Jared Rutecki

Federal prosecutors intend to dismiss criminal charges against two of the so-called “Broadview Six” who are accused of interfering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations outside a suburban processing center. #politics #news https://news.wttw.com/2026/03/12/federal-prosecutors-drop-charges-against-2-broadview-6-conspiracy-case

Illinois Author Has Spent Decades Detailing Underground Railroad History: ‘You’re Never Unqualified to Be Courageous’ https://news.wttw.com/2026/03/11/illinois-author-has-spent-decades-detailing-underground-railroad-history-you-re-never

Despite the distance, local leaders across the region are realizing they have a lot in common. Now, these leaders are joining together to advocate for their shared needs and to protect the shared resources of the Great Lakes. #politics #news #GreatLakes #environment https://news.wttw.com/2026/03/10/working-across-borders-great-lakes-leaders-plan-region-s-future

Hundreds of #Chicago officials, attorneys and leaders are set this week to call for a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of abuse by federal immigration officers during “Operation Midway Blitz” — a plan Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke claims will make it harder for her office to secure convictions in those cases. #news #politics https://news.wttw.com/2026/03/10/chicago-coalition-pushing-special-prosecutor-investigate-ice-crimes-drawing-pushback

Officers made an average of 732 traffic stops every day for an entire year that were not documented as required by CPD policy and state law, according to data from the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. #news #politics #police #Chicago https://news.wttw.com/2026/03/09/cpd-failed-document-267k-traffic-stops-2025-27-more-previous-year-data

Inside the Department of Behavioral Sciences at the University of Illinois #Chicago, a dedicated team of researchers is working to solve decades-old mysteries by locating and identifying the remains of missing American service members who never made it home from war. #news #military #veterans https://news.wttw.com/2026/03/05/chicago-researchers-mission-bring-home-remains-fallen-american-soldiers

The #Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room at the Art Institute, Pope Leo XIV’s childhood church and the bridge tender houses along the Chicago River are among the at-risk sites highlighted in an annual list released by the historic #preservation nonprofit Preservation Chicago. #news https://news.wttw.com/2026/03/04/chicago-stock-exchange-trading-room-pope-leo-xiv-s-childhood-church-among-most

#Chicago taxpayers will pay $500,000 to resolve a lawsuit filed by a man who was charged with a murder in 2020 based on an alert from the city’s now-defunct gunshot detection system, according to court records. https://news.wttw.com/2026/03/04/chicago-man-was-charged-murder-based-shotspotter-alert-now-city-will-pay-him-500k

The Chicago police officer who shot a 13-year-old boy in May 2022, leaving him permanently paralyzed, should be fired, the agency tasked with investigating police misconduct and Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling agreed, records show. #news #politics https://news.wttw.com/2026/03/03/top-cop-agrees-fire-officer-who-shot-13-year-old-boy-without-justification-leaving-him

Starting at 9 a.m., early voting sites will open in all of Chicago’s 50 wards. Early voting will also expand to 55 early voting locations for suburban Cook County residents. #news #politics #election #vote https://news.wttw.com/2026/03/02/early-voting-expands-across-chicago-suburban-cook-county-march-17-primary-election

The “Roll Call” podcast is just part of a larger push in recent years to expand CPD’s communications operation.

Comms have vastly expanded over the past decade, and costs rose along with it. #news #politics https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/25/pr-push-public-dime-chicago-police-podcast-records-peel-back-layers-expanded

#Chicago Police launched the “Roll Call” podcast to reshape its image. Records show $3,465 in equipment and services — small in a $2.1B budget, but questions remain about priorities and transparency.
Read my latest… #news #politics https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/25/pr-push-public-dime-chicago-police-podcast-records-peel-back-layers-expanded

Community organizations and police reform groups have expressed a deep dissatisfaction with CPD’s progress toward consent decree compliance following the study’s release. #news #politics https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/23/police-reform-advocates-say-cpd-progress-too-slow-following-study-showing

Due to federal funding cuts, the nonprofit Heartland Human Care Services is closing three Chicago shelters that have been used to house unaccompanied minors coming to the U.S. #news #politics https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/23/heartland-close-three-chicago-shelters-migrant-children-lay-about-145-employees

A push to name one of Chicago’s snowplows “Abolish ICE,” clearly linking the humorous pun to efforts to oppose President Donald Trump’s mass deportation effort, won the city’s annual snowplow naming contest, officials announced. #news #politics https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/23/abolish-ice-wins-annual-snowplow-naming-contest

The number of excessive force allegations filed against #Chicago #Police Department officers rose 46% between 2022 and 2025, according to new data from the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. #politics #news https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/23/excessive-force-allegations-against-cpd-officers-rose-46-2022-data

A court-ordered, first-of-its-kind analysis of four years of data found #Chicago #police disproportionately used force against Black Chicagoans — even accounting for higher rates of arrests and suspicion.

