Latest Past Events

ABC 7 Chicago Weekend Watch

Tune in to ABC-7 Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. to catch the latest Weekend Watch segment where we focus a spotlight on government. BGA President and CEO David Greising wrote a column breaking down the Mayor's strategy that includes solutions like increasing the involvement of the feds, suspending custody alternatives for people who have been charged with violent crimes (i.e. electronic monitoring). Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell and many law advocates have opposed Lightfoot's plans — Mitchell even calling it "unconstitutional." The Mayor expects to put a strategy in place by summer 2022.

ABC 7 Chicago Weekend Watch

Tune in to ABC-7 Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. to catch the latest Weekend Watch segment where we focus a spotlight on government. David Kidwell, BGA's special projects editor,will discuss "Cabrini-Green: A History of Broken Promises." - a multi-part series by senior investigative reporter Alejandra Cancino, who spent a year sifting through hundreds of documents and conducted dozens of interviews to document the broken promises, delays and neglect of the Cabrini-Green public housing complex.

Understanding Cook County’s Pattern of Dead-End Drug Arrests

In Cook County, thousands of people are arrested every year for possessing small amounts of drugs only to have their cases thrown out just days later. It’s due to an unwritten rule in the courts that costs millions of dollars in taxes and costs those getting arrested their jobs, their homes and their freedom.

A new investigation, “Dead-End Drug Arrests,” examines this pattern in Cook County. The Better Government Association and the Chicago Sun-Times found those charged with carrying less than one gram of drugs are still routinely arrested although their charges are overwhelmingly dismissed in the earliest stages of their court cases.