Criminal Justice & Public Safety

Legislation passes the Illinois House after a BGA/WBEZ investigation exposed how suburban police were not disciplined despite questionable shootings.

A BGA/WBEZ probe revealed suburban police are never disciplined for shooting people despite dozens of questionable incidents. Legislation to address the problem is meeting little resistance in Springfield but imposes only minor reforms.

Following a BGA/WBEZ investigation, the legislation would require all local police agencies to scrutinize the actions of officers who shoot civilians and, sometimes, fellow police.

Following a BGA/WBEZ investigative series, members of the Illinois black legislative caucus vow a push to mandate reviews of whether officers who shoot citizens violated policies or best practices.

Following a BGA/WBEZ investigation, the hearing would explore ways for the county to provide assistance to the suburbs for training and investigations of police shootings.

In other states, attorneys general have taken active roles in increasing police accountability. Could Illinois be next?

Prompted by BGA/WBEZ series, Tom Dart tells suburban chiefs that his office is available to conduct investigations into whether officers act properly in shooting incidents.

The family of a 22-year-old who was fatally shot by a Cicero police officer will receive $3.1 million from the suburb. Next to the victim’s dead body was the .38 caliber revolver that a Cook County judge turned in to a Chicago gun buyback years earlier.

A Cook County judge turned a gun in to Chicago police as part of a buyback program 13 years ago. The gun mysteriously turned up eight years later next to the body of a young man shot to death by a Cicero police officer. Cicero officials are now poised to write a $3.5 million settlement check to members of the dead man’s family.