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This Tuesday, WTTW News has stories on City Hall, Venezuela, health care costs and more. |
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(WTTW News) |
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A key City Council panel is set to vote on two proposals designed to stop large gatherings of teens by expanding the Chicago Police Department’s power to impose a curfew with at least 12 hours' notice and to crack down on social media platforms used to promote the events.
The proposals, set for a vote at the Wednesday meeting of the Public Safety Committee, were prompted by the killing of 14-year-old Armani Floyd on Nov. 21 during a large gathering downtown after the city’s annual Christmas tree lighting. Eight others were injured in a separate shooting just blocks away.
Eighteen people were arrested or cited for curfew violations on Nov. 21. No one has been arrested in connection with any of the shootings, a CPD spokesperson told WTTW News Monday.
More context:
The latest effort by Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) to expand the power of the city’s curfew, which starts at 10 p.m. seven days a week and applies to everyone 17 years old and younger, faces an uncertain future amid continuing opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson and his allies.
The proposal would allow Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling to declare a pre-emptive curfew, with a notice of at least 12 hours, before a planned mass gathering.
Snelling would only be required to consult with Deputy Mayor for Community Safety Garien Gatewood before declaring what the measure refers to as a “time and place” curfew. The curfew could last for no more than four hours, and there is no restriction on how large the area impacted could be.
That provision prompted Ald. Jason Ervin (28th Ward) to use a parliamentary procedure when the measure was first introduced on Dec. 10 to send the proposal into legislative purgatory, in an effort to prevent an immediate committee hearing and vote.
However, records maintained by the Office of the City Clerk show Hopkins introduced an identical measure on Dec. 18 with no public notice — amid the fractious debate over the city’s 2026 budget — bypassing Ervin’s block and setting up Wednesday’s hearing, which could allow the committee to advance the measure to the full City Council for a final vote as soon as Jan. 21. |
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In this courtroom sketch, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, left, and his wife, Cilia Flores, second from right, appear in Manhattan federal court with their defense attorneys Mark Donnelly, second from left, and Andres Sanchez, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP) |
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The Trump administration captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife early Saturday.
Administration officials say Maduro’s capture was a law enforcement action that merely used military resources and therefore did not require congressional approval.
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Chicago’s western and southwestern suburbs, said Monday that some Democrats were briefed before the new year on U.S. strikes on boats but not on any operation to capture Maduro.
The 1980 Intelligence Oversight Act requires the president to brief the “Gang of Eight” — party leaders from both chambers and the top Democrats and Republicans on the intelligence committees — in advance of “any significant anticipated intelligence activity.”
“We were told that the White House had reached out to some degree to a few Republicans in advance,” Casten said. “The Constitution doesn’t say that you only give your party notification, it says you give Congress notification. So Congress is still very much in the dark on this operation.”
U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Chicago’s South Side and south suburbs, said he was concerned about the precedent the attack on Venezuela could set.
“If this is the world of might is right, then that means the larger army of the Russians can go take Ukraine and take land,” Jackson said. “That means Saddam Hussein had the right to go into Iraq and Kuwait and say that was his 19th province. That means China can go into Taiwan. That means the United States can claim the land of the Venezuelan people and say it’s our oil.”
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Doug Butchart speaks about the impact the expiration of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits could have on health care costs for his wife Shadene, who has ALS, during a news conference on Jan. 5, 2026, at Cook County’s Bronzeville Health Center. (WTTW News) |
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Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi held a news conference at Cook County’s Bronzeville Health Center to highlight the impact the expiration of the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits will have on residents.
Joining them was Illinois resident Doug Butchart, who said the medical expenses for his wife, Shadene, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2017, were over $300,000 last year. For Butchart, the expiration of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits has put the cost of her care in limbo.
The enhanced tax credits that have helped reduce the cost of health insurance for the vast majority of Affordable Care Act enrollees expired at the end of 2025. More than 500,000 Illinoisans depended on these credits to make health coverage affordable, according to Krishnamoorthi.
The health subsidies were at the center of the U.S.’s longest government shutdown, in which Democrats forced a 43-day government shutdown in an attempt to extend the health subsidies.
Cook County Health is expanding outreach and enrollment assistance, so residents can understand their options, maintain coverage, when possible, or transition to other safety net health plans, according to Preckwinkle.
Cook County Health provides health care to residents regardless of their ability to pay.
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More From WTTW News:
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In his first month as Cook County’s new chief judge, Charles Beach said he has worked to improve transparency, strengthen court operations and boost overall accountability. We look at what he's done so far.
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Back in the Day: Jan. 6, 2021 - At Least 53 Illinoisans Storm Capitol in Attempt to Overturn 2020 Election |
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Five years ago today, the U.S. Congress was scheduled to certify the results of the 2020 election, which saw Donald Trump losing to Joe Biden, when a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol and interrupted the session. Following a nearby rally held by Trump, where the Republican candidate and president lobbed false claims of victory, over 1,500 people descended on the Capitol building, where they vandalized and looted, causing $1.5M in property damage. One police officer died, 140 were injured, and four rioters died following the incident. Of the 1,575 people charged in connection with the attack, 53 were from Illinois and they included a suburban tech CEO who threw a chair during the incident, a Chicago police officer who shared images of himself trespassing in a senator’s office and a member of the Proud Boys. On Jan. 20, 2025, Donald Trump, on the first day of his second term in office, gave a full pardon to all but 14 of the 1,575 people charged for their actions that day. |
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This Week’s Staff Recommendations |
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Every Tuesday, WTTW News staffers highlight their favorite things about Chicago. This week, it’s Jay Smith, executive producer for “Chicago Tonight” and news director of WTTW News, on “Firsts and Lasts: Other movies filmed in Chicago at the same time as the Blues Brothers.”
Jay Smith: Everyone knows the iconic 1980 movie “The Blues Brothers” was filmed in and around Chicago. But right around the time it was made, several other (at least sort of) important moments in cinematic history happened here as well.
#3. Indiana-born movie star Steve McQueen filmed his final role, starring in “The Hunter.” This is the one where McQueen is in a car chase in the Marina City parking lot and the man he’s pursuing speeds off the parking deck and plunges into the Chicago River. That famous scene was shot on Sept. 21, 1979, around the same time Joliet Jake and Elwood Blues were driving through Daley Plaza.
#2. The crime thriller “Thief” was shot in Chicago starting in the spring of 1980, marking the feature film directorial debut of Chicago-born, Amundsen High School graduate Michael Mann. Perhaps best known as the producer of the TV series “Miami Vice,” he directed “Heat” with Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro and “Ali” starring Will Smith.
#1. Robert Redford, who died in September, is remembered as an acclaimed actor and director. For his directorial debut, Redford filmed “Ordinary People” on the North Shore, mainly in Lake Forest and Highland Park, starting in the fall of 1979 and into the winter of 1980. And it was a pretty good initial effort: Redford won an Oscar for Best Director and the film won for Best Picture.
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What are you most looking forward to in Chicago in 2026?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
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