Stories by Heather Cherone

Chicago taxpayers will pay $1.2 million to settle three lawsuits claiming Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct, including handcuffing an 8-year-old boy for more than 40 minutes during a raid of his family’s home.

The measure is designed to prevent longtime Chicago residents from being pushed out of their homes by soaring property tax bills.

The $1.74 billion proposal still needs the approval of the Illinois Gaming Board, which must license Bally’s to operate the Chicago casino set to be built along the Chicago River near Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street.

The poll of 700 likely Chicago voters was conducted Nov. 10 to Nov. 17 by Impact Research, a firm that includes President Joe Biden and other prominent Democrats among its list of clients.

The city must match an expected federal grant of $2.16 billion before the first track can be laid — and the City Council is set to give the project signal clearance Wednesday.

A final vote on the city subsidy for the high school set to be built at 24th and State streets, once home to the demolished CHA Harold L. Ickes homes, is scheduled for Wednesday’s full City Council meeting.

Anabel Abarca, a McKinley Park resident and attorney, was the only one of the four people to apply to fill the vacant seat on the City Council who is also running for the spot in the Feb. 28 election. 

The city must match an expected federal grant of $2.16 billion before the first track can be laid — but it is not clear whether the City Council will give the project signal clearance.

The City Council’s Transportation Committee advanced the measure six months after 3-year-old Lily Shambrook died while riding in a carrier on her mother’s bicycle.

The dispute over the future of the gang database represents the first clash between the Police Department’s leaders and the commission made up of Chicagoans given the authority to set policy for the department in an attempt to restore trust in its operations.

A spokesperson for Uber, said firm officials were “pleased to put this matter behind us.” 

Ja’Mal Green, one of the six candidates for mayor who filed at 9 a.m. Nov. 21, won a lottery for that coveted pole position on the ballot, one that many people believe could offer a boost in a crowded race.

The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 backed U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García in the Chicago mayor’s race, splitting from the Chicago Teachers Union and Service Employees International Union Local 73.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot should be investigated for accepting a $25,000 contribution to her re-election campaign from Chicago Fire owner Joe Mansueto, according to a complaint filed by Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th Ward), who is running for re-election to the City Council.

Burke, 78, faces a November 2023 trial on racketeering, bribery and extortion charges centered on allegations that he repeatedly — and brazenly — used his powerful position at City Hall to force those doing business with the city to hire his private law firm.

A total of nine major candidates filed to run for mayor of Chicago. Early voting is set to start Jan. 19, with Election Day set for Feb. 28.

Chicago hospitals and health care providers are also coping with sharp increases in flu cases and illness caused by RSV, a respiratory virus, officials said.

The interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability will hold a virtual meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday to discuss a draft of the policy that would govern the new gang database, dubbed the Criminal Enterprise Information System.

A survey designed to determine what residents of the Southwest Side’s 12th Ward think should be the highest priority for their new alderperson received just 25 responses, according to results posted on the city’s data portal on Monday.

Willie Wilson, Ja’Mal Green, state Rep. Kam Buckner, Paul Vallas, Brandon Johnson and Ald. Sophia King (4th Ward) all filed to run for mayor of Chicago.

A wide-ranging and still-growing field of challengers are seeking to deny incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot a second term in February 2023. 

The last time Chicago voters passed a binding referendum that applied to the entire city was 1885, according to city records. As supporters’ paths to the ballot have been nearly closed off, they have begun shifting the fight to the 2023 campaign for mayor and City Council.

Austin, 73, pleaded not guilty to charges that she accepted bribes from a developer and lied to FBI agents. Indicted in July 2021, Austin has never appeared in person before Judge John Kness because of her ill health and restrictions put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19. 

Property taxes can be a doozy. Or rather, how they are calculated can be. WTTW News Explains walks you through the ins and outs of the process. 

The move is likely to reduce fears, at least temporarily, of an imminent surge of COVID-19 once colder weather settled over Chicago for the duration, forcing people indoors.

The former governor said he will instead focus on reform efforts designed to expand the initiative effort. Instead, Quinn said he would focus on efforts to beef up the ability of voters to reform Illinois government through the initiative and referendum process.