The Latest Breaking News from Cook county

As thousands of Chicagoans took to the streets during 2020′s nationwide racial reckoning on policing, one word captured the fury of that summer: “Defund.”

Scheduling conflicts kept Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson and businessman Willie Wilson away from the forum, so community activist Ja’Mal Green and retiring Ald. Roderick Sawyer had the stage to themselves.

As they prepare to elect their next mayor, city voters chose crime and public safety as the top issue guiding their decisions — and a whopping 63% of them don’t feel safe, a Sun-Times/WBEZ/Telemundo Chicago/NBC5 Poll found. But differences of opinions emerged among voters of different racial…

Nine mayoral candidates are vying to be your pick on Feb. 28. Read our profiles of each contender here.

Johnson’s lengthy list includes“training and promoting” 200 new detectives and launching a “comprehensive efficiency audit” to identify savings, such as streamlining the number of “non-sergeant” police supervisors.

Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

The Cook County commissioner who’s backed by the Chicago Teachers Union also plans to create a “robust” youth hiring program to “give our young people hope.”

Fighting for her political life, Mayor Lori Lightfoot called Jesus “Chuy” Garcia the “original defunder” of police and Paul Vallas a resume inflater who takes his marching orders from the Fraternal Order of Police and its “repugnant” president John Catanzara.

All nine mayoral candidates have released at least a brief public safety plan — or, in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s case, touted what she posed as her achievements in office.

Morrison got the money in his tight reelection race from a nonprofit that has financial ties to a PAC funded by the billionaire.

Mayoral challenger Brandon Johnson, the Cook County commissioner and Chicago Teachers Union organizer, came out swinging during a free-wheeling interview with the Chicago Sun-Times.