Chicago has seen traffic crashes, injuries and deaths increase in the past decade. As city leaders try to reverse the trend, Evanston has set a powerful example.
Investigations
Posted inInvestigation
How the Koppers Plant Became, and Remains, Cicero’s Toxic Neighbor
The Koppers plant in Cicero has been found in violation of both state and federal environmental laws dating back 50 years — from the late 1970s until this past summer. A new Illinois EPA list of violations raises new questions about how much cancer-causing chemicals the plant is emitting.
Posted inFollow-Up
City Targets Real Estate Empire, Owing Millions in Rat-Related Tickets, as ‘Extreme Scofflaws’
Chicago attorneys want to merge several thousand court judgments, totaling more than $9.3 million, so they can be ‘pursued together in the most efficient manner possible’
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Dad Found Guilty in Abuse Death of 8-year-old Peoria Boy Navin Jones
A Peoria jury convicted Brandon Walker of murder in a trial that highlighted the failures of DCFS to remove 8-year-old Navin Jones from his parents’ care.
Posted inInvestigations
Illinois Taxpayers Shell Out Hundreds of Millions as Prison Reform Lawsuits Grind On
The settlement agreements have prompted major changes for incarcerated people who are deaf, mentally ill or under the care of the state prison’s beleaguered healthcare system, but advocates argue more needs to be done.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
How Black Investors are Taking Back a Legal Tool to Restore Affordable Housing on South, West Sides
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.
Posted inFollow-Up
Alderpeople Want Meetings With CHA Boss After Investigation Revealed Vacant, Decaying Properties
City Council leaders, including the housing committee chair, renewed calls for CHA officials to attend regular hearings after an Illinois Answers/Block Club investigation found the agency is sitting on hundreds of vacant homes.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
As City Battles Housing Shortage, CHA Lets Hundreds Of Empty Homes Decay
The Chicago Housing Authority is supposed to provide affordable homes for those in need. But the agency has nearly 500 scattered-site units that are vacant — many causing problems for their neighbors.
Posted inFollow-Up
City Goes After Firms That Owe $15M in Rat-related Tickets After Illinois Answers/Block Club Investigation
The debtor is a real estate empire that’s looking for a big payday by selling land for the Red Line expansion. But the city says not so fast.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
5 Ways Lawmakers Could Boost Equity in Illinois’ Stalled Cannabis Industry
“If we don’t provide real, intentional help for these social equity dreamers, we’re going to let them down as a state. All of their money will be lost,” a key lawmaker said.
