An official fact-check from the BGA, the exclusive operator of PolitiFact Illinois, here to help you find the truth in politics via the Pulitzer Prize-winning web approach built by the Tampa Bay Times.
Archives
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Journey Of A Judge’s Gun From Chicago Buyback To Cicero Police Shooting
A Cook County judge turned a gun in to Chicago police as part of a buyback program 13 years ago. The gun mysteriously turned up eight years later next to the body of a young man shot to death by a Cicero police officer. Cicero officials are now poised to write a $3.5 million settlement check to members of the dead man’s family.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Aldermen Grill City, McCormick Place Officials Over Navy Pier TIF Plan
Nothing to see here, the Emanuel administration declares at a hastily arranged City Hall hearing prompted by a BGA/Crain’s investigative report of a shell game that shifted blight-fighting tax funds to Navy Pier.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Former Alderman, Internet Pioneer Fined In Emanuel Email Lobbying Case
They were among the latest group of five individuals the Chicago Ethics Board said had fined for attempting to influence Mayor Emanuel or other officials through emailed contacts that became public after the settlement of a BGA lawsuit against the city.
Posted inInvestigations
Alderman Calls For Hearings In Wake Of BGA/Crain’s Navy Pier Investigation
Third Ward Alderman Pat Dowell has called for public hearings into the diversion of $55 million in city blight fighting-funds to a Navy Pier renovation project.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
How City Power Players Diverted $55 Million In Blight-Fighting TIF Cash To Navy Pier
A $55 million financial shell game linked to the administration of Mayor Rahm Emanuel vividly plays into a frequent complaint that the city often raids a tax piggy bank earmarked for disadvantaged neighborhoods to instead bankroll mayoral vanity projects.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Emanuel Email Case Nets Five More Lobbying Violations
The total of those hit for lobbying the mayor without registering rises to eight in cases that emanate from a BGA lawsuit that led Mayor Emanuel to release thousands of pages of business related emails from his personal accounts.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Chris Kennedy Slams Same Property Tax System He Used To Get Big Break
Chris Kennedy, a top Democratic contender for governor, relied on a politically connected tax lawyer to dramatically reduce property tax bills on land he was prepping for development. It appears to mirror the sort of activity Kennedy has been condemning on the campaign trail.
Posted inNews
Ruling In BGA Suit Bars Towns From Writing Own Transparency Rules
The Illinois Appellate Court, in a case involving a Rosemont deal with country singer Garth Brooks, says municipalities can’t legislate the power to pick and choose what parts of state open records law they want to follow.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Breaking Down Gov. Rauner’s Dispute With Illinois’ Largest Public Labor Union
Illinois has continued to grapple over the costs of pay and benefits for members of the state’s largest public employee union. Gov. Bruce Rauner is trying to squeeze major contract concessions from AFSCME, while both sides accuse the other of bargaining in bad faith.
