Robert McCoppin

Robert McCoppin reports on news and trends in Chicago's suburbs, focusing especially on the legalization of marijuana. Having worked at the City News Bureau and Daily Herald before joining the Tribune in 2010, he has covered crime, the courts, flooding, and health, and has won multiple Chicago Headline Club awards.

Victims, Keely Roberts, from left, Sheila Gutman and Dana Ruder Ring react during the sentencing hearing for Robert Crimo III at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan on April 23, 2025. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)

Sentencing in Highland Park parade shooting: Plans, hopes and dreams destroyed by ‘violent tantrum’

April 23, 2025 at 6:58 p.m.

The sentencing hearing for Highland Park Parade shooter Robert Crimo III begins with dozens of survivors expected to give victim impact statements

A horse racing fan considers wagers at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney on Dec. 16, 2022. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

And, it’s off! Direct window betting on Kentucky Derby on hold at Hawthorne amid payment dispute

April 29, 2025 at 12:56 p.m.

Hawthorne Race Course — the only horse track in the Chicago area — is no longer offering over-the-counter betting on the Kentucky Derby or other races at the host track, Churchill...

Devon Quinn, chief culinary officer with The Paramount Group, checks on a sous vide bag containing pear syrup infused with cannabis concentrate as he prepares a cannabis-infused dinner on April 17, 2025, for Sunday at Eden restaurant. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

4/20 events celebrate growing use of cannabis, while alcohol sales decline

April 18, 2025 at 8:00 p.m.

The cannabis holiday, named after a group of friends who used to meet regularly at 4:20 p.m. to get high, has morphed into a weekend-long event.

Anna Chlystek, center, plays balloon volleyball with other residents at Encore Village on April 8, 2025, in Schaumburg. Encore Village, formerly known as Friendship Village before a Chapter 11 filing in 2023, is among a number of senior living facilities that have experienced financial trouble. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)

Bankruptcies at suburban senior homes collectively cost residents millions of dollars in entrance fees

April 15, 2025 at 10:29 a.m.

Senior homes in Arlington Heights, Schaumburg and Bartlett have filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in recent years.

Mayoral challenger John Laesch talks with Dorothy Thompson, center, and Loretta Burke during his watch party at Two Brothers Roundhouse on April 1, 2025, in Aurora. Thompson and Burke were both campaign workers for Laesch, they said. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)

Voters reelect numerous suburban mayors, despite a few upsets of incumbents

April 3, 2025 at 9:05 a.m.

Despite voters ousting high-profile mayors in Aurora, Tinley Park and Waukegan, residents reelected incumbents in numerous other towns.

A pedestrian crosses East Ontario Street at North Fairbanks Court in Chicago in 2018. The building at left contains 620 N. Fairbanks Ct., where cannabis store Guaranteed Dispensary is planned. (Jośe M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)

Lawsuit claims Chicago approval for cannabis store in Streeterville was illegal

April 2, 2025 at 3:03 p.m.

The complaint notes that the city zoning administrator had recommended denial of the application because the dispensary would be within 500 feet of a school.

Peter Berg, who is blind, presses the button for an audible pedestrian signal while walking his service dog, Lloyd, on March 18, 2025, at South Ashland Avenue and West Harrison Street in the Illinois Medical District. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Judge orders Chicago to install audible crossing signals for the blind and visually impaired

March 18, 2025 at 6:13 p.m.

The order would require the city to install at least 75 accessible pedestrian signals this year.

Arlington Heights mayoral candidate Tom Schwingbeck Jr. is flanked by fellow candidates Jon Ridler, left, and Jim Tinaglia during a candidate forum at the Arlington Heights Village Hall on March 13, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Arlington Heights mayoral candidates want to bring the Chicago Bears, but they say it has to benefit the village

March 16, 2025 at 10:54 a.m.

The three candidates spoke to a packed auditorium at the village hall Thursday, vying to succeed Mayor Tom Hayes, who is retiring.

A toddler sits on the ground momentarily at an arrival area for migrants bused in from Texas in the 500 block of West Vernon Park Place on Oct. 3, 2023. OEMC workers on-site said they expected two more buses to arrive later, for a total of 10 buses for the day. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Immigrants drove population growth in the Chicago area and Cook County last year, latest census figures show

March 13, 2025 at 9:14 a.m.

The Chicago metropolitan area saw a slight increase in population, according to the most recent estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau, as international immigration outpaced domestic departures in many big...

Police officers exit as Jones College Prep students are allowed to reenter a building after an unfounded bomb threat on March 5, 2025. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

False bomb threats reported at two Chicago high schools, police say

March 6, 2025 at 6:28 a.m.

Chicago police said they responded to two false bomb threats at schools Wednesday, a practice known as swatting, creating traffic backups and confusion. The first call to police at 2:05...

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