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This Thursday, read up about the latest stories affecting local law enforcement, City Council and more from WTTW News. |
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(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News) |
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A proposal introduced to the Chicago City Council Wednesday would expand the Chicago Police Department’s power to impose a curfew in an effort to stop large gatherings of teens with at least 12 hours notice.
The measure was the third attempt by Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) to expand the Chicago Police Department’s power in an attempt to deter teens from gathering in large numbers. It comes after 14-year-old Armani Floyd was killed and eight others were injured Nov. 21 during a large gathering downtown after the city’s annual Christmas tree lighting.
Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed Hopkins’ last attempt, after it passed the City Council 27-22, calling it unconstitutional and unworkable. That plan would have allowed CPD to impose a “snap curfew,” allowing CPD to start enforcing the measure within just 30 minutes.
The new proposal would only require Snelling to consult with Deputy Mayor for Community Safety Garien Gatewood before declaring what the measure refers to as a “time and place” curfew.
That provision prompted Ald. Jason Ervin (28th Ward) to drop his support for the measure that he had co-sponsored with Hopkins and join the leaders of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus in trying to stop its passage.
A close ally of the mayor, Ervin used a parliamentary procedure Wednesday to send the proposal into legislative purgatory, preventing an immediate committee hearing and vote.
What else happened?
Undeterred by implacable opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson, supporters of a plan to bridge Chicago’s $1.19 billion budget gap without hiking taxes on large firms formally introduced their rival proposal to the Chicago City Council and vowed to push for a critical vote.
The City Council agreed to meet throughout next week and on Dec. 23 to hammer out a deal over the $16.6 billion spending plan for 2026.
Twenty-seven City Council members signaled their support for the alternate budget proposal, even as at least two alderpeople that signed on to the first version of the plan did not endorse the latest version, while others climbed on board. The original proposal was based on bad data and faulty assumptions that could “jeopardize the city’s financial position,” according to Chicago’s top financial officials.
Ald. Nicole Lee (11th Ward), who is the lead sponsor of the alternative budget plan, acknowledged to reporters there was more work to be done to win the support of enough alderpeople to pass the package, and withstand a mayoral veto. |
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A Federal Patrol agent's badge is seen near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Ill., Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo / Erin Hooley, File) |
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Federal investigators in Chicago are seeking other potential victims after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent described by prosecutors as a “serial rapist” who preyed on suburban women was arrested and charged this week.
The FBI’s Chicago field office on Wednesday said it is seeking to identify other potential victims of 44-year-old Luis Uribe, who stands accused of robbing and/or sexually assaulting at least four women in Schaumburg and Naperville throughout 2022.
He has pleaded not guilty.
In seeking to have Uribe detained pending trial, prosecutors alleged that he turned his position as a Border Patrol officer into a “license to commit or attempt to commit gunpoint sexual assaults and robberies” against sex workers.
According to federal prosecutors, Uribe repeatedly forced his way into victims’ hotel rooms where he robbed them at gunpoint and/or attempted to sexually assault them. All of the victims were of Chinese descent, prosecutors said.
After Uribe’s initial attacks in early 2022, word of his “rampant abuse of sex workers in the Chicagoland area” began to spread, prosecutors said. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Any other potential victims or anyone with possible information about Uribe’s alleged crimes is asked to contact the FBI at 312-239-7423. |
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(WTTW News) |
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A Chicago police officer shot and killed a person Tuesday night in West Ridge after a car dragged an officer, department officials said.
The officer, who suffered minor injuries, was taken to the hospital after the incident that began at 10:25 p.m. Tuesday. A woman was in the car with the man who was shot was detained by police, and two guns were recovered from the car, officials said. The woman, who has not been identified or charged with a crime, was not identified.
The shooting is under investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. The person who was killed has not been identified by authorities.
Some backstory:
The incident began when a tactical team of officers assigned to a Lincoln (20th) Police District were investigating “a stolen sedan that was parked and unoccupied” in the 5700 block of north Washtenaw Avenue, officials said.
The shooting was the second police shooting in three days. CPD officers have shot 22 people, killing nine, since the start of the year, records show. In 2024, CPD officers shot 12 people, killing six, records show. |
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Chicago is known, famously, as “the city that works.” The latest WTTW special from Geoffrey Baer, “Chicago Works,” brings to the forefront the often unseen labor that helps keep the city running — from how the United Center transforms its basketball court into an ice hockey rink to how holiday packages arrive at your front door.
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Back in the Day: Dec. 11, 2000 - Blizzard Slams Chicago With Nearly 15 Inches of Snow
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This year, Chicago logged the snowiest start to winter in nearly 50 years, with a Thanksgiving weekend storm breaking the all-time area record for November snowfall. This installment of the Daily Chicagoan’s Back in the Day series is here to remind you that it could and has been worse. On this day 25 years ago, a major blizzard hit the Chicago area on Dec. 11, 2000. Midway Airport was buried, recording 14.5 inches of snow, while O’Hare International Airport notched 9.5 inches. That month at Midway would go on to tally a gargantuan 41.3 inches of snowfall. As Tom Skilling pointed out, “More snow fell in Chicago in December 2000 than in 70% of all Chicago winters since 1884-85.” Let’s see if that happens again this winter. |
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This Week’s Arts & Culture Events
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Each Thursday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry highlights the city’s must-see cultural happenings.
Josh Terry: The end of the year can be a time for slowing down, finding time to be cozy and getting settled from the chaos of the year for a bit of holiday hibernation. If you’re an artistic and curious Chicagoan, you can still find space to rest and explore the many cultural happenings this city has to offer. Below, here are three events off the beaten path to enrich your creative life.
Art: POST POST POST: 10 Years of the Western Pole — Patient Info
As the Chicago Reader explains, “Western Pole is — in short — an art gallery on an itinerant telephone pole.” For the past 10 years, curator Jesse Malmed has been featuring small pieces by various artists on a telephone on Western Avenue in Chicago. From noon to four on Saturday at Patient Info (902 N. Western), Malmed and his peers' work over the past decade, transforming a mundane light post to a freeform, constantly evolving and playful art project will be celebrated with a closing reception. More details can be found here.
Film: Kurdish Film Festival — Multiple Locations
On Saturday at the Kurdish Culture Center of Illinois (4217 N. Milwaukee Ave.) and on Sunday at Loyola University's Damen Cinema (6511 N. Sheridan), a two-day celebration of Kurdish cinema will take place. Billed as a "cultural expression and a reflection of the Kurdish spirit," click here for more information and a schedule.
Comedy: The Sklar Brothers — The Den Theatre
The Sklar Brothers are a pair of identical twins, Randy and Jason Sklar, who also happen to be stand-up comedians, podcasters and actors. Either you’ve heard their podcasts “Sklarbro Country” and “Dumb People Town,” or seen them guest star in everything from “Cheap Seats,” “GLOW,” “Better Call Saul” and “What We Do In the Shadows,” you should see their set Saturday at the Den. Tickets can be bought here. |
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What’s your best advice for recent Chicagoans on how to deal with the cold weather? |
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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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