Investigations

Heidy Herrera, 8, chants into microphone as she stands with her family on April 19, 2026, near the spot where her sister, Marcela Herrera, was killed at Cullerton Street and Ashland Avenue in a hit-and-run on July 21, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Hundreds march in Pilsen, demand answers in unsolved fatal hit-and-run

By Christiana Freitag

April 20, 2026 at 4:09 p.m.

Marcela Herrera, 22, was killed in a hit-and-run nine months ago.

The Chicago Department of Law, with offices at City Hall, says it has boosted oversight of bills filed by the private law firms it hires to defend reversed-conviction cases. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

A 69-hour-workday? City of Chicago paid head-scratching legal bills

By Joe Mahr

April 19, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Legal invoices are one of the only available avenues to evaluate how well Chicago is...

Thomas Sierra was exonerated after spending 22 years in prison on a murder conviction. The city fought his lawsuit for more than six years before agreeing to a $17.5 million settlement. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Court battles hit taxpayer wallets

By Joe Mahr

March 29, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The costs of Chicago police misconduct have grown enormous as the city settles lawsuit after...

Anna Vargas, shown in her room at a Glenview nursing home this month, had a private guardian for a time after being hospitalized in 2023. She is now under the care of the Cook County public guardian. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

When hospitals choose private guardians, patients pay the price

By Emily Hoerner

November 30, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

When Chicago hospitals seek guardians for patients with assets, a law firm and a private...

Gary Brown, shown in October, said he was taken by surprise when Northwestern Memorial Hospital filed a petition to place his father, Gary Ellis, under guardianship of the state. Ellis died before the family could regain control. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago hospitals funnel patients into long-lasting guardianships, angering friends and family

By Emily Hoerner

December 1, 2025 at 9:10 a.m.

Chicago-area hospitals recently initiated hundreds of guardianship petitions in just 18 months, a Chicago Tribune...

Audrey Pierce, 71, stands by her three-flat in North Lawndale on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. She saw her property tax bill for the building more than double this year. “To put it mildly, I’m very pissed off,” she said. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Record property tax increases slam Chicago homeowners as downtown owners see cuts

By A.D. Quig

April 24, 2026 at 10:04 a.m.

Sinking Loop office values fuel spike in Chicago residential bills, especially on South, West sides,...

Ofelia Torres, 16, is wheeled through the lobby of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Oct. 23, 2025, after a hearing for her father, Ruben Torres Maldonado, who was detained by ICE agents outside a Niles Home Depot. Ofelia is in treatment for a rare form of metastatic cancer. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Federal judge postpones ruling on detained father of sick teen

By Gregory Royal Pratt

October 23, 2025 at 6:06 p.m.

During a hearing, a federal prosecutor acknowledged the “very serious situation” facing the Torres family.

Community activist Andrew Holmes, second from right, attends a vigil for the daughter of Naikeeia Williams, center, after the girl was fatally shot in February 2017. “Whenever there was a photo opportunity, he was there,” Williams recently told the Tribune. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Prominent activist turned politician faces new scrutiny as lawsuit alleges sexual assault of teenage girl

By Alison Flowers

September 28, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

A survivor of sex trafficking has sued anti-violence activist and Dolton trustee Andrew Holmes, alleging...

Residential properties throughout the South and West sides, like these shown on Sept. 18, 2025 on West End Avenue in West Garfield Park, had their property assessments double or even triple last year. Those higher assessments will likely help trigger steep hikes in property tax bills for homeowners in the neighborhoods. Experts, and officials with the Cook County assessor's office that produced the new figures, said the higher valuations are being partly driven by investors who have flocked to the few neighborhoods where real estate is still affordable. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Brace for impact: Tax hikes loom for South, West Side homeowners

By A.D. Quig

October 2, 2025 at 6:13 p.m.

Property assessments double for 37,000 homes in Chicago’s historically neglected neighborhoods amid fresh investor interest.

Two boys who once attended The Language and Music School in west suburban Oak Park play in Chicago’s Columbus Park this summer. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Learning in a loophole: Gap in Illinois law leaves Oak Park mansion school largely unregulated by state

By Jonathan Bullington

August 17, 2025 at 8:20 a.m.

Parents said they assumed a private school in an Oak Park mansion was recognized by...

Jerry Moore, 86, looks at the Purple Heart that belonged to his late brother, World War II veteran John L. Moore, alongside John’s granddaughter Angie Holliger. The Illinois treasurer's office, which oversees unclaimed property, returned the medal at a July 2 ceremony in Decatur. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Once lost to time and circumstance, Purple Heart is back with family of Peoria veteran

By Christy Gutowski

July 2, 2025 at 4:27 p.m.

“It means a lot to my heart,” Jerry Moore said of receiving his late brother's...

Marles Blackman enters the Markham courthouse with an attorney on June 27 after a dinner break for the jury deliberating in her murder trial. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Stalled Justice: Mother convicted of killing her toddler, 13 years after charges filed

By Joe Mahr

July 1, 2025 at 11:36 a.m.

In the notoriously slow Cook County court system, a jury has convicted a south suburban...

Craig Lancaster, a Chicago police officer for nearly 30 years, arrives at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on June 12, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Plea deal ends career of Chicago police officer who struck 14-year-old student

By Christy Gutowski

June 12, 2025 at 4:55 p.m.

A veteran Chicago police officer will no longer carry a badge as part of a...