In completing our second month of the new “Illinois Corruption Watch” project, we are shocked at the volume of corruption stories being reported across the state. In just two months we have found reports of 101 different corruption-related stories; 45 in April and 56 in May. It’s no wonder Illinois citizens have by far the...

45.  April 30, 2014 Sun-Times: Criminal probe of Quinn anti-violence plan rocks governor’s race A criminal grand jury has launched a probe into Gov. Pat Quinn’s troubled anti-violence program —  once likened to “a political slush fund” — delivering a major blow to the Democrat as he seeks re-election this fall. On Tuesday, the Quinn...

On the same day the White House announced an honor for Chicago Alderman Joe Moore as a “pioneer for political reform, governmental transparency and democratic governance,” Moore also revealed that he had been questioned by the FBI in an ethics probe concerning some of his former employees. As the Chicago Tribune reported: The accusations involving...

In January 2012, the Illinois Auditor General’s office set up a fraud hotline to provide Illinoisans a way to sound the alarm on corruption. After all, Illinois is the third-most corrupt state in America.

State Rep. LaShawn K. Ford, D-Chicago, of Illinois’ 8th District has become the most recent example of a steady stream of Illinois politicians caught with their hands in the cookie jar. According to the Chicago Sun-Times: “Ford, 40, of Chicago — who also invests in Chicago real estate — allegedly fraudulently obtained a $500,000 increase...

In March of this year, state Rep. Derrick Smith was charged with accepting a bribe of $7,000 in exchange for supporting a grant for a fictional day care operator in an undercover FBI sting. The legislature expelled Smith from the legislature in August, but after Tuesday night’s elections it appears that Smith will return to the Legislature...

Sometimes it

Illinois has long been known for corruption of government. Recently, a national public corruption study from University of Illinois-Chicago ranked the Northern District of Illinois as the most corrupt area in the nation. So it’s hardly shocking when we hear of another public corruption case. But the latest case of public corruption from the city of Dixon,...

The Problem How many hospitals does the Land of Lincoln need, and who gets to decide? In Illinois, the process is far more complicated than you might think—and, unfortunately, it also restricts access to health care for citizens across the state. In 1974, a federal law gave states incentives to create Certificate of Need (CON)...

by Will Compernolle A court-appointed watchdog group claims Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is “using the county payroll to reward those who backed his failed re-election effort and punish those who did not,” the Chicago Tribune reports. Stroger’s staff has lowered minimum job qualifications, pretended not to know job applicants when they did, tried to invoke...