Daniel C. Vock

A freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune, Daniel C. Vock was most recently a senior reporter at Route Fifty, where he focused on transportation and infrastructure. He has covered state and local government for two decades, first as an Illinois statehouse reporter and later as a national reporter based in Washington, D.C.

Activists participate in a rally at Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 2025. Activists held a rally and a march to mark Labor Day and protest the federal law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital. (Alex Wong/Getty)

President Trump’s takeover of Washington, D.C., offers insights on what could be in store for Chicago

August 31, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

As the prospect of President Trump sending a surge of federal forces to Chicago rises daily, the Washington occupation provides insights into what a Chicago incursion could entail.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., talks about Senate Republicans' efforts to roll back $1.1 billion of funding authority from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 15, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

Illinois public broadcasters in Chicago, and especially downstate, fear impact as Senate vote to cut funding looms

July 16, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

While Chicago-area public media outlets WBEZ and WTTW will get hurt if the Senate OK's cuts, smaller stations in rural areas would get hit harder.

Sheila Sutton stretches along the lakefront at Diversey Harbor in Chicago as a storm arrives on May 15, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago-area officials are bracing as summer storms roll in following Texas tragedy and weather service budget cuts

July 14, 2025 at 4:12 p.m.

The Chicago area has felt less of an impact from the Trump administration's National Weather Service cuts than offices in the Quad Cities and downstate Lincoln.

Michelle, who came to the United States from Mexico six years ago, worries about the future of her unborn child following the recent Supreme Court ruling that could affect her child’s birthright citizenship. She stands near her children’s day care center on July 2, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Supreme Court ruling casts doubt on birthright citizenship for immigrant families in Chicago

July 8, 2025 at 1:52 p.m.

High court's decision fuels uncertainty about whether babies born to immigrants lacking legal immigration status will be considered American citizens, despite 14th Amendment.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on June 12, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is at right. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

Gov. JB Pritzker uses House hearing to defend Illinois’ sanctuary laws and to slam Congress for not passing immigration reforms

June 12, 2025 at 9:01 p.m.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s appearance before the House Oversight Committee was highly anticipated because of his President Trump critiques and potential run for president in 2028.

After giving a speech about higher education, Gov. JB Pritzker signs autographs at the University of Illinois Chicago on April 28, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Gov. JB Pritzker set to testify before congressional committee about sanctuary states amid immigration turmoil

June 12, 2025 at 9:40 a.m.

Amid immigration enforcement protests, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's appearance Thursday before the U.S. House oversight committee could turn combative.

President Donald Trump during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 30, 2025, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Getty)

Justice Department investigation of racial hiring at City Hall also highlights President Donald Trump’s own hiring record

June 3, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Study finds President Donald Trump’s Cabinet was 84% white and 84% male, skewing more heavily toward men and white people than any president in recent memory.

Democratic digital creator likely facing field of local politicians to succeed US Rep. Jan Schakowsky

May 12, 2025 at 12:30 p.m.

In 9th Congressional District race, digital creator Kat Abughazaleh has an unconventional campaign but is already facing more traditional, grassroots candidates.

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on May 8, 2025. He is the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the church. (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)

Wheaton church group witnesses Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV greeting the public in Rome

May 9, 2025 at 2:15 p.m.

More than a dozen members of the Gary Memorial United Methodist Church in Wheaton already traveling in Rome witnessed papal history.

Bill Blair holds a protest sign as he joins a rally on Daley Plaza in Chicago on March 4, 2025, to protest actions by the Trump administration. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

‘Something should be done’: Illinois Democratic lawmakers hear from public frustrated about President Donald Trump’s initiatives

March 10, 2025 at 7:36 a.m.

Although Democrats are out of power in D.C., anxious Illinoisans want lawmakers to step up to block Donald Trump initiatives.

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