Posted inHousing
Know your building. Know your landlord.
Learn how to research building code violations and property ownership in Chicago using public records.
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Posted inDying on Dart’s Watch
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.
Posted inHousing
Pilsen tenants followed the law in withholding rent. They were forced to move out anyway.
The retaliation lawsuit the three renters filed against their former landlord, Pilsen Rentals LLC, shows the limits of tenant protections in Chicago.
Posted inHousing
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.
Posted inTaken 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.
Posted inHousing
Answers to Chicago renters’ common questions
A Chicago housing expert shares insights about what to do when your landlord enters your apartment without permission, how to handle retaliation, and more.
Posted inDenying Innocence
Cook County’s conviction integrity unit repeatedly denied freedom to incarcerated people who were later cleared
Despite its celebrated record of exonerating more people than any comparable unit nationwide, an Injustice Watch investigation found 21 people who were denied relief by the group before flawed evidence later led to their exonerations.
Posted inThe Tenant Trap
Register for our tenant workshop to learn how to research Chicago buildings
This January and February, Injustice Watch is hosting free public records workshops for renters at libraries across Chicago.
Posted inDying 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?”
Posted inThe Tenant Trap
Advocates push for at least $20M in city’s 2025 budget for housing measures
The funding would help programs for tenants facing eviction and those being displaced near the Obama Presidential Center and address tenant inequities documented in the Injustice Watch investigation The Tenant Trap.