Stories by Heather Cherone

First installment property tax bills are typically released in February and due in early March, but will be delayed by one month by an overhaul of the county’s property tax system plagued with problems.

The debate over how to respond to President Donald Trump’s aggressive efforts to carry out the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history is the newest flashpoint in the race for Cook County Board president.

CPD is required to implement the system under the terms of the consent decree, the federal court order designed to compel the department to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the ban was too broad and punished “many of our small businesses who have been following the law and deserve to have a seat at the table,” including those owned by Black and Latino Chicagoans.

The study, which examined whether officers are efficiently and effectively deployed across the city to stop crime and respond to calls for help, found “inconsistent service levels, constrained proactive time, and limited supervisory capacity in high-demand areas.”

“Abolish ICE” is now one of 25 finalists that Chicagoans can vote for through Saturday, with the top six vote-getters winning the honor of renaming one snowplow in each of Chicago’s six snow districts.

Some Chicagoans who had their cars towed by the city could get $1,250, if their vehicle was scrapped, or a refund of what they paid to get their car out of the impound lot.

Taxpayers paid an additional $5.2 million to private attorneys to defend former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara and the other officers named in the four lawsuits.

Dominga Flores Gomez, 55, died in the crash that ended the chase launched by two Chicago Police Department vehicles just before 9 p.m. Sept. 28, 2022, in McKinley Park, records show.

Chicagoans “suffered tremendously” during those storms and should be able to rely on the federal government for help, Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday.

Chicago is required to pay $2.85 billion this year into its pension funds in order to comply with a state law designed to ensure the pension funds can pay benefits to employees as they retire.

Since January 2025, Chicago taxpayers spent at least $103.1 million to resolve 14 lawsuits brought by people who were injured or on behalf of those killed during police pursuits, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.

The proposed settlement is set to be considered Wednesday by the Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee. A final vote of the City Council could come on Feb. 18.

Chicago taxpayers paid an additional $2 million to defend the other Chicago police officers named in Johnson's lawsuit, which was filed in 2020, according to records obtained by WTTW News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

If approved, it would be the 11th lawsuit filed by Chicagoans who said they were the victims of former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara’s misconduct to be resolved at a cost of approximately $120 million to Chicago taxpayers.

A key City Council panel will consider resolving four lawsuits naming former Chicago police Detective Reynaldo Guevara on Wednesday at a cost of $29.2 million.

Mayor Brandon Johnson's executive order “jeopardizes our ability to effectively prosecute and secure convictions when federal law enforcement agents have committed a crime,” Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said.

“When it comes to the Chicago Police Department, there’s always going to be this trust factor,” Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said.

The number of times officers pointed their guns at individuals increased 44% between 2022 and 2024, according to one of the goals unanimously set for Snelling to achieve in 2026.

A new Chicago Police Department policy that does not ban officers from serving no-knock warrants or from pointing guns at children during raids is now final.

The seven-member Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability oversees the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and the Chicago Police Board and has the power to set policy for the Chicago Police Department.

“Abolish ICE” is one of 25 finalists that Chicagoans can vote on between Sunday and Feb. 14, with the top six vote-getters winning the honor of renaming one snowplow in each of Chicago’s six snow districts.

“If the federal government will not hold these rogue actors accountable, then Chicago will do everything in our power to bring these agents to justice,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

U.S District Court Judge John Tharp said that he reconsidered his decision to allow lawyers for Ebony Tate, her mother, Cynthia Eason, and four children to call former Mayor Rahm Emanuel after lawyers for the city once again vigorously objected.

Eight notable Italian Americans are finalists in a little-advertised contest.

“For too long, Gregory Bovino and his rogue federal agents have terrorized communities in Illinois and across the country, violated our people’s constitutional rights and unleashed violence at every turn,” Gov. JB Pritzker said.