An investigator for Cook County Stateโs Attorney Anita Alvarez resigned after being caught on camera by FOX Chicago and the BGA spending work hours at a Bridgeport cigar shop. Alvarezโs aides promised better oversight in the 130-person investigative bureau.
BGA
DUPAGE COUNTY BOARD MEMBERS CALL ON SHERIFF JOHN ZARUBA TO SUSPEND RIDE-ALONGS
After the BGA and CBS2 found the teenage son of DuPage County Sheriff John Zaruba playing cop, including participating in attempted arrests and chases, County Board members demand a halt to police โride-alongsโ pending a review of the program.
KOSCHMAN CASE GETS SPECIAL PROSECUTOR
A special prosecutor was appointed by a judge on April 23, 2012, to re-investigate the homicide of David Koschman, who died after allegedly being punched by a nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley in 2004. Nobody was ever criminally charged in the case. The special prosecutor โ whose appointment was pushed by Koschmanโs family, with legal wing support from the BGA โ will
BGA to Chicago City Council: Delay Infrastructure Trust Plan
An open letter to aldermen says the Mayorโs blueprint needs greater scrutiny and more public accountability. It urges the City Council to vote no, or to delay and review, the controversial ordinance.
BGA Wins Prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award
The Better Government Association and the Center on Wrongful Convictions won a prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for the June 2011 investigation into the โHigh Cost of Wrongful Convictionsโ, a groundbreaking series documenting the human and financial toll of alleged government and police misconduct that led to 85 people being wrongfully incarcerated for violent crimes they
CHICAGO SCHOOLS INVESTIGATING POLITICALLY CONNECTED MILK CONTRACTOR
The Chicago Board of Educationโs inspector general is investigating the school systemโs largest milk-delivery company, McMahon Food Corp., which recently lost its certification as a woman-owned business. A Chicago Sun-Times/Better Government Association investigation last month found that the school system is paying more for milk than many suburban districts that are a
GRASSROOTS EMPOWERMENT
Prompted by revelations from the BGA and FOX Chicago, residents of Stone Park and surrounding communities banded together to oppose the construction of a strip club next to a convent, question whether village officials violated the law in approving the project and keep a closer eye on local elected leaders.
“I Deserve Every Penny”
Oak Brookโs clout-heavy former police chief is unapologetic about benefitting from a taxpayer-funded pension sweetener quietly passed by the General Assembly in 2007.
EMANUEL MOVES TO BAN McMAHON ELECTRIC COMPANY FROM CITY WORK
As the BGA and Chicago Sun-Times inquired about government contracts held by the clout-heavy McMahon family, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel moved to permanently ban their electrical contracting company from getting more city work because of allegations they fraudulently set up the company as woman-owned to get a leg up on city contracts. Click here to read more.
Money made selling milk to governments helps Burke, other pols
Having made millions of dollars on government deals for milk and electrical and plumbing work, the McMahon family routinely gives back to politicians.
