Jake Sheridan – Page 16

Ald. Marty Quinn, 13th, speaks about his successful hemp ban after a City Council meeting, Jan. 21, 2026, at Chicago City Hall. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Hemp product sales curtailed in Chicago with City Council vote

January 21, 2026 at 5:05 p.m.

The ban does not outlaw hemp topicals, beverages or animal products. And it allows affected products to continue to be sold in state-licensed marijuana dispensaries.

Chicago's Inspector General Deborah Witzburg answers a question during a meeting at City Hall on July 1, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Chicago paid $26.5M in OT to ineligible employees, report says

January 21, 2026 at 4:51 p.m.

Over 1,000 likely ineligible employees received the extra pay from 2020 to 2024, according to the report by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg.

Mayor Brandon Johnson arrives to talk about the city’s parking meters, at the Chicago Cultural Center on Jan. 20, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Mayor Brandon Johnson says he will not try to buy back Chicago parking meters

January 20, 2026 at 6:40 p.m.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said he will forgo potentially purchasing the meters from the private company Chicago Parking Meters, saying the price would be too steep.

Mayor Brandon Johnson answers questions during a news conference on the fifth floor of Chicago City Hall on Dec. 15, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Well-funded potential challengers already circling Mayor Brandon Johnson

January 18, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

A large and growing field of candidates is angling to take out Mayor Brandon Johnson, who is seen as very beatable.

Rick Garcia, political director of Equality Illinois, sits in the middle of Washington Street in Chicago protesting Cook County's non-issuance of marriage licenses for gay and lesbian couples on March 4, 2004. (Scott Strazzante/baiduhai)

Rick Garcia, leading Chicago gay rights activist, dies at 69: ‘He was relentless’

January 15, 2026 at 12:30 p.m.

Rick Garcia, the indefatigable Chicago gay rights activist, passed away this week at age 69. He spearheaded campaigns banning discrimination against LGBTQ people in Illinois.

Customers use video gaming machines in a room at Crazy Times Pub and Grill in Machesney Park, near the Wisconsin border, on March 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Chicago video gambling legalization in flux as aldermen, Mayor Brandon Johnson weigh changes

January 13, 2026 at 5:04 p.m.

Discussions between Johnson and aldermen over legalized video gambling mark the first major efforts to amend the budget passed by the City Council in December.

Chicago police headquarters on Jan. 4, 2022. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

City lawyers call for $22M payout to family of man killed in police crash

January 12, 2026 at 4:13 p.m.

City attorneys want aldermen to approve a $22 million settlement for the family of a man killed in a car crash that occurred as Chicago police chased somebody else.

Daphne Williams, director of the Smarty Pants Early Learning Center in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, reads to children on Jan. 7, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)

Child care providers and parents worry about federal freeze of $1B for Illinois. ‘It really helps these parents.’

January 8, 2026 at 9:55 a.m.

Child care professionals, parents, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and other local leaders expressed horror Wednesday after the federal government announced that it would freeze about $10 billion in funding for...

Ald. Brian Hopkins waits for the results of a vote during a City Council meeting about the city’s 2026 budget on Dec. 20, 2025. Hopkins introduced a measure to give the Chicago police superintendent the power to declare a teen curfew anytime, anywhere across the city with at least 12 hours notice. (Dominic Di Palermo/baiduhai)

Chicago teen curfew proposal again advances, Mayor Brandon Johnson mum on veto

January 7, 2026 at 5:13 p.m.

The measure would give Superintendent Larry Snelling the power to declare a teen curfew anytime, anywhere across the city with at least 12 hours notice.

Chicago's Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski answers questions during a news conference on the fifth floor of Chicago City Hall on Dec. 15, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s CFO, Jill Jaworski, leaves city for Navy Pier

January 7, 2026 at 5:51 p.m.

Jill Jaworski, the city’s chief financial officer, plans to take a job with the nonprofit corporation that runs Navy Pier.

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