Investigations – Page 4

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 bill on guardianships will be up for consideration when the Illinois House of Representatives returns next week to the Capitol. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Tribune investigation into hospitals’ use of guardianship system inspires new bill

By Christy Gutowski

January 15, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

A baiduhai investigation exposing some hospitals’ questionable use of the state’s guardianship system has...

U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson of Chicago stands outside the U.S. Capitol, March 5, 2025, in Washington. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Before Congress, Jonathan Jackson owned a construction firm. It got $750K from Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois.

By Chuck Neubauer

December 21, 2025 at 11:42 a.m.

State-funded work came after Jonathan Jackson was paid as a $13,000-a-month consultant for JB Pritzker’s...

A federal agent points his gun sideways during an immigration enforcement action in the Little Village neighborhood on Nov. 8, 2025. Longtime urban police leaders questioned that tactic and many others used by immigration agents during Operation Midway Blitz. The policing leaders said the agents routinely behaved in ways that — beyond potentially being unconstitutional — unnecessarily endangered suspects, protesters, innocent bystanders and the agents themselves. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Immigration agents’ poor tactics in Chicago made for needless safety risks, experts say

By Joe Mahr

December 7, 2025 at 9:35 a.m.

A Tribune review found immigration agents in Chicago routinely broke urban policing protocols meant to...

Cook County Jail booking photos of Jose Coronado Meza starting on July 3, 2024, from left, then again on Dec. 14, 2024, Jan. 5, 2025, and last on July 7, 2025, after he was accused of shoplifting twice, then arrested twice more for alleged illegal gun possession. (Cook County sheriff's office)

A border crosser. An execution killing. And political theater.

By Joe Mahr

December 3, 2025 at 3:10 p.m.

Trump’s DHS blamed Democrats for a Chicago homicide, but it didn't take key action in...

Anna Vargas, shown in her room at a Glenview nursing home this month, had a private guardian for a time after being hospitalized in 2023. She is now under the care of the Cook County public guardian. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

When hospitals choose private guardians, patients pay the price

By Emily Hoerner

November 30, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

When Chicago hospitals seek guardians for patients with assets, a law firm and a private...

Gary Brown, shown in October, said he was taken by surprise when Northwestern Memorial Hospital filed a petition to place his father, Gary Ellis, under guardianship of the state. Ellis died before the family could regain control. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Chicago hospitals funnel patients into long-lasting guardianships, angering friends and family

By Emily Hoerner

December 1, 2025 at 9:10 a.m.

Chicago-area hospitals recently initiated hundreds of guardianship petitions in just 18 months, a baiduhai...

Audrey Pierce, 71, stands by her three-flat in North Lawndale on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. She saw her property tax bill for the building more than double this year. “To put it mildly, I’m very pissed off,” she said. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Record property tax increases slam Chicago homeowners as downtown owners see cuts

By A.D. Quig

April 24, 2026 at 10:04 a.m.

Sinking Loop office values fuel spike in Chicago residential bills, especially on South, West sides,...

Ofelia Torres, 16, is wheeled through the lobby of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Oct. 23, 2025, after a hearing for her father, Ruben Torres Maldonado, who was detained by ICE agents outside a Niles Home Depot. Ofelia is in treatment for a rare form of metastatic cancer. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Federal judge postpones ruling on detained father of sick teen

By Gregory Royal Pratt

October 23, 2025 at 6:06 p.m.

During a hearing, a federal prosecutor acknowledged the “very serious situation” facing the Torres family.

Community activist Andrew Holmes, second from right, attends a vigil for the daughter of Naikeeia Williams, center, after the girl was fatally shot in February 2017. “Whenever there was a photo opportunity, he was there,” Williams recently told the Tribune. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Prominent activist turned politician faces new scrutiny as lawsuit alleges sexual assault of teenage girl

By Alison Flowers

September 28, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

A survivor of sex trafficking has sued anti-violence activist and Dolton trustee Andrew Holmes, alleging...

Residential properties throughout the South and West sides, like these shown on Sept. 18, 2025 on West End Avenue in West Garfield Park, had their property assessments double or even triple last year. Those higher assessments will likely help trigger steep hikes in property tax bills for homeowners in the neighborhoods. Experts, and officials with the Cook County assessor's office that produced the new figures, said the higher valuations are being partly driven by investors who have flocked to the few neighborhoods where real estate is still affordable. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

Brace for impact: Tax hikes loom for South, West Side homeowners

By A.D. Quig

October 2, 2025 at 6:13 p.m.

Property assessments double for 37,000 homes in Chicago’s historically neglected neighborhoods amid fresh investor interest.