Projects Archives

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

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.

by Alejandra Cancino June 17, 2025August 19, 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, 2025March 12, 2026

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

An illustrated grid alternates between illustrations of Chicago buildings and faces of tenants.

Housing

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.

by Alejandra Cancino and Maya Dukmasova March 13, 2025June 26, 2025

An illustration of a person in silhouette behind a prison cell door.

Denying 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.

by Dan Hinkel February 27, 2025September 29, 2025

A purple graphic with illustrated apartment buildings in the background that reads "Know your building. Know your landlord. Public records workshops" in white text.

The 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.

by Charles Preston January 8, 2025January 8, 2025

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

The 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.

by Alejandra Cancino and Maya Dukmasova November 20, 2024November 20, 2024

The Tenant Trap

Chief judge issues new order aimed at helping tenants facing eviction in troubled buildings

The order entitles tenants to quickly receive information about whether their landlords are being sued for building code violations, but questions remain whether it would help them fight eviction cases.

by Maya Dukmasova and Alejandra Cancino November 14, 2024November 22, 2024

Get our weekly newsletter