Just a few months after the last remaining law enforcement agencies were required to equip officers with body cameras, several legislative efforts in 2025 tried to limit access to body […] ...

Bryan Zarou, the Better Government Association’s vice president of policy, has been appointed to serve on the City of Chicago’s Inspector General Search Committee. The Inspector General is one of […] ...

Featuring the 22nd Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Awards for Investigative Reporting on Thursday, May 7, from 3:30–8:30 p.m.

The foundational principle of Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act is that the public is entitled to “full and complete ...

Under Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act, there is a presumption that government records are open to the public. Body cam footage is an anomaly. Its availability is dictated by the Law Enforcement ...

The Office of Public Safety Administration was created in Lori Lightfoot’s first budget, and launched as a full and independently functioning department by 2021. The 2020 OPSA budget was something of ...

*Note: DoH’s size and mandate have changed multiple times since 2011, with the Department of Housing at times combined into DPD and at other times a standalone department. Because of the changing size ...

*Historical comparisons are usually made from 2011-2025, however, in the case of CDPH, the pre-pandemic averages from 2011-2020 are presented for comparison. (The 2020 budget was set in late 2019, ...

DoB’s total appropriations have risen at an average annual rate of 1.1% from 2011-2025, an inflation-adjusted decline of -1%, compared to a citywide average rate of 8.3% (inflation-adjusted 4.4%).

As a self-funded department, the Department of Aviation’s budget resources are less dependent on overall city revenues. Appropriations are typically closely tied to revenues from O’Hare and Midway ...