Illinois House passes bill making it easier for Chicago teachers to strike

By Mailee Smith

04/03/2019

Two of the nation’s largest government union strikes in the past decade happened in Illinois – both by the Chicago Teachers Union. And now a bill in the General Assembly would give Chicago teachers more chances to go on strike.

TAGS: Chicago, collective bargaining, CPS: Chicago Public Schools, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, strike, unions

Another Chicago alderman pleads guilty to corruption charges

By Joe Barnas

03/26/2019

South Side Ald. Willie Cochran pleaded guilty March 21 to felony wire fraud for spending his ward’s charity funds on personal expenses. That’s 30 Chicago aldermen convicted of corruption since 1972.

TAGS: aldermanic privilege, Chicago, Chicago City Council, corruption, Danny Solis, Ed Burke, Willie Cochran

Illinois Senate committee approves statewide plastic bag tax, exempts Chicago

By Austin Berg

03/07/2019

Shoppers across Illinois would pay a new state-level bag tax under Senate Bill 1240 and House Bill 3335. But Chicago shoppers, who already pay a city bag tax, would not.

TAGS: Ann Williams, Chicago, JB Pritzker, plastic bags, taxes, Terry Link

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