‘Ballot selfies’ are a felony in Illinois

By Dylan Sharkey

03/23/2023

Voters wanting to show their Election Day pride should be careful. Sharing a voting-booth selfie on social media is a felony in Illinois.

TAGS: Chicago, election

Chicago crime spikes in 2022, but first drop in murder since pandemic

By Hannah Max

02/21/2023

Crime tops the list of concerns for Chicago voters in the mayoral election after 2022 brought the most crime in five years and after 2021 was the deadliest year in the past quarter-century.

TAGS: Chicago, crime

Chicago restaurant crime along Red Line train highest near Loop stops

By Patrick Andriesen

02/07/2023

Each restaurant in the Chicago Loop along the “L” system’s Red Line averaged 1.2 crimes during 2021 and 2022, the most along the line. South of the Loop, there was less than one crime per restaurant.

TAGS: Chicago, crime, restaurants

Illinois House bill would force Chicago grocers, gas stations to hire armed guards

By Dylan Sharkey

02/03/2023

A state lawmaker wants to force select Chicago businesses to hire full-time, armed security guards.

TAGS: Chicago, crime

SAFE-T Act’s end to cash bail paused by Illinois Supreme Court

By Patrick Andriesen

01/02/2023

The Illinois Supreme Court stayed a provision of the SAFE-T Act set to take effect Jan. 1 that would have eliminated cash bail statewide after a county judge ruled it would violate the state constitution. The high court said it planned an “expedited” review.

TAGS: SAFE-T Act

Pritzker signs SAFE-T Act trailer amendment with 5 reforms

By Patrick Andriesen

12/08/2022

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the fourth trailer amendment to the SAFE-T Act Dec. 6. Experts predict the changes will not stop a constitutional challenge from 62 state’s attorneys.

TAGS: SAFE-T Act

3 things you need to know about latest SAFE-T Act changes

By Joe Tabor

12/01/2022

Lawmakers are set to consider an amendment to the controversial criminal justice reform law set to take effect on Jan. 1. Here are three things Illinoisans should know about the proposed changes.

TAGS: SAFE-T Act

Amendment 1 could let Illinois police unions undo SAFE-T Act mandates

By Mailee Smith

11/23/2022

Illinois’ new union amendment allows government unions to negotiate over virtually anything and override state law through their union contracts. That includes laws aimed at reforming police procedures.

TAGS: police union, SAFE-T Act

Everything Illinoisans need to know about the SAFE-T Act

By Joe Tabor, Perry Zhao

11/18/2022

The omnibus criminal justice reform bill became highly politicized in the November elections, mixing fact and fiction. There are problems with the bill, but state lawmakers can fix them before the SAFE-T Act takes effect in January.

TAGS: SAFE-T Act

Chicago issues over 1M parking tickets in 6 months

By Patrick Andriesen

10/11/2022

Three years after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot campaigned on a pledge to reduce fines and fees, the city issued over 1 million parking tickets in the first half of 2022 – a 25% bump from the same period a year earlier.

TAGS: Chicago, speed cameras