Jared Rutecki
@jaredrutecki.bsky.social
Investigative Reporter at WTTW News/Chicago Tonight. Past life: Illinois Answers Project, BGA, Columbus Dispatch, ThisWeek News. I cover cops, courts, energy, health, finance, education, pensions etc. Prolific FOIA filer. He/him.
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Jared Rutecki
@jaredrutecki.bsky.social
· Nov 12
‘Just Violence, Confusion’: Federal Immigration Raids Also Bring Fear to Suburban Streets
As national attention focused on Chicago, federal immigration agents carried out a wave of raids across the suburbs, sparking outrage and fear in communities including Aurora and Evanston. Local leade...
news.wttw.com
“Imagine dropping your kids off and wondering if it’s the last time you’ll see them.”
From Waukegan to Evanston to Aurora, suburban families are living in fear as ICE raids escalate.
My latest story explores the toll.
From Waukegan to Evanston to Aurora, suburban families are living in fear as ICE raids escalate.
My latest story explores the toll.
Reposted by Jared Rutecki
A new law will require employers to disclose use of AI in employment decisions.
Capitol News Illinois reporters Brenden Moore and Ben Szalinski joined "Chicago Tonight" to break down what this law and others will mean for Illinois in the new year. https://to.wttw.com/3N2173k
Capitol News Illinois reporters Brenden Moore and Ben Szalinski joined "Chicago Tonight" to break down what this law and others will mean for Illinois in the new year. https://to.wttw.com/3N2173k
December 30, 2025 at 8:44 PM
A new law will require employers to disclose use of AI in employment decisions.
Capitol News Illinois reporters Brenden Moore and Ben Szalinski joined "Chicago Tonight" to break down what this law and others will mean for Illinois in the new year. https://to.wttw.com/3N2173k
Capitol News Illinois reporters Brenden Moore and Ben Szalinski joined "Chicago Tonight" to break down what this law and others will mean for Illinois in the new year. https://to.wttw.com/3N2173k
Reposted by Jared Rutecki
Chicago is set to close out 2025 with a dramatic drop in homicides, even amid a repeated push by the Trump administration to deploy military troops into the city to address what they’ve called a “crime epidemic.”
https://to.wttw.com/45noL0x
https://to.wttw.com/45noL0x
Chicago Set to End 2025 With Fewest Homicides in Years After 30% Drop
With only a handful of days left before the calendar turns to 2026, Chicago is on pace to see its lowest homicide total since at least 2014.
to.wttw.com
December 30, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Chicago is set to close out 2025 with a dramatic drop in homicides, even amid a repeated push by the Trump administration to deploy military troops into the city to address what they’ve called a “crime epidemic.”
https://to.wttw.com/45noL0x
https://to.wttw.com/45noL0x
A steep drop in homicides in the 12 South and West side neighborhoods that had ShotSpotter sensors lasted a full year after Mayor Brandon Johnson scrapped the city’s controversial gunshot detection system, an updated analysis of Chicago crime data shows.
Steep Drop in Homicides Continued for Full Year After ShotSpotter Was Removed: Analysis
Supporters of the gunshot detection system said it helped officers save lives when shootings were not reported to emergency services. ShotSpotter was never used to dispatch paramedics.
news.wttw.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:02 PM
A steep drop in homicides in the 12 South and West side neighborhoods that had ShotSpotter sensors lasted a full year after Mayor Brandon Johnson scrapped the city’s controversial gunshot detection system, an updated analysis of Chicago crime data shows.
Reposted by Jared Rutecki
In keeping with tradition, Chicago-area public transit agencies will be offering free rides on New Year’s Eve.
Here's what you need to know: https://to.wttw.com/3Ya8mIY
Here's what you need to know: https://to.wttw.com/3Ya8mIY
CTA, Metra and Pace Are Offering Free Rides on New Year’s Eve. Here’s What You Need to Know
The Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace are encouraging residents to celebrate responsibly and take advantage of the free late-night transit services to get around on New Year’s Eve.
to.wttw.com
December 25, 2025 at 5:08 PM
In keeping with tradition, Chicago-area public transit agencies will be offering free rides on New Year’s Eve.
