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PolitiFact

The Newsroom runs PolitiFact Illinois, the local arm of the nationally renowned, Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking enterprise that rates the truthfulness of statements made by governmental leaders and politicians.

PolitiFact

Fact-Check: Sessions Wrong Again on Chicago Murder Spike Cause

The attorney general again blames a 2016 surge in gun-related murders on an agreement between the city and the ACLU to rein in police stops. But other big cities have imposed similar limits without murder spikes.
October 23, 2018
PolitiFact

Rauner, Pritzker Tax Disclosures Rich in Avoidance

Illinois’ wealthiest candidates for governor have disclosed little when it comes to their personal finances. But what they have revealed indicates they leverage tax code flexibility out of reach for most.
October 21, 2018
PolitiFact

“Boys, Boys!”: Repetition Doesn’t Improve Rauner, Pritzker Sniping

The leading candidates for Illinois’ top office squared off in four debates in recent weeks, repeating misleading attacks and defenses on policy issues and personal scandals.
October 14, 2018
PolitiFact

Fact-Check: Rauner Ad Rewrites Property Tax History

The governor’s recent campaign ad ignores the fact that property tax levies are set at the local level in Illinois, meaning not even the powerful House speaker gets to pull the strings.
October 7, 2018
PolitiFact

Fact-Check: Emanuel Exaggerates What Studies Say About CPS

Chicago’s mayor says Stanford University, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago all declared Chicago Public Schools “the best” among its peers. The reports he cites highlight the district’s growing strengths but don’t go that far.
October 5, 2018
PolitiFact

Fact-Check: Pritzker’s Flimsy Claim That Rauner Delayed School Funding

Pritzker’s ad suggests Illinois’ protracted budget stalemate held up state aid for K-12 schools and left local property tax payers to pick up the tab, all thanks to Gov. Rauner. But that argument doesn’t quite add up.
September 30, 2018
PolitiFact

Fact-Check: Rauner Veers Off Course in Claiming Pritzker Proposed a Mileage Tax

The governor’s recent ad claims taxing miles driven is part of Pritzker’s tax plan. But Pritzker has only said he’s interested in exploring the idea.
September 23, 2018
PolitiFact

Fact-Check: AG Candidate Raoul Makes False Claim About Foe’s Gay Adoption Stand

As a teenager, Erika Harold allegedly told beauty pageant judges she opposed gay adoption. Now, as the Republican attorney general candidate, Harold says she favors it. Kwame Raoul, her Democratic opponent, says present day Harold is not to be believed, but his argument is flimsy.
September 17, 2018
PolitiFact

Fact-Check: Republican AG Candidate Misleads in Attacking Opponent over Property Taxes

Erika Harold’s accusation about Democratic state Sen. Kwame Raoul ignores the broader aim of a bill he and House Speaker Michael Madigan sponsored to overhaul two ailing Chicago pension funds.
September 16, 2018
PolitiFact

Fact-Check: Rauner Falsely Claims Graduated Income Taxes Always Hurt the Middle Class

Rauner overlooks nearly a dozen states with graduated systems that tax middle-class earners at lower rates than flat-tax Illinois.
September 9, 2018