Latest
City of Chicago Amps Up Its Legal Battle Against ‘City’s Worst Landowner’
The city is suing Northbrook resident Suzie B. Wilson and her company for more than $10 million, alleging they failed for years to clean up a hazardous West Englewood dump. Wilson was featured in a Illinois Answers Project/Block Club investigation last year.
Johnson Administration Faces Credibility Crunch Over a Key Plank of $1.25B Bond Plan
Officials say they’ll let enough special taxing districts expire to generate the money needed to pay back the debt. Some analysts are skeptical.
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For Many Illinoisans in Flood-Prone Areas, Buyouts Are the Only Way Out
A state government home buyout program has helped hundreds of people move out of harm’s way. But for many, it takes too long.
‘Green Alleys’ Help Prevent Flooding, But Vulnerable Neighborhoods Must Wait in Line
‘It’s a little bit of a shot-in-the-dark implementation strategy,’ a key City Council member said.
CHICAGO’S RAT BATTLE
City Targets Real Estate Empire, Owing Millions in Rat-Related Tickets, as ‘Extreme Scofflaws’
Chicago attorneys want to merge several thousand court judgments, totaling more than $9.3 million, so they can be ‘pursued together in the most efficient…
City Goes After Firms That Owe $15M in Rat-related Tickets After Illinois Answers/Block Club Investigation
The debtor is a real estate empire that’s looking for a big payday by selling land for the Red Line expansion. But the city…
City Plans to Spend $1.5 Million More to Fight Rats in 2024
The budget boost calls for three new rat-fighting crews as Chicago continues to be the “rattiest” in America.
Why Chicago is Losing the War on Rats
New York has a Rat Czar. Other cities are trying new trapping methods. But the “rattiest city in America” can’t keep up with skyrocketing…
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BGA Names Ruby L. Bailey Editor of Illinois Answers Project
Ruby L. Bailey, a seasoned newsroom leader with a deep appreciation of the power of journalism to prompt positive change, is joining the Better Government Association’s Illinois Answers Project as…
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Solutions
Evanston’s Streets Have Become Safer for Cyclists. What’s the Suburb Doing Right?
Chicago has seen traffic crashes, injuries and deaths increase in the past decade. As city leaders try to reverse the trend, Evanston has set a powerful example.
How Black Investors are Taking Back a Legal Tool to Restore Affordable Housing on South, West Sides
For decades, big investors profited off neglected buildings at the expense of predominantly Black neighborhoods. Now, the Community Receiver Program is working to ‘right historical wrongs’ by empowering residents to use receivership in a new way.
Investigations
Records Raise Questions on CPS Transparency Over Near South Side High School Plan
Chicago Public Schools promised to listen to residents concerning the school location but did closed door planning for months. Appraisals for purchased land differ by millions of dollars, records show.
City Has Spent Only 15% of $52M in Federal Money Dedicated for Homeless Programs
Two years after receiving the COVID-era funding, Chicago has been slow off the mark with some of its programs to help people experiencing homelessness.
Opinion
Greising: ShotSpotter Missteps Could Be Turned to the City’s Advantage
ShotSpotter is the technology that just won’t go away. At least not yet. Mayor Brandon Johnson intended to allow the city’s contract with the gunshot-tracking system to expire last month, but then remembered — whoops — the Democratic National Convention was coming to town. Maybe ShotSpotter wasn’t so bad after all. He renewed the contract through November, paying a…
Greising: Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Willingness To Tackle Pension Problem Is a Breakthrough
Perhaps the most lasting and important part of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s financial plan for Illinois was not even included in his budget address last week. For far too long, Illinois has held a shameful worst-in-the-nation status for protecting retirement income for thousands upon thousands of state workers and retirees. The $142 billion in pension debt — unfunded liabilities…
Greising: Local Officials Keep Proving Why Distrust in Government Is High in the Midwest
One my favorite rites of midwinter is when Richard Edelman, chief executive of the Chicago-based global public relations firm that bears his name, returns to town to report on whom we trust and whom we distrust. Lo and behold, we don’t trust government much. Not just here in Illinois — which gives us good cause…