Here's what you need to know: https://to.wttw.com/3Ya8mIY
Here's what you need to know: https://to.wttw.com/3Ya8mIY
Reposted by Jared Rutecki
NEW: beginning january 1, chicago will ban unhoused people on the sex offense registry from seeking shelter on public transit.
it’s the latest in a concerted effort by mayor johnson’s admin to criminalize homelessness on cta trains + buses and in public parks during the coldest months of the year.
it’s the latest in a concerted effort by mayor johnson’s admin to criminalize homelessness on cta trains + buses and in public parks during the coldest months of the year.
‘An impossible situation’ - Chicago Reader
Beginning January 1, the City of Chicago will ban unhoused people on the sex offense registry from seeking shelter on public transit.
chicagoreader.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:20 PM
NEW: beginning january 1, chicago will ban unhoused people on the sex offense registry from seeking shelter on public transit.
it’s the latest in a concerted effort by mayor johnson’s admin to criminalize homelessness on cta trains + buses and in public parks during the coldest months of the year.
it’s the latest in a concerted effort by mayor johnson’s admin to criminalize homelessness on cta trains + buses and in public parks during the coldest months of the year.
Chicago is once again hosting collection sites for real trees at 27 locations around the city (see the map in the link). Drop off trees in the designated corral at any participating site, Jan. 3-17. 🎄 news.wttw.com/2025/12/26/c...
Chicago Christmas Tree Recycling Locations Open Jan. 3
Chicago is once again hosting collection sites for real trees at 27 locations around the city, Jan. 3-17.
news.wttw.com
December 26, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Chicago is once again hosting collection sites for real trees at 27 locations around the city (see the map in the link). Drop off trees in the designated corral at any participating site, Jan. 3-17. 🎄 news.wttw.com/2025/12/26/c...
Illinois’ statewide 1% grocery tax will go away on Jan. 1, though many people will continue to pay it at the local level. Here are some other laws that will take effect in the new year.
New Illinois Laws for 2026: Statewide Grocery Tax to End, Aquifer Protections Begin
Nearly 300 new Illinois laws will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
news.wttw.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Illinois’ statewide 1% grocery tax will go away on Jan. 1, though many people will continue to pay it at the local level. Here are some other laws that will take effect in the new year.
Chicago budget | Hear it straight from the source: Mayor Brandon Johnson on “Chicago Tonight” news.wttw.com/2025/12/23/m...
Mayor Brandon Johnson Will Not Veto $16.6B Budget Plan Passed Over His Objections
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s decision not to veto the budget he called “morally bankrupt” immediately averts what could have been the city most severe fiscal crisis in more than 40 years.
news.wttw.com
December 24, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Chicago budget | Hear it straight from the source: Mayor Brandon Johnson on “Chicago Tonight” news.wttw.com/2025/12/23/m...
Reposted by Jared Rutecki
NEW TONIGHT: Mayor Brandon Johnson is scheduled to appear on “Chicago Tonight” Tuesday to discuss the city’s budget after City Council members approved a version that he fiercely opposed.
The show airs at 5:30 p.m., 10 p.m. and streams on-demand online. https://to.wttw.com/3Lhpaeb
The show airs at 5:30 p.m., 10 p.m. and streams on-demand online. https://to.wttw.com/3Lhpaeb
December 23, 2025 at 6:27 PM
NEW TONIGHT: Mayor Brandon Johnson is scheduled to appear on “Chicago Tonight” Tuesday to discuss the city’s budget after City Council members approved a version that he fiercely opposed.
The show airs at 5:30 p.m., 10 p.m. and streams on-demand online. https://to.wttw.com/3Lhpaeb
The show airs at 5:30 p.m., 10 p.m. and streams on-demand online. https://to.wttw.com/3Lhpaeb
Reposted by Jared Rutecki
NEW: Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Tuesday designed to prevent the Chicago Police Department from spending unlimited sums of taxpayer money on overtime after the Chicago City Council declined to approve his crackdown. @wttw.bsky.social
After City Council Rejects Effort to Crack Down on CPD Overtime, Johnson Imposes New Limits
The city budget, which will take effect Jan. 1, will double CPD’s overtime budget from $100 million to $200 million, the first increase since 2020, when the budget for police overtime went from $95 mi...
news.wttw.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:26 PM
NEW: Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Tuesday designed to prevent the Chicago Police Department from spending unlimited sums of taxpayer money on overtime after the Chicago City Council declined to approve his crackdown. @wttw.bsky.social
Illinois U.S. Reps. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Delia Ramirez, Jonathan Jackson and Danny Davis toured the controversial west suburban facility, months after being denied access. news.wttw.com/2025/12/22/a...
