New minimum wages in effect July 1 for Chicago, Cook County

By Dylan Sharkey

07/01/2022

Minimum wages for Chicago and Cook County are increasing July 1. Inflation has rapidly outpaced wage growth, cutting the average Illinoisan’s pay by $2,200.

TAGS: Chicago, Cook County, economy, inflation, minimum wage

Cook County seeks to implement permanent guaranteed income

By Patrick Andriesen

05/31/2022

Cook County officials promised to make the nation’s now-largest publicly-funded guaranteed income experiment permanent May 18 shortly after introducing the initiative. The trial will start accepting applicants in the fall.

TAGS: Cook County, UBI: Universal Basic Income

Chicago, Cook County to lift mask mandates and vaccine requirement Feb. 28

By Patrick Andriesen

02/10/2022

Chicago and Cook County health officials announced plans to revoke pandemic masking and vaccination entry requirements by Feb. 28, the day Illinois’ statewide mask mandate will be lifted. Pritzker has warned Illinoisans to keep masks handy.

TAGS: Chicago, Cook County, COVID-19, mask mandate

Chicago, Cook County under emergency rule for 22 months. How can that be?

By Joe Tabor

01/11/2022

Chicago and Cook County leaders have exercised executive emergency powers for 22 months to handle the COVID-19 pandemic. Why can they do that and when does it end?

TAGS: Chicago, Cook County, COVID-19

Cook County businesses should require vax proof or COVID-19 test

By Dylan Sharkey

12/17/2021

Cook County businesses should be checking for proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test before letting anyone in their doors, the health department has declared.

TAGS: Cook County, COVID-19, vaccine mandate

Cook County, Metro East crack top 5 ‘judicial hellholes’ in U.S.

By Dylan Sharkey

12/07/2021

Illinois courts’ long history of being friendly to plaintiffs and personal injury attorneys showed up again in a reform group’s annual ranking. Cook County, St. Clair County and Madison County together moved up in the rankings of “judicial hellholes.”

TAGS: ATRA: American Tort Reform Association, Cook County, judicial hellhole, Metro East

Steep property tax hikes to hit Chicago businesses struggling from pandemic

By Amy Korte

11/02/2021

While phasing in the tax impact of sharp increases in assessed value could help Cook County’s commercial property owners adjust, holding down property taxes requires reducing spending through public pension reform in Illinois.

TAGS: Chicago, Cook County, COVID-19, property taxes, small business

Feds investigate property tax bribery scheme in Cook County

By Patrick Andriesen

07/19/2021

A Board of Review employee claims corruption is rampant in his Cook County office after an FBI affidavit states he was charging $2,000 to lower assessment on commercial properties and $1,000 for homes.

TAGS: bribery, Cook County, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Chicago and Cook County raise minimum wage today

By Patrick Andriesen

07/01/2021

The minimum wage for residents working in Chicago and Cook County is increasing July 1. Research suggests the rise in wage rates will benefit the working Chicagoans at the expense of the city’s vulnerable unemployed.

TAGS: Chicago, Cook County, minimum wage

What to know about voting early or by mail before April 6 in Cook County

By Patrick Andriesen

03/16/2021

Cook County voters have calendar dates to watch if they are voting early or by mail ahead of the April 6 election. Here’s what they need to know.

TAGS: Cook County, early voting, election, vote-by-mail