Soon after Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker took office in 2019, his administration elevated Aunt Martha’s Integrated Care Center on Chicago’s South Side as a model for how Illinois would serve abused foster children with mental health diagnoses. The fortress-like red brick building was touted by his administration as a haven for court-supervised youth scarred by […]
Posted inStaff News & Awards
Maggie Sivit joins Injustice Watch as engagement editor
Maggie Sivit, a multimedia journalist who specializes in community-centered journalism, is joining Injustice Watch as the organization’s new engagement editor.
Posted inStaff News & Awards
Nathan Armstrong joins Injustice Watch as executive director
Nathan Armstrong, a veteran fundraising professional with over a decade of experience working in nonprofit journalism, will lead Injustice Watch as its next executive director.
Posted inJuvenile Courts
Su hijo fue arrestado en Chicago ¿Qué sucede después?
Hablamos con expertos legales para entender qué sucede después de que un niño es detenido por la policía y qué protecciones existen para los jóvenes en el sistema de justicia juvenil.
Posted inPolice
Chicago police made nearly 200,000 secret traffic stops last year
Chicago police are required by law to document every time they pull someone over. But our new investigation reveals the department is releasing vastly incomplete data to oversight agencies, even as the superintendent pledges reforms.
Posted inThe Tenant Trap
Decades of courts data, 2.3M records analyzed to reveal unfair system
To examine the link between dangerous building disrepair and evictions in Chicago, Injustice Watch analyzed roughly 1.9 million code violations, 60,000 administrative court dockets, 300,000 eviction court dockets, and 43,000 housing court dockets dating back to the early 2000s. Because Chicago Property Index Numbers were absent from these records, Injustice Watch relied on street addresses […]
Posted inThe Tenant Trap
Tenants’ right to withhold rent becomes landlords’ weapon
Listen to this story: Injustice Watch · The Tenant Trap – Part 2: Tenants' right to withhold rent It wasn’t always tense between Megan Franklin and her landlords. In 2014, when she moved in, most of the 35 units in the courtyard building with castle turrets were occupied by condo owners. It showed in the […]
Posted inThe Tenant Trap
Tenants who call the city for help find lackluster enforcement
Listen to this story: Injustice Watch · The Tenant Trap – Part 3: Tenants call the city, find lackluster enforcement Thelia Stennis didn’t live in the worst of Gary Carlson’s 83 buildings. Sewage wasn’t backing up into her tub, and there was no black mold or lead paint in her home — as far as […]
Posted inThe Tenant Trap
Few wins for tenants suing landlords
Listen to this story: Injustice Watch · The Tenant Trap – Part 4: Few wins for tenants suing landlords In 2020, Tonnett Hammond was getting increasingly anxious about not being able to reach her new landlords. By then, the post office had stopped delivering mail because of broken mailboxes at the 11-story apartment building known […]
Posted inThe Tenant Trap
Solutions for landlord-tenant inequity range from clerical adjustments to radical change
Listen to this story: Injustice Watch · The Tenant Trap – Part 5: Solutions The Chicago renters who band together to form tenant unions — who work with community organizers to present demands and launch rent strikes, who call in top city officials, and who file lawsuits against their landlords — are unique among the […]