Breaking news with lasting impact. 📰🌍 Congratulations to the News #PeabodyWinners — champions of journalism whose voices bring clarity, courage, and depth to the stories that matter most. 🏆 peabodyawards.com/awards/winne...

Officials have released footage showing the fatal shooting of Krystal Rivera following months of work covering the case by Peter Nickeas, @ctoner.bsky.social and our friends in @cstguild.bsky.social. Another example of invaluable work made by our members.

Video released in the shooting death of Ofc Krystal Rivera from last summer. Been going through material, this story has been / will continue to be updated. illinoisanswers.org/2026/04/17/o...

illinoisanswers.org/2026/04/17/o... Our latest on the Carlos Baker Krystal Rivera shooting following the release of body cam footage that @illinoisanswers.bsky.social and @chicago.suntimes.com fought in court to release

BEYOND THE BYLINE: Our featured speaker is award-winning journalist Errin Haines, editor-at-large for The 19th, president of #NABJ and contributor at MS NOW. Get your tickets here: https://bit.ly/4triTgP

Join us @illinoisanswers.bsky.social on May 7 for Beyond the Byline! Come for food, drinks, storytelling sessions, awards and a conversation with @errinhaines.bsky.social of @19thnews.org ! illinoisanswers.org/event/beyond...

“There’s nothing in this world that was more terrifying.” Travis Braden, 39, says he was strapped down to a restraint chair for 3 days in the Williamson County Jail while in a mental health crisis. He sued the county and settled for $27,500.

If you haven’t seen this @kmbc9.bsky.social documentary featuring our @illinoisanswers.bsky.social reporting on the use of restraint chairs in Illinois county jails, check it out here: www.kmbc.com/article/kmbc...

A Chicago police sergeant told internal affairs he thought another cop stole a gun from his district tact office. CPD Internal affairs didn't add the theft allegation to their case file, closed the case without more interviews, only reopened their case after we asked CPD about the theft. #chicago

chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog... Chicago police didn't interview most of the cops who were in the room when a Glock went missing. A supervisor said he thought another cop stole it. No one has been disciplined or charged in the theft of the gun, later used in shootings across the South side

Almost two years ago now, we wrote about a man with mental illness who was restrained in a chair for 3 days in an Illinois county jail. Now, he has received a settlement in his civil rights case. @illinoisanswers.bsky.social illinoisanswers.org/2026/04/07/t...

For Illinois, the litigation could have wide financial implications for the gambling industry. Sportsbooks such as FanDuel and DraftKings, which are subject to state regulation, alone have brought in more than $1.1 billion in state tax revenue since opening six years ago. https://bit.ly/4tmJc7w

illinoisanswers.org/2026/04/03/p... My story about the Trump administration suing Illinois over the state's attempts to reign in prediction markets as "illegal gambling"

We reported on this toward the end of last year (illinoisanswers.org/2025/11/13/f...) and Wired picked up a lot more details from the CBP records and videos. (We have an open dispute with the Illinois Public Access Counselor for records related to this, still.)

🚨 @illinoisanswers.bsky.social and @chicago.suntimes.com won a court case to release the records including body cam footage of last summer's fatal police shooting of Ofc. Krystal Rivera by her partner, Ofc. Carlos Baker.

Cool to see our @illinoisanswers.bsky.social EIC @rubybailey.bsky.social featured in this @soljourno.bsky.social newsletter, highlighting stories by @skpineda.bsky.social and @binghuihuang.bsky.social ⬇︎ us1.campaign-archive.com?e=881bb552d0... us1.campaign-archive.com?e=d1e8d80c8a...

New: Chicago officials have for years resisted calls to mandate proactive apartment safety inspections, even as renters keep dying in preventable fires. The City Council just passed an ordinance directing departments to study the idea in earnest. illinoisanswers.org/2026/03/18/p...

