Caroline Kubzansky

Caroline Kubzansky covers criminal justice with a focus on violence and its root causes for the Tribune. She previously worked as a general assignment reporter and started her career covering the northern suburbs. A graduate of the University of Illinois-Springfield's Public Affairs Reporting Program and the University of Chicago, she is a committed Chicago partisan and a native of Washington, D.C.

Former immigration judge Carla Espinoza on Feb. 27, 2026. Espinoza has accused the federal government of firing her based on her previous work as a lawyer for immigrants as well as her race and sex. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Dismissed Chicago immigration judge sues Trump administration

May 5, 2026 at 6:03 p.m.

A former Chicago immigration judge has accused the federal government of firing her based on her previous work as a lawyer for immigrants as well as her race and sex.

Blue ribbons are hung and red roses are left at the front door of the 17th District station, April 26, 2026, in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood after police Officer John Bartholomew was fatally shot and another officer wounded April 25 at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Two officers face internal affairs probe over search of suspect before shooting of cops at Chicago hospital

May 1, 2026 at 4:39 p.m.

The Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs has opened an investigation into two officers who searched Alphanso Talley last weekend before he was taken to Swedish Hospital where he...

Police Officer John Bartholomew was fatally shot at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital. (Chicago Police Department)

Funeral services for slain CPD officer John Bartholomew set for next week

April 30, 2026 at 7:46 p.m.

Visitation and funeral services for slain Chicago police Officer John Bartholomew are set for next Thursday, May 7, and Friday, May 8, at St. Andrews Greek Orthodox Church in Edgewater.

Bartholomew family members and a Chicago police special activities officer walk following a detention hearing for Alphanso Talley at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago, April 30, 2026. Talley is accused of killing Chicago police Officer John Bartholomew and critically wounding his partner while escaping from Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital. (Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune)

‘If you are out, you are dangerous’: Judge again orders detention for man accused of shooting officers at Swedish Hospital

April 30, 2026 at 5:22 p.m.

The man accused of killing a North Side police officer and critically wounding his partner while escaping from Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital will continue to be detained.

Hospital shooting of 2 Chicago cops shows gaps in Cook County’s electronic-monitoring system

April 29, 2026 at 5:49 p.m.

About seven weeks before Alphanso Talley allegedly snuck a gun into a hospital and shot the pair of cops guarding him, his electronic monitor went into “sleep mode” and officials...

A shooting suspect was located in the alley of the 2600 block of West Winona Street near Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital after he allegedly shot two officers on April 25, 2026. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Questions swirl around handling of prior cases against defendant in double police shooting at Chicago hospital

April 28, 2026 at 7:52 p.m.

The criminal history of the man charged with shooting a pair of Chicago police officers is the focus as the defendant makes new court appearance.

Family members depart the Leighton Criminal Court Building on April 27, 2026, after an appearance by Alphanso Talley, the man charged with the fatal shooting of Chicago police Officer John Bartholomew and wounding of a second officer on Saturday at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Authorities allege gun illegally bought, hidden under hospital blanket before man shot two cops

April 27, 2026 at 5:18 p.m.

Two days after the fatal shooting of one Chicago police officer and wounding of a second at a Chicago hospital, the man initially arrested in the case has been criminally...

Nora Draniczarek and her son Joe, 3, tie blue ribbons down the block, April 26, 2026, in Edison Park for a neighbor, Chicago police Officer John Bartholomew, who was shot and killed Saturday at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago police officer fatally shot at Swedish Hospital remembered for kindness and public service

April 26, 2026 at 7:07 p.m.

John Bartholomew, 38, was shot Saturday morning at the North Side hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

A police officer salutes as an ambulance transports the body of a police officer to the medical examiner's office from Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where two officers were taken after being shot by a suspect at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital, April 25, 2026, in Chicago. One of the officers died, and the other is in critical condition, according to Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago police officer killed, another critically injured in shooting at Swedish Hospital: ‘A devastating loss’

April 25, 2026 at 9:14 p.m.

One Chicago police officer was killed and another critically injured after they were shot at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital Saturday morning by a man they brought in for treatment at...

Attorney Karla Guevara Olivas, pictured on April 24, 2026, works with the National Immigrant Justice Center. (Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune)

Legal providers try to ‘bridge the gap,’ touting the benefits of counsel for immigrants fighting removal

April 25, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Organizations scramble to help link those fighting deportation to the kind of legal representation that will greatly improve their chances of successfully staying in the U.S.

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