David Struett
@davidstruett.bsky.social
Chicago Sun-Times reporter, assistant news desk editor https://chicago.suntimes.com/authors/david-struett
'CTA boss avoids potential grilling for second time as Council members skip meeting' ... for the @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...
CTA boss avoids potential grilling for second time as Council members skip meeting
It was supposed to be the Transportation Committee's second special quarterly meeting this year, where Council members can question CTA interim President Nora Leerhsen.
chicago.suntimes.com
No ticket to the Obama Center opening? No problem. Several dozen people without access to the invite-only performance, and nearby sold-out watch party, gathered as close as they physically could along a tall fence at 60th Street and Stony Island Avenue...
Not everyone is celebrating the Obama Center's opening. Picketers outside the center held signs reading "Justice for Obama Builders." They claim that several subcontractors haven't been paid for their work to build the center, with unpaid bills adding up to millions of dollars...
Attending the Obama Center opening watch party was a full-circle moment for three coworkers taking a Metra train to Hyde Park. They scored tickets through their philanthropic workplace—just as they had nearly two decades ago when they attended Obama's 2008 Grant Park party...
Chicago City Council just approved the purchase of the South Loop Greyhound station for $19 million. This means, by late summer, the city could be running its first public-owned intercity bus terminal.
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 dstruett@suntimes.com
Here's my latest on Illinois' e-bike regulation bill that passed in Springfield earlier this week. Riders of e-bikes that can go faster than 28 mph would be subject to DUI laws, required to carry registration, insurance, and be prohibited from bike lanes/paths chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
E-bikes faster than 28 mph would require insurance, registration under bill passed by Illinois lawmakers
The bill awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker's signature would classify e-devices that travel over 28 mph as motor vehicles starting Jan. 1, 2027 and subject those riders to the state's drunk driving laws.
chicago.suntimes.com
“Sam 'Cheezborger' Sianis, legendary owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, dies at 91” by Mitch Dudek for @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/obituaries/2...
Sam 'Cheezborger' Sianis, legendary owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, dies at 91
Mr. Sianis was happy to see the "Curse of the Billy Goat" his uncle placed on the Cubs broken when the team won the World Series in 2016.
chicago.suntimes.com
This story's been living rent-free in my brain: On average, an L rider gets shoved onto the tracks from CTA platforms every month chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog... by Robert Herguth and @davidstruett.bsky.social
On average, an L rider gets shoved onto the tracks from CTA platforms every month
Sometimes that's happening amid a robbery, fight or other crime. Sometimes the pushing is accidental. Sometimes it's random. There have been more than 60 incidents over the last five years, recently o...
chicago.suntimes.com
JUST IN: U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis will preside over a lawsuit filed by Illinois and Chicago this week against the Trump administration challenging Operation Midway Blitz. Ellis takes over after granting a motion for reassignment.
Jon Seidel@jonseidel.bsky.social · 7mo agoEllis: "Finding a case related does not mean that they are consolidated. They are not one case. They are simply two cases that are related to each other."
'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...
Ignored, misdiagnosed, left to die — Illinois prisoners’ health in hands of new provider with shoddy track record
A Sun-Times review of more than 100 lawsuits against Centurion Health shows a recurring pattern: People in prison repeatedly complain about a health issue, are ignored by correctional and medical staf...
chicago.suntimes.com
Dr. Carrie Soloway, Chicago psychiatrist who was inspiration for Amazon show 'Transparent,' dies at 88... story by Mitch Dudek for @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/obituaries/2...
Dr. Carrie Soloway, Chicago psychiatrist who was inspiration for Amazon show Transparent, dies at 88
Dr. Soloway practiced in Chicago for more than 40 years before the world came to know their story.
chicago.suntimes.com
"Andrea Hanis, veteran Chicago newspaper editor, dies at 56. 'She lived and breathed integrity and good journalism'" for the @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/obituaries/2...
Andrea Hanis, veteran Chicago newspaper editor, dies at 56
From her first job at the Chicago Sun-Times, Andrea Hanis took on editor roles at the Tribune, Crain's Chicago Business and her last job as editor of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, bringing energy an...
chicago.suntimes.com
'Metra’s leaders approved a budget that spares riders from a fare hike next year, but they acknowledged it won’t be an express train to the hoped-for transformational service expansion.' chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
Metra approves budget with no fare hike, 'modest' service increase
The agency won't see any service cuts next year, thanks to the $1.5 billion transit bailout passed in Springfield last month. But Metra's $1.2 billion proposed budget, passed Thursday by the agency's ...
chicago.suntimes.com
Some Chicago-area air travelers are anxious and scrambling, uncertain if their upcoming flights will be impacted by cut in air traffic at the country’s biggest airports, including O’Hare and Midway @caseyhe.com chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
Chicago air travelers on edge ahead of FAA's planned 10% air traffic cuts
Airlines are bracing for mass cancellations as unpaid air traffic controllers strain under a historic government shutdown, while anxious fliers wait to learn if their weekend plans will take off.
chicago.suntimes.com
CTA, Metra and Pace planned to raise fares in 2026 — no matter what happened in Springfield with the transit bill. Now that the $1.5B funding package passed the General Assembly, the RTA is nixing its call for the proposed fare increases. @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
RTA walks back 2026 fare increases for CTA, Metra and Pace
The RTA, which must approve each of the agencies' budgets this month, had insisted they each include the fare hike, even if state lawmakers approved a $1.5 billion spending package — which lawmakers d...
chicago.suntimes.com
'CTA hopes this kind of rush hour — subway surfing — doesn't take root here as it has in New York.' For the @chicago.suntimes.com with Robert Herguth chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...
