Stories by Heather Cherone

Chicago Police officers must be vaccinated against COVID-19, an arbitrator ruled Wednesday, handing Mayor Lori Lightfoot a significant victory.

“This will put innocent people at risk,” Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell said. “Grandparents, other family members and innocent members of the community.”

Efforts backed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to reduce residential segregation in Chicago have begun to show signs of progress, officials with the Chicago Department of Housing say. The centerpiece of that effort is a revamped ordinance that requires developers who get special permission from the city or a subsidy to build more units earmarked for low- and moderate-income Chicagoans and pay higher fees. 

“It’s important for us to recognize this moment for what it is: a huge step forward in our effort to overcome COVID-19,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

A trio of City Council members blasted Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to fight crime by going after the profits earned by Chicago’s gangs in an interview Monday on “Chicago Tonight.” 

While Chicago has been without a permanent inspector general, former 11th Ward Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson became the 37th alderperson to be convicted of a crime since 1969. Alds. Ed Burke (14th Ward) and Carrie Austin (34th Ward) are awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to bribery and corruption charges.

Officials with the Chicago Department of Public Health rejected the permit because of the “potential adverse changes in air quality and quality of life that would be caused by operations, and health vulnerabilities in the surrounding communities.” 

The ruling declared the governor’s appeal moot because a General Assembly committee declined on Tuesday to reissue rules from the Illinois Department of Health requiring masks to be worn in school buildings. 

A proposal from Mayor Lori Lightfoot to fight crime by going after the profits earned by Chicago’s gangs advanced Thursday over the objections of progressive alderpeople and civil rights groups. The 10-4 vote by the Chicago City Council’s Public Safety Committee tees up a showdown over the controversial measure at Wednesday’s full City Council. 

The Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee voted 13-7 to send the recommendation from city attorneys to the full City Council for a final vote on Wednesday. 

The Chicago City Council is set to pay $1.4 million to the family of a toddler who was struck and killed by a car driven by a man being chased by police.

White’s endorsement puts his powerful political machine behind Valencia in the contest against former State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and Ald. David Moore (17th Ward).

City officials said they would announce no later than Sunday whether they will issue the final permit Southside Recycling needs to start operations.

The map crafted by the Chicago Ward Advisory Redistricting Commission failed to win the support of a single alderperson after nearly a year of work.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot declined Monday to say whether the city is on track to lift its mask mandate along with the state or lift the vaccine mandate for patrons of restaurants, fitness centers and bars on Feb. 28.

Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson was found guilty on all seven counts in what was the first trial of a sitting member of the Chicago City Council since 1999.

Police reform advocates criticized the original policy as too “vague” and said it gave officers too much discretion to chase someone they suspect of a crime. 

Federal prosecutors have been laying out their case that Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11th Ward) committed crimes when he filed false tax returns and lied about how much he borrowed from a now-failed bank.

Masks will still be required in most Illinois schools as state officials ask an appellate court to reverse a decision by a Sangamon County judge who ended the mask mandate in some Illinois schools, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.

The City Council’s Public Safety Committee voted 9-6 to advance the nomination of Andrea Kersten, the interim head of the agency known as COPA, to the full Chicago City Council, which is scheduled to consider her appointment on Feb. 23.

Eight men and four women were selected Monday to serve on the federal jury that will decide whether 11th Ward Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson lied to federal bank regulators and filed false tax returns.

Former state Rep. Luis Arroyo’s conduct was a “blatant cash grab,” Assistant U.S. Attorney James Durkin told U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger, asking that Arroyo spend between 46 to 57 months behind bars.

Strike a blow against the deep-rooted culture of corruption in Chicago and Illinois by sending former Ald. Ricardo Muñoz (22nd Ward) to prison, prosecutors urged a federal judge.

A “bite-sized version” of Taste of Chicago will return to Grant Park in July, with pop-ups returning to Chicago’s neighborhoods, officials said. 

The rate of COVID-19 vaccinations began growing faster among Chicagoans 18 and older as compared with any other age group, according to city data. 

The controversial deli was issued two citations, which will trigger a hearing before fines ranging between $100 and $10,000 can be imposed.