Jeff Coen

Jeff Coen is a deputy metro editor overseeing the Tribune’s criminal justice report and GA desk. With more than 25 years of experience, he was previously an investigative and enterprise reporter for the paper, and covered both Chicago’s main criminal courthouse and U.S. District Court, including both trials of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

State Rep. Bob Morgan, from left, who sponsored a bill to make the medical marijuana program permanent, speaks with state Sen. Don Harmon and Vicki Thomas, executive director of the legislative rules committee, in 2014.

Illinois marijuana growers spent about $600,000 on political giving leading to the pot legalization vote. Here’s where the money went.

August 2, 2019 at 8:52 p.m.

Marijuana cultivating companies that persuaded Illinois lawmakers to give them first access to recreational customers pushed for the lucrative advantage with the backing of a steady flow of campaign cash,...

A shuttered mental health clinic is shown at 4313 S. Ashland Ave. in Chicago on May 29, 2019. It was closed during the Emanuel administration.

Rahm Emanuel closed half of Chicago’s mental health clinics. What was the impact — and will Lightfoot reopen them?

June 9, 2019 at 7:09 p.m.

Few issues in recent Chicago history have been as contentious as former Mayor Rahm Emanuel's decision to close half the city's mental health clinics, and now Lori Lightfoot will inherit...

Terrence Haynes outside the Kankakee County Courthouse on May 6, 2019 after a pre-trial status hearing. Haynes was recently released from prison after being convicted of murder in 2000 and is awaiting a new trial.

Man who served 20 years for murder he says was self-defense won’t be retried: ‘Not a shred of evidence’ intact

June 3, 2019 at 9:30 p.m.

In the months since his release from prison, Terrence Haynes usually found himself lying awake at night wondering whether he might be retried for murder and ordered back to a...

Terrence Haynes outside the Kankakee County Courthouse on May 6, 2019, after a pretrial status hearing before his possible retrial in a 1999 murder.

After child witness says he lied on stand 20 years ago, authorities reviewing whether to retry man convicted of murder

May 23, 2019 at 7:03 a.m.

KANKAKEE — Local prosecutors need more time before committing to retry a man convicted of murder based on the words of child witness who has since recanted his testimony, the...

Terrence Haynes sits in his bedroom at his Kankakee home on April 23, 2019. Since recently leaving prison after nearly 20 years, Haynes often finds himself sitting alone in silence in the room, where he says he can think.

Shocking twists in murder case lead to convicted man’s release after 19 years — but can he keep his freedom?

May 5, 2019 at 7:46 p.m.

In the months since his court-ordered release from prison, Terrence Haynes has struggled to keep up with the world he left behind two decades ago. He reluctantly learned to text,...

A spokeswoman for Toni Preckwinkle said all contributions from the January 2018 fundraiser hosted by Ald. Edward Burke had been returned and that the campaign is "following up with the donors who have not cashed the checks."

Toni Preckwinkle returned more than 30 donations from Burke fundraiser, but not all checks have been cashed, records show

May 15, 2019 at 10:40 p.m.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has returned many campaign contributions associated with a fundraiser hosted for her last year by embattled Chicago Ald. Edward Burke, according to her campaign...

Jeff Coen

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Illinois marijuana growers spent about $600,000 on political giving leading to the pot legalization vote. Here’s where the money went.

Rahm Emanuel closed half of Chicago’s mental health clinics. What was the impact — and will Lightfoot reopen them?

Man who served 20 years for murder he says was self-defense won’t be retried: ‘Not a shred of evidence’ intact

After child witness says he lied on stand 20 years ago, authorities reviewing whether to retry man convicted of murder

Shocking twists in murder case lead to convicted man’s release after 19 years — but can he keep his freedom?

Toni Preckwinkle returned more than 30 donations from Burke fundraiser, but not all checks have been cashed, records show

Ed Burke’s son spared from Preckwinkle pop tax layoffs, records show deeper ties

Bombshell filing details FBI’s two-year probe of alleged corruption by Ald. Daniel Solis

El FBI anduvo dos años tras Daniel Solís, lo investigaron por corrupción

McHenry County sheriff’s deputy, shot to death in Rockford, ‘died doing what he loved’; suspect charged after standoff