A scandal at a University of Illinois Chicago forensics lab reveals a crisis of oversight in the state’s crime labs. The post How a rogue Chicago forensics lab got people convicted for driving high appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
Valentina Galvis' detention at a hotel raises questions about the types of facilities being turned into de facto detention centers as the Trump administration ramps up its deportation campaign.| Injustice Watch
Traducido por Jacqueline Serrato, South Side Weekly. Read this story in English. Cuando tres inquilinos de Pilsen comenzaron a escribir cartas al propietario solicitando reparaciones en mayo del 2023, el agua goteaba del techo de un pasillo del tercer piso, incluso en días soleados. “Justo afuera de mi apartamento, hay una fuga de agua del […] The post Inquilinos de Pilsen retuvieron su renta legalmente pero aún se vieron obligados a mudarse appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
With only four Cook County Circuit Court seats open for countywide election in the March 2026 primary, Cook County Democratic Party committee people met| Injustice Watch
The Chicago Police Department committed to releasing “merit” promotion lists in 2017, but the city is fighting their release in court.| Injustice Watch
Injustice Watch wrapped up its workshop series Know Your Building, Know Your Landlord last month, with nearly 100 people attending to learn how to find| Injustice Watch
“The Tenant Trap,” a yearlong Injustice Watch investigation, found Chicago tenants regularly face eviction and informal displacement at buildings with histories of serious safety violations. Meanwhile, the court system prioritizes landlords’ property rights over the rights of residents. We relied on several public databases to learn about building conditions and the identities of their owners. […] The post Know your building. Know your landlord. appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
The family of a man who died in Cook County Jail last year after he was beaten by guards is suing Sheriff Tom Dart alleging civil rights violations and| Injustice Watch
By the time three Pilsen tenants began writing letters to their landlord requesting repairs in May 2023, water was dripping from the ceiling of a| Injustice Watch
This project was reported in collaboration with the Chicago Tribune As a fledgling tech contractor looking to build its business in the insular world of Cook County politics, Texas-based Tyler Technologies turned to one of Illinois’ most well-connected lobbyists to get the job done. In 2016, Jay Doherty not only lobbied Chicago, Cook County and […] The post Troubled county tech firm used insider lobbyist who was later convicted in ComEd corruption scheme appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
A veteran fundraising professional with experience in nonprofit journalism, Armstrong will lead Injustice Watch as its next executive director.| Injustice Watch
In their end-of-session dash to pass a state budget, Illinois lawmakers put off consideration of proposed reforms to property tax sales and foreclosures. That leaves Illinois the only remaining state where homeowners can face losing not just their homes but also all of the equity in them they’ve accumulated if their homes are foreclosed on […] The post Property-tax foreclosure reform gets put off by Illinois legislators appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
This is a joint project of Injustice Watch and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity When Cook County sheriff’s deputies burst into the Maywood home of 74-year-old Velma Lewis with a battering ram, it wasn’t because she had committed a crime or had a warrant issued for her arrest. It was because she fell […] The post Illinois is the last state to unlawfully strip wealth from homeowners caught in tax foreclosure appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
Aura Bogado is joining Injustice Watch as a senior reporter. Her work will explore the ways the courts impact immigrants in Chicago and Cook County. Bogado, formerly a senior reporter and producer at The Center for Investigative Reporting, is a groundbreaking investigative journalist who exposed the forced drugging of migrant children, uncovered a military contractor’s […] The post Aura Bogado joins Injustice Watch as senior reporter appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
This investigation was reported in collaboration with the Chicago Tribune. In a flurry of contracts inked a decade ago, some of Illinois’ most powerful political figures declared it was time to fix their obsolete and expensive computer systems. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle called for an online method to deliver error-free property records and […] The post Costs triple, delays mount in vital tech contracts appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
Miles de personas acuden a diario a la corte de inmigración de Chicago para presentar sus casos ante un juez que decidirá si pueden quedarse o serán deportados. Es difícil para los inmigrantes que deben demostrar por qué se les debe permitir permanecer en los Estados Unidos. El proceso suele tardar años. Puede ser especialmente […] The post Navegar por la corte de inmigración de Chicago es complicado appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
Leer en español. Thousands of people come through Chicago’s immigration court every day to plead their cases before a judge who will decide whether they can stay or be deported. It’s an uphill battle for noncitizens who must prove why they should be allowed to stay in the United States. The process often takes years. […] The post Navigating Chicago’s immigration court is complicated appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
Still in prison after 18 years despite the flimsy evidence of his guilt, Kevin Jackson tore open the letter from the Cook County conviction integrity unit — a squad in the prosecutor’s office set up to dig into cases such as his and free the wrongfully convicted. He was filled with hope prosecutors in the […] The post Cook County’s conviction integrity unit repeatedly denied freedom to incarcerated people who were later cleared appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
A recently elected Cook County judge, Caroline Glennon-Goodman, was temporarily reassigned and referred to the state Judicial Inquiry Board Friday for allegedly sharing a racist image in a text message. The image, which was leaked to the broader public last week, parodied a Little Tykes toy box with a picture of a Black child and […] The post Cook County judge reassigned, referred to judicial oversight board after allegedly sharing anti-Black image appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
