Stories by Heather Cherone

“Neighborhoods with the greatest infrastructure needs should not face additional barriers to securing essential public investment,” Mayor Brandon Johnson wrote in his official veto measure. “Delaying infrastructure projects can increase construction costs, worsen deterioration and ultimately cost taxpayers more.”

Drivers blocking bicycle and bus lanes racked up nearly $4.5 million in fines since November 2024, when an effort to use automated cameras to make streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians launched downtown, according to city data.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city would refinance bonds backed by the city’s sales tax revenues that are at least 10 years old to generate between $65 million and $71 million. But that refinancing generated just $36 million, officials said.

To date, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability has determined members of that tactical team violated department policy during 23 separate traffic stops, according to a WTTW News analysis of COPA records.

CPD has exceeded its annual overtime budget for the 10th straight year, despite repeated promises from Mayor Brandon Johnson to reign in police overtime spending, according to a database published by Inspector General David Glockner.

“This budget magic … we’re only able to do this once,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. “We are sweeping the cupboards bare. Once you’ve done that, you have to look for other resources.”

The majority of the officers found to have used racial slurs were suspended for less than a month, according to Chicago’s watchdog.

It has already cost Chicago taxpayers at least $206 million to defend and settle 16 lawsuits naming former Chicago Police Department Detective Reynaldo Guevara, records show.

Chicago taxpayers should pay more than $260.8 million to 17 men who spent more than 383 years in prison after they were coerced into confessing to crimes by a disgraced former Chicago police detective, city lawyers recommended.

Chicago taxpayers have already spent at least $52 million since the start of 2026 to settle nine lawsuits brought by people who were injured or on behalf of those killed during police pursuits, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.

Here’s a breakdown of what it means that New York-based Stonepeak Partners is set to become the new owner of the city’s more than 36,000 meters.

Chicago’s finances have long been out of whack, pinched by soaring pension costs, spiraling personnel costs and a massive amount of debt.

When Jamie Rhee retired in April 2025 after nearly seven years as the commissioner of the Department of Aviation, serving three mayors, she was the city of Chicago’s highest paid employee, records show.

Applicants include current and former members of the Chicago Police Department, as well as candidates from outside of CPD, according to the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability.

More than a dozen progressive members of the City Council said they would not vote in favor of the deal unless the firm sold Omni Air, threatening the completion of the deal involving the city’s 36,000 parking meters.

It is unclear why the probe into the April 2021 shooting took more than five years to complete.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability determined that not only did Officer Alberto Rodriguez assault his 19-year-old girlfriend but he also held her against her will, conclusions endorsed by former Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling.

In all, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability has determined members of that tactical team violated department policy during 22 separate traffic stops, according to a WTTW News analysis of COPA records.

“We have an opportunity to not only apologize to Chicagoans for the city’s past mistakes, but to back that apology with real, tangible benefits for taxpayers for the first time,” Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd Ward) said.

The Illinois Supreme Court could decide the case that has frozen the system Chicago officials used for 60 years to hold accountable officers accused of the most egregious misconduct before the end of the year.

The two long-in-the-works developments will get city subsidies totaling $57.6 million, including the first large chunk of funds from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s signature economic development effort.

The Illinois Supreme Court will hold oral arguments Thursday amid a legal dispute between the city of Chicago and the city’s largest police union that has lasted for more than two years.

Here’s a breakdown of what the two proposals to rewrite Chicago’s 40-year-old landlord-tenant law would do and what’s at stake.

Once slated to be part of the Lincoln Yards megadevelopment, the 31-acre site along the Chicago River is now set to be more than 3,700 homes and 970,000 square feet of office, retail and hotel space as part of the $3 billion Foundry Park.

A key City Council panel unanimously voted to require firms that win lucrative city contracts to disclose whether they are also helping carry out President Donald Trump’s effort to implement the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history.

The total cost to Chicago taxpayers to defend and settle 16 lawsuits naming former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara is set to reach at least $206 million on Wednesday, records show.