Chicago's top 10 stories of 2024: From dual cicada broods' emergence to Mayor Johnson's civic clashes

CHICAGO (CBS) — It's been a busy year in the news in Illinois – from Mayor Brandon Johnson's frequent clashes with the City Council over getting rid of the city's ShotSpotter gunshot detection system to the end of the more than five-year-long Jussie Smollett saga.

Here's a look at some of the biggest stories to make headlines in 2024:

Mayor Johnson's political clashes over ShotSpotter, CPS, city budget

It wasn't exactly a banner year for the first-term mayor.

First, Johnson spent months sparring with aldermen over his decision to end the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system, which he has argued was ineffective, but which his critics said helps save lives. Aldermen tried multiple times to force Johnson to keep ShotSpotter in place, but he argued that City Council votes seeking to keep ShotSpotter were unenforceable, and he took the system offline in September.

Even as that fight was going on, Johnson faced months of turmoil at the Chicago Public Schools as he sparred with CEO Pedro Martinez over the district's finances, before the entire school board stepped down in October. 

After picking a new board just days later, the incoming school board president was soon forced to resign over a series of controversial comments. 

Johnson replaced his first pick for school board president, and at a special meeting on the Friday evening before the week of Christmas, the mayor's hand-picked school board voted to fire Martinez without cause.

Because Martinez was terminated without cause, his contract with CPS allows him to stay on the job for six months, and receive 20 weeks of severance based on his salary of more than $360,000.

Martinez's firing came just hours after his attorney filed a lawsuit against the school board, accusing them of breaching Martinez's contract, and raising concerns about whether the new board members had the authority to fire Martinez, claiming they haven't completed mandatory training.

All this came as voters in November elected 10 members of a hybrid 21-member school board that will take office in January, alongside 11 members picked by the mayor. Johnson's critics have said his chosen school board should not have moved to remove Martinez until the full new board took office.

To cap it all off, Johnson needed four tries at his 2025 budget plan, and 6 ½ weeks of tense negotiations with the City Council to get his $17 billion spending plan passed, and even then it only came with a razor-thin margin. 

Johnson originally proposed a $300 million property tax hike to help eliminate a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall for next year, but it was swiftly and unanimously voted down by the City Council, forcing him to hit the reset button on his budget plan. Even after reducing his property tax proposal to $150 million, and then to $68 million, Johnson was unable to get the votes he needed, forcing him to abandon a property tax hike altogether.

While the mayor's approved budget plan no longer includes a property tax hike in 2025, it does rely on $165 million in other increased taxes, fines, and fees. Many alders who opposed the final budget plan said it kicks the can down the road and will necessitate even bigger tax hikes to account for even bigger deficits in the future — and thus will haunt the alders who voted yes. But even the alders who did vote yes said the budget process was clunky and further undermined confidence in the mayor. 

Ald. Maria Hadden (49th), co-chair of the City Council Progressive Caucus, a group of 19 alders who are usually the mayor's closest allies, took Johnson's administration to task for delaying the process of approving a budget and ignoring or rebuffing those who criticized the mayor's plan. Hadden said the mayor's handling of the budget process has left the City Council "fractured," and makes it more difficult for Chicago taxpayers to trust city government.

Killing of Sonya Massey by sheriff's deputy sparks nationwide outrage

Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, was killed on July 6 after Sangamon County Sheriff's deputies responded to a call about a possible prowler at her home in Springfield, Illinois. Deputy Sean Grayson, who is white and has a lengthy history of misconduct, shot her three times inside her home.

Grayson was fired after the shooting and charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors said he "aggressively yelled" at Massey to put a pot down during a confrontation inside her home, and then she put her hands in the air, declared "I'm sorry," and ducked for cover before Grayson shot her in the face. Grayson also discouraged his partner from getting his medical kit and trying to save her life, prosecutors said.

Grayson had a disciplinary file that included accusations of bullying behavior and abuse of power, records obtained by CBS News show. He'd also twice pleaded guilty to driving under the influence before becoming a police officer, and served on six law enforcement agencies in four years.

In November, an appeals court panel ruled Grayson should be released from jail while he awaits trial, but prosecutors plan to appeal that ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court, arguing he's a threat to public safety.

