Stories by Heather Cherone

Unlimited contributions to political action commitees exploit what campaign finance experts told WTTW News is a loophole in laws governing the role of money in Chicago’s elections.

Vallas, who has been registered to vote in Chicago at an apartment in Bridgeport for less than a year, declined to answer questions about his residency directly from WTTW News.

As the consent decree prepares to enter its fourth year, progress has been anything but rapid, with the city in full compliance with 3% of its requirements, according to data released by the Chicago Police Department. Meanwhile, the future of Chicago policing has taken center stage in the mayoral race. 

More than 233,000 Cook County residents applied to be part of the $42 million program, and 3,250 households won a lottery to participate in the two-year program.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended her record on police reform at the WTTW News mayoral forum and accused her challengers of throwing “bombs from the cheap seats.”

It is nearly unprecedented for City Council committee chairs to urge the defeat of the mayor that hand-picked them for their high-profile positions, which comes with power at City Hall and an annual budget of nearly $200,000.

Sean Estelle told WTTW News they believed they were “politically targeted” because their remarks angered Mayor Lori Lightfoot. 

The former Wadsworth Elementary School had been set to open as a shelter in early January, but an uproar forced Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to delay her plans for nearly a month as she and other city officials sought to address concerns from residents.

A years-long effort by the Norfolk Southern Railway to double the size of its storage yard in Englewood finally got signal clearance.

The unsigned advisory opinion, issued Monday by the Chicago Board of Ethics, was prompted by a spate of campaign ads showing uniformed Chicago police officers and several complaints, officials said.

In a joint statement with ComEd released hours before she officially presented the massive deal to the City Council, Lightfoot touted the agreement as “a big win for Chicago” that will “accelerate an equitable transition to clean, renewable energy.”

Paul Vallas is a Democrat, but acknowledged that the Democratic Party has moved away from him on some issues, including charter schools.

The Chicago City Council could vote on the deal as soon as March 1 – one day after Mayor Lori Lightfoot and City Council members ask voters for new four-year terms in office.

The measure, backed by 18 members of the City Council, won the unanimous endorsement of the City Council’s Public Safety committee and heads to the full City Council on Wednesday for a final vote.

When Chicagoans go to the polls to vote for mayor, there’s a crucial piece of information missing from their ballots: the candidates’ political parties. WTTW News Explains tells you the reasons why. 

During the past seven days, an average of 31 people have been hospitalized each day in Chicago from COVID-19, down more than 40% during the past week, according to city data last updated Wednesday.

At least 168 teachers received the email from Megan Crane, whose LinkedIn page identifies her as the deputy campaign manager for Lightfoot, starting at 8:33 a.m. on Jan. 11 and continuing for several hours, according to records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

All Chicagoans can cast their votes early at the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners supersite at 191 N. Clark St. and the board’s office at 69 W. Washington St., 6th floor. An early voting location will open in each of Chicago’s 50 wards on Feb. 13.

A spokesperson for the Jesús “Chuy” García campaign told WTTW News the ad was revised out of an “abundance of caution.”

A majority of candidates hoping to oust Mayor Lori Lightfoot from City Hall’s fifth floor office have pledged to reopen public mental health clinics. Lightfoot said her network of nonprofit Trauma-Informed Centers of Care provide better and more accessible service. 

The facility includes a “scenario village” that features multiple two- and three-flat residential brick buildings complete with fences, curbs, alleys, sidewalks, yards, back stairways, porches, basements and garages. It will also include a new 18,000-square-foot location Boys & Girls Club and two restaurants. 

The Chicago Board of Ethics first asked the city's watchdog to probe Gardiner in 2021 after complaints he used his power as an alderperson to retaliate against critics.

The Chicago Board of Ethics voted unanimously to ask both the Chicago inspector general and the Chicago Public Schools inspector general to probe emails sent by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s campaign to CPS teachers and City Colleges instructors.

Twice in the past three months, probes by the city’s watchdog have uncovered ties between members of the Chicago Police Department and far-right extremist groups that have clashed with the United States government.

A years-long effort by the Norfolk Southern Railway to double the size of its storage yard in Englewood failed to pass the Chicago City Council after Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th Ward) blocked a vote. 

Lori Lightfoot’s bid for reelection has been weighed down by a growing amount of evidence that she has governed at times more like an old-school machine politician than a reformer.