"Chicago took a step toward beefing up its safety oversight of apartment buildings on Wednesday following years of criticism that the city’s patchwork of reactive building inspections has cost the lives of vulnerable tenants" @alexnitkin.bsky.social illinoisanswers.org/2026/03/18/p...

Illinois Regulators Say Prediction Markets Are Illegal Gambling, But Bettors — and the Trump Family — Love Them @ctoner.bsky.social @hannahmeisel.bsky.social @illinoisanswers.bsky.social illinoisanswers.org/2026/03/13/p...

Chicago’s Quantum Ambitions Come With a Water Question by @binghuihuang.bsky.social @illinoisanswers.bsky.social illinoisanswers.org/2026/03/09/c...

Welcome to the BGA Union page! We are a wall-to-wall union at the Better Government Association and an affiliate of the SAG-AFTRA broadcast unit. Follow us here for union updates, news, and the work of our incredible journalists, analysts, and audience and events teams! #UnionStrong

illinoisanswers.org/2026/03/13/p... My latest about the Polymarket CEO giving a UChicago freshman $20k to start a campus prediction market club, Coinbase suing Illinois while donating $20k to House and Senate Dems, and the prediction markets running wild in defiance of state gambling regulators

Lexi, Lacretia and I have all done reporting on the water and sanitation issues in Cahokia Heights, where residents say sewage backups have been happening for decades and they haven't trusted their drinking water supply for years illinoisanswers.org/2025/06/17/w...

E. coli found in drinking water of Southern Illinois city that floods with sewage — from me, Lexi Cortes of the Belleville News-Democrat and Lacretia Wimbley of @stlpublicradio.bsky.social illinoisanswers.org/2026/03/09/e...

chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog... Between his rejection to the tactical team for disciplinary issues, and his promotion, Carlos Baker had a accidental Taser trigger pull and a 90 mph chase that ended in a 7 car crash he didn't initially report. @illinoisanswers.bsky.social @chicago.suntimes.com

NEW: Chicago Police Officer ‘Inadvertently’ Fired Taser a Year Before Fatally Shooting His Partner https://illinoisanswers.org/2026/02/19/chicago-police-officer-inadvertently-fired-taser-year-before-fatally-shooting-partner/

"A Metro East police chief spent more than $100k of public money intended to combat drug use & support a local fire protection district on...basketball tickets, travel, and a diamond engagement ring." The latest from me, @bhundsdorfer.bsky.social capitolnewsillinois.com/news/feds-ac...

New from me for @illinoisanswers.bsky.social — Edwardsville officials assured residents on Facebook the city had ‘no formal proposal’ for a data center, but city emails tell a fuller story illinoisanswers.org/2026/02/21/e... Story also available at theintelligencer.com

State officials say high incentives reflect competition for quantum companies, high wages and capital costs, but questions remain about how accessible these jobs will be for local residents. https://bit.ly/4rt6Xty

He roamed in and out of his house with guns and ammo draped across his body, spurring officers to close streets and warn residents to stay inside as they called in neighboring police, drones, a SWAT team and an armored vehicle to the standoff.

A search warrant reveals the FBI is investigating former Carlyle police chief. Read the story with @capitolnewsil.bsky.social here: https://illinoisanswers.org/2026/02/03/search-warrant-reveals-fbi-is-investigating-former-carlyle-police-chief/

NEW: City Sues For Millions In Damages After ‘Worst Landowner’ Property Auction Fails https://illinoisanswers.org/2026/02/04/city-sues-for-millions-after-worst-landowner-property-auction-fails/

illinoisanswers.org/2026/02/04/c... "Now, the city is suing the company that ran the auction, claiming the firm was negligent and incompetent and overvalued the land by failing to price in empty lots, which left the city hanging out to dry when the sale flopped."

