Stories by Emily Soto

Joe Ferguson spent 12 years as the corruption-busting watchdog of Chicago government — proving to be a thorn in the side of both the Emanuel and Lightfoot administrations.

As disgraced former Ald. Danny Solis (25th Ward) took the stand Tuesday afternoon in the landmark corruption trial of his former friend and colleague, who ruled City Hall with an iron fist for decades, Burke’s squad of attorneys will now get their chance to make their case that he is not a criminal, but an “old school, hardworking public servant.” 

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of three minor, unnamed victims, alleged that Federico Garcia Lorca Elementary School teacher Andrew Castro was able to continuously abuse the boys despite prior complaints of similar abuse.

As you travel a ways west from the lake in Chicago, it’s hard not to notice clusters of north-south streets that all start with the same letters – K, L, M, N, O. What gives? WTTW News Explains.

Following a Farragut Academy employee’s arrest, an examination of his criminal history raises questions of whether the district was or should have been aware of his 25 past cases for activity like burglary and aggravated assault.

Mayor Brandon Johnson reversed course Tuesday, averting a showdown at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

The poster features an image of Harry Houdini performing his famous Milk Can Escape, in which the performer was locked into a galvanized iron can filled with water and secured by locks. The image is rich with showmanship and hyperbole, warning: “Failure Means a Drowning Death.”

It might be the “winter blues” for some. For others, it’s more severe and can be clinically diagnosed: seasonal affective disorder, which is a form of depression that often occurs in the fall and winter when there’s less sunlight.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is reporting an intensive 10-day “harvest” operated that netted 750,000 pounds of invasive silver carp, pulled from the Illinois River near Starved Rock.

Noisy, illegal and rarely punished — we dig into the data on early morning garbage pickups. And the debate over whether police should be able to have disciplinary hearings behind closed doors.

The head of Chicago’s largest police union believes his officers in his union should have the right to go to arbitration over the most serious disciplinary decisions, but reform leaders believe doing so could “set us back decades.”

Prosecutors are expected to rest their case-in-chief on Tuesday, setting the stage for disgraced former Ald. Danny Solis (25th Ward) to be called to the stand to testify in the landmark corruption trial of his former friend and colleague.

Regardless of how long a detainee stays in jail, however, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said a state ID has consistently been at the “top of the list” of needs that those in jail reported to officials upon intake “because it unlocks everything else.”

If approved, the settlement would be the largest police misconduct settlement approved by the City Council in 2023, and the largest since May 2022, records show.

Pollsters and economists say there has never been as wide a gap between the underlying health of the economy and public perception. The divergence could be a decisive factor in whether the Democrat secures a second term next year.

In a surprise move Monday, Crimo III told the court he wishes to proceed pro se and will act as his own attorney. The 23-year-old also invoked his right to a speedy trial — pushing what had been expected to be a February 2025 trial date up to Feb. 26, 2024.

The vote on Monday by the City Council’s Finance Committee, which came over the objections of at least seven alderpeople, means the full City Council will once again consider resolving the lawsuit filed by Darius Cole-Garrit’s family.

The Michigan city has tracked an “unprecedented” reduction of homicides as of November 30, down 18% in the first 11 months of 2023 compared to that period last year, according to a joint news release from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and the Detroit mayor’s office. The city reported 228 homicides this year as of Nov. 30, compared to 278 homicides during that period last year.

Despite scores of noise complaints from residents jolted awake by garbage trucks, private trash haulers have been slapped with just five tickets for illegal pickups during quiet hours over the last two years, according to a WTTW News data analysis.

Call “The Nose” the quintessential opera of the absurd. The show is receiving an elaborate Chicago Opera Theater production in a wildly zany, two-performance-only run.

On display at the Newberry Library are selections from “History of the Indian Tribes of North America,” a set of early 19th century books rich with imagery. It’s one of the earliest and best records of what Indigenous people, including Seneca and Black Hawk, actually looked like.

Doctors have not been able to pin down a cause, although research suggests it is a body’s prolonged overreaction to an infection or other jolt to the immune system.

Disability advocates say the change would artificially reduce their numbers by almost half. At stake are not only whether people with disabilities get vital resources for housing, schools or program benefits but whether people with disabilities are counted accurately in the first place, experts said.

Gov. Pritzker and Mayor Johnson at odds over migrant camp in Brighton Park. Ed Burke trial focuses on alleged Burger King shakedown. And the Bears are reportedly looking at land near Soldier Field for a potential stadium.

The measure does not allow new large-scale power generation facilities like the six plants that are already operational in the state, but rather allows for new smaller-scale emergent technology.

Forty-four counties in the state were at an elevated level for COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to CDC data for the week ending Nov. 25. Cook County remains at a low level for COVID-19 hospitalizations.