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 […] ...

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The foundational principle of Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act is that the public is entitled to “full and complete information regarding the affairs of government.” Many stakeholders — ...

Chicago taxpayers are on the hook for an average $93.6 million a year for legal judgments and settlements against the city. A Better Government Association policy team analysis found that after years ...

A BGA Policy analysis of the 16 county detention centers across Illinois has found that only three successfully have completed audits mandated by federal law to enforce protections against sexual ...

For first-time watchers, Chicago’s City Council can seem incomprehensible. Most of the business is done in a routine, rapid-fire succession of votes and gavel raps, punctuated by repetitions of the ...

Mayor Brandon Johnson released his proposed 2026 budget for the City of Chicago on Thursday, Oct. 16. As in previous years, BGA Policy will release a series of department-specific budget snapshots ...

It is no secret that Illinois is home to the greatest number of government units in the nation, nearly 7,000. Following the passage of Senate Bill 3 in the summer of 2017, which made the process of ...

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JANUARY 20: A sign hangs outside of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge on January 20, 2023 in Chicago. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) Salaries and bonuses for Chicago police ...

Departmental budgets for three of Chicago’s oversight agencies are not on their own sufficient to meet mandatory minimums described in law, a BGA Policy analysis of annual appropriations and related ...

Perhaps you’ve heard the buzz about something called ranked choice voting. Instead of marking their ballots for just one candidate, voters are asked to rank two or three or more, with the winner ...