Alice Yin

Alice Yin is a beat reporter covering Chicago City Hall and the mayor's office. She started her career at the Tribune as an overnight crime reporter in 2019 and has since covered Cook County government, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd protests on Chicago and the 2023 mayoral election. Before that she worked for the Chicago Sun-Times and the Michigan statehouse bureau of the Associated Press.

People in the gaming room at Crazy Times Pub & Grub in Machesney Park play video gambling machines on March 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Ward-level bans on video gambling blocked by Chicago City Council committee

March 12, 2026 at 4:06 p.m.

Two ordinances banning the machines in six different wards were decisively defeated during a City Council License Committee meeting.

Summer Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, right, said she was detained by federal immigration officials upon her arrival at O'Hare International Airport. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials and local officials in Wisconsin, where Naqvi said she was held in custody, are disputing her account. Sister Sarah Afzal is at left. (Sarah Afzal)

A Skokie woman said ICE detained her for nearly 48 hours after landing at O’Hare. But is it true?

March 11, 2026 at 8:36 p.m.

A Skokie woman said ICE detained her for nearly 48 hours after landing at O’Hare. Three separate law enforcement agencies say her story doesn’t add up.

The top Democratic candidates for Illinois' 7th Congressional District are, clockwise from top left, Anthony Driver, Jason Friedman, state Rep. La Shawn Ford, City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Dr. Thomas Fisher, Kina Collins, Richard Boykin, Reed Showalter and Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins, center. Others on the ballot include Democrats David Ehrlich, Anabel Mendoza, Jazmin Robinson, and Felix Tello, as well as Republicans Chad Koppie and Patricia “P Rae” Easley. (Brian Cassella, Antonio Perez and E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Retirement of US Rep Danny Davis sparks scramble — and flood of PAC dollars — for seat

March 11, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Danny Davis’ retirement comes after three decades of representing the 7th Congressional District and has triggered over a dozen candidates for the Democratic nomination.

Several hundred voters wait in line to cast ballots outside the 44th Ward early voting site at the Merlo Library in the 600 block of West Belmont Avenue on Nov. 1, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Brandon Johnson seeks ‘democracy zones’ outside polls to stop Trump interference

March 10, 2026 at 6:17 p.m.

The mayor's plan says “No area within a Democracy Zone may be used for civil immigration enforcement activity."

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks at a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at the site of what will be the Chicago Fire soccer team's new home, a 22,000-seat, open-air stadium at the north end of the area called "The 78" near Roosevelt Road in Chicago's South Loop, seen behind him. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson keep up Bears stadium pitches

March 4, 2026 at 6:59 a.m.

Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker continued mounting their public pitches for where the Chicago Bears should build their next stadium in Illinois.

Soldier Field sits in front of the Chicago skyline on a cold day on Jan. 22, 2026. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Park District pushes $630M plan to revamp Soldier Field post-Bears

February 23, 2026 at 8:08 p.m.

The Park District pitched state officials on converting the 61,500-seat venue to a destination for concerts and other special events once the Bears leave.

Aldermen Scott Waguespack, 32nd, from left, Greg Mitchell, 7th, Bennett Lawson, 44th, and Andre Vasquez, 40th, talk outside of the Chicago City Council chambers on Feb. 18, 2026. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Zoning Committee stalemate continues under Mayor Brandon Johnson, along with other vacancies

February 19, 2026 at 9:46 a.m.

Divided by competing personal ambitions and ethnic caucuses once again, the Chicago City Council failed Wednesday to find its next Zoning Committee chair.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, seated, cheers on Aug. 19, 2024, during the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Political leaders across Illinois mourn the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s death: ‘A giant of the Civil Rights Movement’

February 21, 2026 at 9:47 a.m.

Political leaders across Illinois mourned Rev. Jesse Jackson’s death and nodded to the decades-long movement he championed after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his mentor.

Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, a candidate for Illinois’ 7th Congressional District, speaks during the candidates forum at Collins Academy STEAM High School on Jan. 27, 2026, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago treasurer employee alleges political staff pushed office on US bonds boycott

February 16, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Mauricio Banuelos, a treasurer's office portfolio manager, sent a complaint to the public integrity units of both the Illinois attorney general and U.S. Department of Justice.

Former Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez speaks with members of the press at CPS headquarters on March 31, 2025, in Chicago. An outside firm hired to find a permanent replacement for Martinez is withdrawing from the process. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

CPS board members accuse Mayor Brandon Johnson of ‘sabotage’ in CEO search

February 12, 2026 at 6:50 p.m.

A group of six Chicago Public Schools board members blasted Mayor Brandon Johnson on Thursday, accusing City Hall of sabotaging a professional search for a new head of the school...

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