“There are some recommendations that are coming through,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “In due time, we’re going to release some of those recommendations.”

Seventy-nine of the 92 cases brought as part of the pilot program have resulted in an indictment by a grand jury or a finding of probable cause by a judge, allowing a trial to proceed, according to data provided to WTTW News from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Johnson on Tuesday signed an executive order calling for a “full-force of government approach” to tackling the pervasive smoking problem on city trains and buses.

The amount of taxpayer funds spent on overtime by all city departments, including CPD, dropped in 2024 for the first time since 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic upended the city’s operations.

“Leading this office is not a sprint or a marathon,” Inspector General Deborah Witzburg told WTTW News. “It is a relay race, and it’s time to pass the baton.”

The failure of at least 34 members of the Chicago City Council to vote to reject Mayor Brandon Johnson’s action means the first mayoral veto in 19 years will stand.

The City Council’s Zoning Committee voted 13-7 to send the proposal to the full City Council for a final vote, where Alds. Marty Quinn (13th Ward) and Greg Mitchell (7th Ward) used a parliamentary procedure to block a vote until the City Council’s next meeting.

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s decision not to seek a fourth term as the state’s chief fiscal control officer is likely to set off an intense race for a coveted statewide office and signals the start of the 2027 mayoral election cycle, even though the election is 587 days away.

It is unclear whether Mayor Brandon Johnson has enough political muscle to convince at least 25 alderpeople to buck the tradition that calls on them to mind their own business and vote along with the alderperson whose ward includes the project.

Ald. Matt Martin (47th Ward) will ask the Ethics Committee on Monday to advance a proposal designed to prevent the city’s top lawyer from intervening in ongoing probes that risk “embarrassment or political consequences” for city leaders.

“No, it’s not acceptable,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “No one is going to agree that the overspending in this moment is something that we should accept or be OK with.”

The future of NASCAR in Chicago is murky going into its third edition on the first weekend in July. The three-year contract between the motorsports organization and the city that was announced in 2022 has two mutual options, and their fate is unclear.

Chicago officials held the first of four “budget engagement roundtables” designed to gather feedback about the city’s 2026 budget.

Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson Lowry said the federal government gave the city no explanation for its decision to send millions of dollars to Chicago and other big cities that officials held in a deep freeze for nearly six months.

A year-round immersive horror experience from NBCUniversal will open in Chicago across from the new Bally’s Casino. Universal Horror Unleashed: Chicago will be the company’s first branded experience in the Midwest.

The significant surge in shootings by officers in the first five months of 2025 comes more than six years after city and police leaders agreed to extensive oversight from a federal judge after decades of scandals sparked by misconduct and brutality.