The city is also ramping up legal battles against two other landowners who have millions in unpaid fines.
Government Finance & Accountability
Posted inFollow-Up
Madigan guilty of bribery conspiracy as jury returns partial verdict
Jurors deadlock on charges related to co-defendant Mike McClain.
Posted inFollow-Up
Hundreds of South, West Side Properties For Sale Amid Legal Fight Against City’s ‘Worst Landowner’
Property owner Suzie B. Wilson owed more than $15 million in fines for rat-related code violations — and, along with her sister, now faces legal trouble after a joint investigation by Illinois Answers Project and Block Club.
Posted inFollow-Up
‘Empire of Neglected And Hazardous Vacant Lots’ Declares Bankruptcy, But City of Chicago Cries Fraud
City attorneys point to transfer of troubled properties to South Dakota shell companies and siphoning money from bank accounts in a court filing.
Posted inFollow-Up
After Turbulent Tenure, CHA CEO Tracey Scott Out: ‘Residents Were Suffering In The End’
Scott’s exit after four and a half years is a sign Mayor Brandon Johnson is finally overhauling the CHA, housing advocates say.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
A New City Tree Trim Strategy Produces Big Results. Not Everyone Is On Board.
City workers are pruning trees more than twice as quickly after an overhaul that gives alderpeople less power to control services.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Many cameras. Little focus. Blurry results.
Chicago police bet big on pricey surveillance cameras. Two decades later, the devices do little to solve most crimes.
Posted inInvestigations
Luxury Home or Vacant Lot? Cook County Assessor Misclassifies Hundreds of Properties, Missing $444M in One Year Alone
An investigation by Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Tribune found Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office missed critical data from at least 620 properties in 2023, with big implications for those taxpayers.
Posted inInvestigations
How We Reported on Cook County Assessment Errors
Reporters from Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Tribune collected and analyzed thousands of points of data to track down where the Cook County assessor misclassified hundreds of properties.
Posted inFollow-Up
Contractor Implicated in Chicago Area Bribery Case Surfaces in Federal Investigation of Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard
Records show village paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to company whose officials were charged with bribing a county employee with jewelry, sports tickets, home improvement materials