CTA hopes this kind of rush hour — subway surfing — doesn't take root here as it has in New York
A longtime practitioner of the dangerous practice in Chicago tends to agree, pointing to the deaths and injuries on the New York transit system as “pretty sad — I was lucky enough to understand what I...
chicago.suntimes.com
Weeks after Cardinal Blase Cupich caused a national uproar by proposing to bestow an award to U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, a prominent abortion rights supporter, Pope Leo XIV signaled he still has Cupich’s back. @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/religion/202...
Pope Leo appoints Cupich to Vatican post weeks after Durbin award controversy
The post to the pontifical commission for the Vatican City State is not hugely influential, but the appointment nonetheless shows the pope is not running away from Cupich.
chicago.suntimes.com
Chicago's airports are refusing to play a video of DHS Sec. Kristi Noem accusing Democrats of government shutdown. My reporting for the @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/politics/202...
O'Hare, Midway refuse to play video of Kristi Noem accusing Democrats of government shutdown
They join a growing list of airports refusing to play a video from Department of Homeland Security Secretary due to its partisan messaging.
chicago.suntimes.com
'Texas National Guard members arrive at Chicago area military training facility' chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
Texas National Guard members arrive at Chicago area military training facility
Military troops arrived at an Elwood training center after weeks of threats from President Donald Trump's administration, over the objections of local leaders.
chicago.suntimes.com
Chicago is expanding its speed camera program. Here's the city's top-ticketing cameras and some analysis about whether the program is fair. Written with Alden Loury for the @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
New Chicago speed cameras drive surge in tickets. 'I won't drive down the street'
The city's 186 speed cameras issued more than 240,000 tickets in June, when 22 new cameras came online. That's the most in any month in nearly three years.
chicago.suntimes.com
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...
A decade ago, the city committed to eliminating traffic deaths by 2026. It's not even close.
Despite an ambitious plan by the city to eliminate all traffic deaths by next year, nearly as many people are dying on Chicago roads as when the goal was announced in 2017. The number of yearly injuri...
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Wheelie rider crash prompts reckoning for Orland’s Critical Mass www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/16/o...
Orlando Critical Mass bike ride has moment of reckoning following hit-and-run accident
Orlando Critical Mass, a gathering of hundreds of cyclists that takes over the streets on the last Friday night of every month, has faced challenges posed by reckless riders. One of them clipped a …
orlandosentinel.com
'Are ghost buses all but gone? Canceled CTA buses will now be noted on tracker apps' @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
Are ghost buses all but gone? Canceled CTA buses will now be noted on tracker apps
For the first time, the Chicago Transit Authority is sharing data about which buses have been canceled so they don't show up as "scheduled" buses in transit apps.
chicago.suntimes.com
I spent the last few weeks talking to bike messengers in Chicago. Here’s the story about them chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/07...
Meet Chicago's last bike messengers. Here's how they survive.
The pandemic was devastating to the courier business, but it survived. The industry is a far cry from where it was in its heyday a few decades ago, but the culture and camaraderie remain, couriers say...
chicago.suntimes.com
'History shows the new cameras will issue significantly more tickets in their first days as drivers adjust their speeding habits.' @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
16 new Chicago speed cameras to start ticketing drivers just days from now
History shows the new cameras will issue significantly more tickets in their first days as drivers adjust their speeding habits.
chicago.suntimes.com
“Syndicated content in Sun-Times special section included AI-generated misinformation” chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/05...
Syndicated content in Sun-Times special section included AI-generated misinformation
A Chicago freelance journalist said he did not fact-check information he compiled using AI before including it in stories for media clients.
chicago.suntimes.com
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.
A juror appeared to faint faint during a doctor's testimony in the trial of 11-year-old Jayden Perkin's alleged killer. He was stabbed after trying to save his mother from an ex-partner — a day after the ex-partner was paroled. chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2025/0...
Juror appears to faint during doctor's testimony at trial for Jayden Perkins murder
The juror jerked backward, then fell to the floor as Dr. Andrea Geddes explained that Jayden's mother had been stabbed 15 times.
chicago.suntimes.com
'Thousands of Uber riders could be in line for refunds — and Uber could face hefty fines — after the ride hailing company acknowledged that it improperly charged a $1.50 downtown congestion outside the hours it was supposed to be applied.' @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
Chicago investigates Uber overcharges, how many riders might be in line for refunds
The city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection has launched a sweeping investigation to determine how many Uber riders were victimized by the overcharges.
chicago.suntimes.com