Some Cook County jail inmates are literally eating parts of the jail, and taxpayers must pay their healthcare and other costs.

CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini reports.

X-rays show pieces of metal swallowed by Cook County Jail inmates.

“Who would ever think we’d be talking about this?” asks Sheriff Tom Dart, who was more concerned about stabbings, fights and fires when he first took office.

The Hispanic electorate is growing in size and importance. Illinois is home to close to 1 million Hispanic eligible voters, among the largest such voting blocs in the nation, similar in size to New Jersey and Arizona, according to data analyzed by the Pew Research Center.

However, Hispanics make up only 10.5 percent of Illinois eligible voters, a far lower share than in California, Texas and New Mexico, where more than 1 in 4 of all eligible voters are Latino.

With the Illinois primary right around the corner (see a primary calendar here) and the run-up to November’s general election intertwined with rhetoric about immigration, attention is high.

As part of the city of Chicago’s ongoing effort to make our communities safer, the Chicago Police Department and the Department of Buildings announced today that the city is expediting the demolition of vacant buildings in police districts with high-crime rates. In doing so, the city is using every tool at its disposal to fight crime and stop gangs from using select buildings as centers for illegal activity. Expedited demolition of targeted buildings will begin today at three vacant buildings at 228, 236, and 244 W. 113th Street.

“The demolition of these buildings is part of our all-of-the-above approach to keep residents safe, protect our communities, and invest in the future of our neighborhoods,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. “The actions we are taking are clear: we will not rest in our collective effort to rid Chicago of crime and gang activity. We are committed to using every tool available to build a better future for the city of Chicago.”

Over the past few years, the CPD and the Department of Buildings has worked together, along with input from elected officials and community members, to demolish and secure vacant buildings that serve as hubs for violence and gang activity. In 2016, the City has completed 14 demolitions, and also boarded up and secured approximately 425 buildings.

Chicago’s most powerful aldermen was accused Tuesday of violating the Shakman decree by allowing “political hacks” to administer a $100 million-a-year workers’ compensation program that belongs in the executive branch.

Jay Stone, the maverick son of former longtime Ald. Bernard Stone (50th), filed a complaint with Inspector General Joe Ferguson, asking Ferguson to investigate Ald. Edward Burke (14th), chairman of the City Council’s Finance Committee.

The lowest state jobless rate for black workers in the country matches the highest rate for white workers in a new analysis.

At 6.7%, Virginia’s black unemployment rate was the lowest in the nation in the fourth quarter. That rate happens to be the same as the jobless rate for white workers in West Virginia, the worst in the country, according to a report from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.

The report, released this month, found that while unemployment rates have fallen across much of the country and the national unemployment rate is now half of its recession-era peak, only a handful of states have seen meaningful improvement in the labor market for African-American and Latino workers. And conditions vary greatly from state to state.

Call it a Cicero mystery.

A brand-new security company that employs a person with close ties to town president, Larry Dominick, suddenly started getting contracts from Cicero agencies, but nobody will talk about how it happened.

FOX 32 and the Better Government Association have been digging into the contracts that are costing Cicero taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. And as FOX 32’s Investigative Reporter Dane Placko reports, the story starts with a man who describes himself as Larry Dominick’s bodyguard.

An epic budget battle in Illinois led Moody’s Investors Service to downgrade the credit rating of three of the state’s public universities late Wednesday, the latest setback for schools that have been starved of funding for eight months and now face possible accreditation challenges.

Northeastern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University had their credit ratings lowered to just above junk status, while Eastern Illinois University’s rating is now below investment grade. That means analysts consider revenue bonds issued on behalf of the school to be a credit risk for investors.

“The downgrade is driven by EIU’s increasing vulnerability to the ongoing state budget impasse given its thin liquidity, declining enrollment and high reliance on state funding,” Moody’s said in a statement. “Liquid reserves are expected to be exhausted by the end of the fiscal year.”

Gov. Bruce Rauner said Wednesday he’d be willing to fund Monetary Award Program grants for struggling college students if the legislature approves revamping state purchasing laws.

A bill from Democratic lawmakers to fund MAP grants was vetoed by the Republican governor last week because there was no way to pay for the $721 million proposal that also included funding for community college operations and adult education programs.

“We’ve got to stop trying to spend money that we don’t have, because that fails and that scares employers away,” Rauner said during an appearance at Southeast High School in Springfield. “When an employer looks at a state that constantly is spending money it doesn’t have, and they’re thinking of investing in a state, they say, ‘Why would I sink a billion dollars in the ground in a state that keeps spending themselves into oblivion that’s only going to raise their taxes eventually to pay for their unbalanced budget?’”

Journalists in Illinois have come up short trying to get information about Governor Bruce Rauner’s state email. Wednedsay, the governor gave his explanation for why.

State transparency laws mean requests for emails in which Rauner had done state business should have yielded something.

Unless, of course — even in this age of digital everything — there aren’t any.

“I have no email. None whatsoever,” Rauner says.