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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.

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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.
Oct 14, 2018 2:00 PM
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.
Oct 7, 2018 2:00 PM
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.
Oct 5, 2018 6:00 AM
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.
Sep 30, 2018 2:00 PM
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.
Sep 23, 2018 2:00 PM
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.
Sep 17, 2018 4:30 PM
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.
Sep 16, 2018 2:00 PM
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.
Sep 9, 2018 2:00 PM
PolitiFact

Fact-Check: Pritzker Says Rauner Misquoted Newspapers. That's a Stretch.

Rauner campaign ad selectively quotes — rather than misquotes — newspapers in attack on Pritzker’s tax plan.
Sep 2, 2018 2:00 PM
PolitiFact

Fact-Check: Duckworth’s Background Check Claim Checks Out

Days after Chicago’s most violent weekend this year, the first-term senator points out what she sees as a gaping loophole in federal gun laws.
Aug 26, 2018 2:00 PM

PolitiFact

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

Fact-Check: Rauner Ad Rewrites Property Tax History

Fact-Check: Emanuel Exaggerates What Studies Say About CPS

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

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

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

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

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

Fact-Check: Pritzker Says Rauner Misquoted Newspapers. That's a Stretch.

Fact-Check: Duckworth’s Background Check Claim Checks Out