Stories by Heather Cherone

During the past eight years, city officials have paid at least $11.2 million to hire private attorneys to defend former Sgt. Ronald Watts and the officers he supervised, despite his criminal conviction and the hundreds of people he helped convict who have been exonerated.

The showdown set for Wednesday is the latest inflection point in the monthslong debate over whether ShotSpotter is an irreplaceable tool in the fight against gun violence or a waste of taxpayer funds.

During the first six months of 2024, Chicago taxpayers paid $40.5 million to resolve lawsuits alleging police officers committed misconduct, records show.

The pilot program launched by federal proscecutors Chicago appears to be the latest attempt to root out the deeply entrenched culture of corruption that has long defined local and state politics.

In an interview with WTTW News, Kennedy Bartley, 29, the managing deputy for external relations, said she feels deep regret about what she said in the wake of the August 2019 killing of Elijah McClain, of Aurora, Colorado. She declined to express regret for posting “From the river to the sea. Palestine will be free. Amen!”

In all, Chicago taxpayers spent $197.8 million to resolve 42 lawsuits brought by more than three dozen people wrongfully convicted based on evidence gathered by the Chicago Police Department between Jan. 1, 2019, and April 30, 2024, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.

U.S. District Court Judge John F. Kness ordered former Ald. Carrie Austin, 75, to undergo a physical examination by an expert doctor to determine whether she is too ill to stand trial, as her lawyers insist.

If the verdict is upheld, it would be equivalent to more than 60% of Chicago’s annual $82 million budget to cover the cost of police misconduct lawsuits.

The city's inspector general said it was “troubling” that the city did not hold the firm that leases the city's parking meters accountable for seven years.

Shelters in Pilsen and in the West Loop will close Oct. 1 and a shelter in Hyde Park will close Oct. 24. All of the residents will be offered space in one of the 14 shelters the city will continue to operate, officials said.

Three and a half years after 13-year-old Adam Toledo’s death spurred demonstrations and renewed calls for police reform, the lawsuit filed by his parents is set to go to trial Nov. 6, ramping up the pressure on lawyers for the city to negotiate a settlement in the high-profile case or face a trial that could lead to a multimillion-dollar jury verdict.

“The Chicago Police Department is transforming,” said Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling, who was present during a majority of the protests and wore a body camera. “This is a transformation.”

The federal judge who ruled Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th Ward) violated the First Amendment by blocking six critics from his official Facebook page admonished him Friday for approaching her in June at a funeral even as the case remains pending.

“There are sacrifices that will be made,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

The permanent casino will be four times as big as the temporary casino now open at the Medinah Temple at Ohio Street and Wabash Avenue.

Will Fletcher, who took over as the school district’s watchdog in 2020, resigned last week with nearly two years left in his term.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said he was especially proud of the way Chicago Police Department handled four days of protests designed to urge Vice President Kamala Harris, now officially the Democratic nominee for president, to end the war in Gaza.

Mayor Brandon Johnson told WTTW News on Thursday night that the Chicago Police Department “most certainly” passed the test posed by the Democratic National Convention, just as the final night of the convention — and the final planned protest — got underway.

The pastor of St. James Church, Ald. William Hall said it was “humbling, joyful, inspirational” to find himself in the white-hot spotlight of the convention.

“We will not allow people to come to this city, disrespect it and destroy it,” Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said at a news conference at the office of Office of Emergency Management and Communications. “Enough is enough.”

The first mayor of a major American city to back her surprise bid for the presidency, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called Vice President Kamala Harris a “visionary leader” capable of defeating “the threat of another Trump presidency.”

“As the mother of four daughters that I thought would have more rights than me, not fewer,” Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton said, “I’m devastated to this day that Trump’s Supreme Court found a way to relegate us to second-class citizens.”

The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., 82, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Illinois, was celebrated during Monday’s session of the convention, earning a loud ovation from the crowd.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, the father of three children, said Vice President Kamala Harris’ status as the first Black woman to be nominated by a major party for president was deeply personal for him and his 10-year-old daughter, Braedyn.

“Our officers responded exactly the way that we trained them,” Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said. “To respect First Amendment activity.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson will wear the jacket if the convention does not go as planned — but benefit if Chicago shines on the national stage.