Civil unrest

A Chicago Police Department SUV is set on fire near State and Lake in the Loop as thousands of protesters in Chicago joined national outrage over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, Saturday afternoon, May 30, 2020.

Civil unrest

Unrest after George Floyd’s killing left Lightfoot administration struggling: ‘We are so behind [it’s] ridiculous’

Leaked emails offer a window into a critical period of the mayor’s first term in office.

By Tom Schuba

A composite of photos from various bodycams released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

A detailed timeline of the Adam Toledo shooting

By Jesse Howe and Andy Boyle

Chicago Police Supt. David Brown and former Supt. Charlie Beck

Crime

Top cops try to clear the air after Brown rips predecessor’s strategies, dedication to police reform

In an interview with the Sun-Times, ex. Supt. Charlie Beck criticized David Brown’s decision to create roving citywide teams of cops to fight crime, although he said he is rooting for Chicago and Brown to “do well.”

By Fran Spielman

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, left, in 2019; Mayor Lori Lightfoot, right, in 2019.

Politics

Illinois officials respond to Chauvin verdict: ‘Justice is being served in Minneapolis today’

Here’s a sampling of what politicians in Illinois had to say about former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s conviction in the murder of George Floyd.

By Rachel Hinton

Civil unrest

Pritzker activates National Guard at Lightfoot’s request ahead of Derek Chauvin verdict

Guard members, along with troopers from the Illinois State Police, will be deployed to Chicago starting Tuesday to “support the Chicago Police Department as needed,” the governor’s office said.

By Sam Kelly

Nation/World

Police: Minnesota officer meant to draw Taser, not handgun

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the shooting, identified the officer as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran who has been placed on administrative leave.

By Associated Press

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Metro/State

Proud Boy present for Capitol riot charged with battery in fight at Schaumburg anti-Biden rally

Proud Boy Edgar J. Delatorre was arrested Tuesday after being caught on video pummeling a protester at the suburban rally.

By Tom Schuba

Newly appointed Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell Jr., from his tenure as director of the Illinois Justice Project.

Politics

County names new public defender — ‘progressive,’ pragmatist, ‘administrator of justice’ and ‘good guy’

Mitchell described how he found his calling as a public defender: “One of the first days on the job, I went to lockup and came across this kid I went to grade school with. He couldn’t get past how someone who came from where we came from was on the other side of the bars in a suit and tie, instead of a tan jumpsuit.”

By Andrew Sullender

State Rep. Chris Miller, right, and his wife, U.S. Rep. Mary Miller.

Politics

Democrats move to condemn GOP lawmaker for truck decal, promoting ‘internationally recognized para-military hate group’

In addition to the decal, Democrats’ condemnation of their state Rep. Chris Miller alleges that his actions on Jan. 6 helped to incite the violent mob that attacked the Capitol.

By Andrew Sullender

Chicago firefighters surveying a garage destroyed by arson on Oct. 4 in the 2200 block of North Rockwell Street.

The Watchdogs

Much of Chicago burned last year, not just the Loop, with a big rise in arson cases

Arsons were up nearly 65%, a Sun-Times analysis finds. Hardest hit: the South Side and the West Side. Even during post-George Floyd riots, most arsons were linked to gangs. And it’s not just Chicago.

By Frank Main

Gov. J.B. Pritzker holds up the nearly 800-page signed sweeping criminal justice reform bill at Chicago State University on Feb. 22, 2021.

Politics

Pritzker hails newly signed criminal justice reform bill as ‘substantial step’ in erasing ‘systemic racism’

State Rep. Justin Slaughter, who shepherded the bill through the House, said Monday starts a “new day, a new chapter” after last year’s civil unrest: “We are going from protesting, coming together collectively for one cause — to signing a bill.”

By Rachel Hinton

Chicago

‘This can never happen again,’ ranking cop says in scathing inspector general report on Chicago’s response to summer riots

Officers were “outflanked, under-equipped and unprepared” and the Chicago Police Department “critically disserved both its own front-line members and members of the public,” says the report, which one alderman called a “complete shock.”

By Frank Main, Fran Spielman, and 1 more

A Chicago police officer lies on a couch inside U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush’s burglarized congressional campaign office on the South Side last May 31.

The Watchdogs

‘Shouldn’t have been here this long,’ supervisor said of cops lounging in Bobby Rush’s office during civil unrest

The police lieutenant, who got a 30-day suspension, acknowledged the cops had no authority to enter the office but did so because it was ‘the perfect spot’ to watch for looters.

By Frank Main

A customer browses firearms at Marengo Guns in Marengo in January.

Springfield

Illinois gun sales in January eclipsed by last year’s panics following pandemic and protests: ‘It’s just been crazy’

But gun dealers still sold firearms at a clip near the record-setting months of last year in a month that saw the Capitol siege and the inauguration of Democratic President Joe Biden.

