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Investigations

The Newsroom produces deeply researched investigative stories that shine a light on abuses of power and waste within government.

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Investigation

New School Choice Plan Could Cost State More Than $12,000 A Student

Early estimates show the new tax scholarship program, while limited, could cost the state two to five times more a student than what it now spends on general aid for the state’s public schools students.
Sep 29, 2017 5:30 AM
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.
Sep 18, 2017 2:35 PM
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.
Sep 8, 2017 3:30 PM
Investigation

How CHA Rehabs Of Senior Apartments Blow Through Budgets, Cause Real Pain

Expensive cost overruns are the rule, rather than the exception, when the Chicago Housing Authority orders up renovations at senior housing complexes it runs. Inconvenience, frustration and sometimes danger for elderly residents accompany the rehab work.
Aug 10, 2017 6:00 AM
Investigation

Journey Of A Judge’s Gun From Chicago Buyback To Cicero Police Shooting

A Cook County judge turned a gun in to Chicago police as part of a buyback program 13 years ago. The gun mysteriously turned up eight years later next to the body of a young man shot to death by a Cicero police officer. Cicero officials are now poised to write a $3.5 million settlement check to members of the dead man’s family.
Jul 28, 2017 12:00 PM
Investigation

How City Power Players Diverted $55 Million In Blight-Fighting TIF Cash To Navy Pier

A $55 million financial shell game linked to the administration of Mayor Rahm Emanuel vividly plays into a frequent complaint that the city often raids a tax piggy bank earmarked for disadvantaged neighborhoods to instead bankroll mayoral vanity projects.
Jul 21, 2017 6:00 AM
Investigation

Chris Kennedy Slams Same Property Tax System He Used To Get Big Break

Chris Kennedy, a top Democratic contender for governor, relied on a politically connected tax lawyer to dramatically reduce property tax bills on land he was prepping for development. It appears to mirror the sort of activity Kennedy has been condemning on the campaign trail.
Jul 12, 2017 3:00 PM
Investigation

Big Pensions Just Tiny Part Of Big Pension Mess

BGA analysis of new data underscores how chronically bad government policy, not fat pensions, lie at the heart of soaring pension debt now hobbling the state’s and Chicago’s efforts to pay for schools and other critical services.
May 24, 2017 6:00 AM
Investigation

Can Ailing Illinois Afford In-Home Care Program For Seniors?

As the state grapples with budget gridlock, the Rauner Administration is pushing a change to a program for low income seniors initially billed as a cheaper and better alternative to nursing home care. Thousands could see in-home services scaled back, as costs soar with an aging population.
May 15, 2017 5:00 AM
Investigation

Park District Police: Costly And Questionably Redundant

A handful of Illinois park districts operate taxpayer-funded police forces separate from the regular police departments that already patrol the same communities. With badges sometimes handed to the well-connected, the practice raises questions of redundancy, liability, nepotism and expense.
Apr 7, 2017 5:30 AM

Investigations

New School Choice Plan Could Cost State More Than $12,000 A Student

State Budget Whodunit Raises Doubt About Quick Savings From Pension Overhaul

Autistic Teen's Death In CPS Pool Heightens Questions Of Special Ed Care

How CHA Rehabs Of Senior Apartments Blow Through Budgets, Cause Real Pain

Journey Of A Judge’s Gun From Chicago Buyback To Cicero Police Shooting

How City Power Players Diverted $55 Million In Blight-Fighting TIF Cash To Navy Pier

Chris Kennedy Slams Same Property Tax System He Used To Get Big Break

Big Pensions Just Tiny Part Of Big Pension Mess

Can Ailing Illinois Afford In-Home Care Program For Seniors?

Park District Police: Costly And Questionably Redundant

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