A.D. Quig

A.D. Quig covers Cook County government, City Hall and the Obama Presidential Center. She joined the Tribune in 2022 after covering politics for Crain’s Chicago Business and The Daily Line.

Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board president, listens to speakers at a press conference Sept. 8, 2026, in Chicago. Preckwinkle’s office awarded stopgap loans to 32 villages, library and school districts worth $191 million in an effort to dull the impact of this fall’s property tax delay. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Cook County awards $191 million in loans to bridge property tax payout gap

September 20, 2026 at 10:51 a.m.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office awarded stopgap loans to 32 villages, library and school districts worth $191 million, an effort to dull the impact of this fall’s property...

Mark Kolasa, a teaching assistant for a restoration ecology class, uses his binoculars during a tour through Deer Grove East Forest Preserve in Palatine on Sept. 23, 2025, as part of a celebration of the completion of the habitat restoration project. The restoration project, funded by the O’Hare Modernization Mitigation Account, restored acres of native habitat and wetlands at this site. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Forest Preserves spent extra $40 million yearly on expanded conservation, maintenance

September 15, 2026 at 4:23 p.m.

Voters overwhelmingly gave Cook County Forest Preserves the OK to raise property taxes by 0.025% in a 2022 referendum.

Attorney Bill Quinlan sits outside his campaign office in Old Town on Sept. 14, 2026. Quinlan is launching his campaign for Chicago mayor. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Northwest Side attorney Bill Quinlan enters Chicago mayoral race

September 15, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Attorney William J. Quinlan, who has worked behind the scenes with some of the state’s highest profile politicians, is entering the crowded Chicago mayoral election fray.

Gov. JB Pritzker joined Mayor Lori Lightfoot, right, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, second from left, and public health experts in updating residents on March 12, 2020, in the early days of the pandemic. Illinois, Chicago and Cook County received $11 billion through the American Rescue Plan Act amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A Tribune-University of Chicago Mansueto Institute analysis revealed few efforts to identify potential waste and abuse of that money. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Illinois, Chicago, Cook County got $11B in pandemic aid but there were gaps in oversight and transparency

September 13, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The Tribune and the University of Chicago's Mansueto Institute examined how Illinois, Chicago and Cook County used aid through the American Rescue Plan Act. The analysis revealed maze-like money trails...

Surrounded by supporters of One Fair Wage, Ald. Mike Rodriguez, 22nd, speaks following a vote by the Workforce Development Committee to abolish the subminimum wage for tipped workers on Sept. 20, 2023. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Little Village Ald. Mike Rodriguez not running for reelection

September 9, 2026 at 2:49 p.m.

Southwest Side Ald. Mike Rodriguez, a progressive fixture, announced Wednesday he will not seek a third term.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, left, listens as Matthew D. Wilson, Senior Associate Director of University of Illinois’ Great Cities Institute, speaks during a press conference, Sept. 8, 2026, about a newly released report examining how heightened federal immigration enforcement changed commerce activity across Cook County. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Latin American-born residents ‘hunkering down’ before and during Midway Blitz cost economy $1.26B, report says

September 8, 2026 at 5:02 p.m.

Latin American-born Cook County residents’ spending cratered as they stayed in their homes during Midway Blitz because they were afraid of getting arrested by ICE agents.

Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks during a press conference after he signed two executive orders regarding the 2026 budget on Dec. 23, 2025, at City Hall in Chicago's Loop. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Brandon Johnson reveals $882 million budget gap for 2027

September 3, 2026 at 5:50 p.m.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration on Thursday unveiled a projected $882.4 million hole in the 2027 budget.

Striking Cook County Forest Preserves maintenance, conservation and programming workers, represented by Teamsters Local 700, picket outside the County Building in Chicago on Aug. 18, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Cook County Forest Preserves maintenance workers reach deal with district to end strike

September 3, 2026 at 2:23 p.m.

Striking Cook County Forest Preserves maintenance, conservation and programming workers reached a deal with management Wednesday.

Cook County Health CEO Dr. Erik Mikaitis listens to Raul Garza, CCH board chair, at a budget meeting on Aug. 28, 2026. (Arthur Maiorella/Chicago Tribune)

Federal cuts lead to growing burden on Cook County health system, taxpayers

August 30, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Cook County’s sprawling safety net health system is counting on the county board to fill a budget gap of $40 million this year or face potential service cuts.

Surveillance video of the Lyons Township clerk's office shows a kiss between Clerk Elyse Hoffenberg and Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek. The video has become a political flashpoint in the race for the Cook County Board's 17th District seat, in which Hoffenberg is running against Republican Liz Gordon. (Lyons Township Clerk Elyse Hoffenberg)

Kiss video at center of Lyons Township FOIA fight could impact Cook County Board, Congress races

August 27, 2026 at 8:49 p.m.

Surveillance video showing a kiss between Lyons Township Clerk Elyse Hoffenberg and Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek has become a political flashpoint in both a Cook County board race and the...

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