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Dan Mihalopoulos

@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social

Investigative Reporter at WBEZ - Chicago Public Media

1343 Posts6727 Follower342 Folgt
Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · last wk.

If you've sat there on the Kennedy thinking to yourself, "This is the worst traffic ever" - well, you're exactly right, according to our @wbez.org analysis of traffic data chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

3 years after Kennedy Expressway rehab, traffic is still a nightmare

A WBEZ/Sun-Times investigation confirms one driver's lament that it was "the worst traffic I've ever had to deal with." Worse yet, epic delays persist — a year after a three-year construction project ...

chicago.suntimes.com

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 3mo ago

My editor long ago at @themaneater.bsky.social and I teamed up for this investigation into another charter school fiasco in Chicago. @sskedreporter.bsky.social and I also joined @melbalara.bsky.social on @wbez.org to talk about our latest scoop. Listen here pls! www.wbez.org/education/20...

Former charter operator Aspira declares bankruptcy, could keep profit from sale of taxpayer-funded building

Aspira Inc. of Illinois got $27 million from the state to build a modern school just 11 years ago. Now the nonprofit has declared bankruptcy and wants to sell the building for $11 million — and pocket...

wbez.org

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Thank you @citycastaustin.bsky.social and convivial host Jacoby Cochran for having me on an episode of the podcast a few days ago. Listen to us here: chicago.citycast.fm/podcasts/fun...

Funeral Home Under Investigation, Aspira Charter Files Bankruptcy, and Chicago Fire Heats Up - City Cast Chicago

The owners of multiple South Side funeral homes are under a microscope after state officials discovered they had been mismanaging human remains. La...

chicago.citycast.fm

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 3mo ago

They say the house always wins. But apparently not so when it comes to Trump in AC - or Bally's in Chicago chicago.suntimes.com/casinos-gamb...

Debt-laden Bally’s future in ‘substantial doubt’ amid video gambling dispute over Chicago casino

While the company is on the hook for about $400 million in costs over the next two years to complete its permanent complex at 777 W. Chicago Ave., Bally’s still isn’t breaking even at its temporary ca...

chicago.suntimes.com

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The governor's office declined to comment when asked by @wbez.org if Pritzker favor regular state inspections of funeral homes and tougher criminal penalties for desecrating human remains. Is Illinois really not ready for reform after what has happened (again)? chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

lllinois funeral home oversight lax compared to other states

The macabre discovery of dozens of unrefrigerated, decomposing bodies at a South Side funeral home is prompting legislative calls for tighter government regulation of an industry that has operated lar...

chicago.suntimes.com

Jon Collins@jcollins.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Legal documents released today show federal law enforcement officials extensively surveilled public meetings and activists during the ICE surge, and created dossiers on political enemies. I've been busy, but will post some takeaways on this thread soon: (1) www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Attorney: Homeland Security spied on Minnesotans who spoke out against ICE

Defense attorney Kevin Riach alleges that just four days after Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents, that Homeland Security Investigations launched Operation Puppet Master. The agency cou...

mprnews.org

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Illinois taxpayers ponied up $27M for a charter school building. 11 years later, the school is closed, and its bankrupt operator is trying to pawn off the building to a developer - for $11M chicago.suntimes.com/education/20...

Former charter operator Aspira declares bankruptcy, could keep profit from sale of taxpayer-funded building

Aspira Inc. of Illinois got $27 million from the state to build a modern school just 11 years ago. Now the nonprofit has declared bankruptcy and wants to sell the building for $11 million — and pocket...

chicago.suntimes.com

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Proud to be among the @wbez.org and @chicago.suntimes.com journalists who've won a National #Murrow Award for best news documentary from @rtdna.bsky.social for "Becoming Bovino" - a pod about the leader of Trump's anti-immigrant "blitz" in the Chicago area last year www.wbez.org/the-rundown-...

Becoming Bovino

There’s very little information online about Gregory Bovino’s background, his experience, or his rise to overnight prominence. So our team went digging – to his hometown in North Carolina, and to Cali...

wbez.org

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel defends his 2018 decision to keep the city out of the joint US/Canada/Mexico bid for this summer's World Cup finals

The New York Times@nytimes.com · 5mo ago

From @theathletic.com: When he was Chicago's mayor, Rahm Emanuel made a decision that distinguished him from many peers: he said "no" to FIFA's 2026 World Cup. The way he saw it, he was being asked to take on all the risk, while FIFA took home the rewards.  nyti.ms/4g5rxO6

“I’m not the smartest businessman but I’ve passed 8th grade math and the numbers don’t work.” - Rahm Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago, on why he said no to FIFA and the 2026 World Cup
Eric Deggans@edeggans.bsky.social · 6mo ago

WEIU-TV, a PBS affiliate at Eastern Illinois University shut down Friday due to the loss of federal funding for public media. As experts have noted, smaller rural TV and radio stations have suffered most, located where residents already have limited news sources. READ: https://loom.ly/aT-pX4w

WEIU-TV leaves airwaves after loss of federal funding - Editor and Publisher

Ten months after Congress voted to rescind federal funds for public media, the former PBS affiliate at Eastern Illinois University will cease its televised broadcasting service today, May 15. For more than 40 years, WEIU has served eastern Illinois as a public television and radio station and a training ground for student journalists at Eastern Illinois University.

editorandpublisher.com

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Samantha Steele ran for reelection as a Cook County elected official while facing a DUI case in Cook County court. She lost in the Democratic primary in March. But she won in court today chicago.suntimes.com/politics/202...