‘Accountability is Not Optional’: Illinois Congressional Reps Tour Broadview Ice Facility Monday
Illinois U.S. Reps. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Delia Ramirez, Jonathan Jackson and Danny Davis toured the controversial west suburban facility Monday, months after being denied access.
news.wttw.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Illinois U.S. Reps. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Delia Ramirez, Jonathan Jackson and Danny Davis toured the controversial west suburban facility, months after being denied access. news.wttw.com/2025/12/22/a...
Reposted by Jared Rutecki
BREAKING: The officer is the 1st to be fired for failing a test for marijuana since Illinois legalized the drug — and the 1st to be fired by the Chicago Police Board in nearly a year and a half amid a protracted legal battle that has frozen the city’s police disciplinary system. @wttw.bsky.social
Chicago Police Board Votes to Fire Officer Who Tested Positive for Marijuana
Officer Elmer Carrillo Jr. is the first CPD officer to be terminated for failing a drug test since Illinois legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and is the first to be fired by the Police Boar...
news.wttw.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:12 PM
BREAKING: The officer is the 1st to be fired for failing a test for marijuana since Illinois legalized the drug — and the 1st to be fired by the Chicago Police Board in nearly a year and a half amid a protracted legal battle that has frozen the city’s police disciplinary system. @wttw.bsky.social
Reposted by Jared Rutecki
It’s a little-known fact, but the Field Museum’s largest exhibit isn’t its grand dinosaur hall.
It’s the Rice Native Garden: 100,000 square feet of plantings that wrap around the museum’s exterior. https://to.wttw.com/48KFuNy
It’s the Rice Native Garden: 100,000 square feet of plantings that wrap around the museum’s exterior. https://to.wttw.com/48KFuNy
From Gardens to Large-Scale Restoration Projects, Native Seed Is the Gift That Keeps on Giving
Collecting native seed can be labor intensive but it eventually pays for itself by creating even more seeds — for free.
to.wttw.com
December 19, 2025 at 10:32 PM
It’s a little-known fact, but the Field Museum’s largest exhibit isn’t its grand dinosaur hall.
It’s the Rice Native Garden: 100,000 square feet of plantings that wrap around the museum’s exterior. https://to.wttw.com/48KFuNy
It’s the Rice Native Garden: 100,000 square feet of plantings that wrap around the museum’s exterior. https://to.wttw.com/48KFuNy
Reposted by Jared Rutecki
Cases of Black students being called the N-word, taunted by classmates saying "white power" are being ignored by the Trump administration.
@megomatz.bsky.social, @jodiscohen.bsky.social and I found the Ed Dept has not acted on any racial harassment cases since Jan. 21 to hold districts accountable.
@megomatz.bsky.social, @jodiscohen.bsky.social and I found the Ed Dept has not acted on any racial harassment cases since Jan. 21 to hold districts accountable.
Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump
Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discriminat...
www.propublica.org
December 19, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Cases of Black students being called the N-word, taunted by classmates saying "white power" are being ignored by the Trump administration.
@megomatz.bsky.social, @jodiscohen.bsky.social and I found the Ed Dept has not acted on any racial harassment cases since Jan. 21 to hold districts accountable.
@megomatz.bsky.social, @jodiscohen.bsky.social and I found the Ed Dept has not acted on any racial harassment cases since Jan. 21 to hold districts accountable.
In case you’re in the market for some Epstein files … www.justice.gov/queue/view?c...
Department of Justice | Homepage | United States Department of Justice
www.justice.gov
December 19, 2025 at 9:03 PM
In case you’re in the market for some Epstein files … www.justice.gov/queue/view?c...
Reposted by Jared Rutecki
NEW: A Texas district in which Black students were allegedly taunted with monkey noises.
An Arizona school where students admitted saying “slavery is good.”
These are some of the incidents Trump’s Education Department has ignored:
An Arizona school where students admitted saying “slavery is good.”
These are some of the incidents Trump’s Education Department has ignored:
Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump
Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discriminat...
www.propublica.org
December 19, 2025 at 12:34 PM
NEW: A Texas district in which Black students were allegedly taunted with monkey noises.
An Arizona school where students admitted saying “slavery is good.”