Chicago police shoot and kill Dexter Reed during controversial traffic stop

In March, Chicago police officers shot and killed 26-year-old Dexter Reed during a traffic stop in Humboldt Park. Although video footage released by the city's police oversight agency shows Reed shot a police officer in the hand before officers opened fire, questions have been raised about why police stopped him in the first place.

Body camera footage that has since been made public shows officers firing a total of 96 shots in 41 seconds, including after Reed got out of his car and fell to the ground. Officials have said three of the officers reloaded and continued shooting during the encounter, including one officer who fired at least 50 shots, including three while Reed was lying motionless on the ground.

Within days of the shooting, Civilian Office of Police Accountability Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten sent a letter to CPD Supt. Larry Snelling casting doubt on the officers' explanation for the traffic stop. She said COPA had been informed Reed was stopped for not wearing a seat belt, but claimed "available evidence calls into question the veracity of this account."

"Specifically, COPA is uncertain how the officers could have seen this seatbelt violation given their location relative to [the] vehicle and the dark tints on vehicle windows," Kersten wrote. "This evidence raises serious concerns about the validity of the traffic stop that led to the officers' encounter [Reed]."

Kersten also noted COPA had another investigation open for a traffic stop involving the same five officers, which occurred less than a month earlier and which was also purported to be based on a seatbelt violation.

After Reed's family filed a federal lawsuit against the city over the fatal shooting, attorneys for the city filed court documents contradicted the initial account of the traffic stop, claiming police stopped Reed for driving a car with illegally tinted windows.

COPA is continuing to evaluate the entire shootout, including the officers' actions before the shooting, and whether officers properly followed training and CPD directives.

Meantime, a potential settlement has been reached in the Reed family's lawsuit. In a joint filing in late November, attorneys for the city and Reed's family notified the court they have reached a settlement agreement that must be approved by the City Council. Terms of the proposed settlement have not yet been made public.

Two Chicago police officers and an Oak Park police officer were shot and killed in the line of duty

In three separate shootings, two Chicago police officers and an Oak Park police detective were killed in the line of duty this year.

Officer Luis Huesca, a six-year veteran of the force, was returning home from his shift on April 21, when he was shot and killed while still in uniform outside his home in Gage Park. Huesca was two days away from his 31st birthday at the time.

More than a week later, police arrested 22-year-old Xavier Tate Jr., who is now charged with first-degree murder in Huesca's death.

While Huesca's vehicle was stolen after the shooting, police have not said if robbery was the motive for the shooting.

On Nov. 4, Chicago Police Officer Enrique Martinez was shot and killed during a traffic stop in the East Chatham neighborhood.

Police said Darion McMillian, 23, shot and killed Martinez and the driver of the car McMillian was in, after Martinez and his partner had stopped a vehicle with three people inside for blocking traffic. McMillian is now charged with murder.

On Nov. 29, Oak Park Police Detective Allan Reddins was responding to a call of a person with a gun leaving a Chase Bank on Lake Street, when the gunman shot and killed him.

Police announced that 37-year-old Jerell Thomas was charged with first-degree murder in Reddins' death.

Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard under scrutiny for handling of village finances

Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard has frequently clashed with several members of the village board of trustees, who have accused her of financial mismanagement and other misconduct.

In April, the FBI searched Dolton Village Hall, as part of what a spokesperson called "court-authorized, investigative activity." While the FBI would not elaborate on the investigation and did not say if Henyard specifically was a target, the search came after Dolton village trustees requested a federal probe of mismanagement of funds under Henyard.

Meantime, the village also hired former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to investigate Henyard's handling of village finances. In a preliminary report released in August, Lightfoot said the village's general fund had a negative balance of $3.65 million as of May 31, 2024.

According to Lightfoot's report, the village's credit card spending is out of control, with receipts for purchases rarely provided. Lightfoot also noted spikes in overtime spending, noting two officers racked up overtime to the point of nearly doubling their salaries.

In September, a judge granted an order forbidding Henyard from making appointments to various village jobs without the consent of trustees. The order came after Henyard appointed a new village manager to replace Keith Freeman, who has been indicted on fraud charges, as well as a new village attorney and police chief, without the board's approval.

