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Endeavor Health is spending up to $453 million to settle patients’ claims alleging one of its former doctors sexually abused them, the Chicago-area hospital system disclosed in its latest financial statement Monday.
The financial statement did not name the doctor. But Endeavor and Swedish Hospital are currently facing 61 lawsuits brought by former patients of gynecologist-obstetrician Dr. Fabio Ortega, accusing him of sexually abusing them while he worked at NorthShore University HealthSystem, which is now Endeavor. Settlements in principle have already been reached in those lawsuits. Ortega also formerly worked at Swedish, which is now part of Endeavor.
The former patients have accused Ortega of sexual assault or abuse during routine gynecological appointments, contending he groped them, conducted unnecessary or inappropriate vaginal exams or asked inappropriate questions. Ortega was charged criminally in Cook County and pleaded guilty to felony criminal sexual abuse of two patients in 2021.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Emily Hoerner and Lisa Schencker.
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As a polarizing eight years comes to an end, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx looks forward to a break from the spotlight
For eight turbulent years, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has been a central figure in arguably Chicago’s most central issue: entrenched gun violence and how to keep people safe within an imperfect criminal justice system.
Elected in 2016 with a mandate for reform in the wake of the killing of Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer, Foxx has been in the middle of nearly every conversation about safety and justice in Cook County, often with a polarizing fervor. Now she’s on her way out, making way for a successor, Eileen O’Neill Burke, who comes to the office with a different mandate.
Retired Chicago police sergeant wounded after North Center shooting; police arrest 1 suspect, alderman says
Chicago police arrested one person and were searching for another suspect after a retired Chicago police sergeant was shot in North Center Monday morning, Ald. Matt Martin, 47th, said.
Police said two people fired at the victim, 74, after he got out of his vehicle in the 2000 block of West Berteau Avenue around 9 a.m. The man suffered two gunshot wounds in his left arm and a graze wound in his neck and was transported to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition.
‘They were out getting revenge’: Prosecutors close case against two men accused of killing 7-year-old Natalia Wallace on Fourth of July 2020
Natalia Wallace, forever 7 years old, would never grow up, prosecutors said, nor return to school in the fall after she was felled by gunfire on the Fourth of July in 2020.
Instead, they said as they closed their case against her alleged killers, Kevin Boyd, 35, and Reginald Merrill, 37, her small frame was subjected to an autopsy and her family would have to learn to go on without her.
City envisions transforming vacant South Side bank building into $80 million recording complex
The vacant former Stock Yards National Bank building near the historic site of the Union Stock Yards on the South Side will become an $80 million recording complex under a new renovation proposal selected by the Chicago Department of Planning and Development.
More than 50,000 people came to Southland casino in first week, officials say
Wind Creek Chicago Southland said Monday more than 50,000 people had visited the casino in its first few days of operation, exceeding its expectations.
Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy. What does that mean for travelers?
The bankruptcy proceedings are aimed at restructuring the company and shoring up its finances. Still, unease around the bankruptcy petition may have some travelers looking elsewhere for flights ahead of the busy holiday travel season.
Here’s what you need to know.
4 things we learned from the Chicago Bears, including Matt Eberflus’ next-day evaluation of the blocked field goal
Eberflus now is tasked with helping his team move on from its fourth straight loss and prepare for another tough meeting with the Minnesota Vikings (8-2) in Week 12.
Here are four things we learned from Eberflus and Bears players Braxton Jones and Kevin Byard.
Chicago Cubs need a superstar. Here’s why it won’t be free-agent slugger Juan Soto.
For a franchise needing a superstar, a missing piece to help get it to the next level, this offseason presents an ideal situation for the Chicago Cubs.
The lineup is missing a dominant slugger who is a constant threat to get on base and change the game with one swing. Juan Soto checks every box for the type of hitter the Cubs lack, and the left-handed-hitting outfielder turned 26 last month.
Thanksgiving dinner from Bub City. (Lindsay Eberly x Eberly Film Lab)
Thanksgiving 2024: 70 restaurant specials across Chicagoland, from buffets and dinners out to at-home meal kits
Whether your favorite part of Thanksgiving is the turkey, the sides, the pie, or just hanging out with your family, chances are it’s not stressing about whether the bird will be too dry or the potatoes will be cooked on time. Luckily you can just enjoy the best parts of the holiday without doing all the work thanks to these 67 restaurants offering meals you can pick up and just reheat at home or buffets and dinners out where you also won’t have to take care of the dishes.
Column: What do you remember when you think of Cabrini-Green? New podcast delves into the history of the Chicago public housing complex.
It was born in hope, the houses and high-rises that rose blocks not far from where Rick Kogan grew up. Representing at first a bold urban dream, soon enough it became a nightmare and it was called Cabrini-Green.
Its story is a complicated one, but it is powerfully told across the eight episodes and 3 hours and 32 minutes of a new podcast, “The Last Days of Cabrini-Green,” which began last week, produced by Audible, Campside Media and At Will Media. (At Will Media also produced the Tribune docuseries “The Tylenol Murders.”)