Read more: https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/19/chicago-police-disproportionately-used-force-against-black-chicagoans-study-commissioned #news #politics

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke announced changes to allow her office to prosecute ICE agents in cases where felony charges are deemed appropriate, after widespread calls to hold those agents accountable for their alleged misconduct. #news #politics https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/19/cook-county-s-top-prosecutor-unveils-policy-change-aimed-charging-ice-agents-criminal

Cook County property owners will have until April 1 to pay the first installment of their 2025 property taxes, with bills headed to their mailboxes by March 2, officials said. #news #politics https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/17/month-late-first-installment-2025-cook-county-property-tax-bills-be-due-april-1

The debate over how to respond to President Donald Trump’s aggressive efforts to carry out the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history is the newest flashpoint in the race for #CookCounty Board president. #news #politics https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/16/debate-over-future-ice-response-immigration-raids-roils-race-cook-county-board-president

Records show no evidence #Chicago #police leaders updated Mayor Brandon Johnson or key City Council chairs on progress toward a legally required system to flag officers with repeated misconduct allegations. #news #politics https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/16/no-evidence-cpd-provided-required-update-system-would-flag-officers-multiple-complaints

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is calling on local prosecutors to pursue “all available charges” related to the killing of Silverio Villegas González, a suburban father who was fatally shot by federal immigration agents outside Chicago last year. https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/13/toni-preckwinkle-urging-cook-county-prosecutors-pursue-criminal-charges-against-federal

#Chicago #police brass must change the way officers are assigned to patrol the areas of the city with the most crime and violence, according to the executive summary of a long-awaited study required by the federal court order known as the consent decree. #politics #news https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/13/chicago-police-leaders-must-change-how-officers-are-deployed-high-demand-areas-study

State legislators are proposing a set of standardized guardrails that would protect Illinois families, communities and natural resources from the stress such centers place on power grids and water supplies. #news #politics #Illinois https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/11/illinois-legislators-introduce-power-act-which-would-force-data-centers-foot-energy

The Reader’s first print issue since its hiatus hit newsstands Feb. 4 at more than 600 locations across #Chicago. The cover shows a cracking egg with the caption “New Egg, Who Dis?” symbolizing a new era for the publication. https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/10/chicago-reader-marks-print-return-magazine-format-new-investigations

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke blasted the executive order signed by Mayor Brandon Johnson to create a framework to prosecute federal agents for criminal misconduct as “wholly inappropriate.” #news #politics https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/08/cook-county-state-s-attorney-blasts-mayor-s-ice-executive-order-wholly-inappropriate

A federal judge has agreed to release video, photos and other evidence sought by Marimar Martinez, the #Chicago woman who was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in Brighton Park last fall. #news #politics #immigration https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/06/judge-oks-release-video-other-evidence-after-chicago-woman-shot-five-times-border-patrol

CPD Supt. Larry Snelling said he backed an effort to give the agency charged with probing police misconduct the authority to investigate whether officers have violated city law by helping federal immigration agents because no one would “trust” probes conducted by internal affairs. #news #politics #Chicago https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/06/top-cop-copa-should-probe-chicago-police-conduct-during-immigration-raids-because-no-one

Immigration crackdown: Two people who have been on the front lines are Ben and Sam Luhmann, a pair of homeschooled teenage brothers from the Chicago area. The brothers joined “Chicago Tonight” to talk about their work. #politics #news https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/04/teen-brothers-why-they-became-ice-watchers-chicago-minneapolis

Alds. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) and Jessie Fuentes (26th Ward) joined “Chicago Tonight” to detail the proposal that would allow COPA to probe alleged violations of the city’s Welcoming City Ordinance. #news #politics #Chicago https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/02/alderpeople-say-copa-should-investigate-chicago-police-conduct-during-immigration-raids