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 ...

Chair Kifowit, Vice Chair Rohr, Rep. Reick, members of the committee: Thank you for the invitation to speak today about one of the most important issues facing our state: How to reinvest in our ...

Chicago’s City Council allows public comment at all of its meetings, including meetings of its committees. There are multiple ways to submit public comment, but each has a specific application process ...

The recent Supreme Court FOIA ruling significantly broadens exemptions to FOIA, raising concerns about transparency. Learn more from the Better Government Association.

Salaries and bonuses for Chicago police officers represented by the Fraternal Order of Police in 2024 could exceed the budgeted position costs approved by City Council by $76.8 million or more, ...

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 ...

The creation of a new City of Chicago Office of Public Safety Administration (PSA) in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s inaugural budget for fiscal year 2020, which the mayor’s office announced as a cost-saving ...

A series of new lobbying priorities announced by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson at a press conference last week included tweaks to revenues the city currently receives from the state government, but ...

Mayor Brandon Johnson released his proposed 2025 budget for the City of Chicago on Wednesday, Oct. 30. As in previous years, BGA Policy will release a series of department-specific budget snapshots ...

Chicago City Council is spending only two-fifths of its time on legislative work, with the other two-thirds devoted to honorary resolutions.

Chicago’s spending on in-house public relations and communications staff has increased dramatically over the past decade, a Better Government Association policy team analysis of budget and timesheet ...

Scheduled Salary Increases Johnson’s proposal includes a 5% salary bump for FOP-represented police in 2024 and 2025, up from the 2.5% and 2% raises for those years that were agreed upon in the ...