Earlier this month, Henyard – who also serves as Thornton Township Supervisor – was denied a place on next year's ballot to run for a second term in Thornton Township.

At a Democratic Party Caucus for the south suburban township, Henyard had her name denied for the Democratic ballot because she did not have a full slate as required.

All township supervisor hopefuls needed all eight people for their slate — supervisor, highway director, clerk, assessor, and four trustees. Henyard did not have a certified assessor on her ticket, and therefore, was deemed not valid to be considered for nomination.

However, Henyard has said that caucus process was "illegal" and has threatened to sue, saying she's confident she'll eventually be on the ballot in April.

Cook County judge under fire for handling of domestic violence rulings removed from cases after facing threats

Cook County Judge Thomas Nowinski, already under fire for releasing a man who later allegedly killed his wife, has been removed from cases involving domestic violence due to threats directed at him.

The move came after a call for Judge Nowinski to be reassigned following the death of 54-year-old Lacramioara Beldie, who was stabbed to death by her husband last month in Portage Park. An off-duty Chicago police detective was shot while trying to stop the attack. 

Lacramioara's husband, Constantin Beldie, 57, escaped but was later found dead inside a vehicle a block away, after taking his own life.

It turns out there were numerous attempts by Lacramioara Beldie to get help before the attack, and repeated failures to protect the wife and mother from her accused abuser.

But in October, Constantin was charged with aggravated domestic battery and attempted kidnapping, after he allegedly approached her in an alleyway and beat and dragged her to his car, where she screamed until she escaped. According to court records, evidence in that case included a witness and surveillance video.

Prosecutors in that case asked Judge Thomas Nowinski to order Constantin held in Cook County Jail while he awaited trial, but Nowinski denied that motion, and instead released him on electronic monitoring.

Nowinski is the same judge who denied an emergency protective order in another high-profile case.

In March, 11-year-old Jayden Perkins was stabbed to death trying to protect his mom, just weeks after she tried and failed to get an order of protection against her accused abuser, Crosetti Brand, who is charged in Jayden's murder.

Nowinski denied that protection order, noting Brand was in prison at the time. However, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board granted Brand parole in February, allowing him to be released from prison a day before the attack. At the time, the board was not aware that Perkins' mother had been seeking an order of protection against Brand.

The Chief Judge's office said a preliminary examination of the Beldie case indicated that Judge Nowinski was given incomplete information — and made the best decisions with the information he knew.

The Chief Judge's office said it is working to determine whether any employee failed to follow policies and procedures, and will provide additional training to all judges who hear cases on domestic violence and orders of protection.

Two massive broods of cicadas emerge in Illinois

This past spring, billions of cicadas emerged from underground to swarm Illinois and several other states.

Illinois saw more cicadas than most other states as, for the first time since 1803, two separate broods of cicadas emerged at the same time. One group emerges from their underground burrows every 13 years; the other emerges every 17 years.

Their emergence prompted warnings for pet owners, as some veterinarians got calls about pets that had eaten too many of the noisy insects.

The cicada emergence was such a popular topic on social media, one Chicago area woman posted more than 4,600 pictures of them on the Cicada Safari app for cicada enthusiasts.

Another woman who collected thousands of cicadas during visits around the state said she can't wait for them to return in 2041.

Bettina Sailer made 18 different trips to various suburbs and even to the capital city of Springfield, and brought thousands of cicadas home to a netted sanctuary she built in the now shin-high grass of her front yard in North Aurora.

Periodical cicadas used to reliably emerge every 13 or 17 years, depending on their brood. But in a warming world where spring conditions arrive sooner, climate change has been messing with the bugs' internal alarm clocks. 

Scientists believe that cicadas count years through the change in fluid flow in tree roots, and when their year to emerge arrives, they stay underground until the soil temperature reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit. Spring-like conditions now occur earlier, with the season warming 2 degrees Fahrenheit across the U.S. since 1970, according to Climate Central, a nonprofit researching climate change. 

Cicada watchers used to be able to predict their emergence as easily as astronomers could predict the recent solar eclipse. But that has become more challenging as the cicadas' patterns are changing as warm spring days happen more often.

