How many gang crimes occurred in your Chicago neighborhood?
How many gang crimes occurred in your Chicago neighborhood?
How often did gang crimes happen in your Chicago neighborhood? Here’s what the Chicago Police data shows.
Recall Brandon Johnson
Recall Brandon Johnson
Voters near O’Hare to take up gerrymandering, unfunded mandates
Voters near O’Hare to take up gerrymandering, unfunded mandates
Addison Township voters at the April 1 election will tell state lawmakers where they stand on legislative map gerrymandering and state leaders making demands without providing money. Nearly 650,000 Illinoisans’ concerns about major state issues will be represented by these votes.
Another Cook County suburb gives voters say on Illinois issues
Another Cook County suburb gives voters say on Illinois issues
Wheeling Township voters will have a chance to weigh in on Illinois state lawmakers imposing unfunded mandates. After the April 1 election, nearly 650,000 Illinoisans’ concerns will have been represented by votes on some of the state’s most pressing issues.
How government unions work against interests of private-sector unions, taxpayers
How government unions work against interests of private-sector unions, taxpayers
Government unions posed threats to public welfare that were recognized by founders of the labor movement and by progressive icon Franklin D. Roosevelt. Those threats have become reality, with government union power dominating – especially in Illinois.
5 solutions for Illinois schools to fight literacy crisis
5 solutions for Illinois schools to fight literacy crisis
The first three years of elementary school are critical in building reading skills so a student succeeds in school and life. Illinois lawmakers can push five proven literacy reforms to give the state’s students a better start.
Voters in northwest Cook County take up pension crisis, unfunded mandates
Voters in northwest Cook County take up pension crisis, unfunded mandates
Palatine Township voters will take up some of the state’s most urgent issues at the April 1 election, telling state lawmakers where they stand on public pensions and unfunded state mandates.
Nation gains 227K jobs as Illinois loses 3.4K in November
Nation gains 227K jobs as Illinois loses 3.4K in November
Job growth was healthy across the nation in November with a gain of 227,000. Illinois’ metropolitan areas lost 3,400, with Peoria losing at the fastest rate.
Brandon & Stacy
Brandon & Stacy
Digital licenses, shampoo bottles, $15 wage: Illinois’ new laws for 2025
Digital licenses, shampoo bottles, $15 wage: Illinois’ new laws for 2025
New Years’ Day means hundreds of new laws on the books, including one allowing residents to get a digital version of their driver’s license.
Nearly 9 in 10 layoffs in November from businesses closing
Nearly 9 in 10 layoffs in November from businesses closing
Nearly 9 in 10 of the Illinois job losses announced in November resulted from businesses closing. Chicago led the state for layoffs, followed by Rockford.
4,098 Chicagoans killed in gang crime in 20 years
4,098 Chicagoans killed in gang crime in 20 years
Chicago gang crime declined to its lowest level in the past two decades in 2023, but the numbers may be more about gangs fracturing and police losing their gang database. Still, more than 1-in-5 homicides were suspected of being gang related.
Joel Hamernick
Joel Hamernick
After getting his start in the Cabrini Green public housing development, Joel Hamernick has spent 30 years working with gangs and neighborhood groups to prevent gun violence in Chicago. “About 20 years ago, the gangs in Chicago had a strong governmental hierarchy and a lot more structure. But today, almost none of that structure remains.”...
Bill would boost transparency of Illinois finances
Bill would boost transparency of Illinois finances
Illinois House Bill 5896 would require more detailed reporting of how Springfield spends taxpayer money. It improves transparency, which is a step toward fiscal restraint.