A public campaign against the closure involved nationally famous lawyer Clarence Darrow and several former students and faculty.

After the United States entered World War II, the U.S. military began using the junior colleges as training locations.

When she stepped into the post the system was beset with problems including a demoralized staff and a troubled reputation.

In December 2017, the CCC's television station, WYCC, was purchased by and merged into WTTW, and ceased to exist after 34 years of operation.

[8] The Chicago Tribune editorial board stated that College to Careers was a manner to address "a chronic mismatch between public education and what employers need" through aligning its each of its campuses with a specific job sector so that students can be prepared for specific careers upon graduation.

The initiative draws industry partners to work with faculty and staff in redesigning occupational program curricula and facilities to better match the needs of employers.

[10] College to Careers has initially focused on fast-growing industries in the Chicago region, including healthcare and transportation, distribution and logistics.

Students who graduated from Chicago Public Schools, beginning in the Fall 2015 semester, could receive up to three years of classes at City Colleges of Chicago at no cost if they earned a high school GPA of 3.0, tested completion-ready in math and English, and enrolled in one of CCC's structured pathways.

[16] By its second year, The Chicago Tribune reported the Star Scholarship program helped nearly 2,000 students attend college tuition free while posting strong fall-to-fall retention and GPAs.

[17] To help support these students' academic success after completing at CCC, the Chicago Star Scholarship program partnered with 15 four-year colleges and universities.

Each of these partners committed to creating an opportunity that allows Star Scholars to continue their college education following a successful completion at CCC.

As of Fiscal Year 2015, City Colleges has more than doubled the graduation rate and degree awards, increased its credit enrollment, and nearly tripled the number of students who progress from adult education programs, like GED or ESL learning, into credit-earning college classes.

[21] In November 2017, news stories broke that these improvements were largely an "illusion", and that for over 10 years, City Colleges had violated its own standard as to what constitutes a degree, watered-down its curriculum, manipulated statistics, and issued thousands of degrees to current and former students who neither requested them or wanted them.