Stories by Heather Cherone

The first global settlement of lawsuits tied to a single officer is now set for a final vote by the full Chicago City Council on Sept. 25.

“This should come from the top, yet with each new crisis in recent years, we are reminded that we cannot rely on President Trump to tamp down the anger and the passion in the aftermath of political violence,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. “Instead, he actively fans the flames of division.”

“This is about making sure no family in Illinois is left wondering if they can protect themselves against preventable serious illness,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. “When the federal government abandons its responsibility, Illinois will step up.”

The plaintiffs in the lawsuits, which date back to 2017, spent nearly 200 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted based on what they allege was fabricated evidence gathered by Sgt. Ronald Watts, who was convicted in 2013 of taking bribes, and other officers.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office urged U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer to order CPD officers to keep their cameras on “in the immediate aftermath of an officer-involved shooting or death” over the objections of CPD leaders and city lawyers.

In a launch video, Ald. Brendan Reilly touted his record as an independent member of the Chicago City Council and vowed to fight crime, build more housing and root out corruption.

Chicago Police Department officers pointed a gun at a person, on average, more than 11 times every day in 2024, according to an CPD annual report on officers’ use of force.

Chicago taxpayers paid $6.3 million to settle 54 lawsuits, according to a WTTW analysis of city records. An additional $4.5 million went to pay private lawyers to defend the conduct of CPD officers named in those lawsuits.

Chicago police officers have now shot 16 people, killing eight, less than nine months into 2025, more than in all of last year, records show.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said Walter "Red" Burnett was the best choice to replace his father, who represented parts of the West Side and the West Loop for 30 years on the Chicago City Council.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement strike teams are likely to hit Chicago’s streets late Friday or Saturday morning after gathering at Naval Station Great Lakes, which is about 35 miles outside of the city, Gov. JB Pritzker said.

“I’m deeply concerned, uncertain, about what the future looks like at the moment, but as you can see, fighting like hell to make sure we don’t fall into the abyss as a result of unconstitutional actions by the president,” Gov. JB Pritzker said.

President Donald Trump is preparing to send members of the Texas National Guard as well as “armed military personnel” to Chicago, Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday.

The Chicago Housing Authority Board of Commissioners delayed a vote to formally appoint former Ald. Walter Burnett to lead the agency.

Even as the financial toll of decades of police misconduct is likely to grow in the coming months, Chicago exhausted its annual budget of $82.2 million months ago and had spent nearly triple that amount by July 31, according to WTTW News’ analysis.

“We do not want to see tanks in our streets,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “We do not want to see families ripped apart. We do not want grandmothers thrown into the back of unmarked vans. We don’t want to see homeless Chicagoans harassed or disappeared by federal agents.”

“Chicagoans deserve the truth about the fiscal conditions of our city,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “Our economy does remain resilient, but fiscal discipline is certainly required in this moment.”

Anthony Driver, Jr. is one of at least seven candidates who are running to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, who has represented Illinois’ 7th Congressional District since 1997.

If Trump federalizes the National Guard or sends additional ICE agents to Chicago, all Chicago Police officers will be required to wear their uniforms and will not be dispatched to immigration enforcement operations, Supt. Larry Snelling said Thursday.

Had the settlement been even one dollar more, it would have required Chicago City Council approval under city rules. Instead, it was authorized by Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson Lowry.

Gov. JB Pritzker vowed Monday to stop President Donald Trump from deploying the National Guard to Chicago, dismissing Trump’s latest pledge to combat crime as cover for an unconstitutional federal overreach.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued an injunction late Friday to that will prevent the Trump administration from blocking funding for some of the nation’s largest cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, Boston and Baltimore.

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke announced Wednesday that her office will not charge any of the five officers who shot and killed Dexter Reed during a March 2024 traffic stop after he shot and  wounded an officer.

Chicago taxpayers have already paid $1.46 million to defend the lawsuit that accuses the CPD of making more than 1.5 million traffic stops between 2016 and 2023 based on dubious evidence of minor violations that took direct aim at Black and Latino Chicagoans but spared White Chicagoans, according to records obtained by WTTW News.

After touting Chicago's significant and sustained drop in crime, Mayor Brandon Johnson accused the president of “spreading misinformation.”

U.S. District Judge William Orrick agreed to allow Chicago and 33 other cities and counties, including Los Angeles, Denver, Boston and Baltimore, to join the lawsuit that claimed the Trump administration was unlawfully trying to force local officials to help federal immigration agents conduct deportation efforts.