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.

Chicago police Officer Patrick Kelly, left, enters the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Oct. 17, 2017.

Year after jury’s record award in off-duty shooting, victim awaits payout while Chicago cop collects a paycheck

December 12, 2018 at 5:11 a.m.

Michael LaPorta’s wheelchair is falling apart. The specially equipped van he uses to get around his South Side neighborhood needs serious repair. The lift he uses to get in and...

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner concedes to J.B. Pritzker on Nov. 6, 2018, at The Drake hotel in Chicago.

Democrat J.B. Pritzker topples first-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in Illinois governor race

May 12, 2019 at 6:41 p.m.

Billionaire Democrat J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday soundly defeated first-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who conceded his re-election bid less than an hour after the polls closed, giving Democrats near total...

Judge says he won’t let suit against Obama Presidential Center drag on

May 23, 2019 at 8:12 a.m.

The judge overseeing the federal lawsuit challenging the construction of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park said Wednesday he does not expect the case to drag on as both...

Ghian Foreman bought the former Anthony Overton Elementary School in Chicago. He's upbeat about prospects for the Obama Presidential Center and plans to redevelop the shuttered building.

As hurdles mount for Obama Presidential Center, worry and anxiety grow on South Side

May 23, 2019 at 8:12 a.m.

Paraisia Winston looks forward to having the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, 4 miles from her South Shore home, to add a new historical treasure to her already culturally...

Customers visit Robust Coffee Lounge at 63rd Street and Woodlawn Avenue. The land across the street is part of several parcels of city-owned land. Planning officials described themselves as the facilitators of whatever the community vision becomes.

City controls key land for redevelopment near Obama Presidential Center

May 23, 2019 at 8:12 a.m.

Drive along the weed-filled lots that line 63rd Street in Woodlawn and it’s hard to picture a bustling stretch of stores, apartments and commercial activity. That, though, is just what...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel hears from Paul Caswell, founder and CEO of WeaveThePeople.com, at 1871 in Chicago on April 1, 2014, as Emanuel announced the creation of new technology jobs in the city.

In Rahm Emanuel’s tenure, a global vision bogged down by local issues

May 23, 2019 at 6:14 a.m.

Rahm Emanuel stormed back to Chicago from Washington in 2010 as a political force of nature, ready to swoop in and lead the city with his legendary drive and deep...

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.

Judge upholds record $44.7 million jury award in Michael LaPorta case

May 23, 2019 at 6:14 a.m.

A federal judge has upheld a record $44.7 million judgment against the city in a high-profile police misconduct case, a sum awarded by a jury last fall after the panel...

Heather Larson leaves the stage at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington during a family service on Aug. 8, 2018, after resigning as the megachurch's lead pastor.

Willow Creek’s journey from defending pastor to accepting accusations unfolds slowly, ends in mass resignations

May 23, 2019 at 6:09 a.m.

Inside a brightly lit conference room overlooking downtown Chicago, Bill Hybels struggled to explain away allegations that he had acted inappropriately with women during decades as leader of one of...

Alejandro Medina Franco, 49, with his 2-year-old daughter, Joyce, at home in Naperville, Ill., on July 17, 2018. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune/TNS) ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, TCN - OUTS **

Deportan a un padre de Naperville a pesar del cuidado que requiere su hija

December 13, 2018 at 12:12 a.m.

Un padre de familia de Naperville, que hizo una petición de último minuto al Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) de Estados Unidos para permanecer en el país...

Alejandro Medina Franco, 49, with his 2-year-old daughter, Joyce, at home in Naperville on July 17, 2018.

Naperville father deported despite plea that ICE allow him to stay in U.S. with daughter who has spina bifida

May 23, 2019 at 6:07 a.m.

A Naperville father who made a last-minute plea to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement so he could remain in the U.S. to care for a young daughter with severe spina...

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