By Andrew Sullender

News

Window with Black Lives Matter sign shot with BB gun — for 2nd time

Mary Kathryn Cook believes the two incidents in her Near West Side neighborhood are linked after tensions arose over a Columbus statue and the presidential election.

By Manny Ramos

Jeff Regnier, owner of Kee Firearms and Training in New Lenox on Friday.

Chicago

Stocked and loaded: Chicago area gun dealers say record sales since Jan. 6 driven by ‘fear, plain and simple’

Local gun dealers say January has seen the hottest gun market ever. And their top salesman is fear. Fear of everything from Democrats poised to take away their guns to civil unrest in the streets to a state shut down by a virus to a president claiming an election was stolen from him.

By Andrew Sullender

News

80 white supremacists rally in Loop: ‘Definitely troubling’

Dozens of members of the Patriot Front, a Texas group, gathered outside the Cook County Building Saturday, witnesses say.

By Tom Schuba

A worker removes sheets of plywood from windows at the Illinois State Capitol on Thursday.

Springfield

Plywood comes off, National Guard leaves Capitol as protests fizzle — but Springfield still wary as coronavirus lingers

State senators canceled next week’s session at the Capitol over coronavirus concerns. But while fears over the public health crisis remained, the threat of violent protests eased significantly and some sense of normalcy returned to the historic Capitol Complex.

By Andrew Sullender

Workers maneuver sheets of plywood into place on Friday as they work to cover the first floor windows at the Illinois State Capitol in preparations for possible protests.

Politics

As inauguration in divided nation nears, Illinois getting ready for anything — and hopefully, nothing

Gov. J.B. Pritzker conceded he was not sure what, if anything was planned, but he wasn’t taking any chances. “We do not have a specific threat to Illinois, but as you all know we have a general threat” about armed protests in state capitals across the nation. “So, we’re going to be prepared.”

By Andrew Sullender

State Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, gets an elbow bump from state Rep. André Thapedi, D-Chicago, after passage of the Illinois Black Caucus’ Education Pillar on Monday.

Politics

Black Caucus wins passage of education package, criminal justice reform still under discussion

On the fourth day of the lame duck legislative session, state Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, spoke on behalf of the education component of the Black Caucus’ omnibus bill. The education measures passed the Senate 40 to 18, and later got House approval.

By Rachel Hinton

Then state Rep. Elgie Sims at at news conference with Chicago Police Supt. Eddie T. Johnson in 2016.

Springfield

Key Black state lawmakers expect reform bill to improve police-community relations — but cops say it would make Illinois ‘unsafe’

The state Legislative Black Caucus has been working on the sweeping package of criminal justice reforms since a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, renewing demands to finally try to solve the problems between police officers and communities of color.

By Rachel Hinton

News

Jacob Blake’s family, attorneys decry ‘gut-wrenching’ decision

“We believe that all the elements of attempted homicide were met,” B’Ivory LaMarr, one of Blake’s attorneys, told reporters at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

By Sam Charles

News

No charges in Jacob Blake shooting; decision ‘further destroys trust in our justice system,’ family attorney says

The announcement comes almost five months after Blake was shot by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Blake, 29, was leaning into an SUV when Officer Rusten Sheskey opened fire.

By Manny Ramos and Clare Spaulding

Nation/World

Wisconsin city braces for protest as charging decision looms

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley is expected any day to announce whether a Kenosha police officer will face criminal charges.

By Associated Press

The two dozen men pictured here, who have public schools in Chicago named for them, all owned or traded slaves.

30 public schools in Chicago are named for slaveholders; surprised CPS promises changes

By Lauren FitzPatrick

Illinois Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, in May.

Politics

Black lawmakers in Springfield look to take on criminal justice reform, systemic racism in lame duck session

Sparked by the unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd, the Legislative Black Caucus will introduce four bills next month to address inequities and other issues in Illinois.

By Rachel Hinton

Suburban Chicago

Someone stole the ‘Black’ from a Black Lives Matter sign outside an Evanston church — neighbors weren’t having it

A vandal cut the word from the sign with a razor. Hours later, neighbors appeared with more signs.

By Mitch Dudek

A worker takes a strap off of the statue of former president William McKinley that was vandalized with graffiti at McKinley Park near the 3700 block of South Archer Avenue in McKinley Park, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020.

Crime

Statue vandalized in McKinley Park

Someone threw a rope that was attached to a car around the statue in an attempt to bring it down, police said.

By Sun-Times Wire

Business

Walmart Supercenter in Chatham to reopen following damage from unrest

The remodeled store will include a new health center that will include primary care services.

By Elvia Malagón

Hundreds of protesters surrounded the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park on Friday. They attempted to pull the statue down and many battled with Chicago Police.

Chicago

Chicago cops engaged in brutality, civil rights violations during summer protests: lawsuit

The 203-page lawsuit was filed on behalf of 60 people who claim they were victimized by officers during protests largely sparked by the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the shooting of Jacob Blake.

By Sam Charles