Actor Jussie Smollett's hate crime hoax conviction overturned by Illinois Supreme Court

In November, the Illinois Supreme Court brought an end to former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett's five-year legal drama, overturning his conviction for allegedly staging a hate crime against himself in Chicago in 2019.

The state's highest court did not weigh in on the merits of the case against Smollett, ruling only that his constitutional rights were violated when he was prosecuted a second time, after the original charges against him were dropped in 2019.

Smollett was convicted of five counts of disorderly conduct and sentenced to 150 days in jail in 2021, but was released after only six days behind bars while he appealed his case. Smollett has maintained his innocence from the beginning.

Smollett claimed he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack near his Streeterville apartment in January 2019 after he walked several blocks for a Subway sandwich shop.

After police investigated his claims, detectives later focused on Smollett himself, and he was charged with staging a fake hate crime against himself with brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, who later testified he paid them to stage the attack.

Defense attorneys had argued his trial violated his Fifth Amendment protections against double jeopardy, after Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office agreed to drop the original charges against him.

A special prosecutor, Dan Webb, was later assigned to reinvestigate the case, and brought a new indictment against him, but Smollett's attorneys have argued that Webb never should have been allowed to bring new charges.

On Nov. 21, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously sided with Smollett's attorneys, reversing his conviction, and ordering the case against him dismissed.

Smollett's lead attorney, Nenye Uche, said Smollett was "relieved" with the decision, and looking forward to moving on with his life.

Judge rules Illinois assault weapons ban unconstitutional

A federal judge in downstate Illinois ruled in November that the state's ban on assault weapons violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

The Protect Illinois Communities Act bans the sale of assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, and requires existing owners of those weapons to register them with Illinois State Police.

The legislation, signed into law in January 2023, banned dozens of specific brands or types of rifles and handguns, .50-caliber guns, attachments and rapid-firing devices. No rifle will be allowed to accommodate more than 10 rounds, with a 15-round limit for handguns.

Gun control laws have come under renewed scrutiny in the wake of the Supreme Court's June 2022 decision that imposed a new framework for evaluating the constitutionality of gun restrictions. In that ruling, the court said that for firearms laws to comply with the Second Amendment, the government must identify historical analogues that show the measure is consistent with the nation's history and tradition of firearms regulation.

U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn, who sits on the federal court in East Saint Louis in downstate Illinois, sided with gun owners who argued the ban does not fit within the Supreme Court's framework, and who argued that assault weapons are commonly used for self-defense.

While McGlynn issued an injunction prohibiting the state from enforcing the law, he stayed that injunction for 30 days to give the state time to appeal. A federal appeals court later granted the state's request to allow the ban to stay in place for now while Illinois proceeds with its appeal.

Transgender woman missing in Bahamas; family criticizes handling of investigation

Taylor Casey, of Chicago, has been missing ever since June while she was on a yoga retreat in the Bahamas. Her family later asked the FBI to take over the search, saying they were not satisfied with how authorities in the Bahamas were handling her case.

Casey, 41, was last seen in the area of Paradise Island, Nassau, in the Bahamas on June 19. It's a popular tourist area with many resorts, restaurants, beaches and more.

Casey's mother, Colette Seymore, has said when she first arrived in the Bahamas to speak to investigators, she did not see a single missing persons flyer for her daughter. 

"They were just really nonchalant and just not acting like it was their child missing," Seymore said. "I had to return home without her. This is every mother's worst nightmare."

About three weeks after Casey went missing, police in the Bahamas said they recovered an iPhone they believe belonged to her underwater, but investigators have been unable to access its contents, and there has been no sign of Casey since.

Seymore said U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth's office and the U.S. Embassy have been assisting. 

Casey's family believed search efforts have been marred by prejudice because Casey is transgender. She has been a fixture in Chicago's transgender community and a youth advocate for decades. 

Casey's mother, Colette Seymore, said in an interview in September that something seemed "off" with her daughter before she vanished.

"I talked to Taylor on the 18th, Taylor had called me and mentioned to me it was hard, it was hard at the yoga retreat," she said. "Something was off, I don't know if Taylor didn't want to alarm me, but I just felt like something was off."

The FBI has referred questions on the investigation to Bahamian authorities, but has said it would provide assistance in the investigation if requested.