Investigations – Page 10

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...

Lisa Eller stands near the former Yorkville office of Dr. Haohua Yang, who was charged with criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual assault after she and other patients went to police about his behavior. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

Failure to protect: Flawed state oversight lets doctors accused of abuse continue to see patients

By Emily Hoerner

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

Doctors accused of sexual misconduct were able to keep practicing – sometimes for years –...

A Cook County seal outside the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Jan. 23, 2023. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

New report critiques Cook County’s experimental neighborhood courts, recommends reforms before expansion

By Madeline Buckley

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

A new study advised the county that it should take on a series of reforms...

“Susan” stands with her late mother’s wheelchair on Feb. 5 at the Skokie Courthouse, where her mother testified about being sexually assaulted by a nurse at Glenbrook Hospital. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

Patients reported sexual abuse by medical providers. Health care systems let them keep working.

By Lisa Schencker

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

Over the course of a yearlong investigation, the Tribune found that well-known Illinois health systems...

Help the baiduhai report on medical misconduct

By Lisa Schencker

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

The Tribune hopes to continue reporting on how hospitals and other medical institutions respond when...

Jermaine Harris holds his newborn daughter AJ on Dec. 26, 2023. Harris’ father, Lee Harris, died eight months after getting out of prison and just before the birth of his granddaughter. Harris had served 33 years in prison and was ultimately exonerated. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Death cuts off dreams of man recently freed after 3 decades in prison

By Christy Gutowski

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

Lee Harris spent 33 years in prison on a murder conviction before winning back his...

The University of Chicago Charter School Woodlawn campus, at 63rd Street and University Avenue on Jan. 29, 2024. The school is being sued after a video of a teacher mocking a special education student for crying in December 2022 emerged. A classroom aide was also convicted of misdemeanor battery for her role in the incident.

Video shows educators at University of Chicago charter school mock special education student, call him ‘dumb’

By Stacy St. Clair

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

A University of Chicago charter school is being sued after a video emerged showing a...

Former Chicago police Cmdr. Glenn Evans, center, leaves the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Dec. 14, 2015, after a Cook County judge acquitted him on charges he allegedly placed the barrel of his gun into a suspect's mouth.

City’s police accountability agency did not finish investigation against infamous cop, declines to wrap it up now

By Stacy St. Clair

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

A city agency tapped to review police misconduct complaints failed to complete an investigation into...

Donna Wuchter sits with pictures of her slain friend Gena Chiodo this month at her home in Munster, Indiana.

Stalled Justice: Slow Cook County courts see progress in 2023, but some decade-old cases still linger on dockets

By Joe Mahr

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

Shawn Jones has spent 12 years jailed without a trial — a "pure hell" that...

Calumet City 6th Ward Alderman James Patton at a City Council meeting Nov. 9, 2023.

Firm hired to review Calumet City’s bids wins most architecture contracts, investigation shows

By Hank Sanders

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

Farnsworth Group, the engineering and architecture firm appointed by Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones to...

In an image from surveillance video obtained by the Tribune, off-duty Chicago police Officer Craig Lancaster appears to strike 14-year-old student JaQuwaun Williams near his throat outside Gresham School of Excellence on May 18, 2023.

Chicago police officer charged with felony aggravated battery after video shows him hitting 8th grader

By Christy Gutowski

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

A Chicago police officer has been charged with aggravated battery for allegedly striking an eighth...