It’s a new month. Kick off May Day with these stories from WTTW News.
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An ICE officer watches protestors as a Lenco BearCat vehicle drives to the scene in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, after protesters learned that U.S. Border Patrol shot a woman Saturday morning on Chicago's Southwest Side. (Anthony Vazquez / Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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Federal immigration agents engaged in unconstitutional uses of force including “extreme physical force, indiscriminate use of chemical agents, shootings, beatings, and other violent acts” while White House officials routinely lied to conceal the motivations behind “Operation Midway Blitz,” an Illinois panel has found.
The Illinois Accountability Commission on Thursday published its final report after months investigating and gathering evidence including witness testimony, video footage and first-hand accounts of the alleged abuse carried out by federal agents during the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement in and around Chicago last fall.
“The record is substantial, corroborated across multiple sources, and developed through independent investigation,” commission chair and former judge Ruben Castillo said in a statement. “It demonstrates patterns of illegal and violent conduct by federal immigration enforcement agents during Operation Midway Blitz and the resulting serious and lasting consequences for individuals, families, and communities across Illinois.”
The commission report also outlined a series of policy recommendations in its report, including prohibiting “roving” patrols; ending warrantless arrests; halting the use of paramilitary tactics; and requiring federal agents to wear body-worn cameras.
The report also recommends discipline for ICE and Border Patrol agents who committed misconduct.
Throughout a series of public hearings, witnesses detailed the terror and fear they experienced as federal agents sought to “spread fear” in residential neighborhoods, the report found.
“Agents on these roving patrols donned face masks, military fatigues, body armor, and military-style weapons,” the report states. “They drove unmarked cars and refused to identify themselves. They recorded protesters and legal observers to intimidate them from documenting their activities. They used physical force and tear gas indiscriminately.”
Some backstory:
The report comes as a Cook County judge is set to rule next month on a request by local officials and community organizations to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate abuse allegations carried out during Midway Blitz.
Thus far, Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has resisted those efforts, saying her office has not been referred any cases by local law enforcement and that she lacks the legal authority to initiate criminal investigations into alleged misconduct by federal immigration agents.
Castillo, who is among the coalition seeking a special prosecutor, said Thursday that if O’Neill Burke doesn’t want to investigate these allegations, she should “step aside” and let someone else do it.
“(O’Neill Burke) has said she hasn’t been referred anything,” he said. “Well today, she’s going to be referred something, and it should be investigated.”
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Police officers work the scene outside Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital in Lincoln Square, on Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Anthony Vazquez / Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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The man accused of killing Chicago police Officer John Bartholomew inside Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital allegedly concealed a handgun under a blanket and used it to shoot the officer and his partner.
A Cook County judge on Thursday ordered Alphanso Talley, 26, be detained in jail pending trial on a litany of felony charges including first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, robbery and kidnapping.
He’s accused of fatally shooting Bartholomew, 38, and critically wounding his partner Saturday before making a chaotic escape from the hospital that was captured on numerous security cameras.
Talley has an extensive criminal history, including an armed robbery charge from last year, as well as previous convictions for aggravated battery of a peace officer, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and multiple other aggravated robberies.
He is due back in court for a hearing May 20.
What prosecutors say happened:
Talley was escorted to the hospital by Bartholomew and his partner following his arrest in connection with an armed robbery at a Family Dollar store earlier that day. While he was in custody, he allegedly told police he was having difficulty breathing.
At the hospital, Talley’s left arm was handcuffed to a bed railing while his right hand remained free. Surveillance footage shows Talley “fidgeting” his right arm under a blanket that had been placed over him as the officers and staff wheeled him to an MRI/CT area in the hospital.
Once there, Bartholomew uncuffed Talley so he could begin the MRI, at which point Talley allegedly moved quickly toward the end of his bed and grabbed a 10 mm handgun concealed under his blanket.
Talley pointed the gun at Bartholomew and fired, striking him in the head. As two hospital staffers fled the room, Talley allegedly shot Bartholomew’s partner, striking him in the chin.
Bartholomew died of his injuries, while his partner, a 57-year-old man with 21 years of CPD service, remains in critical condition. Prosecutors said each officer was struck once, and the bullet that hit Bartholomew’s partner was lodged in the back of his neck.
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Protesters march on Washington Boulevard near Union Park to protest the Trump administration’s policies on May Day, or International Workers’ Day, on May 1, 2025. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)
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Chicago labor unions, community groups, students and other advocates are expected to participate in events around the city on Friday in honor of May Day, or International Workers’ Day.
On Friday, thousands of Chicagoans are expected to participate in a May Day rally and march, starting at Union Park and ending at Daley Plaza in downtown. Other related actions are scheduled in different parts of the city in the morning ahead of the march.
A rally is expected to begin at 1 p.m. in Union Park. The march is set to step off at 2 p.m.
The gatherings come after disagreements between Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King and the Chicago Teachers Union over whether to close schools on Friday to allow students and teachers to participate in May Day demonstrations. CPS will still hold classes, but will allow students and staff to attend the rally.
What is May Day?
May Day, or International Workers’ Day, is celebrated each year around the world on May 1.
The first May Day event was held in Chicago on May 1, 1886, when thousands of workers protested for an eight-hour workday.
Where are the events?
May Day organizers shared a full schedule of actions to take place throughout the morning leading up to the rally and march at Union Park: Click here for the full list.
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More From WTTW News:
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Back in the Day: May 1, 1951 - Minnie Miñoso Becomes First Black White Sox Player, Homers on Debut
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Saturnino Orestes Armas Arrieta Miñoso was a pioneering baseball player better known by his nicknames “Minnie” Miñoso, “The Cuban Comet,” and “Mr. White Sox.” Born in Perico, Cuba, he was the first Afro-Latino player in the MLB and was dubbed he “Jackie Robinson for all Latinos” by Puerto Rican Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda. On this day 75 years ago, Miñoso made his debut for the Chicago White Sox in a game against the New York Yankees, becoming the first Black player in the franchise’s history. At his first-plate appearance for the team, he hit a home-run. Miñoso would play for the Sox from 1951-1957, along with stints in 1974, 1976 and 1980, becoming a
franchise legend and the second player to play in five different decades. The Sox retired his jersey in 1983 and Miñoso, who died in Chicago in 2015, would be posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.
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What Chicago neighborhood has the best food? Tell us why.
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. Here's what you had to
say:
“Uptown. Every cuisine. All at accessible prices. And no reservations required." -@randallthefirst
“Jefferson Park.” -@glezcole
“Back of the yards.” -@glezcole
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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