Stories by Heather Cherone

The pastor of St. James Church, Ald. William Hall said it was “humbling, joyful, inspirational” to find himself in the white-hot spotlight of the convention.

“We will not allow people to come to this city, disrespect it and destroy it,” Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said at a news conference at the office of Office of Emergency Management and Communications. “Enough is enough.”

The first mayor of a major American city to back her surprise bid for the presidency, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called Vice President Kamala Harris a “visionary leader” capable of defeating “the threat of another Trump presidency.”

“As the mother of four daughters that I thought would have more rights than me, not fewer,” Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton said, “I’m devastated to this day that Trump’s Supreme Court found a way to relegate us to second-class citizens.”

The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., 82, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Illinois, was celebrated during Monday’s session of the convention, earning a loud ovation from the crowd.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, the father of three children, said Vice President Kamala Harris’ status as the first Black woman to be nominated by a major party for president was deeply personal for him and his 10-year-old daughter, Braedyn.

“Our officers responded exactly the way that we trained them,” Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said. “To respect First Amendment activity.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson will wear the jacket if the convention does not go as planned — but benefit if Chicago shines on the national stage.

The first of several planned large protests started late Sunday in the shadow of Trump Tower at Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive with a rally before taking over southbound Michigan Avenue and marching to Grant Park.

Since officials’ dire warnings of a renewed surge, fewer than 1,600 migrants have made their way to Chicago, and the shelter population has remained at the lowest point since the crisis began, according to city data.

Charles Cui, 53, of Lake Forest, was convicted in December alongside Ed Burke of one count of federal program bribery, three counts of using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity and one count of making a false statement to the FBI. 

U.S. District Court Judge Andrea Wood ruled that the 1.4-mile march route proposed by Chicago officials was sufficient to ensure that the Coalition to March on the DNC can protest while Democratic delegates gather to celebrate their nominee for president.

Here’s a look at the challenge facing the Chicago Police Department during the Democratic National Convention and the rules officers will have to follow during the protests that the gathering is sure to trigger.

Cases that involved at least one officer with repeated claims of misconduct accounted for nearly 43% of the $384.2 million paid by taxpayers to resolve police misconduct cases between 2019 and 2023, according to the analysis.

The Chicago Police Department has yet to launch a new study of whether officers are efficiently and effectively deployed across the city to stop crime and respond to calls for help. “I don’t understand what the hold up is,” Ald. Matt Martin (47th Ward) told WTTW News. “This is years, if not decades, overdue.”

The first-of-its-kind audit by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg of the city’s workers compensation system found “major improvement” in the system that paid $73.5 million to resolve approximately 3,700 claims in 2022.

Charles Cui, 53, of Lake Forest, was convicted in December alongside Ed Burke of one count of federal program bribery, three counts of using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity and one count of making a false statement to the FBI. 

The Republican nominee for president mentioned Chicago only once during a panel discussion at the National Association of Black Journalists’ convention at the Hilton Chicago on Michigan Avenue.

The lawsuit filed by John Velez, who spent 17 years in prison before his conviction in the murder of 26-year-old Anthony Hueneca in Little Village was overturned, is set for trial for July 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Edmond Chang ruled Tuesday.

Republican nominee for president Donald Trump is set to take questions about the “most pressing issues facing the Black community” at noon Wednesday at the Hilton Chicago on Michigan Avenue.

The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability has yet to provide the Office of the Inspector General with the evidence that prompted the commission to call for a probe into “the quality and integrity” of the investigations into police misconduct by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, according to a letter obtained by WTTW News.

In all, it has already cost Chicago taxpayers more than $98 million to defend disgraced former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara, investigate his conduct and resolve lawsuits that allege Guevara violated dozens of Chicagoans’ civil rights, according to WTTW News’ analysis.

The Democratic National Convention will close off wide swaths of the Near West Side around the United Center and downtown around McCormick Place, under a security plan law enforcement authorities released Thursday. “Chicago is ready,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “We were born ready.”

If the city loses at trial, it could cost taxpayers between $18 million and $34 million, according to public warnings that most of the Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee ignored.

City officials said Tuesday they are “hyper prepared” for a renewed surge of buses paid for by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to arrive in Chicago before the Democratic National Convention kicks off in less than four weeks.

“We are expanding this lawsuit to ensure that other irresponsible actors who have contributed to the proliferation of easily modified Glocks in our city are held accountable for their role in this deadly new frontier plaguing Chicago’s residents and communities,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.