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 ...

*Historical rates of change are from 2021 onwards, when the existing division of responsibilities between OEMC, the new OPSA, and the existing police and fire departments was fully implemented. OEMC ...

*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 ...

Driven by a massive influx of grant funding, DWM’s proposed 2026 budget nearly doubles the previous year’s appropriations, the largest single-year increase in the department’s recent history. Prior to ...

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%).