Gregory Royal Pratt

Raised in Little Village, Gregory Royal Pratt is an investigative reporter. He has been a finalist for the Livingston and earned recognition from the National Headliner Awards, the Lisagors, and Scripps Howard. He is the author of “The City is Up for Grabs: How Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Led and Lost a City in Crisis.”

Illinois regulators have been investigating plastic surgeon Ayoub Sayeg, shown before a court hearing at the Daley Center in August 2025, for more than five years after receiving a complaint about the death of patient Idalia Corcoles. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Illinois to audit plastic surgeon case after Tribune investigation

June 8, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has been investigating plastic surgeon Dr. Ayoub Sayeg since 2020.

Dr. Ayoub Sayeg, a plastic surgeon, arrives at the Daley Center in Chicago for an Aug. 19, 2025, court hearing concerning a $56 million verdict in the death of patient Idalia Corcoles. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Despite 8 patient deaths and a $56M jury verdict, state allows Chicago plastic surgeon to keep operating

June 7, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

More than five years after Illinois regulators started investigating him over a patient death, the plastic surgeon remains open for business with a clean medical license.

Larry Gephart, right, assists Jose Angel Miranda, of Nicaragua, who was released from the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan, with a phone call from an attorney outside the facility on May 14, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

ICE releases some immigrants without a way back home. These volunteers are waiting to help.

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

From California to New Jersey and Minnesota to Texas, advocates across the country are figuring out ways to get released detainees back home.

Mather High School senior Ricardo Hernández-Navarrete flashes a smile as he walks on stage before receiving his diploma during his graduation ceremony at Loyola University Chicago on May 28, 2026. Ricardo was detained by ICE in March and released this week just in time for graduation. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

After two months in ICE detention, CPS senior free to walk Mather High School graduation with classmates

May 28, 2026 at 8:19 p.m.

Ricardo Hernandez-Navarrete and his mother were arrested by ICE agents at a routine check-in in March.

Ricardo Hernández-Navarrete is reunited with his mother, Martha Liliana Navarrete, in Crown Point, Indiana, on May 26, 2026, after he was released from federal immigration detention. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

ICE releases Chicago Public Schools senior ahead of Mather High School graduation

May 28, 2026 at 6:03 p.m.

Ricardo Hernandez-Navarrete and his mother were arrested by ICE agents at a routine check-in in March.

Martha Liliana Navarrete, who was released from ICE custody, with her son Steven, 28, at the family home in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood on May 21, 2026. She is still waiting for her other son, Ricardo, 18, to be released. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Mother of CPS senior detained by ICE calls for compassion: ‘Please free my son’

May 21, 2026 at 6:55 p.m.

Martha Liliana Navarette and her son Ricardo Hernandez-Navarette were arrested in mid-March by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at a routine check-in for the family’s asylum case.

Ricardo Hernández-Navarrete, 18, and his mother, Martha Liliana Navarrete, were detained by ICE agents at a routine immigration court check-in in March. Hernández-Navarrete is a Chicago Public Schools high school senior and a soccer player who was expecting to play at Truman College in the fall. (Kristy Morrow)

Judge orders mother of CPS student to be released from ICE custody

May 26, 2026 at 3:38 p.m.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that ICE must release the mother of a Chicago Public Schools student after she was arrested with her son at a routine check-in earlier this...

CTA Blue Line trains travel alongside the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago on Oct. 31, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Brandon Johnson makes last-minute push to name permanent CTA leader

May 19, 2026 at 12:41 p.m.

Mayor Brandon Johnson asked the Chicago Transit Agency board to select a permanent leader just weeks before a new state law limits his control over the executive appointment process.

ICE detains Chicago Public Schools senior and his mother: ‘We had done everything by the rules’

May 18, 2026 at 11:12 a.m.

In March, ICE detained Ricardo Hernandez-Navarrete, 18, a Mather High School senior, and his mother at a routine check in.

An information packet and an American flag are placed on a chair at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Miami Field Office on Aug. 17, 2018, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

Chicago ‘Dreamers’ say they’re fearful of job loss and deportations

May 14, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The rising chance of arrest, job loss and deportation for 'Dreamers' was the focus of a Senate spotlight forum on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

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