Good morning, Chicago.
As Victoria stepped into Dr. Fabio Ortega’s exam room in the summer of 2017, she had no idea the gynecologist’s career was hurtling toward destruction.
Nobody at NorthShore University HealthSystem, now called Endeavor Health, told Victoria that Ortega was under police investigation, according to a lawsuit she later filed.
“That’s what angers me the most, is NorthShore knew,” Victoria said. “They could have done something.”
At least 30 women have filed lawsuits alleging that Ortega sexually assaulted them during appointments over a span of three decades at various Endeavor locations and, before that, at Swedish Hospital in Chicago. Most of the lawsuits allege that Endeavor and Swedish either knew or should have known that Ortega was a danger to patients. They contend the health system failed to protect them.
Now a Tribune investigation has pieced together the fullest picture yet of Ortega’s troubled history with patients and Endeavor’s pivotal role in keeping the doctor in place, with access to vulnerable female patients, despite multiple complaints.
Read Part 3 of our investigation.
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Despite legal limbo, Bring Chicago Home’s champions, foes continue messaging battle in final weeks before March primary
A longtime drive by a coalition of Chicago homeless advocates believe raising the real estate transfer tax on higher-end sales is the best way to secure steady funding for housing and social services.
After years of false starts and stops, the movement found new momentum when the election of Mayor Brandon Johnson sealed the placement of the question on the March primary ballot — only for a Cook County judge to disqualify the referendum more than a week ago.
With ShotSpotter staying in Chicago for the time being, dispute continues over the system’s usefulness
In recent weeks, long-standing criticisms have intensified, among them that the system is inaccurate, expensive and disproportionately harms people of color. Some attorneys argue ShotSpotter shouldn’t be used in the courtroom or on the street, claims that judges could be sorting out for months if not years to come.
Mayor Brandon Johnson was an outspoken critic of the system on the campaign trail, but what some perceive as a lack of clarity from him has only clouded the city’s future relationship with the gunshot-detection technology.
Downstate congressional race highlights the GOP’s hard move to the right
In the deeply ruby red 12th Congressional District, the state’s most Republican district encompassing all or part of 34 counties in the southernmost one-third of Illinois, former President Donald Trump looms large. From within its boundaries — the district was redrawn in 2022 following the U.S. census — Trump scored nearly 71% of the vote in the 2020 election over Democratic President Joe Biden.
How would Illinois fare if Supreme Court rules in favor of GOP states’ efforts to regulate social media platforms?
The Supreme Court cast doubt last week on state laws that could affect how Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube and other social media platforms regulate content posted by their users. Illinois legal experts say the court’s decision could have far-reaching implications for users in the state, especially in future elections.
State and federal agencies deny role in diaper shortage at Chicago’s migrant shelters
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency this week issued statements that denied their involvement in how the city distributes supplies at migrant shelters after the Tribune reported that a shortage of essential supplies was forcing some migrants to have to reuse diapers.
Eclipse chasers head to southern Illinois for 2nd total solar eclipse in 7 years: ‘You get hooked’
The contiguous United States won’t see another total eclipse until 2044, and that one will only brush Montana and North Dakota, according to NASA.
‘It’s Clarkonomics.’ WNBA teams see increase in ticket sales after Caitlin Clark announces draft plans.
Soon after Caitlin Clark announced her plans to enter the WNBA draft, the Indiana Fever’s ticket offices got noticeably busier.
Caleb Williams wants to join a team ‘that wants to win.’ Do the Chicago Bears know how? Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts from the NFL combine.
The Bears were the talk of the combine. They own the first and ninth draft picks, they have the resources and opportunity to do whatever they please in free agency and they have a decision to make with incumbent quarterback Justin Fields. And Williams was the second-most discussed subject.
Chicago’s society women threw a world’s fair of their own in the 1920s to showcase female talent
The fair encouraged women to consider a wide range of job choices by presenting flesh-and-blood examples: “Women radio workers, tentmakers, telegraphers, upholsterers, railway dairy workers and owners, editors, etchers, inventors, occupy the various booths,” the Tribune reported. At subsequent fairs, their variety was even greater:
“The 1928 fair, held at the Coliseum, had some 250 booths displaying women’s endeavors that ranged from architecture, dentistry, and engineering to banking, publishing and printing,” the Tribune wrote in a 1988 retrospective.
26 of the best corned beef sandwiches in Chicago and the suburbs, including a stunning option from John’s Food & Wine
Since Tribune food critic Louisa Kung Liu Chu started covering the corned beef beat in 2017, she’s pretty sure she’s had more styles of the sandwich than anyone in recent history. Definitely more than her primary care physician will ever know. At dozens of delis, restaurants and drive-thrus across the city and suburbs, she’s had thin sliced, thick sliced, piled high, and a few that have had her inner Clara Peller asking, where’s the beef?
But recently she had one unlike any other.
