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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.
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.
In Case you Missed it
Flooding is Illinois’ Most Threatening Natural Disaster. Are We Prepared?
When it comes to preventing severe flooding, there’s not one fix. Over the next few weeks, the Illinois Answers Project will examine what city and state agencies are doing to protect residents.
‘Green Alleys’ Help Prevent Flooding, But Vulnerable Neighborhoods Must Wait in Line
‘It’s a little bit of a shot-in-the-dark implementation strategy,’ a key City Council member said.
Most Illinois jails restrain people in chairs. This county ‘violently shocked’ them, too.
A few years ago, Coles County Jail promised to stop using electrified “stun cuffs” to shock people restrained in chairs. How much has changed?
The U.N. Calls Restraint Chairs Torture. Illinois Jails Use Them Every Day.
The Illinois Answers Project found jail staff are restraining people in chairs in ways that often violate policies and last longer than recommended by…
Illinois lawmakers’ attempt to reinstate wetland protections fails as legislative session ends
The U.S. Supreme Court reversed a major Clean Water Act provision protecting wetlands. Illinois lawmakers attempted to codify protections into state law during this…
Public data at your fingertips
The Illinois Answers Project offers two easy-to-use databases of public information to bring greater clarity to how tax dollars are used.
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Illinois Public Employee Salaries
Illinois Answers compiles the most comprehensive database to review, explore and compare compensation for public employees in Illinois.
Illinois Public Pensions
We collect data from the largest public pension systems in the state and centralize it into our Illinois Public Pensions Database.
more from Illinois answers
Chicago Underwater: A Discussion on the Impact of Flooding
A panel discussion on the impact of flooding in Chicago featuring insights from local experts and advocates
BGA Annual Luncheon & Celebration
This year’s Annual Luncheon will celebrate the BGA’s storied 100+ year record of achievement in advancing its mission of working toward a more transparent, equitable, and accountable government for the…
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The Illinois Answers Project is an investigations and solutions-focused nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization published by the Better Government Association. Launched in November 2022, the Illinois Answers Project identifies problems and solutions to significant Chicago and Illinois problems. Learn more
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Solutions
This Coastal State’s Approach to Flooding May Be a Model for Illinois Communities
Illinois and New Jersey have a problem in common: Flooding, and its devastation on communities. Here, the Illinois Answers Project examines why New Jersey’s work on this front is seen as a national model.
CHA Residents Rip CEO At Hearing: ‘We Need Something Much Better Than This’
Resident leaders and even a member of the Chicago Housing Authority board called for CEO Tracey Scott to go, but some alderpeople praised “progress” at the agency.
Investigations
The U.N. Calls Restraint Chairs Torture. Illinois Jails Use Them Every Day.
The Illinois Answers Project found jail staff are restraining people in chairs in ways that often violate policies and last longer than recommended by manufacturers.
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
Opinion
Greising: The Mayor Learns Who Is Really Calling the Shots on CPS Budget
Within a few years Chicago’s Board of Education will be fully elected. For now, though, Mayor Brandon Johnson appoints the city’s school board, which in theory should mean he is the decision-maker on important doings at Chicago Public Schools. Yet Johnson learned last week that on the budget at least, it’s schools CEO Pedro Martinez…
Greising: When Will CPD Root Out Police Officers With Extremist Ties?
The Chicago Police Department has a problem with racist, anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-democratic police officers on the force. The Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Three Percenters and other extremist groups are represented among the CPD’s roughly 12,000 sworn members. The city inspector general’s office has called attention to this policing problem before, to little effect. So in…
Greising: Aldermen Gain Upper Hand Over ShotSpotter’s Future
The lengthy and intense City Council debate this week over the future of ShotSpotter, the heavily hyped and deeply flawed policing technology, came at a fitting time: just before Memorial Day weekend, when the summerlong fight against violent crime begins in earnest. Summer is when the Chicago Police Department is put to the test, and ShotSpotter…