Lauren FitzPatrick
Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago, IL, United States
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Past articles by Lauren:
Chicago Public Schools COO steps down amid PPP fraud finding by inspector general
Chief Operating Officer Crystal Cooper was one of 14 school staffers caught in Inspector General Will Fletcher’s investigation of COVID-19 relief loans. → Read More
Top officials out at Illinois state emergency agency involved in COVID, disaster response
Three top officials at IEMA, the state agency tasked with responding to disasters across the state including the COVID pandemic and a record number of tornadoes this year, were pushed out late last month. → Read More
Contractor accused of bribing Cook County assessor staffer
Alex Nitchoff is charged with conspiring to bribe a key employee handling commercial properties with home improvement goods and services, jewelry, meals and sports tickets. → Read More
Chicago’s mayoral candidates have radically different approaches to fixing public schools. Here’s why.
Their backgrounds — Paul Vallas, a technocrat devoted to school choice, and Brandon Johnson, a teachers union organizer — help explain clashing views on school reform. → Read More
How the CTU marched from picket lines to political powerhouse
From its battles between ex-Mayor Rahm Emanuel and its late leader Karen Lewis in 2012, the Chicago Teachers Union is now hoping to help homegrown candidate Brandon Johnson win the runoff to be Chicago’s mayor. → Read More
11th Ward Ald. Nicole Lee heads toward runoff
Early results showed Lee and her top challenger, Anthony Ciaravino, each with about 30% of the vote; In the 12th Ward, Anabel Abarca was trailing her challenger, Julia Ramirez. → Read More
Ja’Mal Green business steered COVID-19 relief loan applicants to lenders faulted by Congress for ignoring fraud
Government oversight of lenders was lax, mayoral hopeful says, but many small businesses denied by traditional banks got the help they needed. → Read More
Clusters of pandemic relief loans went to the same Chicago addresses, including homeless shelters, Sun-Times finds
One Paycheck Protection Program loan recipient who used a Salvation Army address said he was a farmer. A dozen others said they operated barber shops or beauty salons. Most got loans of about $20,000, the maximum based on a yearly income of at least $100,000. → Read More
Chicago lawyer accused of using racial slur, obscenity during livestreamed hearing
The comments were made during an unmuted conversation while the lawyer waited for her client and were heard by the judge and other participants on the Zoom court call, according to a court filing. → Read More
Snow-vault ramp crashes: Grieving parents warn that packed snow at side of elevated roads can be deadly
Christopher Weber’s parents initially thought their son’s deadly plunge off a highway bridge was a freak accident. Now, they say more should be done to prevent “snow-ramp” crashes. → Read More
Cook County Land Bank Authority to hire lawyer at Patricia Brown Holmes’ urging
The move comes as an outside review by a former judge, Patricia Brown Holmes, wrapped up, and the agency hires its third leader since June 2021. → Read More
Where is Ald. Walter Burnett Jr.’s missing $300,000 in campaign money?
The long-tenured Chicago City Council member says when asked what happened to that money: “I don’t feel comfortable talking about that with you. It’s not my city business.” → Read More
Democrats hold on to majority on Illinois Supreme Court as Judge Elizabeth Rochford declares victory
Rochford thanked her supporters about 10:30 p.m. after her Republican opponent, Mark Curran, called to concede in the newly drawn suburban 2nd District. → Read More
Chicago Public Schools parking deal went to Carmen Rossi, Lori Lightfoot fundraiser
Carmen A. Rossi’s Chicago Parking Solutions got a two-year contract to park cars at more than a dozen schools even though the school system said another company put in a better bid. → Read More
City Hall OKed Josephine’s Southern Cooking for Taste of Chicago despite years of unpaid city bills, taxes
“There are people that owe far more to Chicago, more water bills and light bills and everything else, than I do,” says Josephine’s Southern Cooking owner Josephine Wade. → Read More
The rise and fall of another Chicago political dynasty — the 34th Ward Democrats
“We were in the same political family,” former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr. says. “We were able to elect a county commissioner, we were able to elect state reps, senators — and it all came out of that organization.” → Read More
CPS advances plans for Near South high school despite opposition, threat to withhold state funding
CPS leaders said teens travel far for school now, and population growth justifies the school. Opponents said the plan is irresponsible and lacks community input. → Read More
Lawmaker to block $50M for Near South Side high school until Lightfoot, CPS address community concerns
State Rep. Theresa Mah had been among the strongest backers of the idea to build a new high school. But she called the city’s plan “offensive” and politically motivated. → Read More
Top CPS officials privately warned a new Near South school could undermine neighboring schools, harm Black students
While Mayor Lori Lightfoot has touted the new school to serve Chinatown and other neighborhoods, CPS alumni and even staff inside CPS fear it will do damage to existing schools that serve predominantly African American students. → Read More
How UIC University of Illinois Chicago cost Cook County $1.2 million in lost leasehold property taxes
The university never told county officials it was leasing to a preschool — which could be on the hook for over $800,000 in property taxes. So the bills kept going to a past tenant — who was allowed to renew his lease despite refusing to pay the county over $400,000 in taxes. → Read More