 16, Urban Prep charter school students protested Mayor Emanuel when he visited their school by chanting “16 shots!” instead of the “school creed” that their principal was trying to lead, the Chicago Tribune reports.