Latest news with #WGNInvestigates
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Tiffany Henyard ordered to appear for contempt hearing
DOLTON, Ill. (WGN) — Tiffany Henyard is no longer the mayor of south suburban Dolton but legal cases continue to haunt her. A Cook County judge previously held Henyard in contempt of court for failing to turn over records from her tenure as required by state transparency laws. Henyard reportedly told the judge Friday she was the 'face' of the village but didn't handle record-keeping. The judge ordered Henyard to appear in person on Friday, June 6. Jason House sworn in as Dolton mayor, marking end of Tiffany Henyard era The Edgar County Watchdogs, Inc. sued the Village of Dolton for failing to produce credit card and other records after Henyard's administration ignored Freedom of Information Act requests in January of 2024. 'The massive public exposure given to the Defendant that has brought Illinois corruption into the national public spotlight needs to be addressed immediately to save further harm to the state's reputation,' read the Edgar County Watchdog's complaint. WGN-TV also sued Henyard's administration for failing to comply with state transparency laws. After Henyard's overwhelming re-election loss in the spring, the village resolved the dispute with WGN by releasing additional records. Henyard's spending and leadership have been the focus of nearly two years of reporting by WGN Investigates. WGN Investigates: Investigating public corruption, crime & fraud The FBI has also issued subpoenas and interviewed Henyard associates as recently as this spring. Henyard has not been charged with a crime. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Popular Mole de Mayo Festival shuts down
CHICAGO — The popular street festival Mole de Mayo will not be happening this Memorial Day weekend. The event has been a tradition in the Pilsen neighborhood for 15 years with food, music and professional wrestling matches known as lucha libre. Organizers have not said why the event that attracted thousands of people to Pilsen has been canceled. Mole de Mayo was hosted by the Eighteenth Street Development Corporation, a non-profit organization helping businesses in the predominately Mexican neighborhood thrive. The organization's website ( ) has also been shut down. WGN Investigates: Investigating public corruption, crime & fraud WGN Investigates reached out to 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho Lopez to ask about the Memorial Day weekend event. The Alderman's Communications Director said, 'ESDC has not been active in 2025 and has not returned our emails requesting an update about their 2025 festival plans.' Last year – Mole de Mayo was moved a few blocks from its original location of 18th Street between Ashland and Blue Island after complaints from residents. Each year the festival crowns the Chicago restaurant with the best mole in town – helping attract customers to the historic Pilsen neighborhood. Organizers have not responded to WGN Investigates Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-squatter bill receives near-unanimous support in Illinois Legislature
Note: The video attached to this story is from a 2023 WGN Investigates report. CHICAGO (WGN) — Few things receive near-unanimous support in the Illinois legislature, but a bill to crack down on squatters came close. 'We have people simply trespassing on people's property who don't belong there, squatting and taking residence up on their own,' said State Rep. Jawaharial Williams (D-Chicago). His bill changes state law to differentiate squatters from tenants and forego the months-long eviction process. It passed unanimously in the Illinois House and received only a single 'no' vote in the state senate. The bill, SB1563, needs Gov. JB Pritzker's signature to become law. WGN Investigates has documented cases in which squatters move into a home and its taken the owner more than a year to go through the court system to regain possession. 'It's stressful, it's a financial burden,' Karen Polk told WGN in 2023 after she said a real estate agent found squatters living in her late-mother's home in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood. 'I got a call from that agent stating the person that went to the house for a showing was greeted at the door by someone inside already.' Real estate attorneys say criminals have been known to break into unoccupied homes and then pose as landlords offering prospective tenants a fake lease. They then take advantage of state law meant to protect true tenants from wrongful evictions. 'Criminals know they can do this. There's really no criminal repercussion and you have live rent free in a home for 12-to-18 months if you're lucky,' attorney Aaron Stanton told WGN Investigates in 2023. The woman living in Karen Polk's mother's home told WGN Investigates she was a victim of a fake landlord scheme but admitted to not paying rent for several months. 'Somebody had like scammed us out of our money and gave us a fake lease and had us move into the house or whatever and stuff like that,' the woman said. Polk said she was finally able to regain control of the house and sell it in November 2024, two years after the ordeal began. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
FBI targets child predators in Operation Restore Justice
CHICAGO (WGN) — It's being called Operation Restore Justice, the FBI's effort to get accused sexual predators off the street. The large-scale endeavor targeted individuals accused of child sex offenses, many of whom are believed to have found their targets online. Arrests made include the states of California, Maryland, and Illinois. According to this federal complaint, one of the men arrested in Chicago, William Solis, is believed to have purchased more than 1,000 pornographic child images. Some of the victims are pictured as young as 4 years old. That's one case, but there are hundreds of others, explains FBI's assistant special agent in charge in Chicago, Robert Wieczorek, who sat down with WGN Investigates to describe the work his office does every day. 'We do that by educating parents on how to better safeguard their children. We continue to work with our state, local, and federal partners…and by arresting sexual predators,' Wieczorek said. WGN Investigates: Investigating public corruption, crime & fraud US Attorney General Pam Bondi promised to seek the maximum penalty possible. As such, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is taking the lead in the investigation, with 55 FBI offices around the country playing a role, making it clear that abuses involving children will take a top priority. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Is a summer of street takeovers ahead for Chicago?
CHICAGO (WGN) — As summer approaches, street takeovers are popping up again in Chicago. Cars congregate at various intersections across the city, doing donuts or 'drifting,' as large groups of spectators form a circle around or in the middle of the vehicles. Last month, at Fullerton and Cannon Drive near the Lincoln Park Zoo, a group of cars gathered and took over the intersection. Video obtained by WGN Investigates through a Freedom of Information request, shows a scene unfold on March 5 around 1:20 a.m. with drivers drifting and spinning donuts. Then a caravan of cars and spectators join in at one point, pouring kerosene on the ground lighting a ring of fire. Chicago police responded and used stop sticks to disable several cars. Police arrested two people at the scene for reckless driving. Previous Coverage: 15-year-old boy shot during teen takeover in Streeterville There have been takeover events that have ended much worse. In October 2022, five people were shot and three killed at a street takeover in Brighton Park. Just two months before that, Chicago Police came under attack trying to break up an gathering at Cermak and the Chicago River. On May 5 of 2024, 20-year-old Guillermo Caballero was killed at a drifting event in Gage Park near the corner of 59th and Western. His family believes he was trying to get home through the crowded intersection when he was shot multiple times through his windshield. From the Achieves: Driver killed in weekend 'street takeover' may not have been participant, alderman says Two years ago, the city installed speed bumps and barricades at Lower Columbus Drive and South Water Street to prevent drifting takeovers there. And in July 2022, city council passed an ordinance that allows Chicago Police to impound vehicles involved in these events, and impose a $5,000 to $10,000 fine. WGN Investigates: Investigating public corruption, crime & fraud Chicago police also created a street takeover task force. In cases like the takeover in Lincoln Park, arrests are made, but offenders are charged with misdemeanors. Some city aldermen would also like to see those charges elevated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
