When Jamie Rhee retired in April 2025 after nearly seven years as the commissioner of the Department of Aviation, serving three mayors, she was the city of Chicago’s highest paid employee, records show.

The total cost to Chicago taxpayers to defend and settle 16 lawsuits naming former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara is set to reach at least $206 million on Wednesday, records show.

Incarcerated Illinoisans admitted to solitary confinement appear to no longer have access to outside communication, legal materials and educational programming through tablets, according to advocates.

One year of employee discipline data, obtained by WTTW News, reveals more than 700 cases of misbehavior across Chicago Public Schools. Case outcomes ranged from verbal warnings and written reprimands to suspensions and Do Not Rehire designations. Frequently, those banned from returning to work quit during the disciplinary investigation.

A federal judge ruled in a class action lawsuit that Chicago’s failure to make its signalized crosswalks accessible to blind and low-vision pedestrians violated the Americans With Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act. Now it’s under a court-appointed monitor ensuring Chicago complies with a plan to fix the problem.

Records obtained by WTTW News show a former CPS employee logged paid work hours while traveling domestically and abroad, contributing to inflated vendor bills and alleged time fraud. The investigation concluded the conduct amounted to theft under Illinois law and triggered personnel terminations across CPS and its contractor.

Under two different Illinois laws, people charged with sex offenses are subject to indefinite detention. Some people who’ve only been charged with a crime — never convicted or sentenced — can spend the rest of their lives at a correctional center.

Under two different Illinois laws, people charged with sex offenses are subject to indefinite detention. Some people who’ve already finished serving their sentences can spend the rest of their lives at a correctional center.

Over the past five years, 59 petitions have been filed with the Illinois Department of Corrections from those incarcerated in Illinois state prisons requesting transfers all over the world. Only two people have been approved, and two more are pending.

Podcasts are a new avenue for police to reach the communities they serve. A monthslong public records battle with CPD identifies the cost of the podcast “Roll Call.” It is the latest evidence of the high cost of communication staffing, which has exploded over the past decade.

Since 2023, Roseland Community Hospital has received at least four immediate jeopardy citations. That warning is the most serious deficiency a health care facility can be cited for, according to federal guidelines.

Illinois’ consolidation of suburban police and fire pension funds is beginning to pay off, with records showing improved investment returns and significant cost savings for some local governments. While challenges remain, the overhaul has boosted funding levels and eased financial pressure on communities long burdened by rising pension obligations.

OnLight Aurora, a city-supported nonprofit, aims to provide high speed internet to the west suburban community’s institutions, businesses and residents. It’s also in massive debt, with a long history of questionable expenditures.

Chicago taxpayers paid $295 million between 2019 and 2024 to resolve lawsuits naming officers whose alleged misconduct led more than once to payouts, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News. In all, the city spent $491.7 million to resolve lawsuits alleging 1,643 Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct.

Chicago Police Department officers pointed a gun at a person, on average, more than 11 times every day in 2024, according to an CPD annual report on officers’ use of force.

Chicago taxpayers paid $6.3 million to settle 54 lawsuits, according to a WTTW analysis of city records. An additional $4.5 million went to pay private lawyers to defend the conduct of CPD officers named in those lawsuits.