Investigations – Page 36

Dr. Ayoub Sayeg arrives at a court hearing at the Daley Center in the Loop on Aug. 19, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Illinois plastic surgeon with 8 patient deaths faces another license suspension

By Christy Gutowski

October 6, 2026 at 11:14 a.m.

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs temporarily suspended Dr. Ayoub Sayeg’s medical license,...

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...

Documents obtained through public-records requests show that Braun Educational Center in Oak Forest isolated students in seclusion rooms nearly 500 times over one and a half school years. About 150 students with disabilities attend programs at Braun.

How we reported this story: Creating a first-ever database of thousands of seclusion incidents in Illinois

By Haru Coryne

July 25, 2024 at 2:07 p.m.

The state of Illinois does not collect any data on how often public schools put...

A red-light camera near the intersection of South 88th Avenue and 79th Street on Oct. 29, 2019 in Justice.

Red-light camera companies can hire public officials as sales agents without disclosing it. That’s under federal scrutiny, and critics say the loophole should be closed.

By Joe Mahr

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

SafeSpeed came to dominate the suburban red-light camera market during the last decade by developing...

Mayor Lori Lightfoot greets students at Mason Elementary School, Nov. 1, 2019, as classes resume following an 11-day teacher strike.

To pay for new union contracts, Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools relying on duct tape — and risky assumptions about the future

By Hal Dardick

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

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools leaders have come up with enough cash to...

Newly sworn-in Chicago police officers at the department's graduation and promotion ceremony at Navy Pier on Sept. 4, 2019. A total of 238 cadets were sworn in as Chicago police officers.

‘Change cannot be expected overnight’: Chicago fails to meet 37 of 50 deadlines for court-ordered police reform. But it’s still early, monitor says.

By Dan Hinkel

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

The city of Chicago failed to meet most of its deadlines and obligations for enacting...

A man uses a video gambling machine at a bar in Rockdale on Oct. 6, 2014. A panel of Illinois lawmakers on Nov. 12, 2019, rejected the Illinois Gaming Board's emergency rule blocking video gambling operators from selling their businesses without state approval.

Despite scandal, lawmakers vote to block Illinois Gaming Board from preventing video gambling owners from selling without approval

By David Heinzmann

June 14, 2024 at 6:43 p.m.

Less than a week after the Illinois Gaming Board attempted to stop video gambling operators...

John Hooker, former lobbyist for ComEd, during his confirmation as CHA chairman at a Chicago City Council meeting in September 2015.

ComEd enjoyed major success in Springfield by hiring lobbyists who were former lawmakers or Madigan staffers. Now the feds are scrutinizing the utility’s practices.

By Ray Long

June 14, 2024 at 6:43 p.m.

The federal investigation into ComEd's lobbying efforts is putting a spotlight on one of the...

The Illinois Gaming Board on Nov. 9, 2019, moved to block video gambling operators from selling their companies without state approval.

Amid scandal, Illinois Gaming Board blocks video gambling owners from selling their companies without state approval

By David Heinzmann

June 14, 2024 at 6:43 p.m.

The Illinois Gaming Board on Thursday moved to block video gambling operators from selling their...

Wheaton College students Caeden Hood, from left, Gabriel Emerson, Matt Swart, Daniel Allen and Jeremy Chong object to public speech limits in Millennium Park. Allen is not part of the suit challenging park rules.

Wheaton College student evangelist and a radio host testify in First Amendment case, saying city of Chicago keeps them from spreading their messages in Millennium Park

By Dan Hinkel

June 14, 2024 at 6:43 p.m.

A student evangelist and a local radio host testified in Chicago federal court Thursday that...

Don’t make intimate violence victims look for help — research shows they fare better when police and community organizations coordinate assistance

By Associated Press

June 14, 2024 at 6:43 p.m.

(THE CONVERSATION) Michelle Monson's story, reported by Rachel Louise Snyder in "No Visible Bruises," is...

Crime scene tape marks a fatal shooting in the 3400 block of West Walnut Street in Chicago, on Sept. 14, 2018.

Chicago Police Department told it must overhaul the way it investigates homicides — but when and at what cost?

By Annie Sweeney

June 14, 2024 at 6:43 p.m.

A yearlong review has found that the Chicago Police Department must overhaul the way it...