Hello, my Chicago-area friends. Have you recently ditched your car for public transit because of high gas prices? I'd like to talk with you for a story! Please email me at [email protected]

Riley O’Neil — who helped redesign roads to make them safer for pedestrians and cyclists in CDOT’s Complete Streets program — was killed on a part of Halsted lacking proper bike infrastructure, friends, advocates and a witness say. "Painted bike lanes don't stop anything" w/ @kwashburn.bsky.social

Happy international worker’s day! Working hard at her desk here is @kwashburn.bsky.social, who captured the heartbreaking stories at the core of Illinois’ failure to treat its inmates — even as they went (and continue) to go blind, and despite a consent decree aimed at fixing the medical neglect.

Weiss and West Sub are facing eviction over nearly $25 million in back rent. It's the latest escalation in the strained relationship between the two men who own the hospitals. @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/health/2026/...

West Suburban Medical Center struggled to treat patients months before closing, records show. The owner of the Oak Park hospital vows to reopen this summer, though finding the money is a big barrier. chicago.suntimes.com/health/2026/... by @kwashburn.bsky.social + Kristen Schorsch

NEW: Months before West Suburban Medical Center abruptly closed, the hospital struggled to treat patients — and keep the heat on. @kwashburn.bsky.social and I have receipts. tinyurl.com/4sbbjeku @wbez.org @chicago.suntimes.com

West Suburban Medical Center is "temporarily" closing as the hospital struggles to pay employees. The closure comes months after its sister facility, Weiss Memorial Hospital, shuttered in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. chicago.suntimes.com/health/2026/...

Despite an overall drop in crime, aggravated assaults and batteries on the Chicago Transit Authority reached at least a 24-year high in 2025. And the trend appears to be continuing this year. @davidstruett.bsky.social chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

Johnnie Flournoy, a 74-yr-old man incarcerated in IL, says he's nearly blind bc for years he has been denied a simple treatment for glaucoma. He's not at all alone. His story of medical neglect is a common one in IL prisons. @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/health/2026/...

Late to the game to post- the question we all were wondering about: HOW could the teacher with child sex abuse record pass an Archdiocese of Chicago background check??? chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/0... via @kwashburn.bsky.social

Johnnie Flournoy is 74 years old. He's been incarcerated since the early 1990s, and he's been going blind for much of that time. And Illinois prisons have just been letting it happen. chicago.suntimes.com/health/2026/...

The @chicago.suntimes.com has now posted a public tracker of federal criminal cases tied to Operation Midway Blitz, with a small update: We've now tied 32 defendants to the campaign. The bottom line remains: 15 cleared and no one convicted, so far: chicago.suntimes.com/2026/tracker...

“Prisoners are viewed as an expendable population in this country." From @kwashburn.bsky.social on how one of the nation's largest correctional medicine companies was hired by Illinois officials despite having a record of inadequate health care: chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

'Ignored, misdiagnosed, left to die — Illinois prisoners’ health in hands of new provider with shoddy track record' @kwashburn.bsky.social @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

Substandard medical care in America's prisons and jails has long caused preventable harm and death to people locked up. And it appears Illinois' new prison health care provider is no different. My latest, with support from @chjreportinghealth.bsky.social chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

“Broken bones, abscesses, diabetes and a host of other injuries and maladies routinely go without examination, much less medically effective treatment,” according to one complaint. That's from just one suit @kwashburn.bsky.social read for this investigation. chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

No, Chicago salt trucks are not being used to interfere with ICE. Several social media posts falsely claimed Mayor Brandon Johnson deployed the trucks to block ICE ops, but the trucks were in Grant Park for the Taste of Chicago — and to help control weekend protests. via @kwashburn.bsky.social

I spent some time asking why Chicago hasn't made much progress at reducing traffic crashes. Here's my story for the @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...

BREAKING: Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown could close as soon as Friday as the feds cut off Medicare & Medicaid funding, via me & @kwashburn.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/jp8hb2ey @wbez.org @chicago.suntimes.com @shiakapos.bsky.social

Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown could close Friday after losing access to Medicare and Medicaid. w/ @kschorsch.bsky.social @chicago.suntimes.com @wbez.org chicago.suntimes.com/health/2025/...

So much to unpack in this must-read about a Chicago hospital and 'unsafe conditions in the makeshift ER,' via @kwashburn.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/yw7cdbc4

Before the federal government revoked Weiss hospital's Medicare access, state investigators found the hospital had been operating a “makeshift” emergency department in an office building that lacked the basic equipment and staff to properly care for patients. chicago.suntimes.com/health/2025/...

ICYMI: Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown had to evacuate after the AC stopped working last month. Now the feds are pulling the hospital's Medicare funding, which is how Weiss makes most of its $$. Details via me & @kwashburn.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/yc6xbsm2

The CST Guild is aware of the third-party “summer guide” content in the May 18 edition of the Sun-Times newspaper. This was a syndicated section made externally without the knowledge of the members of our newsroom. We’re deeply disturbed that AI-generated content was printed alongside our work.

Accused child molester-priest says now-Pope Leo XIV OK'd his move to a South Side monastery near a school. chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog... By Robert Herguth + @kwashburn.bsky.social

An important analysis from @kwashburn.bsky.social: About 45% of Chicago Public Schools' 644 schools have vaccination rates at or above 95% this year. That’s down from the rate in 2019, the year before the pandemic, when 90% of schools were at herd immunity. chicago.suntimes.com/health/2025/...

And the Sun-Times got a photo of the new pope at a Sox Game (yes yes the 2005 World Series) — chicago.suntimes.com/religion/202...

Highland Park parade shooting trial begins today. @davidstruett.bsky.social chicago.suntimes.com/highland-par...

Multiple reports say a top Department of Justice official is in Chicago to “personally observe” immigration enforcement actions. trib.al/IAcm2zi

Sun-Times owner seeks voluntary buyouts from the newsroom chicago.suntimes.com/chicago/2025...