About This Series

As the coronavirus pandemic tore through low-income communities of color, officials administered Illinois’ first vaccinations at a small safety-net hospital on Chicago’s West Side. Authorities showcased Loretto Hospital to assure Black and Latino citizens — who’d been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 — they’d be prioritized and protected.

But as Illinoisans scrambled to get highly sought-after vaccine appointments, Block Club exposed a scandal at Loretto: Many of the hospital’s precious doses were going to ineligible people with ties to Loretto’s administrators — at Trump Tower, where Loretto CFO Dr. Anosh Ahmed lived; as well as a luxury jewelry shop and a high-end Gold coast steakhouse where Ahmed hung out.

The city cut off vaccine doses to Loretto and set up its own vaccination program to ensure vulnerable Chicagoans could get their shots and be protected. A state representative resigned from Loretto’s board in protest of the lack of punishment for hospital executives. Chicago’s mayor called for an independent investigation into the vaccinations. The stories also sparked an ongoing criminal probe by the FBI.

Block Club then teamed up with the Better Government Association to expose more problems at the hospital. Their reporting led to an investigation by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and numerous reform initiatives.