In Chicago, thousands of drug possession arrests are tossed out every year because of an unwritten rule in the courts, a Better Government Association/Chicago Sun-Times investigation has found. The cost to taxpayers? Millions. To those arrested? Jobs, housing, freedom.
Jared Rutecki
Jared Rutecki was an investigative reporter and data coordinator at the Illinois Answers Project (previously known as the Better Government Association) from 2016 to 2023.
Posted inFollow-Up, Investigation, Newsroom
Oregon Is First State to Ticket Narcotics Users, but New Reform Has Yet To Live Up To Promise
In Illinois, possession of even trace amounts of heroin residue is a felony. But in Oregon, it’s not a crime at all any more. Instead, people caught with drugs get a ticket. Oregon’s new drug reform is keeping users out of jail — but the goal of getting them help for their addictions has been elusive.
Posted inFollow-Up, Investigation, Newsroom
Kim Foxx’s Ex-Trainer Caught Up in ‘Unending Cycle’ of Drug Arrests
Drug issue hits every corner of Cook County. ‘It breaks my heart,’ the state’s attorney says.
Posted inFollow-Up, Investigation, Newsroom
Dead-End Drug Arrests: How We Reported This Story
The BGA and Chicago Sun-Times analyzed 280,000 total drug possession arrests made in Cook County over nearly two decades. The data used was provided by The Circuit, the collaborative journalistic enterprise led by the BGA and Injustice Watch.
Posted inFollow-Up, Investigation, PolitiFact
No Ransom Paid, but Illinois AG Office Is Spending More Than $2.5 Million on Hacker Attack
In his first in-depth interview since the April breach at the state’s top law enforcement agency, Raoul acknowledges the hack is “embarrassing.”
Posted inFollow-Up, Investigation
Police Shootings in Suburbs Seldom Scrutinized or Punished
The debate over police actions, tactics and discipline may seem like a big-city problem, but in the Cook County suburbs high-profile cases show a pattern of no discipline or criminal charges for officers.
Posted inFollow-Up, Investigation
Tiroteos Policiales en Suburbios Son Rara Vez Investigados o Sancionados
El debate sobre las acciones policiales, las tácticas y la disciplina puede parecer un problema de las grandes ciudades, pero en los suburbios del condado de Cook los casos de alto perfil muestran un patrón de no disciplina o cargos criminales para los oficiales.
Posted inFollow-Up, Investigation
Pressure on Property Taxes Mounts for Towns Across Illinois Amid Pension Burden
Police and fire pension costs in towns and larger cities outside Chicago have grown at a greater rate than property taxes. That is forcing some city leaders to make tough decisions on services and staff.
Posted inFollow-Up, Investigation
Auxiliary Officers Pose Risks in Illinois Towns
Armed with guns and badges but little training, civilian officers provide a less-expensive alternative for law enforcement agencies. But problems at some local departments help illustrate a controversial issue shaded by nepotism, politics and questionable policing.
Posted inFollow-Up, Investigation
Taxpayer Tab for Chicago-area #MeToo Cases $55 Million and Growing
Legal costs mount as hundreds of public bodies in the Chicago region over the last decade have faced allegations of sexual assault, harassment or abuse.
