Good afternoon, Chicago.
The city agency in charge of the Chicago Police Department’s oversight bodies announced yesterday that the interim leader of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability would be nominated to oversee the office permanently.
LaKenya White has led COPA since March 2025, following the resignation of former chief administrator Andrea Kersten. At the monthly meeting of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, commissioners moved to nominate her to be approved by the full City Council.
Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.
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Chicago police guard a crime scene in the 5700 block of South May Street in Chicago after 13 people were shot on Dec. 22, 2019. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
One detective’s work demonstrates how CPD improved the homicide clearance rate
Records obtained by the Tribune detail how one of the Chicago Police Department’s most effective homicide investigators recently closed a 5-year-old cold case, helping to raise the department’s murder clearance rate to its highest level in more than a decade. Read more here.
More top news stories:
Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark has died, city says
Teen accused of stabbing pregnant Downers Grove mom critically injured in custody, sheriff’s office says
Kevin Warsh speaks to the media Dec. 11, 2014, about his report on transparency at the Bank of England, in London. (Alastair Grant/APl)
Trump names former Federal Reserve official Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair to replace Powell
The appointment, which requires Senate confirmation, amounts to a return trip for Kevin Warsh, 55, who was a member of the Fed’s board from 2006 to 2011. Read more here.
More top business stories:
22 people left sick after ‘accidental chemical release’ at Goldfish Swim School, Park Ridge officials say
FDA issues recall for multiple products, including Cheerios, Advil and Nutella, after rodent and bird droppings found at distribution facility
Nicholas, left, shakes hands with White Sox manager Will Venable during a community event Jan. 29, 2026, at the Bartlett J. McCartin Boys & Girls Club in Bridgeport. (Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune)
3 Chicago White Sox takeaways as spring training nears, including options to replace Luis Robert Jr. in center
General manager Chris Getz and manager Will Venable looked back at the offseason and ahead to spring training — which begins with pitchers and catchers reporting to Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 10 — as SoxFest Live takes place this weekend at the Ramova Theatre in Bridgeport. Here are three takeaways from the sessions. Read more here.
More top sports stories:
How coach Chris Holtmann is attacking the challenge of ‘overcoming the perception’ at DePaul
4 takeaways from the Chicago Bulls’ 116-113 loss to the Miami Heat, including Ayo Dosunmu’s 4th-quarter effort
Struggling Chicago Blackhawks allow 4 second-period goals in another blowout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins
Dr. Martin Luther King is played by Edwin Edvanzd, center, who speaks during a staged reading of “Lawndale King” by Collaboraction Theatre Company at the Chicago History Museum on Jan. 19, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Willie Round’s ‘Lawndale King’ recounts the history that MLK made in North Lawndale
Willie Round’s work, about Martin Luther King Jr.’s eight-month stay in a Chicago apartment in 1966, recently received a staged reading by Collaboraction Theatre Company at the Chicago History Museum. Read more here.
More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories:
Patti LuPone talks about her concert ‘Matters of the Heart’ at the Auditorium Theatre, and some Mamet memories
Catherine O’Hara, Emmy-winning comedian of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ‘SCTV’ fame, dies at 71
A photo of Alex Pretti is displayed during a vigil for Pretti held by nurses and their supporters outside VA NY Harbor Healthcare System on Jan. 29, 2026, in New York. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)
DOJ has opened a federal civil rights probe into the death of Alex Pretti
The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident killed Saturday by Border Patrol officers, federal officials said today. Read more here.
More top stories from around the world:
Journalist Don Lemon is charged with federal civil rights crimes in anti-ICE church protest
Justice Department says it’s releasing 3 million pages from its Jeffrey Epstein files
