The Latest Breaking News from Mitchell Armentrout

City scofflaws and debtors, it’s time to pony up

Chicago has amassed more than $6.4 billion in unpaid fees and fines over the last three decades. It won’t be possible to recoup all that money, but city officials should be aggressive about getting what they can.

Chicago Sun-Times · Dec 7, 2023

In Ed Burke’s 14th Ward, big frustration with politicians persists: ‘They’re all kind of crooked, I guess’

Residents of the ward aren’t optimistic Burke’s trial — or even former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s federal trial next year — will clean up Chicago corruption.

Chicago Sun-Times · Nov 7, 2023

Copi dokey? Illinoisans getting hooked on renamed invasive carp delicacies at State Fair

Fairgoers have chowed down on various forms of copi, better known until last year as Asian carp, the invasive fish that has wreaked havoc on Illinois ecosystems. Copi rangoon, sliders or empanadas, anyone?

Chicago Sun-Times · Aug 18, 2023

Numbers tell Illinois’ dismal COVID story, early voting begins and more in your Chicago news roundup

Today’s update is about an eight-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Chicago Sun-Times · Mar 20, 2023

The mental toll on guaranteed income pilot applicants, mayoral candidates’ last push and more in your Chicago news roundup

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

Chicago Sun-Times · Feb 27, 2023

200 interviews and some surprising finds on ‘Pulse of the Heartland’ beat

Old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting in three Illinois cities before the midterms helped me quickly dispel assumptions about voters.

Chicago Sun-Times · Dec 16, 2022

Pulse of the Heartland: Freeport voters fear scary times ahead — but split on whether Trump or Biden is the boogeyman

The Sun-Times spoke with Freeport residents to gauge what’s on their minds days before Tuesday’s election, and their responses were fittingly diverse for a blue-leaning city in a blood-red county. Patty Tricker worries that Democrats are “all too happy to let criminals roam free.” But Gary…

Chicago Sun-Times · Nov 5, 2022

Pulse of the Heartland: Peoria yearning for the middle in a nation of angry extremes: ‘It just makes your heart sink’

Some Peoria residents say it feels like politicians are less and less interested in finding the center their city has long represented — and instead are more focused on playing to extremes. “It seems like there is no middle ground out there anymore,” one resident said.

Chicago Sun-Times · Oct 20, 2022

Pulse of the Heartland: Waukegan voters tired of pols who sail into their harbor city before elections then leave them adrift

Residents told the Sun-Times they want public officials to take a holistic approach to the problems facing their lakefront city. “So it’s not just, oh, do this, vote this way, and boom, now we’re good. We need leaders who take a macro vision,” said photographer Jordan Esparza-Kelley.

Chicago Sun-Times · Sep 26, 2022

Bailey visits South Side mass shooting scene: ‘It breaks my heart ... to see what’s happening across Chicago’

“Those affected by the senseless shootings in Washington Park, Garfield Park and the families of the more than 500 people ... killed in Chicago this year — I want you to know that I am fighting to end this bloodshed,” the Illinois GOP candidate for governor said. But dozens of…

Chicago Sun-Times · Sep 14, 2022