Stories by Nick Blumberg

The Chicago Police Department has been operating under a consent decree since 2019. The order, which was prompted by the 2014 police murder of Laquan McDonald, is the first consent decree the department has faced. But it’s not the first attempt at police reform in Chicago.

Community activists and lawyers engaged in efforts to reform the Chicago Police Department have blasted Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPD leadership for failing to move quickly on implementation of a court-mandated consent decree that is supposed to ensure change.

Both lawsuits claim police officers improperly arrested men for crimes they did not commit. The settlements are set for a final vote Wednesday by the full City Council.

George Floyd’s family met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House on Tuesday to commemorate their loss and continue to push for legislation.

George Floyd was honored Tuesday with a moment of silence in the city where he died at the hands of police, a death captured on a wrenching bystander video that galvanized the racial justice movement and continues to ripple a year later.

The project is backed by Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward) and Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward), putting the massive development on track to win final approval at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

The unusually high volume of seeds falling from trees this spring, especially from the city’s elms, is indicative of drought, said Jeff Brink, senior forester with the Chicago Department of Transportation.

World powers opened a fifth round of talks with Iran aimed at bringing the United States back into the landmark 2015 nuclear deal meant to prevent the Islamic Republic from obtaining an atomic bomb, with both sides expressing hope Tuesday that it might be the final series of negotiations.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Tuesday that the U.S. would reopen its consulate in Jerusalem — a move that restores ties with Palestinians that had been downgraded by the Trump administration.

ExxonMobil is facing a major challenge from a group of investors in one of the biggest fights a corporate boardroom has endured over its stance on climate change, an issue of rising urgency for many shareholders.

The measure unanimously advanced by aldermen Tuesday would pave the way for the sale of the much beloved and equally loathed James R. Thompson Center in the heart of the Loop.

“Chicago Tonight: Black Voices” host Brandis Friedman and a panel of guests discuss the murder of George Floyd on the anniversary of his death, and where the racial justice movement stands today. Watch it now.

Chicagoans aren’t in the right place or time zone to see Wednesday’s lunar eclipse at its peak. Just when the show gets interesting, the moon will sink from view.

A boil order was not necessary on Tuesday “because of the temporary nature of the issue,” according to Chicago water officials. 

Moderna said Tuesday its COVID-19 vaccine strongly protects kids as young as 12, a step that could put the shot on track to become the second option for that age group in the U.S.

Parents and siblings of Black men killed by police urged people during a discussion in the city where George Floyd was killed a year ago to join them in pursuing legal changes they say can make similar deaths less likely in the future.

Chicago has seen more police chiefs than mayors in its nearly 200-year history. Occupants of the powerful, high-profile position walk a political tightrope, and have suffered some epic falls. Here’s a look at the legacy of the city’s most recent superintendents. 

It’s a once-in-a-decade fight: We take a look at the proposed new maps of political power and get reaction from Republicans and a coalition of community groups.

The Chicago-based airline is encouraging frequent fliers to get vaccinated. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headline of that story and more.

The Greater Chicago Food Depository, which supplies food pantries across the area, says in its more than 40-year history it has never seen a hunger crisis like the one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss the issue as part of WTTW’s Firsthand initiative exploring poverty.

Even by Bitcoin’s standards, last week was pretty wild. The price of the famously volatile digital currency fell nearly 30% at one point after the China Banking Association warned member banks of the risks associated with digital currencies.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposal would keep the power to run the embattled police department concentrated in the mayor’s office even after decades of scandals, misconduct and brutality. 

Shareholders of Tribune Publishing, one of the country’s largest newspaper chains, approved a $630 million takeover bid by hedge fund Alden Global Capital on Friday, the company said in a brief statement.

A joint session of the City Council’s Public Safety and Finance committees declined to advance the measure backed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and blasted by Inspector General Joseph Ferguson and other transparency advocates as nothing more than “smoke and mirrors.”

All elementary and middle school students in Chicago Public Schools will advance to the next grade level, regardless of their academic success during the current academic year, under a new resolution to be considered by the district.

Cardinal Blase Cupich reinstated the Rev. Michael Pfleger as senior pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church after an investigation of allegations of sexual abuse of a minor more than 40 years ago “concluded that there is insufficient reason to suspect Father Pfleger is guilty of these allegations.”