Investigations – Page 12

Gov. JB Pritzker joined Mayor Lori Lightfoot, right, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, second from left, and public health experts in updating residents on March 12, 2020, in the early days of the pandemic. Illinois, Chicago and Cook County received $11 billion through the American Rescue Plan Act amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A Tribune-University of Chicago Mansueto Institute analysis revealed few efforts to identify potential waste and abuse of that money. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Illinois, Chicago, Cook County got $11B in pandemic aid but there were gaps in oversight and transparency

By Dan Petrella

September 13, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The Tribune and the University of Chicago's Mansueto Institute examined how Illinois, Chicago and Cook...

Weiss Memorial Hospital, in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, was closed in August 2025 after federal regulators cut off Medicare funding over safety issues. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

Illinois ignores rules and red flags as ‘servant leader’ runs up $100M state tab, then closes 2 hospitals

By Joe Mahr

August 30, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

West Suburban and Weiss Memorial's collapse illustrates what can go wrong in a state that...

An airplane flies near the EdgeConneX data center campus, right, on July 22, 2026, in Elk Grove Village. Two of the company’s data centers near O’Hare International Airport were the subject of property tax appeals battles this year brought by the Cook County assessor. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

Data centers near O’Hare win nearly $100M in local tax breaks, leaving suburban homeowners to cover the gap

By Alex Nitkin

August 23, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Northwest suburban data centers had nearly $2 billion knocked off their taxable property values, an...

More than 80 vehicles were reportedly involved in numerous crashes on Interstate 55 from milepost 76 to 78 on May 1, 2023, Illinois State Police said. Officials updated the death toll for the pileup to eight. The crashes happened during a dust storm described as similar to "whiteout" conditions.

I-55 dust storm crash: Read the Tribune investigation

By Jake Sheridan

June 14, 2024 at 6:42 p.m.

The busy I-55 stretch between St. Louis and Springfield had seemed normal on May 1....

Former Chicago police Officer Jeffrey Kriv walks to his arraignment at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on March 29, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

44 tickets, one excuse: Chicago cop’s go-to alibi helps highlight troubles with police accountability

By Jennifer Smith Richards

March 25, 2025 at 12:31 p.m.

As a Chicago cop, Jeffrey Kriv was investigated numerous times. But not until an outside...

Chicago Public Schools headquarters in 2021.

Letters: Op-ed misleads about inspector general’s investigations of sexual misconduct in CPS

By baiduhai

June 14, 2024 at 6:42 p.m.

Benjamin Colwell's May 31 op-ed ("Sexual abuse in CPS deserves state scrutiny too") spreads inaccurate...

People wait for a bus in temperatures approaching 100 degrees at South Kedzie Avenue and West Cermak Road in the Little Village neighborhood in June 2022.

Mapping a threat: Climate change’s deadly summer heat may deepen disparities in Chicago

By Sarah Macaraeg

June 14, 2024 at 6:42 p.m.

Every year, Chicagoans relish the onset of "Summertime Chi," when the frigid winter gives way...

A haze hangs over downtown Chicago in September 2018 as near record temperatures were expected during the day.

Searchable maps: Explore heat disparities and cooling resources in your neighborhood

By Sarah Macaraeg

June 14, 2024 at 6:42 p.m.

While other cities face increased risk of hurricanes, wildfires and drought, climate change is projected...

People make their way down 26th Street in temperatures approaching 100 degrees in the Little Village neighborhood last summer.

How we reported on heat disparities in Chicago

By Sarah Macaraeg

June 14, 2024 at 6:42 p.m.

Amid all of the discourse on the devastating consequences of climate change, one fact often...

A man leaps into Lake Michigan along the lakefront near Oak Street Beach while sunbathers soak up hot temperatures in the 90s on June 15, 2022.

Mapping a threat: Read the investigation on disparities in Chicago’s summer heat

By Sarah Macaraeg

June 14, 2024 at 6:42 p.m.

Heat is the deadliest weather phenomenon, killing more people in an average year than hurricanes,...

John Lausch, then-U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, center, prepares to speak to the media at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago after verdicts were reached in the trial of R. Kelly on Sept. 14, 2022.

Ex-US Attorney John Lausch rejoins Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago

By Jason Meisner

June 14, 2024 at 6:42 p.m.

Two months after leaving his high-profile post as Chicago's top federal prosecutor, former U.S. Attorney...

Water is collected for lead testing at a fountain at Newberry Math and Science Academy in Chicago in January.

How we reported on lead in water at Illinois schools and day cares

By Emily Hoerner

June 14, 2024 at 6:42 p.m.

To learn more about the impact of a 2017 law that required many Illinois schools...

Water fountain at Harding Elementary in Earlville. The school, which uses well water, installed a phosphate feed to mitigate lead contamination in their drinking water, Thursday, April 27, 2023.

Toxic traces: Read the investigation on lead in water at Illinois schools and daycares

By Emily Hoerner

May 7, 2026 at 4:26 p.m.

Most Illinois public schools that tested samples from sinks and fountains for lead as required...