Retailers are reeling and consumers are complaining about the beverage tax, but are the Cook County commissioners listening?
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Posted inFollow-Up, Investigation, PolitiFact
Fact Check: Gov. Rauner Is Mostly Right, The State Budget Is Out Of Balance
When it comes to budgeting, Gov. Rauner has been clearly guilty of some of the same sins he is now complaining about. But he’s right that the state budget is way in the red.
Posted inPress Release
Jill Wine-Banks, Watergate Prosecutor And Distinguished Lawyer, Joins BGA Board Of Directors
The Costly Toll of Dead-end Drug Arrests, published in December, examined how thousands of Chicagoans — mostly Black men — are arrested on drug possession charges judges, police and prosecutors all know will never stick.
Posted inFollow-Up, Investigation
State Budget Whodunit Raises Doubt About Quick Savings From Pension Overhaul
Administrators at state pension systems are scratching their heads over how exactly an estimate for $500 million in pension savings came to be.
Posted inLegal
BGA Sues CPS For Refusal To Turn Over Records Related To Autistic Teen’s Drowning
The Better Government Association has sued the Chicago Public School district to obtain records that could shed light on the death of an autistic high school student who drowned in a swimming pool during gym class.
Posted inFollow-Up, Investigation, PolitiFact
Fact-Check: Does The State’s New Education Law Create A ‘Voucher Program’?
The Chicago Teachers Union consistently describes a scholarship plan included in a new Illinois education bill as a voucher program and a tax shelter that will benefit the wealthy. But is that description accurate?
Posted inAnalysis, Perspective, Policy
Doubek: Illinois Has The Worst Pension Debt In The Nation. What’s The Fix?
State budget? Check. School funding? Check. But pension debt and problems remain.
Posted inAnalysis, Perspective, Policy
Shaw: Can You Have Good Politics Without Good Government?
Recent decisions reflect Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley’s old adage: “Good government is good politics and good politics is good government.”
Posted inAnalysis, Policy
BGA’s Leven: How To Keep Chicago’s Sewage District Clean of Corruption
Better oversight of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District is not just a no-brainer — it’s an environmental and fiduciary imperative.
Posted inFollow-Up, Investigation
Autistic Teen’s Death In CPS Pool Heightens Questions Of Special Ed Care
Fourteen-year-old Rosario Gomez didn’t know how to swim, wasn’t wearing a lifejacket and had significant problems communicating. His drowning in a high school pool last winter fuels doubts about Chicago Public Schools’ ability to care for its special needs students.