High-risk real estate investments cost Chicago pension funds $54M, win fund managers $9M

By Vincent Caruso

09/14/2018

A real estate investment deal arranged by a firm that employed former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s nephew has dealt a blow to Chicago’s cash-strapped pension funds, underscoring the need for a 401(k)-style alternative.

TAGS: Chicago, Daley, investment, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions

2 Chicago police officers accepted $13K in bribes in alleged ‘kickback’ scheme

By Vincent Caruso

09/10/2018

The officers are facing federal charges for their alleged role in a kickback scheme involving an attorney referral service seeking information on traffic crashes.

TAGS: bribery, Chicago, corruption, CPD: Chicago Police Department

Chicago-based MillerCoors shedding 350 jobs, despite $5.7M TIF subsidy

By Vincent Caruso

09/06/2018

MillerCoors opened its Chicago headquarters in 2010. Eight years and nearly $6 million in subsidies later, the beer giant has been hammered by a heavy round of layoffs.

TAGS: Chicago, jobs, property taxes, taxes, TIF: Tax Increment Financing, unemployment

Chicago mayoral term limits small step closer to reality

09/05/2018

A group led by former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is one step closer to getting a binding referendum question on the November ballot that would place term limits on the mayor of Chicago.

TAGS: Chicago, mayor, Pat Quinn, Rahm Emanuel, term limits

Rauner signs bill banning ticket quotas in Chicago

08/29/2018

Chicago will no longer be exempted from a state law barring Illinois municipalities from imposing ticket quotas on local police departments.

TAGS: ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, Bill Cunningham, Bruce Rauner, Chicago, ticket quotas

Chicago Ald. Willie Cochran to plead guilty to corruption charges

By Vincent Caruso

08/15/2018

The South Side alderman had been charged with stealing charity donations to finance his daughter’s college tuition payments and casino getaways in Indiana, among other offences.

TAGS: Chicago, Chicago City Council, corruption, Willie Cochran

Chicago stopping more than 2,400 Airbnb hosts from listing their rooms

By Vincent Caruso

08/14/2018

City bureaucracy – not consumer complaints – has left thousands of Chicago hosts barred from the Airbnb platform.

TAGS: Airbnb, Chicago, Chicago City Council, homesharing, sharing economy

Study: Red-light cameras fail to reduce traffic accidents

08/13/2018

A recent analysis confirms what many Illinoisans already know: While red-light cameras serve as reliable sources of revenue, they do not improve public safety.

TAGS: Chicago, corruption, red light cameras, Redflex Traffic Systems

Chicago police caught using ‘bait truck’ in South Side neighborhood

By Vincent Caruso

08/09/2018

In what critics have decried as an inappropriate use of scarce public safety resources, Chicago police officials parked a “bait truck” reportedly filled with boxes of Nike sneakers in the city’s Englewood neighborhood.

TAGS: Chicago, CPD: Chicago Police Department, criminal justice reform

Shell game: Chicago considers plan to borrow $10B to pay off pension debt

By Adam Schuster

08/09/2018

Previous pension obligation bonds in Illinois have increased costs to taxpayers and done nothing to solve the fiscal challenges created by the pension system.

TAGS: Chicago, Chicago City Council, municipal pensions, pensions, Rahm Emanuel

Chicago

High-risk real estate investments cost Chicago pension funds $54M, win fund managers $9M

2 Chicago police officers accepted $13K in bribes in alleged ‘kickback’ scheme

Chicago-based MillerCoors shedding 350 jobs, despite $5.7M TIF subsidy

Chicago mayoral term limits small step closer to reality

Rauner signs bill banning ticket quotas in Chicago

Chicago Ald. Willie Cochran to plead guilty to corruption charges

Chicago stopping more than 2,400 Airbnb hosts from listing their rooms

Study: Red-light cameras fail to reduce traffic accidents

Chicago police caught using ‘bait truck’ in South Side neighborhood

Shell game: Chicago considers plan to borrow $10B to pay off pension debt

Chicago Forward 2026: A pro-growth plan to end city budget deficits

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

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