Ben Bradley
WGN TV News
Chicago, IL, United States
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Past articles by Ben:
Woman struggles to remove squatters from Chicago home
Karen Polk decided it was time to sell her family’s home in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood. → Read More
Public Guardian: More kids sleeping in DCFS offices
The images of kids curled-up on couches or simply sleeping on the floors of state offices were heartbreaking enough state lawmakers called hearings and Gov. JB Pritzker promised to fix the problem. But three-and-a-half years after WGN Investigates first exposed the issue, a new court filing says the problem has gotten worse. Cook County public […] → Read More
Troubles continue for O’Hare Airport train
It’s not the first – or the last – time the airport train system failed to function. → Read More
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to speak to police officers in Chicago suburb
ELMHURST, Ill. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is said to be heading to a Chicago suburb next week to speak to police officers. The Chicago Fraternal of Police Lodge has been promoting an event on Monday at an undisclosed location in Elmhurst. The event is only open to law enforcement officers. The local police union […] → Read More
Chicago residents call 311 then wait
Chicago residents are told to contact 311 for help with everything from abandoned vehicles to pavement repairs and broken streetlights. But getting someone from the city to fix the problem is not as easy as picking up the phone. That is what WGN Investigates found after a review of public records and interviews with residents […] → Read More
ATF joins investigation into massive warehouse fire in Chicago Heights
No injuries were reported. → Read More
Illinois’ unemployment rate ranked second-to-last in US
The most recent unemployment numbers show Illinois continues to lag behind the rest of the nation. Only Nevada was worse. Illinois’ unemployment rate is also significantly higher than neighboring states. Nationally, the unemployment rate stands at 3.5%. → Read More
Longtime Chicago columnist John Kass suffers health scare
“I love you all very much,” Kass said on his WGN Radio podcast. → Read More
Lightfoot’s campaign emails Chicago teachers for student volunteers
CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s campaign emailed an unknown number of Chicago Public Schools teachers to try to recruit student volunteers for her reelection campaign. The email was sent Tuesday morning from Megan Crane, Lightfoot’s deputy campaign manager. The news of the email was first reported by WTTW News. “As the race heats up, […] → Read More
CPS Inspector General’s annual report details fraud, sexual misconduct and spending waste
Inspector General for Chicago Public Schools Will Fletcher joined WGN Evening News. → Read More
5-year sentence after wild shootout caught on tape
Four other people involved in the 2021 shootout were arrested and charged. → Read More
As Chicago police scanners go quiet, public may hear less about crime
CHICAGO — In neighborhoods across Chicago, residents can no longer listen to police scanners to find real-time information about public emergencies and crime. That is because the city of Chicago is now encrypting the radio transmissions. The plan is for transmissions across all police districts to be encrypted by the end of the year. The […] → Read More
Aisles of smiles for Chicago’s annual ‘Shop with a Cop’
The community event is now in its 17th year. → Read More
DCFS reports progress after hundreds of kids hospitalized longer than necessary
Hundreds of kids spent days, weeks and months locked in mental health hospitals longer that was medically necessary in recent years because Illinois’ child welfare agency had nowhere to put them. After WGN Investigates first reported on the problem in 2021, lawmakers cried foul, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services vowed to […] → Read More
Cook County Settles lawsuit for $1 million; Alleged victims still unsettled
CHICAGO — Earlier this year, the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to approve two settlements, totaling more than $1.2 million, for a former county court reporter who brought two lawsuits against the county, one in 2019 and another the following year. Helen Miller, a court reporter for more than a decade, alleged that she […] → Read More
SAFE-T Act: What happens when no one is watching?
A little-known provision in Illinois’ sprawling SAFE-T Act went into effect in January and has had the effect of allowing people on electronic monitoring have two days of unmonitored movement. The extra freedom was intended to give defendants awaiting trial freedom to take care of grocery shopping and what the law vaguely describes as “other […] → Read More
Suburban man accused of giving out Halloween candy in marijuana bags
Concerned parents began calling South Chicago Heights police Halloween night when there was an odd odor coming from their kids’ candy bags. Parents said it smelled like marijuana. Police suspected a man was giving out gummy bears in small bags previously used to hold cannabis. “There even appeared to be residual marijuana material in the […] → Read More
You can now get (almost) anywhere on earth from O’Hare
CHICAGO — With the resumption of direct service from Chicago to Auckland, New Zealand this weekend O’Hare airport secures a spot as one of five cities on earth with direct service to all inhabited continents, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. You can now fly directly from Chicago to cities in North America, South America, […] → Read More
Ex-prisoner who argued programs are key to staying free dies 63 days after release
Robert Merriweather spoke with WGN Investigates last month. → Read More
What’s behind the battle brewing over a proposed marina at Navy Pier?
CHICAGO — Another boating season has come and gone in Chicago without so much as a pylon or a plank being laid for a proposed marina at Navy Pier, despite the fact the City Council approved it six years ago. “One of the ironies for me is this is called the ‘people’s pier.’ This is […] → Read More