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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

Strapped for Cash, Suburban Library Chooses Hiatus over Consolidation

Residents in south suburban Riverdale get locked out of their public library for three months even while continuing to pay taxes to fund it. The secretive library board refuses to open its books and fails to comply with public records and open meetings law.
Mar 16, 2018 6:00 AM
Investigation

Berrios Firm’s Lobbying Client Gets Big Tax Break From His Assessor’s Office

BGA investigation reveals how tobacco giant Altria saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in property taxes courtesy of the Cook County Assessor’s office run by Joseph Berrios, who co-owns a lobbying business hired by the firm to represent its interests.
Mar 7, 2018 6:00 AM
Investigation

Pritzker’s Storied Charity Costs Him Little But Taxpayers A Lot

The wealthy governor candidate campaigns on his philanthropy, but records show most of his donated proceeds have first been filtered through offshore tax havens and a tax-exempt foundation.
Feb 8, 2018 6:00 AM
Investigation

The Revolving Door: Troubled Officers Get Frequent Career Chances

Cash-strapped suburbs with cops patrolling some of Cook County’s most dangerous streets struggle to retain officers but they also promote others with checkered pasts.
Jan 11, 2018 12:01 AM
Investigation

Deadly Force Policies Ignored In Suburban Chicago

Most police department policies advise against shooting at moving cars or while other officers are in range, but such guidelines matter little to police in dangerous confrontations.
Jan 10, 2018 12:01 AM
Investigation

Failed Oversight Follows Suburban Police Shootings

Review finds little evidence that suburban police departments second-guess their officers who fire weapons under questionable circumstances.
Jan 9, 2018 12:01 AM
Investigation

113 Suburban Cop Shootings, Zero Discipline

They aggressively confronted the mentally ill, fired weapons during high-speed chases and shot bystanders as well as other cops. But they were never punished or retrained.
Jan 8, 2018 12:01 AM
Investigation

687 Cases, 0 Upheld. The Feds’ Record Overseeing Nuclear Whistleblowers

Employees at the nation’s nuclear power plants filed nearly 700 whistleblower complaints with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in recent years. It upheld zero.
Dec 20, 2017 6:01 AM
Investigation

Nuclear Regulator Downplays Safety Warnings

A government body’s own staff is silenced in favor of arguments made by the power plant owners it oversees.
Dec 20, 2017 6:00 AM
Investigation

How City Colleges Won A National Minority Achievement Prize With Manipulated Data

An Emanuel administration drive to project an image of rapid improvement at City Colleges led to a national award for Kennedy-King College in Englewood. But the BGA found the improvement that led to the award was measured using data from an international pastry program located in the Loop.
Dec 18, 2017 6:00 AM

Investigations

Strapped for Cash, Suburban Library Chooses Hiatus over Consolidation

Berrios Firm’s Lobbying Client Gets Big Tax Break From His Assessor’s Office

Pritzker’s Storied Charity Costs Him Little But Taxpayers A Lot

The Revolving Door: Troubled Officers Get Frequent Career Chances

Deadly Force Policies Ignored In Suburban Chicago

Failed Oversight Follows Suburban Police Shootings

113 Suburban Cop Shootings, Zero Discipline

687 Cases, 0 Upheld. The Feds’ Record Overseeing Nuclear Whistleblowers

Nuclear Regulator Downplays Safety Warnings

How City Colleges Won A National Minority Achievement Prize With Manipulated Data

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