Stories by heather cherone

(WTTW News)

Chances Lightfoot Will Convince Lame Duck City Council to Pass ComEd Deal Fade

If the ComEd deal faced an uphill climb before Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s defeat, its prospects declined precipitously afterward, handing her what is likely to be one last defeat and all but ensuring that it will be up to Chicago’s next mayor to negotiate a new deal with ComEd.

Voters cast their ballots on Election Day on Feb. 28, 2023, at Healy Elementary School, 3040 S. Parnell Ave. (WTTW News)

Early Voting Starts Monday Across Chicago in Runoffs for Mayor, City Council

Fueled by changes made during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of votes cast by mail soared by nearly 20% in the 2023 election as compared to the 2019 election, according to data from the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.

U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García appears on Chicago Tonight” on Nov. 22, 2022. (WTTW News)

Jesús ‘Chuy’ García Backs Johnson for Mayor, As Progressives Start to Close Ranks Against Vallas

Jesús “Chuy” García’s endorsement is designed to unite the city’s progressives behind Brandon Johnson, a critical part of Johnson’s path to defeating Paul Vallas, who has consolidated Chicago’s conservative political establishment under his banner.

Shapearl Wells speaks to WTTW News near the site of her son’s murder in 2016. (WTTW News)

Release Full Watchdog Probe of My Son’s 2016 Death Outside Police Station, Mom Demands

“Seven years, and we still don’t have the answers. We still don’t know what happened to my son. Seven years, I’m still fighting, trying to find the truth.”

Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will compete in the mayoral runoff. (WTTW)

Bernie Sanders Backs Johnson for Mayor, as Firefighters Union, 5 Black Alderpeople Endorse Vallas

Sanders said he backed Johnson because the Cook County commissioner “understands the struggle of working people.”

Chicago City Hall. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

City Council Votes 41-2 To Ensure Nonprofit Employees Can Unionize Over Lightfoot’s Objection

The proposal requires human service organizations that contract with the city and have more than 20 employees to agree not to fight efforts by their employees to unionize as long as workers agree not to disrupt the company’s operations while they organize.

(WTTW News)

Plan to Use Cameras to Bust Chicago Drivers Who Park in Bus, Bicycle Lanes Approved

Drivers who park their cars in dedicated bicycle and bus lanes, as well as crosswalks, bus stops and no parking zones, will be ticketed if the infraction is captured by city cameras mounted on poles and on the front of buses and other city vehicles, officials said.

(WTTW News)

City Council Members Unveil Plan To Have City Crews Clear Sidewalks of Snow and Ice

The proposal would launch the pilot program in dense neighborhoods and those pockmarked by vacant lots.

Paul Vallas fields questions from the news media on Feb. 7, 2023, after the WTTW News mayoral forum. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Vallas Vows to Limit Aldermanic Prerogative to Boost Development on Chicago’s South, West Sides

Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas’ plan to reverse decades of disinvestment on the South and West sides of Chicago focuses on the creation of an independent community development authority that would limit tChicago City Council members’ control of zoning in their wards. 

Members of the Chicago City Council meet on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. (WTTW News)

14 City Council Races Head to Runoffs, as La Spata Triumphs, But Gardiner and Taliaferro Fall Short

Six members of the Chicago City Council will have to defend their seats during the April 4 runoff, including 29th Ward Ald. Chris Taliaferro, who fell 25 votes short of winning a majority of votes in his West Side ward.

(WTTW News)

Measure Designed to Allow Nonprofit Employees to Unionize Advances Over Lightfoot’s Objection

The proposal would require human service organizations that contract with the city and have more than 20 employees to agree not to fight efforts by their employees to unionize as long as workers agree not disrupt the company’s operations while they organize.

Chicago City Hall. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Measure Designed to Allow Nonprofit Employees to Unionize Set for Key Vote

The proposal would require human service organizations that contract with the city to agree not to disrupt efforts by their employees to unionize as long as workers agree not disrupt the company’s operations while they organize.

Taste of Chicago. (Courtesy City of Chicago)

Taste of Chicago Bumped Until After Labor Day Amid Grant Park Closures

The Taste — started in 1980 — is set to take place in its traditional Grant Park home Sept. 8-10, one week after the Labor Day holiday weekend that traditionally marks the end of summer.

