John Chase

John Chase is deputy metro editor for local government and politics. He rejoined the Tribune in 2022 after having worked at the Better Government Association, where he was an editor on the 2021 Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Failures Before the Fires.” He worked at the Tribune from 1998 until 2016 covering Illinois and Chicago politics and government.

Feds taped Blagojevich

June 16, 2018 at 1:45 p.m.

Federal investigators recently made covert tape recordings of Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the most dramatic step yet in their corruption investigation of him and his administration, the Tribune has learned....

Blagojevich’s wife, lawyer disappointed with appeals court ruling

May 15, 2019 at 7:51 p.m.

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's wife, Patti, and his attorney expressed disappointment at the appellate court ruling that was handed down Tuesday. At a news conference outside the family home in...

Hillary Rodham Clinton during a visit to Chicago on May 20, 2015.

Major donor to Obama, Emanuel to host Hillary Clinton fundraiser in Chicago

May 15, 2019 at 7:51 p.m.

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton is making her second fundraising visit to Chicago on Tuesday, attending an event at the home of securities trader Rajiv Fernando. Fernando has been...

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke speaks July 14, 2015, at the City Club of Chicago. Afterward she defended her colleagues on the bench as "good people. Honest, moral, ethical." Gov. Bruce Rauner had said the court is part of a "corrupt system."

Justice Burke calls Rauner court critique ‘regrettable’

May 25, 2019 at 5:59 p.m.

Offering rare public comment on state politics, Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke said Tuesday it was "regrettable" that Gov. Bruce Rauner characterized the high court as untrustworthy and part...

Barbara Byrd-Bennett, who has stepped down as Chicago Public Schools CEO, was a former employee of Wilmette-based consulting firm SUPES Academy.

Emails show firm played up clout in pitch for controversial no-bid CPS deal

May 25, 2019 at 5:58 p.m.

Newly released emails from City Hall show how a controversial consulting firm played up its clout with Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration and Chicago Public Schools before securing a multimillion-dollar no-bid...

Key players and organizations in CPS contract scandal

May 25, 2019 at 5:57 p.m.

Rahm Emanuel The mayor chose Jean-Claude Brizard as CEO of Chicago Public Schools in 2011 but replaced him a year and half later with Barbara Byrd-Bennett. Emanuel made training for...

Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett, seen in 2014, is taking a paid leave of absence that was announced after a federal investigation of no-bid contracts with SUPES Academy LLC became public.

CPS principal training deal got green light despite red flags

May 25, 2019 at 6:23 p.m.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel's formula for fixing Chicago Public Schools has always put a priority on building better leaders, so it could have been a setback for the mayor's agenda when...

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday sought to distance himself and a private education group he helps fund from the scandal over a $20.5 million no-bid contract at Chicago Public Schools.

Rauner tries to distance himself from CPS contract scandal

May 25, 2019 at 5:57 p.m.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday sought to distance himself and a private education group he helps fund from the growing scandal over a $20.5 million no-bid contract at Chicago...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel greets Earvin "Magic" Johnson before an announcement of investing $10 million for a summer jobs program for at-risk youths during a news conference at Phalanx Family Services in Chicago on Feb. 17, 2015.

‘Magic’ Johnson and the mayor: $250,000 donated after $80 million CPS deal

May 25, 2019 at 5:55 p.m.

A week before the February city election, Mayor Rahm Emanuel stood alongside Earvin "Magic" Johnson and his billionaire business partner to announce their $10 million donation for a summer jobs...

People watch from a balcony as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel addresses supporters at the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers union hall in Chicago on Feb. 24, 2015.

Emanuel hurt by flagging black support, low turnout

May 25, 2019 at 5:53 p.m.

When President Barack Obama dropped into his hometown a few days before the city election to designate the historic Pullman district a national monument and heap praise on Rahm Emanuel,...

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