Stories by Heather Cherone

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.

Since the start of 2026, Chicago taxpayers have paid $46 million to resolve eight lawsuits filed by the families of those killed or seriously injured during a police pursuit that violated Chicago Police Department policy, records show.

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.

The Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards voted 12-6 Thursday to advance a revised measure that was crafted by critics of Mayor Brandon Johnson on the City Council and is supported by landlord groups and the city’s business community.

The Committee on Housing and Real Estate voted 12-9 to advance a revised measure designed by Mayor Brandon Johnson to shift the balance of power toward renters from landlords.

In all, the city has banked $2.6 million in revenue from the tickets, records show.

The deal requires Stonepeak to sell Omni Air International, which has a contract with the Trump administration to carry out deportations, according to the City Council members.

“We can’t go backward,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said, accusing his rivals of wanting to close schools and “militarize our streets.”

Snelling received his first monthly pension payment of $15,744.73 on Aug. 31, and they will continue for the rest of his life, according to records obtained by WTTW News from the Policeman’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago.

NetChoice, a trade association representing the tech industry, sued to block the social media and digital advertising taxes approved as part of the state’s 2026-27 spending plan, which take effect Jan. 1, records show.

Chicago taxpayers have paid $7 million to resolve three federal lawsuits alleging misconduct by Officer Michael Donnelly, including the 2019 improper raid of Anjanette Young’s home, records show.

Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $46 million since the start of 2026 to resolve eight 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.

The total cost of defending and settling lawsuits naming disgraced former Chicago Police Detective Reynado Guevara topped $191.8 million in May, according to a WTTW News analysis.

After more than three and a half hours of tense questioning, the dispute triggered by the City Council’s decision to green-light video gambling terminals in every Chicago bar and restaurant remained deadlocked.