Stories by Matt Masterson

Labor unions, community groups and Chicago Public Schools students are among those gathering Friday afternoon in recognition of May Day.

Federal immigration agents engaged in unconstitutional uses of force including “extreme physical force" while White House officials routinely lied to conceal the motivations behind “Operation Midway Blitz,” an Illinois panel has found.

A Cook County judge on Thursday ordered Alphanso Talley, 26, be detained in jail pending trial on a litany of felony charges including first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, robbery and kidnapping.

Federal prosecutors have dismissed felony conspiracy charges against the remaining members of the “Broadview Six,” and instead intend to proceed to trial on lesser misdemeanor counts in the politically-charged case.

An Illinois commission created to document alleged abuses committed by federal immigration agents has determined a Border Patrol agent had no justification when he shot Marimar Martinez in Brighton Park last year.

The Chicago Police Department on Monday announced the charges against 26-year-old Alphanso Talley. He now faces 20 felony charges including first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday said it has upheld Madigan’s convictions on charges of bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud reached after a four-plus month trial early last year.

The Accountability Commission has spent the last several months collecting evidence and witness testimony and is set to issue its final report by this week.

Cook County Chief Judge Erica Reddick on Friday heard arguments from petitioners who claim a special prosecutor must be appointed to investigate crimes committed during “Operation Midway Blitz."

A week ahead of May Day, Chicago Public Schools officials have outlined how classes will operate and what civic engagement students and staff can participate in on the annual labor holiday.

The order seeks to prevent insider trading by strengthening guardrails amid the rapid growth of online prediction markets and event-based gambling contracts, the governor’s office said.

The Chicago branch of the FBI on Tuesday said it is still seeking to arrest Joseph Matos, who is wanted for his alleged involvement in the 2021 killing of 19-year-old Chrys Carvajal.

A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit brought by Illinois and Chicago officials that sought to bar the Trump administration’s plans to deploy National Guard troops into the state.

Video evidence released Friday by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability showed for the first time what happened in the chaotic scene as officer Carlos A. Baker fatally shot Krystal Rivera.

The announcement comes after a push by the CTU and some Board of Education members to close schools and allow for demonstrations on the annual labor holiday.

Federal prosecutors charged Tim King, 59, in a three-count indictment accusing him of misusing Urban Prep funds to cover his own personal credit card expenses and then attempting to cover up that theft through falsified documents.

Barbara Deer, 51, and her son Kaleb Deer, 23, were identified by Cook County Medical Examiner records as the two people killed at a Homan Square home Tuesday.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed its own previous ruling and granted Pramaggiore and McClain bail pending a new trial. That ruling came just hours after attorneys for the pair asked the court to throw out their convictions.

For decades, Chicago’s Board of Education has been the only one in Illinois handpicked by the city’s mayor. And for just as long, education advocates have called for that board to be an elected body, representative of Chicago’s diverse residents. This fall, those advocates will get their wish.

Federal prosecutors in Chicago charged Michael Kovco, 29, with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. He was arrested last week and is scheduled to appear in court for a hearing Friday.

CPS CEO Macquline King on Thursday afternoon said her recommendation to the board has been, for weeks, to maintain May 1 as an instructional day for students despite a push from the Chicago Teachers Union.

Attorneys for Madigan and the federal government presented their arguments before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals during a hearing Thursday inside a 27th-floor courtroom in the Dirksen Federal Building.

A federal judge tossed out the remainder of a motion brought by the “Broadview Six” defendants that sought possible evidence showing the Trump administration improperly influenced the politically-charged case.

The appellate ruling comes nearly three years after a Cook County jury ruled in favor of the police officers in deciding the civil suit. But in its ruling, the appellate court found that attorneys representing the city of Chicago improperly used pretrial challenges to exclude two Black potential jurors.

Chicago recorded an increase in both the number of homicides and people shot throughout March 2026 compared to the same month last year.

The man charged in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman now faces additional firearms charges in federal court.