Stories by Heather Cherone

Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson had just 41 days to put together his administration and lay the foundation to start delivering on his ambitious agenda — the shortest mayoral transition in Chicago history.

“We are going to reopen the mental health clinics,” Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson said in an interview with WTTW News, putting it first in a list of his top priorities.

Lori Lightfoot ends her historic term as the first Black woman and first out gay person to serve as Chicago’s mayor on Monday, leaving a fractured city still struggling to recover from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic that served to spotlight Chicago’s deeply entrenched problems.

That represents a significant increase from 2020, the last time Chicago needed a new chief law enforcement officer, when 23 people applied for the job.

“We shouldn’t have to come to this point, but here we are,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. “Even in my final days as mayor it is important that we step up and respond to this burgeoning crisis.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot appeared to acknowledge that she ends her single term as mayor with work undone. At several points, she claimed credit not for accomplishments, but for “planting seeds” that will lead to the city's transformation into a more equitable place to live. 

Waller will be the third person to lead the Chicago Police Department in less than six months and will immediately be charged with managing the department during the Memorial Day weekend, which typically results an increase in crime and violence.

Johnson, who will replace Lightfoot in less than two weeks, said he would consult with the South Shore community before making any final decisions on how to address a renewed surge of immigrants being sent to the city from Texas and other states along the southern border.

Chicago Police Officer Sammy Encarnacion resigned Wednesday, the same day that results of the probe conducted by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, known as COPA, was released, officials said.

More than 8,100 people, most of them from Central and South America, have arrived in Chicago since Aug. 31. Mayor Lori Lightfoot sent to the City Council Friday, acknowledging that once again the city’s shelter system is bursting at the seams.  

The team, led by University of Illinois at Chicago Professor Barbara Ransby and Charles Smith, an insurance executive, will have to work fast — Johnson is set to take office in 18 days.

“I had a mission and agenda that I knew I wanted to achieve, which was fairness, justice and equity. I feel that I have done that,” Foxx said.

Carmen Rossi, who also owns several Chicago nightclubs and holds the liquor license for the Lollapalooza music festival, lobbied the city on behalf of his firm, Chicago Parking Solutions, LLC, even though Rossi was not registered to lobby for the firm, according to a settlement agreement.

Advocates for Latino Chicagoans told WTTW News that they believe Lightfoot failed to fulfill promises to ensure those she chose to lead city departments and to serve on city panels represented the city’s racial and ethnic diversity.

Officer Sammy Encarnacion physically and verbally abused his girlfriend, pointed his department-issued gun at her and was often intoxicated while armed, according to the results of the probe conducted by Civilian Office of Police Accountability, known as COPA.

The board ordered the city to rehire employees that were terminated after they refused to get the vaccine and awarded back pay – plus interest – to those employees who were disciplined because.

Interim Police Supt. Eric Carter offered no reason for his departure, saying only that leading the beleaguered department was his “greatest honor.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot declined to address the City Council at her last meeting as mayor, passing up the chance to begin shaping her legacy as the city’s leader during four of the most tumultuous years in Chicago history.

Ald. Ed Burke, 79, is likely to complete his 54 years as a City Council member without any of the pomp and circumstance that once would have greeted his departure from his beloved City Hall, which he ruled with an iron fist for decades.

Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson, who got his start as an aide to Senate President Don Harmon, traveled to Springfield to declare his election marks a “new day” in Illinois politics – and to serve notice that he would govern boldly as a progressive and supporter of organized labor.

The district’s overall budget, which was $9.4 billion in 2023, will be essentially unchanged in 2024, with officials planning to spend an additional $150 million next year, mostly to add instructors in special education classes.

The projections detailed by outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot represent a significantly rosier financial picture for Chicago than the forecast released in August, when city officials projected a likely budget gap of $473.8 million in 2024. 

In all, nine adults and six juveniles were arrested in connection with the unrest, which included crowds of young people jumping on CTA buses and fighting, prompting police officials to decry groups “engaging in reckless and disruptive behavior putting themselves and the public at risk for harm.”

Chicago Police Board President Ghian Foreman told investigators he was struck by an officer after Foreman attempted to intervene after seeing several police officers “just whaling away on” a man with their batons, records show.

The proposed settlement is set to be considered by the City Council’s Finance Committee on Monday. A final vote of the City Council could come on Wednesday.

The filing was a necessary step in the complicated and lengthy process required before a Chicago police officer can be fired as a result of misconduct.