The family of a man who died in Cook County Jail last year after he was beaten by guards is suing Sheriff Tom Dart alleging civil rights violations and demanding punitive damages. The 73-page suit filed last week in the Northern District of Illinois by the stepfather of Cory Ulmer, who was 41 when he […]
Posted inHousing
Pilsen tenants followed the law in withholding rent. They were forced to move out anyway.
Leer en español By the time three Pilsen tenants began writing letters to their landlord requesting repairs in May 2023, water was dripping from the ceiling of a third-floor hallway even on sunny days. “Right outside my unit, there is water leakage from the fourth floor and damage in floorboards due to oversaturation,” wrote Cristina […]
Posted inCourt Administration
Troubled county tech firm used insider lobbyist who was later convicted in ComEd corruption scheme
This project was reported in collaboration with the Chicago Tribune As a fledgling tech contractor looking to build its business in the insular world of Cook County politics, Texas-based Tyler Technologies turned to one of Illinois’ most well-connected lobbyists to get the job done. In 2016, Jay Doherty not only lobbied Chicago, Cook County and […]
Posted inHousing
Property-tax foreclosure reform gets put off by Illinois legislators
In their end-of-session dash to pass a state budget, Illinois lawmakers put off consideration of proposed reforms to property tax sales and foreclosures. That leaves Illinois the only remaining state where homeowners can face losing not just their homes but also all of the equity in them they’ve accumulated if their homes are foreclosed on […]
Posted inHousing
Illinois is the last state to unlawfully strip wealth from homeowners caught in tax foreclosure
This is a joint project of Injustice Watch and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity. When Cook County sheriff’s deputies burst into the Maywood home of 74-year-old Velma Lewis with a battering ram, it wasn’t because she had committed a crime or had a warrant issued for her arrest. It was because she fell […]
Posted inStaff News & Awards
Aura Bogado joins Injustice Watch as senior reporter
Aura Bogado is joining Injustice Watch as a senior reporter. Her work will explore the ways the courts impact immigrants in Chicago and Cook County. Bogado, formerly a senior reporter and producer at The Center for Investigative Reporting, is a groundbreaking investigative journalist who exposed the forced drugging of migrant children, uncovered a military contractor’s […]
Posted inCourt Administration
Costs triple, delays mount in vital tech contracts
This investigation was reported in collaboration with the Chicago Tribune. In a flurry of contracts inked a decade ago, some of Illinois’ most powerful political figures declared it was time to fix their obsolete and expensive computer systems. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle called for an online method to deliver error-free property records and […]
Posted inImmigration
La corte de inmigración en Chicago: Una guía para las audiencias de deportación
Miles de personas acuden a diario a la corte de inmigración de Chicago para presentar sus casos ante un juez que decidirá si pueden quedarse o serán deportados. Es difícil para los inmigrantes que deben demostrar por qué se les debe permitir permanecer en los Estados Unidos. El proceso suele tardar años. Puede ser especialmente […]
Posted inImmigration
Chicago immigration court: A guide to removal hearings
Leer en español. Thousands of people come through Chicago’s immigration court every day to plead their cases before a judge who will decide whether they can stay or be deported. It’s an uphill battle for noncitizens who must prove why they should be allowed to stay in the United States. The process often takes years. […]
Posted inHousing
Answers to Chicago renters’ common questions
Injustice Watch wrapped up its workshop series Know Your Building, Know Your Landlord last month, with nearly 100 people attending to learn how to find building code violations and research who owns their building. The training followed Injustice Watch’s five-part series “The Tenant Trap,” which identified thousands of Chicago residential buildings with a chronic history […]