For decades, big investors profited off neglected buildings at the expense of predominantly Black neighborhoods. Now, the Community Receiver Program is working to ‘right historical wrongs’ by empowering residents to use receivership in a new way.
Grey Lucas
Grey Lucas was an investigative reporting intern with the Illinois Answers Project in 2022 and 2023.
Posted inEducation
CPS Faces Dwindling Enrollment, Empty Buildings, Soaring Deficits Decade After Mass Closure of Schools
Top public officials vow improvements as the district marks the 10th anniversary of its decision to close 49 schools.
Posted inInvestigations
Smoke Detectors Save Lives, But Chicago Slow to Toughen Rules
A joint investigation with Illinois Answers and the Chicago Tribune found that smoke alarms were absent, defective or missing batteries in 57 out of 87 fatal residential fires in Chicago from 2020 through 2022.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Fires Continue to Kill People in Unsafe Buildings as Chicago Ignores Problems with its Inspection System
As other cities across the country adopt innovative programs to fix problem buildings, Chicago lags behind
