Stories by Heather Cherone

Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin is running to represent Illinois’ 7th Congressional District and replace retiring U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis.

A marathon session before the City Council’s Budget and Government Operations Committee on Monday made it clear there is no easy way to bridge the city’s $1.19 billion projected shortfall, leaving alderpeople across the political spectrum frustrated as the budget debate hits a tipping point.

City officials agreed to allow the two officers to serve suspensions of 365 days each, even though the agency charged with investigating police misconduct and the city's former top cop agreed they should be fired for their conduct.

No one was injured in the shooting reported by federal agents, according to a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department.

In all, 11 cases alleging Chicagoans were hit or killed during a police chase that violated department policy cost taxpayers more than $82.5 million to resolve between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, according to WTTW News’ analysis.

Second installment property tax bills are typically released in early July and due in early August, but have been delayed for nearly four months by an overhaul of the county’s property tax system plagued with problems.

U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis said Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino admitted to lying about whether a rock hit him before he used tear gas on Chicagoans in Little Village last month.

S&P, one of a handful of major ratings agencies, revised its rating outlook for Chicago from stable to negative. Mayor Brandon Johnson defended his spending plan proposal as a “structurally sound budget.”

If approved, it would be the ninth lawsuit filed by Chicagoans who said they were the victims of former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara’s misconduct to be resolved, for a total cost of more than $112 million to Chicago taxpayers.

U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis is the second federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois to find that federal agents have presented unreliable testimony about their actions and the actions of Chicagoans in response to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation effort.

Allowing CPD to spend unlimited sums of taxpayer money is a “crazy way to run a city,” said Justin Marlowe, a professor in the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, and the director of the Center for Municipal Finance.

Mayor Brandon Johnson blocked the city’s watchdog from searching for gifts he accepted on behalf of the city without reporting them as required, as required by the city’s ethics ordinance, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said Tuesday.

The proposal is opposed not only by business groups but also labor organizations, including the Chicago Federation of Labor, which are concerned that the measure would snarl new and expanding businesses in red tape, preventing them from creating new jobs.

U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis had ordered Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino to appear in her courtroom every weekday at 6 p.m. to recap the events of the day and inform her of any use of force.

“From the public health perspective, it is about protecting the children and protecting adults who don’t really know what is in the products they’re consuming,” Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo “Simbo” Ige said.

A West Side resident, Remel Terry has been a member of the commission, better known as the CCPSA, since it was launched in 2022.

“Our Chicagoland neighborhoods are being bombarded with tear gas, invaded by unidentified masked men in unmarked vehicles, thugs who are intimidating workers and children and grandparents, most of whom are Black or Brown, most of whom have committed no offense at all,” Gov. JB Pritzker said.

Chester Wilson, 59, was former Ald. Carrie Austin’s chief of staff when he was indicted in July 2021 alongside his boss, once one of the most powerful politicians in Chicago.

Kat Abughazaleh, who is running to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, and Catherine “Cat” Sharp, who is running to represent the 12th District on the Cook County Board, were indicted alongside 45th Ward Democratic Committeeperson Michael Rabbitt and three others.

U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis ordered Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino to appear in her courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Required by the terms of the consent decree, the federal court order designed to compel CPD to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers, the study is on track to be completed on time, by the end of the year, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said.

Four members of the 1863 tactical team named in COPA’s letter have been stripped of their police powers, according to a department spokesperson.

The judge’s order came less than 24 hours after Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino fired tear gas at a crowd during an aggressive raid in Little Village.

City crews are going to have to sharply increase efforts to remove the lines from homes and two- and four-flats to comply with state and federal requirements, Department of Water Management Commissioner Randy Conner said.

The incident, which took place in the heart of one of Chicago’s wealthiest and most tourist-friendly neighborhoods, marks the second straight day that federal agents have deployed tear gas against Chicagoans and the sixth time in 21 days.

If agents deployed tear gas without a warning, that would violate an order issued by U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis two weeks ago.