Caroline Kubzansky

CPD officer stripped of police powers mid-deposition: ‘An unusual development’ Deposition halts when cop becomes latest member of the 1863 tactical team to be stripped of his police powers or reassigned as complaints and lawsuits about the officers have stacked up.

background: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/23/c...

‘Who does that?’ Judge scolds city for interrupting deposition to strip Chicago officer of police powers A visibly frustrated federal judge on Thursday took the city to task over the Chicago Police Department’s move to pull a North Side police officer out of a deposition late last month in order to st…

“The white shirts, or whatever we’re calling them, must know he’s a problem. What’s happening at CPD HQ that this has to happen in the middle of the deposition?”
- federal judge on the move to strip a disgraced tact cop of his powers at an unusual moment

www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/05/i...

Art I am thinking about: The Lonely Doll, by Dare Wright. About a doll and two bears and belonging with others.

Chicago sees exodus of immigration judges during Trump’s second term Of the 21 judges who worked at the city’s immigration court in January 2025, nine judges have resigned, taken buyouts or been terminated, a Tribune review found.

Chicago's immigration court is down ~half the judges who were with the court in January 2025 (they quit, were fired or got DOGE'd). Currently there are 14 permanent and two temporary judges hearing a nearly all-time high number of cases. For @chicagotribune.com
www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/02/c...

The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune Win 2026 Toner Prizes for Excellence in Political Reporting The Washington Post won the 2026 Toner Prize for national political reporting. The Chicago Tribune won for local political reporting. Ceremony set for March 23 in Washington, D.C.

Proud to be sharing this award with my fantastic colleagues @royalpratt.bsky.social @andrew-carter.bsky.social @lauranrodriguez.bsky.social @ckubzansky.bsky.social
Thanks @newhousesu.bsky.social
and to the entire Tribune newsroom for its immigration coverage
newhouse.syracuse.edu/news/the-was...

Watched this story come together from a base of about 50 gazillion court reoccurs and now I can tell all of you: read it!

CPD cop stripped of police powers mid-deposition: ‘An unusual development:’ Deposition halts when cop becomes latest member of the 1863 tactical team to be stripped of his police powers or reassigned as complaints and lawsuits about the officers have stacked up.

News: A 5th member of an embattled tactical team was stripped of his police powers, in the middle of a deposition for one of the lawsuits where he's named as a defendant.
"This was – to put it mildly – an unusual development."
www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/23/c...

And arrests are still continuing, just fewer of them. for @chicagotribune.com

Screws tightening for immigrant detainees swept up in Operation Midway Blitz as arrests continue Those arrested during and after Operation Midway Blitz are facing a rapidly shifting legal and administrative landscape with fewer and narrower paths to securing legal status and continuing their l…

"From August to October... the main risk for (immigrants in Chicago) was that they were going to get arrested. It's still a risk but in its place is this risk that the government will have found a way to just kick your whole immigration case out."
www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/23/o...

Thanks Grace :)

64 days in Chicago: The story of Operation Midway Blitz President Donald Trump’s federal immigration enforcement operation led to most surreal autumn in Chicago history. What happened during those 64 days will be remembered for a long time.

Congratulations to 2026 Shadid Award finalists @royalpratt.bsky.social, @lauranrodriguez.bsky.social, @ckubzansky.bsky.social, @jmetr22b.bsky.social & @andrew-carter.bsky.social (chicagotribune.com) for reporting on the mass deportation effort in Chicago.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/28/c...

Hi, bsky. Working on a story about how federal immigration arrests have carried on in and around Chicago even without Cmdr. Bovino and CBP roving around here. If you have been involved in an arrest — as a bystander, protester, community support worker etc — I would love to talk to you. Email in bio.

Chicago Police Brass Had Rejected Troubled Cop's Move to Elite Unit Before He Fatally Shot Partner The chief of patrol approved Officer Carlos Baker’s transfer despite denying his request for the move less than a year earlier because of “discipline’ problems.

illinoisanswers.org/2026/01/15/c... My latest with @schuba.bsky.social and Peter Nickeas about the tac team cop who shot and killed his partner. After Carlos Baker's initial rejection, Baker's district commander approved his promotion even after Baker disobeyed orders and cussed out his sergeant

Looking forward to this conversation with @aliceyin.bsky.social and @ctoner.bsky.social and people interested in Chicago journalism on Friday night!

Updated story here: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/13/c...

So, that's it til Friday at 11:30.

Tracey family attorney read a brief statement on behalf of his clients, thanking CPD and Cook Co. state's attorney's office for their work on the case.

"(Beckerink) must now be held accountable for his actions in the days and months that led to this moment," statement says.

Defense attorney Todd Pugh is asking to delay the detention hearing til Friday so he can look through the paperwork prosecutors have handed over. Ortiz says that's fine but Beckerink will be detained til then.

State is seeking detention. Beckerink is wearing a blue sweatshirt, glasses and blue pants.

Tracey's family got here a few minutes ago. Judge Ortiz is walking everyone through ground rules. Beckerink just appeared.

Chicago man charged with throwing ex-wife Caitlin Tracey down Loop high-rise to make first appearance Adam Beckerink, her estranged husband, was set to make his first appearance Tuesday morning in Cook County court to face murder charges.

At Leighton Criminal Courthouse for Adam Beckerink's detention hearing. Beckerink is charged with throwing his estranged wife over a 24th-floor stairwell railing in a South Loop high-rise in Oct. 2024, killing her. @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/13/c...

Minnesota shooting raises questions about who investigates federal agents Many in the Chicago area, where residents are still reeling from more than two months of chaos during Operation Midway Blitz, have revived a legal question of whether state and local agencies can i…

“This is an administration that puts a lot of its chips on immunity.”
After an immigration agent killed a woman in Minnesota, calls have mounted for state and local authorities to criminally investigate the feds’ actions
But that’s easier said than done: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/11/i...

The Winter I Learned What a Fourth Down Was

I'm really tired.

Residents, activists, officials demand police oversight board open inquiry into CPD’s actions during Midway Blitz Chicago residents, activists and elected officials demanded that the city’s civilian police oversight board launch a thorough probe into how the Chicago Police Department has interacted with …

Residents, activists, officials demand that the CCPSA hold a hearing/more thorough probe into CPD's role in blitz: “You have state power. (Expletive) use it. This body is not supposed to be a nice line on your resume.” Photos by @jkimpictures.bsky.social
www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/09/r...

I’m wearing my professional reporter outfit (yellow raincoat two sizes two big for me) to this CCPSA meeting, everyone come say hi

Video: Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis An analysis of footage from three camera angles shows that the motorist was driving away from — not toward — a federal officer when he opened fire.

The shooting of Renee Good by ICE: An analysis of footage from three camera angles shows that the motorist was driving away from — not toward — a federal officer when he opened fire. From the @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...

Feds’ statements after Minneapolis driver killed by ICE officer echo pattern from Midway Blitz in Chicago The feds’ statement recalls claims from DHS in the aftermath of two federal agent-involved shootings that took place during Chicago’s “Operation Midway Blitz.”

From Chicago’s Operation Midway Blitz to Minneapolis, the pattern is familiar: ICE shooting, DHS claims self-defense, then evidence that appears to tell a different story. My pal @ckubzansky.bsky.social digs into the parallels: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/07/f...

JUST IN: A newly filed indictment alleges for the first time that a pistol found on Hector Gomez in Little Village in November had been used to fire shots toward Border Patrol agents earlier that day:

Tuesday dinner: vegetable risotto, arugula salad, apple crumble with ice cream. Highlight was crumble, by Leah.