Stories by Matt Masterson

Mayor Brandon Johnson and Police Supt. Larry Snelling announced the new Bell 429 helicopter Friday, saying it would be used to help patrol around the convention sites and keep eyes on activities citywide.

Teamsters Local 727, which represents more than 800 drivers, announced this week that its members have voted to authorize a work stoppage after they claim their employer, SCR Medical Transportation, has refused to bargain in good faith.

A former Cook County prosecutor and two Chicago police officers are facing felony charges alleging they fraudulently collected more than $100,000 in overtime pay.

Prosecutors late Tuesday filed their response to Madigan’s co-defendant, Michael McClain, whose attorneys last month filed a motion seeking to sever his case from Madigan’s before the men are set to go to trial on racketeering charges later this year.

According to the Chicago Police Department, 33 people were shot in 28 separate shootings between Friday and Sunday evenings.

In addition to the politicians, delegates, protesters and attendees come significant security risks Chicago police and other law enforcement entities must tackle to keep people safe during the Democratic National Convention.

Amin Betuni, 37, of Palos Hills, entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, admitting that he shipped items on three occasions in 2022 in violation of federal export regulations.

CPS and Chicago Department of Public Health officials on Tuesday issued a notice to students and families, reminding them to get their health records in order before classes resume later this month.

Two teens fatally shot in the Back of the Yards neighborhood Saturday were among five people killed by gunfire over the weekend across Chicago, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Wednesday’s event marked former President Donald Trump’s second appearance in Chicago since 2016, when massive protests forced him to scrap a rally on the University of Illinois Chicago campus.

In a petition filed last week and unsealed Monday, Kelly’s defense team asked the court to take another look at the case after a lower court rejected his appeal earlier this year.

Three people were killed and a 3-month-old boy was critically wounded in separate shootings over the weekend across Chicago, according to the Chicago Police Department.

The seven-member Board of Education on Thursday approved the district’s $9.9 billion spending plan for the upcoming school year despite criticisms from educators who said the district is relying on staff vacancies to plug its $505 million funding gap.

The Chicago Board of Education unanimously approved a new whole school safety plan, which brings to an end the use of school resource officers (SROs) inside district buildings following a yearslong review of CPS safety protocols and procedures.

Chief Judge Timothy Evans, who filed a pair of administrative orders this month, said his office has made “extensive preparations,” including plans to reopen a former court facility ahead of next month’s DNC following requests from the city of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department.

Paul La Schiazza, the former head of AT&T Illinois who was charged in 2022 with attempting to bribe ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan, is now seeking to have some of his charges tossed out.

That lawsuit, filed this week on behalf of 193 former Juvenile Temporary Detention Center detainees, alleges systematic sexual abuse carried out at the facility over the course of multiple decades since the mid-1990s. The plaintiffs claim the state of Illinois “caused and permitted a culture of sexual abuse to flourish unabated at JTDC.”

According to the Chicago Police Department, 20 people were shot in 14 separate incidents between Friday and Sunday evenings.

“I would rather have had Milwaukee Police Department, who know the people of this community, to have at least had an opportunity to address this situation before people who have no ties to this community and don’t care nothing about our extended family members.”

The board this week disclosed that the remainder of its 2024 meetings will be moved to other locations after the regular board room sustained water damage when a pipe burst at a nearby business just before the board’s June meeting.

Among the “Never Trumpers” who spoke was former Illinois Republican congressman and longtime Trump critic Joe Walsh, who called on attendees to vote for any Democratic candidate who can keep the former president from a second term in office.

Before the Republican National Convention draws to a close in Milwaukee, Chicago police officials are in town to learn more about the safety and security measures in place ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention.

“No one, absolutely no one, wanted this outcome and I anticipate a full as well as thorough investigation,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said early Wednesday morning. 

According to Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman, police officers from Columbus, Ohio, fatally shot the man around 1:10 p.m. Tuesday near King Park.

The Milwaukee Police Department confirmed one person was arrested at the downtown protest Monday and one more person was arrested after the march concluded.

Thousands of protesters — including many from Chicago — took part in the first major protest of the Republican National Convention through the heart of Milwaukee on Monday in a peaceful march that briefly shut down streets around the convention hall.