Are you a Chicago renter, homeowner, community advocate — or just someone who’s curious about Chicago’s housing landscape? Join Injustice Watch senior reporters Maya Dukmasova and Alejandra Cancino for a free, hands-on workshop to help Chicago residents learn how to research building code violations and find out who owns properties in the city. During this […] The post Register for our tenant workshop to learn how to research Chicago buildings appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
Investigative reporting doesn’t always make a measurable impact, and reverberations often come long after stories are published. That wasn’t true for Injustice Watch this year. Our work in 2024 led to a court order granting tenants in eviction court more information about their landlords, prompted a county board hearing into deaths at the Cook County […] The post Year in review: Injustice Watch’s best work of 2024 appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
The Cook County Board of Commissioners held a hearing Wednesday on the health and safety of people incarcerated at the Cook County Jail in response to an Injustice Watch investigation which found 2023 was the deadliest year in the jail in at least three decades. In its investigation, published in June, Injustice Watch looked into […] The post Sheriff Tom Dart skips hearing on Cook County Jail deaths as families offer tearful testimony appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
As the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board investigates powerful Cook County Judge E. Kenneth Wright Jr. for claiming improper property tax exemptions in another county, an Injustice Watch examination into his other property holdings raises additional ethical questions. Wright, 83, a highly respected presiding judge overseeing dozens of colleagues in the first municipal district, was a […] The post Property records raise new questions about influential Cook County judge appeared first on Inju...| Injustice Watch
For the third time in the past four elections, voters removed a Cook County judge from the bench — something which hadn’t happened in the previous three decades. Judge Shannon O’Malley, 62, a first-term judge in the court’s child protection division, was ousted by voters in the Nov. 5 election after Injustice Watch raised questions […] The post O’Malley loses retention, becoming third judge in 6 years to be ousted by voters appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
Chicago tenant advocates are asking for at least $20 million in the city’s 2025 budget to help tenants fight against what they say are unfair evictions, create a registry of landlords, and help to stabilize displacement of tenants and homeowners in areas surrounding the future Obama Presidential Center. The three proposals would help address some […] The post Advocates push for at least $20M in city’s 2025 budget for housing measures appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
Tenants who live in substandard housing and face evictions got a boost from Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Evans last week, when he issued a new order making it easier for them to gather evidence against their landlords. The reform is one of several proposals stemming from the Injustice Watch series “The Tenant […] The post Chief judge issues new order aimed at helping tenants facing eviction in troubled buildings appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
Embattled Cook County Judge E. Kenneth Wright was referred to a state disciplinary board on Wednesday by the chief judge after an Injustice Watch investigation found he took inappropriate homestead and senior tax exemptions on a house he owned in Will County. Wright, 83, will retain his powerful position as presiding judge of Cook County’s […] The post Powerful Cook County judge referred to judicial misconduct board over residency conflicts appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
Editor’s note: This story describes preliminary results as they stood the day after the Nov. 5 election. For our report on the final election results, click here. One Cook County judge was losing his bid to keep his job and two more were in peril as vote-counting continued after Tuesday’s election. Shannon O’Malley — one of two judges […] The post Three Cook County judges close to losing seats following scrutiny appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
The second floor of Cook County’s main criminal courthouse on the corner of 26th Street and California Avenue is unlike the other floors, weirdly cramped. Its winding, narrow hallways lead to low-ceilinged rooms that feel like they were inserted into the building as an afterthought. In late August, I walked into Judge Joanne Rosado’s courtroom, […] The post Reporter’s Notebook: Snapshots from watching 8 Cook County judges at work appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
Cook County Judge E. Kenneth Wright Jr., a powerful pillar of the judiciary for decades, is facing new scrutiny from the legal community following Injustice Watch reporting he took inappropriate property tax exemptions in another county. The rare spotlight on a sitting judge — coming as early voting is underway in the Nov. 5 election […] The post Bar groups reconsider ratings of powerful Cook County judge, citing Injustice Watch report appeared first on Injustice Watch.| Injustice Watch
Injustice Watch is a Chicago-based nonprofit journalism organization that examines issues of equity and justice in the court system.| Injustice Watch
In a primary with historically low turnout, the most controversial candidates in subcircuits lost out to those with stronger reviews from fellow lawyers.| Injustice Watch
Every two years, Cook County voters go to the polls to elect new judges and decide whether to retain sitting judges. We research every judicial candidate and provide comprehensive, nonpartisan voter guides for each Cook County judicial election.| Injustice Watch
Deidre Baumann has spent more than a decade trying to become a Cook County judge. Here's why she thinks this race, for a seat in the 7th Subcircuit, will be different.| Injustice Watch
Another year of record-low filings have created the least competitive judicial election in memory, but many contenders boast impressive resumes, political connections, and the blessing of the Illinois Supreme Court.| Injustice Watch
An Injustice Watch investigation found thousands of buildings with chronic code violations and a court system that protects landlords over tenants.| Injustice Watch
