City Hall touts its $410M plan to fight crime but has spent little money; some cash goes to street outreach groups with no experience or troubled leadership.
Dan Hinkel
Dan Hinkel was an investigative reporter at the Illinois Answers Project from 2022 to 2023, covering criminal justice.
Posted inSolutions
Update: Pritzker signs bill shielding abortion patients, providers from out-of-state legal threats
Legal scholars say without those protections abortion opponents in other states might be able to sue or prosecute Illinois residents.
Posted inInvestigations
Top Lightfoot Aide Who Led Heavily Promoted Anti-Violence Efforts Gone From City Job
Tamara Mahal’s departure comes months after the BGA reported that the city overhyped the initiative and that she had made false claims about her career accomplishments
Posted inInvestigations
City Claims on Anti-Violence Program Are Overblown
Mayor Lightfoot’s choice to lead the city’s campaign against gun-crime has a history of hyperbole, both about her efforts to confront Chicago’s greatest crisis and her own career.
Posted inNews
BGA Wins Pulitzer Prize
The Better Government Association has won a Pulitzer Prize for its investigative stories with The Chicago Tribune that exposed the failure of Chicago city officials to keep tenants safe from deadly fires in dangerous residential buildings.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Former Police Superintendent Accused of Lying in Murder Case
A man exonerated after 33 years in prison for double murder says records prove then-Lt. Philip Cline lied to jurors during his trial about taking his confession in 1987. He is suing the city.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Michael Madigan Indicted in 22-Count Federal Corruption Case
As part of a corruption probe lasting years, the longtime house speaker is charged with a conspiracy to use his vast power atop Illinois government to enrich himself, his law firm and his vast political patronage army.