Cook County tax official Samantha Steele cleared of drunken driving charge

On Tuesday, Judge Donald Suriano handed down a not guilty verdict after finding the evidence in the 2024 case only amounted to “suspicion of intoxication.”

chicago.suntimes.com

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The DUI trial of lame-duck Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele began today. The prosecution is making their case, but they have adjourned for the day and will resume at 9 AM tomorrow, with a couple more witnesses…

Samantha Steele and her legal team leaving the courtroom today
Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Today is World Press Freedom Day. Respect first to independent Russian colleagues I’ve met over the years — none of whom still live in Russia. Our solidarity with all who are exiled from homelands where journalism is seen as a crime…

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The shooting death in the line of duty of CPD officer John Bartholomew is big news also in Greece, as he was of Greek heritage. Αιωνία η μνήμη του epolitical.gr/sikago-nekro...

Σικάγο: Νεκρός 38χρονος ομογενής αστυνομικός από πυρά κακοποιού - epolitical.gr

Βαθιά θλίψη έχει προκαλέσει στην ομογένεια του Σικάγο ο θάνατος του 38χρονου αστυνομικού John Bartholomew, ο οποίος έπεσε νεκρός από τα πυρά του 26χρονου Alfonso Talley. Το αιματηρό περιστατικό σημειώ...

epolitical.gr

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 6mo ago

“In my 25 years as a federal judge, I’ve never seen the type of brutality shown by the agents involved in Midway Blitz” chicago.suntimes.com/politics/202...

Accountability panel to urge criminal charges for federal agent misconduct during Operation Midway Blitz

Judge Rubén Castillo, chair of the Illinois Accountability Commission, made the call to action during his remarks at the commission's final hearing Tuesday. The commission was tasked with examining th...

chicago.suntimes.com

Gillian Brockell@gillianbrockell.com · 6mo ago

A well-reported update on the 15 South American people ICE sent to DR Congo two weeks ago. Trapped in a rat-infested hotel by the airport with no options but going back to the countries they fled. This is what we're doing to legal asylum-seekers who "followed the rules." www.npr.org/2026/04/28/n...

'We don't know what will happen to us': U.S. deportees in limbo in DRC

15 South American migrants and asylum seekers deported from the U.S. to the DRC are now living in uncertainty in a country an with ongoing armed conflict, where they have no ties.

npr.org

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Been reporting in Chicago long enough to have covered every City Hall IG - and more than long enough to remember when the new IG brought a federal civil fraud case vs a key Rahm Emanuel ally

The SEC's complaint alleges that Rangel negligently approved and signed a bond offering statement that omitted the charter schools' multi-million-dollar contracts with two brothers of UNO's chief operating officer -conflicted transactions that could have threatened UNO's ability to repay bond investors. "We allege that Juan Rangel signed off on the offering document without even reading it," said David Glockner, Regional Director of the SEC's Chicago Regional Office. "This kind of negligent behavior is unacceptable in the securities markets."
Chicago Sun-Times@chicago.suntimes.com · 6mo ago

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s choice to be Chicago’s new inspector general is a former federal prosecutor who helped Commonwealth Edison dig out of the federal corruption scandal that culminated in the conviction of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Four-year sentence in Oct 23. Paroled in January. In court today to face charges in murder of a CPD officer chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/0...

Suspect charged in Swedish Hospital shooting that left 1 cop dead and another 'fighting for his life'

Alphanso Talley, 26, who was released on parole early this year for a 2023 aggravated battery to a peace officer conviction, was charged with murder, attempted murder and a slew of additional charges,...

chicago.suntimes.com

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 6mo ago

So many questions about this horrible tragedy. Deepest condolences to the family of Officer John Bartholomew, the young man slain in the line of duty. May his memory be eternal. Prayers for the officer “fighting for his life” chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/0...

Suspect charged in Swedish Hospital shooting that left 1 cop dead and another 'fighting for his life'

Alphanso Talley, 26, who was released on parole early this year for a 2023 aggravated battery to a peace officer conviction, was charged with murder, attempted murder and a slew of additional charges,...

chicago.suntimes.com

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Annual Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl is today. This story comes with an interactive map so you can easily find the closest of the 84 participating bookstores to you www.wbez.org/books/2026/0...

Chicago-area bookstores are set to host their biggest celebration yet for Independent Bookstore Day

More than 80 independent bookstores will participate in the annual Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl on Independent Bookstore Day. Stores will offer special discounts and planned activities during the crawl...

wbez.org