Carlyle police chief, who resigned Dec. 1, is the subject of an FBI investigation. @bhundsdorfer.bsky.social & @jayohday.bsky.social from @illinoisanswers.bsky.social➡️ https://loom.ly/UirT2MQ

An off-duty suburban cop crashed his car with his kids inside, fled home and held police at bay for four hours while armed, police records show. The standoff ended with a hug — and no charges that day. https://bit.ly/4c0pGYQ

Two months ago, a reader reached out to us with concerns about how law enforcement had handled a crash and 4-hour armed standoff with an off-duty officer in Plainfield, Illinois. That night, police hugged him, closed the case, and told him "You're one of us" and "We want to protect you." Read more:

More than $1 billion has been committed to Chicago’s Quantum campus since 2024, with roughly half coming from the state of Illinois. Dive deeper into quantum’s funding here: https://illinoisanswers.org/2026/01/27/how-much-public-and-private-money-is-powering-chicagos-quantum-push/

NEW: Chicago Police Brass Had Rejected Troubled Cop’s Move to Elite Unit Before He Fatally Shot Partner https://illinoisanswers.org/2026/01/15/chicago-police-brass-rejected-troubled-cop-move-to-elite-unit-before-he-fatally-shot-partner/

illinoisanswers.org/2026/01/15/c... My latest with @schuba.bsky.social and Peter Nickeas about the tac team cop who shot and killed his partner. After Carlos Baker's initial rejection, Baker's district commander approved his promotion even after Baker disobeyed orders and cussed out his sergeant

Records show Chicago police leaders initially blocked Officer Carlos Baker from joining an elite tactical unit over disciplinary issues, only to approve his transfer months later. Months after the move, Baker fatally shot his partner. https://bit.ly/4pG7LtW

chicagomediachorus.bandcamp.com/album/christ... Today "The Chicago Media Chorus" released a holiday compilation through Bandcamp for $7 💪. All proceeds benefit Streetwise, a weekly magazine that helps the homeless. Please consider donating! Worth it for Mary Schmich's reading alone

NEW: A Once Dying Mall in Southern Illinois is Getting a Mighty Makeover, Thanks to $112M Bond Deal, But The Project Has Hit a Speed Bump https://bit.ly/458rzhS

A once dying Mall in Southern Illinois is getting a mighty makeover, thanks to $112M bond deal, but the project has hit a speed bump — the latest from me and @bhundsdorfer.bsky.social for @illinoisanswers.bsky.social @capitolnewsil.bsky.social illinoisanswers.org/2025/12/15/a...

A growing number of Illinois residents are turning to librarians — not lawyers — for help with remote court hearings, translations and e-filing. A new pilot program is quietly closing the justice gap. https://illinoisanswers.org/2025/12/01/illinois-low-cost-library-program-takes-on-justice-gap/

A federal judge just ruled the Cook County Treasurer’s Office’s tax-sale system unconstitutional. Read our 2022 investigation that exposed how the process hit Black homeowners hardest, stripping families of wealth. https://bit.ly/48vEqNr

Officer Krystal Rivera’s family says in the wrongful death suit that Officer Carlos Baker was struggling to accept her decision to end their romantic relationship when he shot her in the back in Chatham on June 5. https://bit.ly/4rQ0ji7

Illinois librarians are stepping in to close the justice gap. A pilot program trains them to help residents navigate remote hearings, translation requests and e-filing — support many can’t get elsewhere. https://illinoisanswers.org/2025/12/01/illinois-low-cost-library-program-takes-on-justice-gap/

New from me: budget hawks have called on @chicagosmayor.bsky.social to cut ARPA-funded programs before considering any new taxes. But it's been hard to nail down the exact price tag of federal programs the mayor wants to keep. After six weeks of reporting, we found the number: about $33M.

With a $1.2B deficit looming, Johnson defends pandemic-era programs he says helped cut crime. Much of City Council remains skeptical. From @alexnitkin.bsky.social: https://illinoisanswers.org/2025/12/02/chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson-council-clash-over-city-budget/