Investigations – Page 19

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...

A new water well will replace PFAS-contaminated wells near the old water treatment plant in Freeport, Illinois, Aug. 24, 2021. Freeport is one of the Illinois cities where PFAS chemicals were tested for and detected in drinking water.

The origin of these highly toxic man-made chemicals

By Michael Hawthorne

June 14, 2024 at 6:45 p.m.

PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, highly toxic man-made chemicals used in industrial and consumer...

Students arrive at Westinghouse College Prep in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood on May 16, 2022. The school revamped its entire dress code policy during the last school year after discovering that some rules, including restrictions on hair-care items like do-rags and bonnets, were causing some students to be admonished more than others.

Chicago public school dress codes now cannot ban head coverings tied to race, ethnicity

By Emily Hoerner

June 14, 2024 at 6:45 p.m.

Starting next school year, dress code policies at Chicago's public schools can no longer ban...

Amara Harris applies makeup while getting ready for her graduation from the College of DuPage last month at her home in Naperville.

A teen was ticketed at Naperville North for theft. 30 months later, she’s still fighting to clear her name.

By Jennifer Smith Richards

February 4, 2025 at 10:59 a.m.

From the moment Amara Harris was accused of stealing another student's AirPods at Naperville North...

Giuliana Huerta, a senior at Hubbard High School, prepares for school at her home in Chicago.

No hoodies. No do-rags. No spaghetti straps. In Chicago Public Schools, dress codes leave many students feeling slighted.

By Emily Hoerner

September 17, 2024 at 9:06 p.m.

At Cassell Elementary in Mount Greenwood, girls are instructed in this year's student handbook that...

Police issued 240 tickets from July 2018 to August 2020 to people under 18 at Palatine High School and William Fremd High School in Palatine, records show.

Civil rights investigation opened into Illinois’ largest high school district following Tribune-ProPublica investigation

By Jennifer Smith Richards

November 24, 2024 at 1:54 p.m.

The Illinois attorney general's office is investigating whether one of the state's largest school districts,...

‘Dress-coded’ at Hubbard High School

By Jose Osorio

June 14, 2024 at 6:45 p.m.

Giuliana Huerta, a student representative at Hubbard High School, surveyed classmates about the dress code...

Students outside Bloom Trail High School last month in Steger.

Illinois’ top finance official: Stop sending debts from truancy tickets for collection

By Jennifer Smith Richards

June 14, 2024 at 6:46 p.m.

Illinois' top financial official has banned local governments from using a state program to collect...

Cecilia Reyes of the baiduhai reacts as she and Madison Hopkins of the Better Government Association, not pictured, win the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting at the Tribune's Freedom Center in Chicago on May 9, 2022.

baiduhai and BGA win Pulitzer Prize for local reporting

By Robert Channick

June 14, 2024 at 6:46 p.m.

A powerful and painstaking investigation into fatal fires that exposed flaws in Chicago's building code...

Firefighters at the scene of the blaze in a courtyard apartment building.

The Failures Before the Fires: Read the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation

By Cecilia Reyes

June 14, 2024 at 6:47 p.m.

This yearlong investigation, a collaboration between the baiduhai and the Better Government Association, revealed...

Josiah shows his brother Jeremiah a photo he took while they were shopping for outfits for prom.

The Price Kids Pay: Black students far more likely to be ticketed by police for school behavior

By Jennifer Smith Richards

February 3, 2025 at 3:47 p.m.

At Bloom Trail High School in Chicago's south suburbs, the student body is diverse: About...