news analysis
Check Your Judges: Why Cook County judicial elections matter
|
Judicial elections bring high stakes and consequences, especially for Black, Latinx and other marginalized groups disproportionately impacted by the justice system.
In Plain View
U.S. House subcommittee investigates cops tied to racist, xenophobic Facebook posts
|
The departments were all named in Injustice Watch’s “In Plain View” investigation into troubling social media posts by law enforcement officers.
Commentary
Black Chicago has been looted for decades
|
Three weeks ago, the nation was transfixed on images of people running out of downtown stores with their hands full. But the historic plunder of Black Chicago deserves our attention, too.
News
Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake spotlights systemic racism, police spending in Wisconsin
|
Wisconsin cities with the highest numbers of Black residents tend to spend more on policing. Those police forces are also a lot whiter than the cities they serve.
News
Chicago Is Spending $1.6 Billion on 13,000 Police. Is It Worth It?
|
With shootings and murders on the rise and President Trump sending federal agents to the city, community organizers and criminologists point to a police hiring spree from just four years ago to show that more cops on Chicago’s streets aren’t the answer.
Immigration
Southwest Side construction worker quickly deported to Mexico while awaiting DACA decision
|
With the Trump administration seeking to kill the Obama-era program for immigrants, Jesus Alberto ‘Beto’ Lopez Gutierrez, 25, was deported after suing ICE.
News
Proposal to boot Chicago cops from public schools rejected by school board
|
Three school board members backed the proposal, but they could not sway their colleagues.
Staff news
Carlos Ballesteros: ‘Communities come together in ways that aren’t marches, too’
|
Our newest reporter talks about his approach to reporting, the overlap between the immigration and criminal justice systems, and what people get wrong about Chicago.
Coronavirus
Illinois released white inmates at disproportionately high rates amid pandemic, report shows
|
State prisons now hold an even larger proportion of Black and Latinx prisoners than before COVID-19 hit, according to a new analysis.
News
Chicago has nearly tripled per capita police spending since 1964, data show
|
For activists and city leaders calling on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to cut the police budget, it’s clear that the money could be better spent elsewhere.