The trendy debt maneuver has been tried in other major cities with some success
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 inInvestigating Responses
Moment of Truth for the City Council Ethics Committee
A freshman alderperson is trying to breathe life into one of the least active City Council committees.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Cook County TIF revenues smash records, squeeze taxpayers
Tax-increment financing districts raked in $1.6 billion in 2021, accounting for nearly 10 cents of every dollar in taxes paid by Cook County property owners last year.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
What would the end of cash bail mean for Illinois? New Jersey offers a preview.
As the Illinois Supreme Court considers the fate of the law, bail reform experiments elsewhere consistently show promising results. But the political backlash remains intense everywhere.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
As many Latino homeowners get hit with big property tax increases, local politicians scramble for fixes
Several ideas are being floated, but policymakers agree it’ll take big changes in Springfield to tame property taxes.
Posted inInvestigations
Cook County Office Looks to Shed Anti-Patronage Monitor as Watchdog Raises Alarm
Clerk Karen Yarbrough says her office has rooted out clout-based hiring. Attorney Michael Shakman isn’t so sure.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Towns, School Districts Getting Millions of More Dollars in Property Taxes Thanks to a New, Little-Known State Law
For the first time this year, taxing bodies will automatically charge property owners for governments’ taxation errors.
Posted inInvestigations
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.
Posted inEquity & 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.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
Here’s What the Bring Chicago Home Measure Would Do
The proposal would raise the city’s tax on the sale of pricey homes to help fight homelessness. An effort to get it on the February ballot fizzled this week, but advocates say their fight isn’t over.
