Cook County

Blagojevich comes home to America’s most corrupt city

02/26/2020
Chicago and the state of Illinois are notorious around the country for high-profile corruption convictions. Rod Blagojevich settles back in after the former governor’s imprisonment for corruption.

TAGS: Chicago, conflict of interest, conviction, Cook County, cooling off period, corruption, ethics, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jeff Tobolski, lobbying, Martin Sandoval, Patrick Doherty, prison, red light cameras, revolving door, Rod Blagojevich, SafeSpeed, watchdog

Records involving Madigan sought by federal probe into southwest Chicago suburb

By Brad Weisenstein
02/21/2020
Federal investigators are seeking records from a small village near Chicago. The subpoena names Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, his political lieutenants and former ComEd lobbyists.

TAGS: Chicago, Commonwealth Edison, conflict of interest, corruption, ethics, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, Kevin Quinn, Marty Quinn, Michael McClain, Mike Madigan, red light cameras, revolving door, Timothy Mapes

Illinois home price growth slowest in nation last year

By Bryce Hill
02/03/2020
Home price appreciation in Illinois was the slowest in the U.S. between the third quarter of 2018 and the third quarter of 2019, federal data showed.

TAGS: Chicago, Chicagoland, Cook County, government spending, Great Recession, home values, homeownership, household income, housing, housing market, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, income tax, Indiana, investment, JB Pritzker, Lake County, mortgage, recession, spending, Springfield, tax hikes, tax increase

Chicago teachers who don’t want to fund CTU leadership’s politics have options

By Mailee Smith, Vincent Caruso
01/30/2020
Leaders of Illinois’ largest local teachers’ union received swift blowback after their latest push into public politics. Members dissatisfied with the priorities of their union’s leadership deserve to know they have other options.

TAGS: Chicago, CPS: Chicago Public Schools, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, government unions, Jesse Sharkey, Kim Foxx, labor, Lori Lightfoot, Nicolas Maduro, opt out, public sector, Stacy Davis Gates, strike, Venezuela

Madigan celebrates 35th anniversary as Illinois House speaker

By Austin Berg
01/12/2020
Illinoisans will soon cast a vote on the biggest ballot question in the history of Madigan’s record-breaking speakership.

TAGS: credit rating, Daley, debt, fair tax, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, graduated income tax, house rules, House Speaker, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, legislative map, lobbying, Mike Madigan, patronage, progressive income tax, property taxes, redistricting, Richard Daley, Springfield, tax burden, U.S. Census Bureau

Illinois comptroller calls red-light cameras ‘broken and morally corrupt’

01/07/2020
Traffic cameras collected more than $1 billion from drivers since 2008, but corruption probes are prompting state comptroller to stop acting as ticket collection agency.

TAGS: corruption, David McSweeney, federal investigation, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Jeff Tobolski, Lyons, Martin Sandoval, McCook, red light cameras, Redflex Traffic Systems, SafeSpeed, Springfield

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Solutions for vacant lots would reduce crime and poverty in Chicago

Reducing property taxes and bureaucratic holdups will lead to safer communities and more economic opportunities on Chicago's South and West sides.

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Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

By Paul Kersey
06/19/2014

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

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016