As violent crime surges in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has cited big investments in antiviolence programs, but an Illinois Answers Project investigation shows slow progress being made. (Credit: Getty file photo)
As violent crime plagues Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has cited big investments in antiviolence programs, but an Illinois Answers Project investigation shows slow progress being made. (Credit: Getty file photo)

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Dan Hinkel was an investigative reporter at the Illinois Answers Project from 2022 to 2023, covering criminal justice.

Casey Toner, a Chicago native, has been an Illinois Answers reporter since 2016, taking the lead on numerous projects about criminal justice and politics. His series on police shootings in suburban Cook County resulted in a state law requiring procedural investigations of all police shootings in Illinois. Before he joined Illinois Answers, he wrote for the Daily Southtown and was a statewide reporter for Alabama Media Group, a consortium of Alabama newspapers. Outside of work, he enjoys watching soccer and writing music.