These are some of the incidents Trump’s Education Department has ignored:
An Arizona school where students admitted saying “slavery is good.”
These are some of the incidents Trump’s Education Department has ignored:
Better grades, big stakes: DOE report card scores for Argonne and Fermilab determine millions in fees and future contracts. See how Chicago’s national labs performed this year…
Federal Report Card Scores Show Positive Trend for Argonne and Fermilab Contractors
Each year, the Office of Science at the Department of Energy evaluates the performance of the organizations that run its national laboratories. Despite some grades improving in the past fiscal year fo...
news.wttw.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Better grades, big stakes: DOE report card scores for Argonne and Fermilab determine millions in fees and future contracts. See how Chicago’s national labs performed this year…
Federal transit authorities have rejected the CTA’s revised safety plan, calling it “materially deficient” as the Trump administration reiterated its threat to withhold potentially millions in federal funding after reports of “high crime rates” on Chicago’s bus and train lines.
Feds Reject CTA’s Revised Safety Plan, Threaten to Withhold Millions in Transit Funding
The Federal Transit Administration on Friday said it determined the CTA failed to comply with a special directive issued earlier this month that required the agency to implement “immediate, measurable...
news.wttw.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Federal transit authorities have rejected the CTA’s revised safety plan, calling it “materially deficient” as the Trump administration reiterated its threat to withhold potentially millions in federal funding after reports of “high crime rates” on Chicago’s bus and train lines.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s office blasted the Chicago Bears announcement that they are considering moving to Northwest Indiana, since state officials have declined to subsidize their plans to build a new stadium and entertainment district in Arlington Heights. news.wttw.com/2025/12/18/c...
Chicago Bears’ Threat to Move to Indiana a ‘Slap in the Face,’ Gov. Pritzker’s Office Says
“The McCaskey family should focus on hosting a playoff game in a stadium that actually exists not distract by pontificating about hosting a Super Bowl in one that doesn’t,” State Rep. Kam Buckner said...
news.wttw.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Gov. JB Pritzker’s office blasted the Chicago Bears announcement that they are considering moving to Northwest Indiana, since state officials have declined to subsidize their plans to build a new stadium and entertainment district in Arlington Heights. news.wttw.com/2025/12/18/c...
In May, the Trump administration terminated the federal Digital Equity Capacity Grant, which had provided Illinois $23.7 million to give residents access to internet and digital education.
Chinatown Seniors Rely on a Digital Literacy Program. Its Future Is Uncertain Amid Federal Funding Cuts
The classes help seniors learn how to use technology — from identifying online scams to using Google Maps to navigate public transportation. Seniors develop independence and autonomy and overcome sign...
news.wttw.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:04 PM
In May, the Trump administration terminated the federal Digital Equity Capacity Grant, which had provided Illinois $23.7 million to give residents access to internet and digital education.
The Illinois Accountability Commission held its first public hearing in the Little Village neighborhood, where federal agents have repeatedly targeted residents in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. news.wttw.com/2025/12/18/o...
‘This is Only the Beginning’: Illinois Accountability Commission Hears First Testimony on Federal Agents’ Use of Force in Chicago
The Illinois Accountability Commission held its first public hearing in the Little Village neighborhood, where federal agents have repeatedly targeted residents in the predominantly Hispanic neighborh...
news.wttw.com
December 19, 2025 at 2:06 PM
The Illinois Accountability Commission held its first public hearing in the Little Village neighborhood, where federal agents have repeatedly targeted residents in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. news.wttw.com/2025/12/18/o...
Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discrimination ... don’t matter,” one attorney said. www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump
Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discriminat...
www.propublica.org
December 19, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discrimination ... don’t matter,” one attorney said. www.propublica.org/article/trum...
“Suggesting the Bears would move to Indiana is a startling slap in the face to all the beloved and loyal fans who have been rallying around the team during this strong season."
Chicago Bears’ Threat to Move to Indiana a ‘Slap in the Face,’ Gov. Pritzker Says
“The McCaskey family should focus on hosting a playoff game in a stadium that actually exists not distract by pontificating about hosting a Super Bowl in one that doesn’t,” State Rep. Kam Buckner said...
news.wttw.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:29 PM
“Suggesting the Bears would move to Indiana is a startling slap in the face to all the beloved and loyal fans who have been rallying around the team during this strong season."