Following criticism by some Republicans for failing to pass a law in April, lawmakers approved a bipartisan measure that would order state pension funds to divest from Russian stocks and bonds.
Jared Rutecki
Jared Rutecki was an investigative reporter and data coordinator at the Illinois Answers Project (previously known as the Better Government Association) from 2016 to 2023.
Posted inInvestigations
You Can Take It with You: Some Chicago Police Collect Massive Payouts before Retirement
The department spent more than $33 million in comp time payments in 2020. Some police view the money as compensation for time away from family.
Posted inInvestigations
New Illinois Law Gives Cops Choice Not To Jail People for Small Amounts of Drugs
The change follows a Better Government Association/Chicago Sun-Times investigation last year that documented the impact of ‘dead end’ drug arrests in which people are briefly locked up, only to see the charges soon dismissed.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Illinois Pension Funds Are Slow To Pull Out of Russian Assets
Despite a public outcry following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, legislation designed to force divestment languished unpassed in the Spring session of the Illinois General Assembly. Lawmakers say they intend to take the issue up again in the Fall.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
The Costly Toll of Dead-End Drug Arrests
In Chicago, thousands of drug possession arrests are tossed out every year because of an unwritten rule in the courts, a Better Government Association/Chicago Sun-Times investigation has found. The cost to taxpayers? Millions. To those arrested? Jobs, housing, freedom.
Posted inSolutions
Oregon Is First State to Ticket Narcotics Users, but New Reform Has Yet To Live Up To Promise
In Illinois, possession of even trace amounts of heroin residue is a felony. But in Oregon, it’s not a crime at all any more. Instead, people caught with drugs get a ticket. Oregon’s new drug reform is keeping users out of jail — but the goal of getting them help for their addictions has been elusive.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Kim Foxx’s Ex-Trainer Caught Up in ‘Unending Cycle’ of Drug Arrests
Drug issue hits every corner of Cook County. ‘It breaks my heart,’ the state’s attorney says.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Dead-End Drug Arrests: How We Reported This Story
The BGA and Chicago Sun-Times analyzed 280,000 total drug possession arrests made in Cook County over nearly two decades. The data used was provided by The Circuit, the collaborative journalistic enterprise led by the BGA and Injustice Watch.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Fewer People in Cook County Are Being Charged With Crimes. Why Are Black People Making Up a Larger Share of Defendants?
An Injustice Watch/BGA investigation broke down the data on specific charges and asked experts to explain why racial disparities are increasing in Cook County criminal court.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
No Ransom Paid, but Illinois AG Office Is Spending More Than $2.5 Million on Hacker Attack
In his first in-depth interview since the April breach at the state’s top law enforcement agency, Raoul acknowledges the hack is “embarrassing.”
