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It’s Wednesday. Get over the weekly hump with these stories from WTTW News. |
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Mayor Brandon Johnson (right), flanked by acting Comptroller Michael Belsky (left), addresses the news media on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (Heather Cherone / WTTW News) |
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Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday it is “not acceptable” that the Chicago Police Department exceeded its nearly $2 billion 2024 budget, approved by the Chicago City Council, by $207 million.
“No, it’s not acceptable,” Johnson told WTTW News at a City Hall news conference. “No one is going to agree that the overspending in this moment is something that we should accept or be OK with.”
CPD exceeded its 2024 personnel budget by approximately $127 million, according to the 2024 audit, even though the department has approximately 1,000 vacant positions, records show.
More context:
City officials have begun developing plans to bridge the likely deficit of nearly $1.2 billion that Chicago faces in its 2026 spending plan, according to the city’s most recent budget forecast.
WTTW News reported Monday that city officials have yet to detail exactly how much Chicago taxpayers spent to pay employees overtime in 2024. Most of the city’s overtime expenses are incurred by CPD, records show.
Johnson said he had spoken with Budget Director Annette Guzman and Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling about the fact that CPD exceeded its budget by nearly 10% in an effort to rein in spending.
“We have seen overtime hours come down significantly,” Johnson said.
In 2023, CPD overspent its budget by more than $242 million, according to that year’s audited annual report.
Some of that overtime spending is incurred during the summer months, when officers working overtime are assigned to patrol large events and gatherings, forcing the city to foot those bills.
That has been a source of frustration for City Council members and mayors for decades. As part of the agreement that ensured the passage of the 2024 budget, Johnson agreed to craft new ways to force event organizers to pony up for police services. |
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Loretto Hospital in Austin. (WTTW News) |
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Anosh Ahmed, the former Loretto Hospital exec who reportedly fled to Dubai after he was charged last year in a $15 million embezzlement scheme, faces additional charges after he and others allegedly stole nearly $300 million through a fraudulent COVID-19 testing scam.
Ahmed, 41, was among four people charged after they allegedly submitted fraudulent reimbursement claims to the federal government for COVID testing materials totaling nearly $900 million, of which approximately $293 million was paid.
He now faces several new charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, obtaining individually identifiable health information without authorization and for commercial advantage, and money laundering.
Some backstory:
Ahmed exited Loretto in March 2021 amid multiple controversies during the pandemic involving improper vaccination events, as detailed in reporting at the time by Block Club Chicago. But according to the latest indictment, he obtained a spreadsheet the following month which contained personal information — including names, dates of birth, gender and addresses — of some 150,000 Loretto patients who’d visited the hospital between July 2014 and June 2020.
Ahmed and his codefendants then allegedly used that info to submit the fraudulent claims, according to the indictment.
Ahmed is not in federal custody after he reportedly fled the country following the first round of fraud charges filed against him. He was charged in that case last year with defrauding Loretto out of $15 million.
Along with Ahmed, the government announced charges against Mohamed Sirajudeen, 53, Mahmood Sami Khan, 36, and 34-year-old Suhaib Ahmad Chaudhry in connection with the latest alleged scheme. |
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(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News) |
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Federal prosecutors say John Hooker, the first of four former Commonwealth Edison officials to be sentenced for conspiring to bribe ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, repeatedly lied on the witness stand and should spend more than four years in prison. In a new sentencing memo filed this week, the feds asked a judge to issue Hooker, a former ComEd exec, a prison sentence of 56 months following his conviction on charges including bribery conspiracy and willfully falsifying the utility company’s books.
Hooker, 76, spent decades at ComEd, including serving as the company’s executive vice president of legislative and external affairs from 2008 until he retired in 2012. He then worked as an external lobbyist for ComEd until 2019, a role through which prosecutors said he remained “directly involved in ComEd’s efforts to advance its legislative agenda in Springfield.” But during that time, prosecutors said Hooker “orchestrated a near decade long conspiracy in which ComEd conferred a stream of benefits on Speaker Madigan.”
Hooker is scheduled to be sentenced July 14.
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Gov. JB Pritzker tapped former Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell as his running mate Tuesday morning, saying he had the experience needed to serve as lieutenant governor. Mitchell, who also served three terms in the Illinois House, replaces current Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who is running with Pritzker’s support to replace U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.
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Back in the Day: July 2, 2010 - Chicago City Council Passes Country’s Strictest Gun Law 45-0 |
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In 1982, Chicago had passed a law that generally banned the new registration of handguns and made registration a prerequisite of possession of a firearm, which effectively banned handguns. By June of 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5–4) that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution meant that the law should be overturned. On this day 15 years ago, just four days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Chicago’s City Council voted 45-0 in favor of a new gun ordinance. It allowed households to have only one operable firearm, meaning all other guns would need to have gun locks or be in locked cases. It also mandated state firearms permits, registration with the Chicago police, four hours of classroom training and one hour of firing range training. It also banned assault weapons and gun shops within city limits. "Although the ruling wasn't what we had hoped for, it was what we expected," said Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. "That's why for the last several months, we've been preparing the reasonable and responsible ordinance to regulate handguns in the home that the council approved today." Following a 2013 state law that allowed for concealed carry, the City Council repealed this particular ordinance later that year. |
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Chicago-Area Live Music Recommendations for July 2-July 8
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Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.
Wednesday, July 2:
Nas with the Chicago Philharmonic at Ravinia. Tickets.
See an iconic rapper play songs from his storied career with an entire orchestra.
Thursday, July 3:
Lipticism, Devin Shaffer, Silktense, DJ Immaterial at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
One of Chicago’s most forward-thinking electronic pop artists plays a record release show.
Saturday, July 5:
Smut, Villagerrr at Schubas. Tickets.
Get there early for the Columbus, Ohio, folk-rock band.
Ganser, Christy Costello, Iron Years, Dangerous Chairs at Sleeping Village. Tickets.
This Chicago trio celebrates a new album.
Sunday, July 6:
Fievel is Glauque, Flanafi, Jib Kidder at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
We promise these are real band names.
Tuesday, July 8:
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley at Outset. Tickets.
The Ghanaian highlife musician has found a second life through recent reissues of his ‘70s albums. Now almost 80, he’s still touring.
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What’s your favorite neighborhood to visit on Chicago's West Side? Tell us why. |
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
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5:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
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Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more. |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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