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.

Willow Creek Community Church on Jan. 13, 2018, in South Barrington.

Claims against Willow Creek’s Bill Hybels of ‘sexually inappropriate’ conduct are credible, new report says

May 23, 2019 at 6:49 a.m.

A council of Christian leaders tapped to review last year’s tumultuous exit of Bill Hybels from Willow Creek Community Church has concluded that claims of “sexually inappropriate words and actions”...

Ald. Edward Burke takes questions from reporters as he leaves his office through the back on election night Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. He is the city's longest-serving alderman.

Ald. Edward Burke, undeterred by federal corruption charges, takes commanding lead in the 14th Ward

May 15, 2019 at 10:34 p.m.

Federal corruption charges against powerful Chicago Ald. Edward Burke rattled every corner of City Hall like a thunderclap when they were announced last month, but as the votes were counted...

Patricia LaPorta and her son Michael leave for a therapy session from their West Morgan Park home on March 20, 2017. Michael LaPorta was shot in the head at Chicago police Officer Patrick Kelly's home in 2010.

City reopens investigation — again — into Chicago cop found by civil jury to have shot his friend in the head

May 23, 2019 at 6:43 a.m.

A city agency has reopened an investigation into an off-duty Chicago cop accused of shooting his childhood friend in the head and causing catastrophic injuries, marking its third attempt at...

Ald. Edward Burke, left, chats with Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan at a gathering of Cook County Democrats at the Erie Cafe in Chicago in 2015.

House Speaker Michael Madigan’s public and private roles back in spotlight after bombshell involving Ald. Danny Solis

May 15, 2019 at 10:29 p.m.

The intersection of Michael Madigan’s dual roles as Illinois House speaker and private property tax appeal lawyer gained the spotlight once again Tuesday, as the veteran politician was dragged into...

Garry McCarthy on Jason Van Dyke: ‘I was not standing in that guy’s shoes’

January 25, 2019 at 8:29 p.m.

Garry McCarthy is in a tough political spot as he runs for mayor: He's pushing his experience as police superintendent as a key strength, yet he was fired from that...

Anthony Gay greets other parishioners at the Church of Peace in Rock Island on Nov. 11, 2018 which he has been attending since being released from prison.

How solitary confinement drove a young inmate to the brink of insanity

June 5, 2019 at 12:36 a.m.

With his mental state deteriorating as he sat in the crushing isolation of solitary confinement, a desperate inmate named Anthony Gay saw a temporary way out. Sometimes it came in...

Mexican cartel leader Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, whom the Flores twins helped authorities find, was a fugitive until his arrest in February 2014.

First he turned on ‘El Chapo.’ Then he secretly recorded him. Now in hiding, the Chicago twin testifies against the alleged Mexican cartel boss.

March 29, 2020 at 9:47 p.m.

The large November 2008 heroin drop near O’Hare International Airport was unusual for more than one reason. For starters, the Sinaloa cartel had sent 20 kilos instead of the promised...

Kilos de drogas, grabaciones secretas y un número de teléfono muy familiar: gemelo de Chicago testifica en el histórico juicio de ‘El Chapo’

December 19, 2018 at 6:53 p.m.

Como lugarteniente del supuesto imperio del cártel de Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, en ocasiones le correspondía a Pedro Flores hacer tareas aparentemente mundanas, como preparar nuevos teléfonos celulares para otros...

How Chicago became a key hub in El Chapo’s massive U.S. drug operation: Chicago twin testifies in historic trial

August 8, 2019 at 6:29 a.m.

In untold hundreds of truck and train shipments, tons of cocaine rolled into Chicago hidden among loads of vegetables, shrimp, and even live sheep. The city acted as the American...

Uno de los gemelos Flores de Chicago testifica contra El Chapo

December 18, 2018 at 11:53 p.m.

Uno de los hermanos gemelos de Chicago que se voltearon contra Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán y grabó en secreto sus conversaciones —como parte de un intento federal de llevar ante...

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