Carlos Ballesteros

A security camera still image showing a handcuffed man sitting alone on a bench in a sparse jail cell.

Family sues Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart over ‘brutal’ jail death

Cory Ulmer’s family alleges a pattern of widespread failures at the jail and cites an Injustice Watch investigation into numerous questionable deaths under Dart’s watch in a federal lawsuit.

by Carlos Ballesteros June 24, 2025June 24, 2025

Housing

Property-tax foreclosure reform gets put off by Illinois legislators

Lawmakers said they again will consider the issue later this year. Meanwhile, Cook County will postpone its 2025 tax sale because of concerns over homeowners who fall behind on property taxes losing their homes and equity.

by Carlos Ballesteros and Emeline Posner, Investigative Project on Race and Equity June 6, 2025June 12, 2025

Taken by Taxes

Illinois is the last state to unlawfully strip wealth from homeowners caught in tax foreclosure

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled unconstitutional a decades-old practice of taking every cent of people’s home equity over unpaid property taxes. Experts say Illinois lags behind the nation by continuing the racist policy mostly impacting Black communities.

by Carlos Ballesteros and Emeline Posner, Investigative Project on Race and Equity May 16, 2025January 14, 2026

A Cook County commissioner stands at a podium with a large county seal behind him. Two officials in the Cook County Sheriff's Office sit at the dais looking solemn.

Dying on Dart’s Watch

Sheriff Tom Dart skips hearing on Cook County Jail deaths as families offer tearful testimony

The hearing was called in response to an Injustice Watch investigation into the 18 deaths at the jail last year. Dart, who’s overseen the jail for nearly two decades, sent several representatives in his place, leading one commissioner to ask, “Where is Sheriff Dart?”

by Carlos Ballesteros December 19, 2024December 19, 2024

A photo of a Black man with in a white jacket superimposed over a photo of barbed wire and a guard tower outside the Cook County Jail.

Dying on Dart’s Watch

Handcuffed detainee dies at Cook County Jail after being beaten by guards, records show

Cory Ulmer’s family was told his death was the result of a medical emergency. But, according to an internal report obtained by Injustice Watch, correctional officers body-slammed and struck him several times in the minutes before he died.

by Carlos Ballesteros June 28, 2024December 17, 2024

A young woman in a black hoodie holds up a school photo of a good-looking young man in a dark green graduation gown.

Dying on Dart’s Watch

Cook County Jail’s deadliest year in decades reveals repeated lapses and failed oversight

Eighteen people died at the jail last year, and half of the deaths featured examples of inadequate supervision and medical care, an Injustice Watch investigation found. Sheriff Tom Dart blames detainees overdosing on drug-laced paper and says he’s addressed the problem, but experts say there’s a renewed need for oversight.

by Carlos Ballesteros June 12, 2024October 31, 2024

2024 Primary

A notorious Chicago cop wants to become a Cook County judge

Chicago Police Lt. John D. Poulos is running for Cook County judge in a crowded subcircuit race on the North Side. Standing in his way is a tarnished track record that experts say calls his credibility into question.

by Carlos Ballesteros March 4, 2024March 4, 2024

Illinois governor JB Pritzker stands behind a podium bearing the seal of the state of Illinois.

Parole and Clemency

Pritzker defends denials of medical release requests from dying and disabled prisoners

“We’re not just going to push everybody out the door just because there’s somebody who complains that we haven’t done it the way they would like it done,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in response to an Injustice Watch and WBEZ investigation.

by Carlos Ballesteros August 31, 2023January 8, 2024

Illustration of a prisoner in an orange jumpsuit lying in a hospital bed. Shadows of bars and bars on the windows indicate that they are in prison.

Parole and Clemency

Dying and disabled Illinois prisoners kept behind bars, despite new medical release law

The Joe Coleman Medical Release Act was expected to have freed hundreds of terminally ill and medically incapacitated prisoners in Illinois by now. But only a few dozen have been released, an investigation from Injustice Watch and WBEZ reveals.

by Carlos Ballesteros, Shannon Heffernan (WBEZ) and Amy Qin (WBEZ) August 30, 2023November 14, 2024

U Visa Denials

Promised City Hall hearings on U visa failures never happened

Injustice Watch revealed in December how Chicago police denied hundreds of U visa certifications from undocumented crime victims. More than half of the city council called for accountability and new transparency rules, but the measures never passed.

by Carlos Ballesteros June 20, 2023January 8, 2024

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