Investigations – Page 3

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...

Illinois regulators have been investigating plastic surgeon Ayoub Sayeg, shown before a court hearing at the Daley Center in August 2025, for more than five years after receiving a complaint about the death of patient Idalia Corcoles. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Illinois to audit plastic surgeon case after Tribune investigation

By Gregory Royal Pratt

June 8, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has been investigating plastic surgeon Dr. Ayoub...

Dr. Ayoub Sayeg, a plastic surgeon, arrives at the Daley Center in Chicago for an Aug. 19, 2025, court hearing concerning a $56 million verdict in the death of patient Idalia Corcoles. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Despite 8 patient deaths and a $56M jury verdict, state allows Chicago plastic surgeon to keep operating

By Christy Gutowski

June 7, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

More than five years after Illinois regulators started investigating him over a patient death, the...

State Sen. Michael Halpin of Rock Island, shown May 28 in the Illinois Senate chamber, was a sponsor of the bill strengthening oversight of adult guardianships. "When our most vulnerable are put in the care of a stranger we have to guarantee that individual’s safety and financial security,” he said in a news release. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

New safeguards approved for Illinois hospitals’ adult guardianship cases

By Emily Hoerner

June 8, 2026 at 9:06 a.m.

A bill strengthening protections for adults under guardianship gained approval from Illinois lawmakers, six months...

An abandoned well in farmland near downstate Casey on Feb. 11, 2026. According to Illinois Department of Natural Resources records, it appears to be an abandoned Fireball well. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

A mysterious company abandoned 603 oil wells, costing Illinois millions. Here’s how they did it.

By Jonathan Bullington

May 17, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

A Tribune investigation reveals how Fireball evaded its legal responsibility, exposing communities to contaminants and...

Sylvia Del Vecchio, left, shown in her Oak Brook home on Nov. 17, 2025, was featured in a Tribune story about private guardianship. Her neighbor, Jack Oestreich, at right, succeeded in taking over as her guardian. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Restrictions on private guardianship of vulnerable adults advance in Springfield

By Christy Gutowski

May 3, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Legislation inspired by a baiduhai investigation into some hospitals’ questionable guardianship petitions has advanced...

Heidy Herrera, 8, chants into microphone as she stands with her family on April 19, 2026, near the spot where her sister, Marcela Herrera, was killed at Cullerton Street and Ashland Avenue in a hit-and-run on July 21, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Hundreds march in Pilsen, demand answers in unsolved fatal hit-and-run

By Christiana Freitag

April 20, 2026 at 4:09 p.m.

Marcela Herrera, 22, was killed in a hit-and-run nine months ago.

The Chicago Department of Law, with offices at City Hall, says it has boosted oversight of bills filed by the private law firms it hires to defend reversed-conviction cases. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

A 69-hour-workday? City of Chicago paid head-scratching legal bills

By Joe Mahr

April 19, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Legal invoices are one of the only available avenues to evaluate how well Chicago is...

Thomas Sierra was exonerated after spending 22 years in prison on a murder conviction. The city fought his lawsuit for more than six years before agreeing to a $17.5 million settlement. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Court battles hit taxpayer wallets

By Joe Mahr

March 29, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The costs of Chicago police misconduct have grown enormous as the city settles lawsuit after...

Carly Schroeder stands outside the Schahfer Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant, and next to the site of a planned data center near her family farm, Feb. 9, 2026, in Wheatfield, Indiana. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

As Indiana extends coal and builds data centers, Illinois may be on the hook for neighbor’s AI boom

By Christiana Freitag

March 1, 2026 at 5:06 p.m.

Postponing the closure of the Schahfer coal plant also means continued exposure to toxic emissions...

Jon Rosborough inspects an abandoned oil well, Dec. 15, 2025, which was drilled in 1916 on land his family farms in Crawford County near Oblong. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

At one time, Illinois was a top oil producer. Today, that legacy is a $160M problem.

By Jonathan Bullington

January 26, 2026 at 4:31 p.m.

Abandoned oil and gas wells pose environmental and public health risks. For three decades, the...