Exclusive
Lightfoot administration pushing TIF renewals to funnel billions in tax dollars into hot neighborhoods
The mayor campaigned on reining in tax-increment financing and has in some instances but is continuing the controversial practice in some affluent areas that critics say don’t need them.
THE LaTEST
Life and Death in Chicago’s Most Dangerous Bike Lane
In Chicago’s busiest bike lane along Milwaukee Avenue, there have been 50 reported crashes and three deaths since 2020 as cyclists navigate the city’s patchwork approach to safety.
Investigations
Tax sale process hits Black homeowners hardest
The property tax sale process that can result in people losing their homes robs those communities of generational wealth, critics say. And Cook County’s last-chance fund to help make some of those homeowners whole is years behind in paying claims.
EQUITY & ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
North-Suburban Tax Assessments Point To Trouble for Homeowners, Potential Relief for Businesses
Assessor Fritz Kaegi says a new round of tax assessments shows his policies are working. But the picture for north-suburban homeowners is more complicated.
SOLUTIONS
Here’s What the Bring Chicago Home Measure Would Do
Editor’s note: The story has been corrected to note that the proposed tax would be paid by the buyer of a home and applies to the entire value of any property of more than $1 million. With Chicago’s upcoming mayoral election moving squarely into the spotlight, a wide coalition of advocates and city officials are…
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The Latest
With end of Roe, can abortion opponents in other states sue or prosecute Illinois residents?
Law professors say it’s possible. Other states have moved to protect abortion providers and patients, but Illinois lawmakers have yet to take it up.
How much COVID relief money has your school district spent? Search our map
A Chalkbeat Chicago and Illinois Answers Project investigation revealed that despite student needs, high poverty districts have spent smaller portions of their ESSER funds in comparison to low poverty districts.
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Solutions
Is It Working? Cook County’s Domestic Violence Court Strains to Improve and Expand a Year After a Reckoning
As officials work to overhaul an overloaded and flawed court system, advocates and survivors say the finish line is a long way off.
Oregon Is First State to Ticket Narcotics Users, but New Reform Has Yet To Live Up To Promise
In Illinois, possession of even trace amounts of heroin residue is a felony. But in Oregon, it’s not a crime at all any more. Instead, people caught with drugs get a ticket. Oregon’s new drug reform is keeping users out of jail — but the goal of getting them help for their addictions has been…
Investigations
Program to Help Formerly Incarcerated Chicago Residents in Jeopardy after FTX Implosion
The future of a pilot program aimed at helping formerly incarcerated Chicago residents hangs in the balance after the company that was supposed to pay for it, cryptocurrency giant FTX, recently imploded amid allegations of fraud before paying most of its promised $1 million grant. FTX’s participation was announced to great fanfare by Mayor Lori Lightfoot in May when the cryptocurrency exchange moved its…
Insurance Giant Failed Foster Kids with Inadequate Care
A nearly $370 million contract promised to improve healthcare for state wards — but for two years the Centene Corp. fell short on basic care, forcing foster parents to scramble.
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Opinions
Greising: Pritzker’s Presidential Daydreams Might Help the People of Illinois
How Gov. J.B. Pritzker addresses his gubernatorial to-do list matters to Illinoisans — as well as to his prospects for the presidency.
Greising: Mayor Lightfoot, aldermen should be able to agree on transparency, accountability
In the struggle between the mayor and the City Council, a separation of powers is the way to go.
Zarou: Zoom Meetings Make State Government Accessible. But It’s Critical To Preserve In-Person Meetings
From this point forward, online systems — on Zoom or similar platforms — should always be available for the benefit of those who can’t attend public meetings. But that’s as far as it should go.
Cubbage: It’s Past Time for the City Council To Name Its Own Committee Leadership, Not the Mayor
There’s no reason for the City Council to maintain its unspoken power-sharing agreement with the mayor when it comes to committees.
