The lawsuit against the Department of Children and Family Services officials comes after an investigation by the Illinois Answers Project found that the problem was only getting worse.
David Jackson
David Jackson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and four-time Pulitzer finalist whose work has focused on lifting the voices of neglected people amid life-threatening government failures.
Posted inFollow-Up
Feds Probing Massive State Contract that Failed Foster Kids with Inadequate Health Care
An investigation by the Illinois Answers Project found that insurance giant Centene Corp. routinely fell short in providing basic care. Federal officials now want answers from the two state agencies overseeing the program.
Posted inInvestigations
Insurance Giant Failed Foster Kids with Inadequate Care
A nearly $370 million contract promised to improve healthcare for state wards — but for two years the Centene Corp. fell short on basic care, forcing foster parents to scramble.
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
A Powerful Pritzker Administration Insider Cashed In as a Consultant
In 10 months after leaving state government, Nikki Budzinski earned more than $500,000 from a lobbyist, big-money Democratic groups that don’t disclose their donors, and political and labor organizations. Now she’s running for Congress.
Posted inInvestigations
Pritzker’s Personal Fortune Intersects With State Contracts
The governor’s promises to divest his vast portfolio of state contractors have not extended to his so-called blind trust, which has the governor’s money in at least a dozen companies with billions in state business
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
State Filing on Medicaid Delays Asks Court to Reconsider
Saying a federal appeals court mistakenly created a “watershed moment” that could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul sides with insurance titans that administer healthcare reimbursements
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 inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Appeals Court Reinstates Lawsuit Against State Medicaid Administrators
Citing the BGA investigation ‘Milking Medicaid,’ a three-judge panel said Saint Anthony Hospital has a ‘viable’ case against a state that has refused to enforce its contracts with private insurers who manage the program.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Former State Health Director Ezike Under Scrutiny by the State’s Top Ethics Investigator
Public health director Dr. Ngozi Ezike connected with ordinary people nearly every day during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now she is CEO of a top state medical contractor. Did Dr. Ezike’s quick switch violate the state Ethics Act?