Katy Smyser

Senior Producer at WMAQ-TV (Chicago, IL)

Investigative producer at NBC5 Chicago. #investigative #publicrecords geek. Mom to four; wife to one; dog-walker to two. Retweets ≠ endorsements. Send tips.

Featured in: Favicon

nbcchicago.com Favicon

nbcnewyork.com Favicon

nbcwashington.com Favicon

nbcbayarea.com Favicon

nbcdfw.com Favicon

nbcphiladelphia.com (+1) Favicon

nbcmiami.com Favicon

necn.com

nbcconnecticut.com Favicon

nbcsandiego.com + 4 more

Articles

Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV cast a ballot in recent Republican primaries in Illinois

5 days ago | nbcnews.com | Ben Kamisar |Katy Smyser |Christian Farr

By , and Pope Leo XIV, the first American to ascend to the papacy, has voted in three Republican primary elections since 2012, state voting records show. Records from Will County show a Robert F. Prevost (the new pontiff's birth name) registered in the county using an address that belongs to the pope's brother. His brother confirmed that Prevost receives his mail at that address as well.
Why 21 empty school buildings are costing Chicagoans millions

1 week ago | nbcchicago.com | Bennett Haeberle |Nathan Halder |Rich Moy |Katy Smyser

When the Chicago Board of Education made the decision to close 50 public schools in 2013, it set a goal to sell or tear down all the closed buildings by 2017. But today, 21 of the 50 abandoned buildings remain -- proverbial beached whales in the middle of often-struggling residential communities -- on Chicago’s West and South Sides. Several of the schools are deteriorating and often vandalized, with no real future in sight.
Ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan lied repeatedly on stand: feds

1 week ago | nbcchicago.com | Chuck Goudie |Lisa Capitanini |Katy Smyser

Nearly three months after disgraced Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was convicted of corruption, federal prosecutors have heaped on new public allegations that he lied repeatedly while on the witness stand. These are not new criminal charges against Madigan, although theoretically they could form the basis for a perjury indictment.
Money for Nothing: What's up with Chicago's Superstation to Nowhere?

2 weeks ago | nbcchicago.com | Bennett Haeberle |Nathan Halder |Rich Moy |Katy Smyser

Next time you’re walking through Chicago’s Loop, make your way over to the corner of Randolph and State Streets. If you look up, you’ll see a high-rise that houses both apartments and retail stores, called “Block 37.”Now look down. If somehow you could see through the sidewalk below, you would see that you’re standing atop a vast underground government structure, which is roughly the size of a football field.
'23 years of terror': Skokie woman who survived 2002 mass shooting still fighting for closure

1 month ago | nbcchicago.com | Chuck Goudie |Katy Smyser

For Shayna Gould, "23 years of terror" started at a bus stop in Israel. It was during a torrential rain storm that the college student from Skokie, along with more than 40 other people, were hit by gunfire from a Palestinian terrorist armed with an automatic rifle. The confusion and carnage that day on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem included a young woman seen on news film being hauled away by emergency crews. She appeared to be dead.
ICE and IRS approaching ‘unprecedented’ data deal

1 month ago | nbcchicago.com | Chuck Goudie |Katy Smyser |Lisa Capitanini

It is a history-making alliance between the immigration agency known as "ICE" and the tax collection agency called IRS. A data-sharing arrangement being engineered by the White House is consider by some investigators as an ICE secret weapon. The agency behind mass deportations by the Trump administration is planning on using income tax records to track down undocumented immigrants.
'The planes are launching in 31 minutes,' but Trump officials say attack details aren’t classified

1 month ago | nbcchicago.com | Chuck Goudie |Katy Smyser |Lisa Capitanini

The first shots were on a digital battlefield--an app called Signal, used by teenagers and adults to privately communicate and share videos with friends. It's a favorite app for sexting because it is encrypted. But it's not intended to be a government venue for anything sensitive such as the decisions about whether to wage a U.S. military attack against Houthi rebel strongholds in Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula.
Why the Trump administration is bringing dozens of Mexican cartel leaders to Chicago

1 month ago | ourcommunitynow.com | Chuck Goudie |Katy Smyser |Lisa Capitanini

Share U.S. officials say two high-ranking cartel operatives, now at the MCC Chicago and being held on drug trafficking charges here, were among 29 federal fugitives recently “transferred” over the border by Mexican authorities. The group is expected to be just the first flight of wanted drug fugitives by Mexican justice officials to the United States. “That's something the Mexican government can do if they don't object,” said former Drug Enforcement Administration official Jack Riley.
Why the Trump administration is bringing dozens of Mexican cartel leaders to Chicago

1 month ago | nbcchicago.com | Chuck Goudie |Katy Smyser |Lisa Capitanini

U.S. officials say two high-ranking cartel operatives, now at the MCC Chicago and being held on drug trafficking charges here, were among 29 federal fugitives recently “transferred” over the border by Mexican authorities. The group is expected to be just the first flight of wanted drug fugitives by Mexican justice officials to the United States. “That's something the Mexican government can do if they don't object,” said former Drug Enforcement Administration official Jack Riley.
Chicago employees of US Education Dept. depart as Trump explores shutdown

1 month ago | nbcchicago.com | Chuck Goudie |Katy Smyser |Lisa Capitanini

As President Donald Trump penned an executive order dismembering the U.S. Department of Education, two different scenes were playing out in Chicago. The national president of the American Federation of Teachers angrily pledged to take the Trump administration to court-suing for today's breakup of the Education Department. But as the union leader spoke, the drastic White House move was visibly underway in Chicago.