Body camera footage shows what lead up to the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Sharell Brown by Chicago police officers. (Civilian Office of Police Accountability)

City Council Won’t Pay $1M to Settle Lawsuit Filed by Mother of Man Killed by Chicago Police Officer Who Turned Off Camera

Sharell Brown, 26, was shot and killed during a confrontation with police officers who stopped him in Lawndale. Brown was shot four times in the head and twice in his right arm, according to the investigation of the incident by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, known as COPA.

A southbound CTA Red Line train is pictured in a file photo. (WTTW News)

Biden Proposes $350M Federal Grant to Fund Far South Side CTA Red Line Extension

Even if the federal grant is approved by Congress, Chicago would need an additional $2.4 billion to cover the total cost of the project, much of which is city officials hope will come from the federal government in future years.

Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will compete in the mayoral runoff. (WTTW)

SEIU Local 1 Backs Brandon Johnson for Mayor, as Willie Wilson Endorses Paul Vallas

SEIU Local 1, which represents 45,000 janitors, security officers, airport workers, home care workers and window washers, is the first major labor organization to back a candidate for mayor after the Feb. 28 election. 

Taste of Chicago. (Courtesy City of Chicago)

Plans for Taste of Chicago, Summer Festivals Unclear Amid Grant Park Closures

At least part of the 300-acre Grant Park – known as Chicago’s front yard – will be closed to Chicagoans for 83 days this summer, including every day except June 2, June 3, June 4 and July 16, according to a schedule released Tuesday by the Chicago Park District.

(WTTW News)

Once More, With Feeling: How to Vote Early in Runoffs for Mayor, City Council

All Chicagoans can cast their votes early starting March 20.

(WTTW News)

Plan to Use Cameras to Bust Chicago Drivers Who Park in Bus, Bicycle Lanes Advances

Designed to “create safer streets and a better transit experience,” the new initiative is set to last two years, and would target scofflaws downtown, between the lake, Ashland Avenue, Roosevelt Road and North Avenue.

Paul Vallas fields questions from the news media on Feb. 7, 2023, after the WTTW News mayoral forum. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Vallas Loans $100,100 to His Bid for Mayor, Lifting State Limits on Campaign Contributions

Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson can now raise nearly unlimited amounts of cash for their mayoral campaigns, after Vallas loaned his own campaign $100,100 two days after advancing to the April 4 runoff.

Members of the Chicago City Council meet on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. (WTTW News)

Incumbent Chicago City Council Members Hang On, as 14 Races Likely Headed to Runoffs

None of the City Council members appointed by Lightfoot, who lost her bid for a second term as mayor on Tuesday, won their seats outright.

(WTTW News)

New Era of Police Oversight Dawns with Election of District Council Members

Starting in May, each of Chicago’s 22 police districts will be overseen by a three-person council as part of an effort to rebuild trust in the Police Department, which is governed by a court order requiring city leaders to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers.

Ald. Carrie Austin (34th Ward) stands to speak at the Dec. 14, 2022, Chicago City Council meeting. (WTTW News)

Indicted Ald. Carrie Austin Resigns from City Council After 29 Years in Office

Ald. Carrie Austin, 73, who did not seek a seventh term on the Chicago City Council, stepped down the day after Chicago voters went to the polls to pick a new mayor and City Council. 

The nine candidates running for Chicago mayor. (Campaign photos)

Challengers Aim to Block a 2nd Lightfoot Term as Crime, Public Safety Dominate Mayoral and City Council Races

Facing eight challengers, it is unlikely Mayor Lori Lightfoot — or anyone else, for that matter — will win more than 50% of the vote. That means the top two finishers Tuesday night are likely headed to an April 4 runoff.

Jessica "Jessie" Fuentes, left, and Julian Perez are running to replace retiring 26th Ward Ald. Roberto Maldonado. (Provided)

Chicago Police Union Paid for Flyer Exposing City Council Candidate’s Arrest When She Was 17

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 7’s political action committee made an in-kind contribution of approximately $10,000 to the campaign of Julian “Jumpin’” Perez, who used those funds to pay for the flyers.