Report: Chicago area most corrupt in nation

By Vincent Caruso

02/13/2019

Chicagoland and northern Illinois have seen more corrupt public officials put behind bars than any other part of the nation, a new analysis found.

TAGS: Chicago, corruption, Danny Solis, Ed Burke

Feds drilling to the core of Illinois power, politics

By Austin Berg

01/31/2019

What’s important for Illinoisans to know now is not just whether politically powerful people such as Burke and Madigan broke the law, but how the law itself encourages indecent behavior.

TAGS: Chicago, Danny Solis, Ed Burke, Mike Madigan

New bills would allow Chicagoans to recall mayor

By Joe Barnas

01/30/2019

Lawmakers in Springfield have introduced a pair of bills that would provide a mechanism for Chicagoans to recall their mayor.

TAGS: Chicago, election, mayor, recall

FBI secretly recorded Madigan at his law office

By Austin Berg

01/29/2019

Madigan has long been criticized for his control of a lucrative law firm specializing in Cook County property tax appeals.

TAGS: Chicago, corruption, Danny Solis, Ed Burke, FBI, House Speaker, Madigan & Getzendanner, Mike Madigan

Chicago aldermen give up control of $100M workers’ comp program

By Brad Weisenstein

01/23/2019

A federal corruption charge against Chicago Ald. Ed Burke has led peers to hand control of the $100 million-a-year workers’ compensation program to the city finance department. Burke, who had overseen the program for decades, fought program oversight and staffed it with political allies.

TAGS: Chicago, Chicago City Council, Ed Burke, Rahm Emanuel, workers compensation

Chicago ‘tow-and-sell’ operation flips 50K cars, buries drivers in debt

By Vincent Caruso

01/22/2019

Chicago has seized and sold nearly 50,000 impounded vehicles since 2011, hitching drivers to mounting debts, a recent investigation found. The city’s ticketing laws disproportionately harm low-income residents.

TAGS: Chicago, criminal justice reform, overcriminalization, Rahm Emanuel, towing

2 in 5 Chicago city workers are paid $100K or more

By Vincent Caruso

01/18/2019

Chicago had nearly 15,000 municipal employees paid at least six figures in 2017, up more than 1,000 from the previous year. That’s more than 40 percent of the city’s workforce.

TAGS: Chicago, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, Rahm Emanuel, salaries

Ald. Burke prosecution ends battle against auditing Chicago’s $100 million workers’ comp program

By Brad Weisenstein

01/07/2019

Mayor Rahm Emanuel ordered an audit of the city’s $100 million-a-year workers’ compensation program following Ald. Ed Burke’s resignation as finance committee chair. Burke has long fought program oversight.

TAGS: Chicago, Chicago City Council, Ed Burke, Rahm Emanuel, workers compensation

Chicago Ald. Ed Burke gives up control of city finances after felony extortion charge

By Brad Weisenstein

01/04/2019

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Jan. 4 that longtime Ald. Ed Burke resigned as chairman of the city’s finance committee. The move came the day after federal agents served Burke an attempted extortion charge.

TAGS: Chicago, Chicago City Council, corruption, Ed Burke

Longtime Chicago Ald. Ed Burke charged with extortion

By Brad Weisenstein

01/03/2019

Federal prosecutors claim Burke used his position as alderman to solicit business for his law firm, which specializes in Cook County property tax appeals. Felony attempted extortion could come with up to 20 years in prison.

TAGS: Chicago, Chicago City Council, corruption, Ed Burke

Budget Solutions 2020: A 5-year plan to balance Illinois’ budget, pay off debt and cut taxes

Gov. J.B. Pritzker inherited a $2.8 billion budget deficit the moment he stepped into office. Next year, that deficit is projected to be $3.4 billion1. It’s the same story every budget season. But Illinois’ budget crises could be a thing of the past if the state would adopt pension reform, right-size its union contracts and...

View Report

Budget Solutions 2020: A 5-year plan to balance Illinois’ budget, pay off debt and cut taxes

Report Archive

Tracy Ross

Policy lessons from Illinois’ exodus of people and money

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students