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Saturday, April 27, 2024
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Frank Main

Staff reporter

Frank Main began his newspaper career in 1987 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and worked in Louisiana and Kentucky, covering local politics and crime. He was on the ground for Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina, the Bosnia conflict, the first Gulf War and the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in New York. In 2011, Main, another reporter and a photographer won the Pulitzer Prize for their stories in the Sun-Times about a ‘no-snitch code’ among Chicago’s victims of gun violence. For that project, Main spent six months embedded with homicide detectives. He’s a graduate of Emory University and Northwestern University’s graduate journalism program and teaches journalism at Loyola University.

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Crime
Kim Foxx won't take sides on request by man facing rape trial for 'certificate of innocence' in murder case
William Dukes Jr. was acquitted of the 1993 killings of a Cicero woman and her granddaughter after a second trial in 2019. In 2022, he was arrested in an unrelated sexual assault case in Chicago.
By Frank Main and Matthew Hendrickson
 
End cars on two subway trains shine their red lights as a CTA worker wearing a yellow vest walks between them.
The Watchdogs
CTA touts its ‘Second Chance’ program for ex-offenders, but few end up with permanent jobs
About 14% of those in the apprenticeship program found permanent full-time employment with the transit agency, a Sun-Times investigation found. Others, some strung along for years, remained in low-paying roles with no benefits.
By Lauren FitzPatrick and Frank Main
 
Chicago police officers confront Dexter Reed after pulling over his SUV in Humboldt Park last month.
Dexter Reed Shooting
Dexter Reed killing exposes struggle over how Chicago investigates police shootings
The way those investigations are now done in Chicago raises questions about whether it complies with a 2016 law. The idea of having the State Police do them was originally recommended to then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2020.
By Frank Main and Tom Schuba
 
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La Voz Chicago
Jefa de COPA cuestiona si la policía de Chicago mintió sobre el motivo por el que detuvieron a Dexter Reed
Andrea Kersten, directora de COPA, expresó su “gran preocupación” por el comportamiento de los oficiales en una carta enviada la semana pasada al superintendente de la Policía de Chicago, Larry Snelling.
By Tom Schuba, Frank Main, and 3 more
 
Rendering of a proposed new White Sox ballpark at The 78.
The Watchdogs
The billionaire behind the scenes in White Sox' stadium plan
If the White Sox succeed in getting the city and state to build them a new home on ‘The 78' site in the South Loop, this little-known Iraqi-British billionaire stands to profit.
By Tim Novak and Frank Main
 
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Paycheck Protection Program
PPP fraud investigation by state watchdog finds $7.2 million in improper loans
The Illinois Office of Executive Inspector General found workers paid kickbacks to brokers who processed their fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans.
By Frank Main
 
Chicago police officers at fatal traffic stop in Humboldt Park last month.
Dexter Reed Shooting
Killing of Dexter Reed raises questions about Chicago police reform. ‘The message is, go in guns blazing.’
Alexandra Block, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said the Chicago police department’s approach to reform has amounted to “a box-checking exercise,” and the promises of overhauling the culture haven’t been kept.
By Tom Schuba and Frank Main
 
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Dexter Reed Shooting
Watchdog chief questions whether Chicago cops lied about why they stopped Dexter Reed before killing him in exchange of gunfire
COPA Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten raised “grave concerns” about the officers in a letter to Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling last week.
By Tom Schuba, Frank Main, and 3 more
 
Dexter Reed
Dexter Reed Shooting
Chicago officials to release video showing fatal police shooting in Humboldt Park
An exchange of gunfire during a traffic stop last month killed the driver and wounded one of the several Chicago police officers involved in the gunfight.
By Tom Schuba and Frank Main