Stories by Heather Cherone

Even as City Council members returned to City Hall on Tuesday after the Thanksgiving holiday, there is no clear path to a deal with just 28 days left before the deadline to avoid an unprecedented shutdown of city government.

If approved, it would bring the total amount spent by taxpayers in 2025 to compensate those wrongfully convicted based on evidence developed by Chicago police officers to $204.6 million, according to a WTTW News analysis.

The trial, set to start Dec. 8 and last 10 days, represents a high-stakes gamble for the city, whose lawyers typically recommend settling civil cases involving actions by the police that led to criminal charges and are ruled to have violated department policy.

Inspector General Joseph Ferguson, who paid the $5,000 fine, said that while he was disappointed by the board's decision, he had no regrets about his decision to divulge the confidential report.

Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling told the Chicago City Council on Nov. 5 that he was confident that CPD would be able to spend no more than $200 million on overtime in 2026.

The decision by the state’s highest court keeps the system Chicago officials used for 60 years to hold officers accused of the most egregious misconduct in a deep freeze. Oral arguments will take place in 2026.

Mohamedou Ould Slahi testified he was treated well at the U.S. detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, until then-CPD Detective Richard Zuley took command of the investigation into his ties to al-Qaida and the torture began.

The consent decree is a binding court order granting a federal judge oversight of the police department. WTTW News Explains how that works in practice.

However, U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer ruled that officers must have their cameras on if a deputy chief asks them to answer additional questions about the shooting.

U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis used a blistering 233-page ruling to painstakingly detail how agents falsely asserted in court and in official reports that they had been confronted with unrelenting and life-threatening violence every time they attempted to carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation effort.

The Felony Review Bypass Pilot Program was “an unqualified success,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said.

Circuit Court Judge Adrienne Davis is weighing whether to overturn the conviction of Anthony Garrett in connection with the murder of 7-year-old Dantrell Davis, who was shot and killed by a sniper at Cabrini-Green in 1992 as he and his mother walked to school.

Patty Garcia, 40, is likely to be the only Democrat on the March ballot, but could face a serious challenge during next November’s general election.

Just 43 days after Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle introduced the spending plan that closed a $102.6 million gap in its general fund and a $108.8 million gap in its health fund, it sailed to final approval with little drama.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings had ordered the release of as many as 615 people based on a 2022 consent decree outlining how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can make so-called warrantless arrests.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to impose $623 million in new taxes on the wealthiest Chicagoans and largest firms remains in purgatory, with no clear path to a deal with just 41 days left before the deadline to avoid a shutdown of city government.

The city and its lawyers will now have to convince a jury that four officers did nothing wrong when they fired 96 shots at Dexter Reed, hitting him 13 times, and fatally injuring him, records show

The Office of the Attorney General told U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer that immediate steps must be taken to ensure the push to reform the Chicago Police Department results in meaningful change in the lives of ordinary Chicagoans.

“This withdrawal represents an unconditional surrender by the Trump administration,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “But more than that, it represents a massive waste of taxpayer dollars.”

The refusal of the City Council’s Finance Committee to advance Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed spending plan is another sign there is no clear consensus on the bulk of Johnson’s proposal to impose $623 million in new taxes on the wealthiest Chicagoans and largest firms.

The most recent reassessment of the value of Chicago properties resulted in a “record-setting” 16.7% increase in the median homeowner’s bill, according to a new analysis from Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas’ research team.

It will likely cost Chicago taxpayers approximately $52 million in interest to borrow that money and pay off during the next five years, according to estimates provided to the Chicago City Council by Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski.

The current proposed budget would impose a monthly $21 per employee tax on companies with more than 200 employees to generate $82 million to fund violence prevention and youth employment programs.

The city’s lawsuit accused DoorDash of advertising delivery services from restaurants without their consent, damaging the restaurants’ reputations and forcing them to scramble to resolve complaints.

Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $285.3 million to resolve lawsuits alleging Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct — including wrongful convictions and improper pursuits — so far this year, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.

Crime in Chicago has been dropping significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic began to wane in 2022, a trend that accelerated after Mayor Brandon Johnson took office in May 2023 and has continued since, according to Chicago Police Department data.