Stories by Heather Cherone

In all, it has already cost Chicago taxpayers more than $98 million to defend disgraced former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara, investigate his conduct and resolve lawsuits that allege Guevara violated dozens of Chicagoans’ civil rights, according to WTTW News’ analysis.

The Democratic National Convention will close off wide swaths of the Near West Side around the United Center and downtown around McCormick Place, under a security plan law enforcement authorities released Thursday. “Chicago is ready,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “We were born ready.”

If the city loses at trial, it could cost taxpayers between $18 million and $34 million, according to public warnings that most of the Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee ignored.

City officials said Tuesday they are “hyper prepared” for a renewed surge of buses paid for by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to arrive in Chicago before the Democratic National Convention kicks off in less than four weeks.

“We are expanding this lawsuit to ensure that other irresponsible actors who have contributed to the proliferation of easily modified Glocks in our city are held accountable for their role in this deadly new frontier plaguing Chicago’s residents and communities,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.   

“President Biden united the country by defeating Donald Trump in 2020 and Chicago is grateful for his leadership and his service,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “Today, President Biden cemented his legacy as the rare leader who puts people above himself.”

Republican nominee former President Donald Trump has said he will only accept the results of the Nov. 5 general election if “everything is honest.”

“We will adhere to the Republican platform, we are a party of the people and freedom,” Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi said, declining to say whether she personally supports a national abortion ban. 

“Well, I'll tell you your blue funk is over,” newly elected chair of the Illinois Republican Party Kathy Salvi said. “We're going to make Illinois red again.”

Here’s what a second term for former President Donald Trump could mean for Chicago.

Brooks, a Republican, posted on social media that he is “grateful for this opportunity and looking forward to giving a shoutout to Chicago and Opportunity Block,” a reference to Brooks’ efforts to remake one of Chicago’s most violent blocks.

“We’re at a crossroads here,” U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, said. “The contrast couldn’t be more stark.”

With 20 days to go before the initiative faces a deadline of Aug. 5 to file at least 56,464 signatures to put the question to Chicago voters on the Nov. 5 ballot, the committee has just $83.47 on hand after spending $175, according to state records.

“God spared our great leader Donald J. Trump,” said U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Springfield), kicking off the breakfast. “The darker it gets the brighter we can shine.”

Authored by Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd Ward), the measure allows officials to fine those who leave materials in public areas or on private property that appear to be hazardous or pose a threat to public safety.

Chicago taxpayers have paid nearly $71.9 million since 2019 to resolve lawsuits involving police pursuits, with the city’s insurance coverage paying an additional $25 million, according to a WTTW News analysis.

John Velez was convicted of killing 26-year-old Anthony Hueneca in Little Village. The jury did not hear evidence that Velez was actually in Cicero at the time of the shooting.

In all, it has already cost Chicago taxpayers more than $98 million to defend former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara, investigate his conduct and resolve lawsuits that allege he violated dozens of Chicagoans’ civil rights, according to WTTW News’ analysis.

Investigators with CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs did not interview anyone other than the eight officers accused of belonging to the Oath Keepers, according to a 30-page report.

The board of the Municipal Employees’ Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago voted at its June meeting to suspend the former alderperson’s pension once he was sentenced on 13 counts of racketeering, attempted extortion and attempted bribery.

The debate represented the latest skirmish in the so-far unsuccessful push to rewrite the rules for the City Council, which served as a rubber stamp for decades rather than a legislative body charged with setting policy for the entire city.

The lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois accuses the Chicago Police Department of making more than 1.5 million traffic stops between 2016 and 2023 based on dubious evidence of minor violations that took direct aim at Black and Latino Chicagoans but spared White Chicagoans. 

In all, Chicago owes $37.2 billion to its four employee pension funds representing police officers, firefighters, municipal employees and laborers, according to the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.

“Many homeowners are going to be shocked and angry when they get their bills,” Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said.

As the mayor ramps up work on his second budget proposal, a newly formed Chicago City Council subcommittee is set to meet at noon Wednesday to start examining the dozens of proposals to increase the amount of money officials have on hand to spend starting in 2025.

Every four years, residents of Chicago’s 50 wards pick their representative on the City Council. They are officially known as alderpeople. But what exactly do they do?