The BGA dove deep into the financial and property records of Lyons Mayor Chris Getty, who bought a house built by one of his donors who purchased from the landContinue readingSmall town government, Chicago-style politics

In our story for Crain’s Chicago Business, we charted the impact of the Great Recession that left suburbs with spiraling taxes and plummeting home values. Decades in the making, thatContinue readingSpiral of decline becomes homeowners burden

In the wake of our series detailing the lack of oversight that has followed suburban police shootings, the General Assembly passed a bill that would require all police departments toContinue readingLawmakers seek broader reviews of police shootings

Dolton police officer Major Coleman has been involved in six shootings during the course of his 20 year career. In July 2011, he leaned out the passenger side window ofContinue readingThe Revolving Door: Troubled Officers Get Frequent Career Chances

In part three of “Taking Cover,” we explored the use of force policies guiding police shootings in suburbs throughout Cook County. Franklin Park’s policy says officers shouldn’t shoot at cars orContinue readingDeadly Force Policies Ignored In Suburban Chicago

In the second part of our “Taking Cover” series, we examined the oversight that followed police shootings. As we wrote, the officers who have shot people in the suburbs underContinue readingFailed Oversight Follows Suburban Police Shootings

In part one of our “Taking Cover” series, we summarized the findings of our year-long investigation and profiled three suburban shootings where a Robbins officer shot an innocent 13-year-old boyContinue reading113 Police Shootings, No Discipline

The Better Government Association , in collaboration with our partners at WBEZ, published our investigation into suburban police shootings, where we cataloged and analyzed every police shooting in suburban CookContinue readingTaking Cover

My deep dive into the booming business of a south suburban mayor and his ties to Mayor Richard M. Daley’s formidable political machine. Interestingly, the mayor hired a man sentContinue readingDaley Cogs Spin in Chicago Heights