The proposal would raise the city’s tax on the sale of pricey homes to help fight homelessness. An effort to get it on the February ballot fizzled this week, but advocates say their fight isn’t over.
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Posted inInvestigations
Tax sale process hits Black homeowners hardest
The property tax sale process that can result in people losing their homes robs those communities of generational wealth, critics say. And Cook County’s last-chance fund to help make some of those homeowners whole is years behind in paying claims.
Posted inInvestigations
How much COVID relief money has your school district spent? Search our map
A Chalkbeat Chicago and Illinois Answers Project investigation revealed that despite student needs, high poverty districts have spent smaller portions of their ESSER funds in comparison to low poverty districts.
Posted inInvestigations
Insurance Giant Failed Foster Kids with Inadequate Care
A nearly $370 million contract promised to improve healthcare for state wards — but for two years the Centene Corp. fell short on basic care, forcing foster parents to scramble.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
Is It Working? Cook County’s Domestic Violence Court Strains to Improve and Expand a Year After a Reckoning
As officials work to overhaul an overloaded and flawed court system, advocates and survivors say the finish line is a long way off.
Posted inInvestigations
City Council Weighs Stalling CTA Funds Amid Service and Safety Questions
City Council members may finally get their crack at questioning CTA President Dorval Carter on Thursday.
Posted inInvestigations
You Can Take It with You: Some Chicago Police Collect Massive Payouts before Retirement
The department spent more than $33 million in comp time payments in 2020. Some police view the money as compensation for time away from family.
Posted inUpdates
BGA Launches New Websites
Illinois Answers Project, a solutions-focused investigative website, and BGA Policy, focused on advocating for good government, debut today
Posted inInvestigations
Top Lightfoot Aide Who Led Heavily Promoted Anti-Violence Efforts Gone From City Job
Tamara Mahal’s departure comes months after the BGA reported that the city overhyped the initiative and that she had made false claims about her career accomplishments
Posted inInvestigations
New Illinois Law Gives Cops Choice Not To Jail People for Small Amounts of Drugs
The change follows a Better Government Association/Chicago Sun-Times investigation last year that documented the impact of ‘dead end’ drug arrests in which people are briefly locked up, only to see the charges soon dismissed.
