People in Illinois lost more than $7.7 billion gambling last year. As lawmakers increasingly bet on gambling to pay the state’s bills, they have only spare change to treat compulsive gamblers
Government Finance & Accountability
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
What Compulsive Gamblers Know
The hopes, dreams and tragedies of people who can’t stop betting
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
A Growing Community of Recovering Gamblers Lifts Each Other Up as Formal Resources Lag
How a podcast and 12-step network are doing the work the state can’t, and where it falls short
Posted inStatewide Investigations
Early Intervention therapies help kids — but Illinois pays providers less than other states, stalling access
Hundreds of therapists are leaving the program each year, causing some families to miss out on services they’re legally entitled to.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
A Proposed Law Would Push Wealthy Suburbs to Build More Affordable Housing. Mayors Are Pushing Back.
The effort to sharpen the state’s Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act is one of multiple bills pending in Springfield that aim to boost housing construction and widen affordability.
Posted inInvestigations
Chicago’s Efforts to Keep Housing Affordable in Woodlawn Falls Short as Obama Center Nears Opening
Latisha Bolden, exhausted from her eight hour shift at a nearby hospital in early March, came home to devastating news. Her son handed her a notice from their landlord stating […]
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Months After Late Property Tax Bills, Thousands Are Still Waiting With No Resolution in Sight
County officials and are piling blame on their beleaguered technology vendor over a deluge of outstanding issues that have also delayed refunds for ten of thousands
Posted inFollow-Up
Trump Administration Sues Illinois Over State’s Attempts to Regulate Prediction Markets
The feds argue they have primary authority to regulate the popular markets, not the states. Illinois says the move puts profits over people.
Posted inFollow-Up
Proactive building inspections one step closer to reality in Chicago — but questions of funding and logistics remain
Chicago took a step toward beefing up its safety oversight of apartment buildings on Wednesday following years of criticism that the city’s patchwork of reactive building inspections has cost the […]
Posted inInvestigations
Illinois Regulators Say Prediction Markets Are Illegal Gambling, But Bettors — and the Trump Family — Love Them
Prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket rake in millions from wagers on sports and current events but pay nothing in state betting taxes and ignore regulations that govern online sportsbooks.
