Suburban counties last year spent $83M in RTA sales taxes on jails and courts, and they are not giving that money up as the state scrapes for cash.
Investigations
Posted inFollow-Up
Hundreds Of Lots Owned By ‘City’s Worst Landowner’ Went Up For Sale. But Only A Fraction Have Sold
Parcels that belonged to Suzie B. Wilson and her sister accumulated $15 million in city fines for rat-related violations. Hundreds are still sitting empty without any promise of redevelopment.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Calls For ‘Belt-Tightening’ in Chicago Budget Face Hurdles Amid Few Options for Pain-Free Cuts
Cutting city spending faces at least as many logistical and political challenges as raising taxes, an Illinois Answers Project analysis found.
Posted inEquity & Economic Opportunity
‘Granny Flats’ Poised For Expansion — But Only in Neighborhoods Where Alderpeople Allow Them
The new law will allow more coach house construction and conversions but will likely create confusion and increase costs, advocates say.
Posted inInvestigations
Brace For Impact: Tax Hikes Loom For South, West Side Homeowners
Property assessments double for 37,000 homes in Chicago’s historically neglected neighborhoods amid fresh investor interest.
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability
Lawsuits Pile Up as Illinois Lags on Reforming Tax Sale Laws
Illinois is the only state that has yet to reform its tax sale laws after the Supreme Court found unconstitutional a process that can cost homeowners their residences.
Posted inFollow-Up
Judge Won’t Lift Order Barring Release of Body-Cam Footage of Officer Krystal Rivera’s Killing
Rivera was fatally shot by her partner, Officer Carlos Baker, during a June 5 foot chase.
Posted inInvestigations
10 Years After State Budget Impasse, Human Services in Illinois Again Brace for ‘Tsunami’
Nonprofits hurt by impasse boosted budgets with federal funding — now endangered by Trump.
Posted inFollow-Up
Chicago Police Told State Officials Officer Krystal Rivera Was Shot by an ‘Armed Suspect,’ Not Her Partner
After Rivera was killed in June by Officer Carlos Baker, officials told the Illinois Department of Labor she’d been gunned down by a barricaded suspect. The police still haven’t corrected that.
Posted inFollow-Up
Chicago Cop Who Killed Partner Says He’s the Victim in Wicker Park Bar Fight
Officer Carlos Baker was accused of attacking a female cop at DSTRKT Bar & Grill. He told police he was harassed by two women — the off-duty cop and his girlfriend’s mother, who he said attacked him and referred to him as “a murderer.”
