An obscure financing tool is quietly raising property taxes to pay for a growing range of spending, an Illinois Answers Project and Mansueto Institute analysis found.
Alex Nitkin
Alex Nitkin is a government finance and accountability reporter conducting investigations on systemic problems and the public policies that are meant to fix them in Chicago, Cook County and Illinois government. Before joining Illinois Answers, he worked as a reporter and editor for The Daily Line covering Cook County and Chicago government. He previously worked at The Real Deal Chicago, where he covered local real estate news, and DNAinfo Chicago, where he worked as a breaking news reporter and then as a neighborhood reporter covering the city's Northwest Side. A New York native who grew up in Connecticut, Alex graduated Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism with a bachelor’s degree.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Data Centers Near O’Hare Win Nearly $100M in Local Tax Breaks, Leaving Suburban Homeowners to Cover the Gap
Northwest suburban data centers had nearly $2 billion knocked off their taxable property values, an Illinois Answers Project/Chicago Tribune analysis shows.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
City Leaders Tout Tree-Planting Bonanza, But Neighborhood Disparities Persist
Departments have turned to community groups to help break through cultural barriers that have contributed to wide gaps in tree coverage, a critical public health measure
Posted inInvestigating Responses
A Proposed Law Would Push Wealthy Suburbs to Build More Affordable Housing. Mayors Are Pushing Back.
The effort to sharpen the state’s Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act is one of multiple bills pending in Springfield that aim to boost housing construction and widen affordability.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Months After Late Property Tax Bills, Thousands Are Still Waiting With No Resolution in Sight
County officials and are piling blame on their beleaguered technology vendor over a deluge of outstanding issues that have also delayed refunds for ten of thousands
Posted inInvestigations
Budget Woes: Mayor, Council Clash Over Programs That Feds Once Paid for That Johnson Wants to Keep — on The City’s Tab
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and his allies argue the programs are critical, but alderpeople say they need more details.
Posted inFollow-Up
Record Property Tax Increases Slam Chicago Homeowners as Downtown Owners See Cuts
Sinking Loop office values fuel spike in Chicago residential bills, especially on South, West sides, report shows.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
These Counties Spend Transit Tax Money on Ride Services. They’re Lifelines for Thousands of Residents
Fledgling dial-a-ride networks are filling gaps in public transit in the collar counties, but they struggle to meet demand.
