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As Relationship Simmers Between Chicago Fire Commissioner and IG, Management...
In the opening scenes of the 1991 Ron Howard film “Backdraft,” two young brothers are horsing around in the Chicago firehouse where their father works when an emergency call comes in. As firefighters...
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Trying Times At Daley Center
Daley Plaza / Photo by © Jeremy Atherton, 2006 (CC BY-SA 2.5) Find a specific court case and make photocopies of the entire file, my editor requested last week. It was a seemingly simple assignment,...
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2012: TOP TEN INVESTIGATIONS
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TOP TEN INVESTIGATIONS OF 2012 The post 2012: TOP TEN INVESTIGATIONS appeared first on Better Government Association.
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Old-School Politics In New-Age Community?
Oak Park has a reputation as a progressive place, where education and the arts matter, where voters care about social issues and aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo. They’d be “lakefront...
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Dangerous Political Terrain in Maywood?
Check out the following “musing” by Maywood Village Clerk Gary Woll, a veteran political figure in the near western suburb. We knew Maywood was hairy in various ways, but politics is literally a...
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Bloomberg News: Feds Falling Down on FOIA
Bloomberg News, an international finance and political information service, found that major U.S. federal government agencies are too slow or are outright failing to comply with Freedom of Information...
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ROUNDUP: Peepers, Parkers and Loaders — Oh My!
>> PEEPER BACK TO WORK FOR STATE If you take a peek inside the Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) offices in Schaumburg these days, you might see James Stumpner, 48. Paid nearly...
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Legislative Lovefest Far From Picture Perfect
There are public servants in the trenches who deserve our gratitude and respect. In a somewhat literal sense, think about the American troops who risk their lives on a daily basis. In a figurative...
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Rumble in the Courts
A veteran Chicago attorney recently filed a defamation lawsuit against Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown that claims she sought to damage the lawyer’s reputation in retaliation for his...
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BGA Updates Popular Payroll Database With 2011 Salaries
Want to know how much a public employee is paid? Then ask the Better Government Association (BGA). The BGA—a non-partisan, non-profit government watchdog—has updated its popular Payroll Database with...
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Political Dredging Stirs Muck in Oak Brook
Last year, municipal leaders in Oak Brook hired a law firm to get to the bottom of three things: how the now-former police chief, Tom Sheahan, was hired in 2005 by the village government under a...
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ROUNDUP: Lollygagging, Finagling and Justifying
>> O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago is the governmental agency responsible for processing human waste. But the organization also must...
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CTA Insecurity a Boon for Joyriders?
>> SECURITY SIEVE AT CTA Let’s say there are a couple hundred buses at the CTA’s 103rd Street garage. And let’s say each one of those buses is worth a few hundred thousand dollars. So let’s...
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BGA Posts City of Chicago’s ‘Do-Not-Hire’ List
If you saw Wednesday’s headline in the Chicago Tribune you’ll realize the City of Chicago has been less than successful in its commendable effort to keep employees who’ve quit or been fired for...
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Illinois’ Fiscal Crisis: We’re No. 2!
One of the nation’s most influential financial analysts sees big trouble ahead for Illinois. Meredith Whitney is sounding the alarm about the dire fiscal condition of the nation’s 15 largest states....
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Clearing the air under the CTA’s June subway fire probe
The safety and security of passengers should be the CTA’s top priority. So it was encouraging to see the transit agency produce a hard-hitting and scathing internal report delving into the...
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Candidate for Cook County Pension Post Pleaded Guilty In 1985 Vote Fraud Case
A former Cook County government employee who pleaded guilty to vote fraud in 1985 is now running for election to the Cook County Pension Board, an estimated $6.9 billion retirement fund serving nearly...
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Wealthy Donors Backing Hopefuls In Chicago’s Hot 43rd Ward Election
In 2005, Jennifer Tremblay got into hot water with the City of Chicago when officials determined she was a minority business front for some members of the O’Brien family, of the well-known O’Brien’s...
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Radio Silence in Melrose Park, Despite Some Promising Reforms
Melrose Park remains a curious place. Historically it was a town with strong organized crime influences. While the current leaders of Melrose Park may not like that image, they don’t do a lot to...
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FBI Informant Dishes on McHenry County Sheriff’s Office; Feds Take Pass
On and off for three years, the FBI used a McHenry County sheriff’s deputy as a confidential informant, investigating his claims of rampant corruption within the department, even wiring him up with a...
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