Crime prevention, public health surveillance, and disaster preparedness programs across the country are getting hit by federal funding instability and the end of COVID-era grants.

Chicago used federal money to launch two pandemic-era programs to help renters with cash and legal assistance to keep them ...

Newswire: Inside the Bridgeport vs. Amtrak controversy Welcome to Newswire — your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic ...

Our Fall 2026 Civic Information Fellows (L-R): Ann Marie Scheffel, Robert Speed, Kesha Selvey, Sol Sanchez, Maia McDonald, Musu Bangura.

NOTE: “Perfect Storm” is a series produced by City Bureau in partnership with Documenters Network sites focused on how federal funding instability is affecting local communities. It looks at how ...

Few policy documents have a more direct impact on our lives than the city’s annual budget. It determines whether the streets and lead water pipes on your block get fixed, how much you pay for grocery ...

The City of Chicago is selling debt residents and visitors owe for municipal fines and fees to a private debt collector as a way to help cover its 2026 budget gap. While owing money for traffic ...

Money that individual residents or employees owe directly to a municipality. Such debt can include vehicular debt (unpaid speeding, red-light camera or parking tickets), utility bills (water, ...

Chicago is tapping Bank of America to carry out its unprecedented sale of city-owned debt, a city spokesperson said. The deal with the San Francisco-based bank is one step forward in the city’s plan ...

Editor’s note: This story discusses crisis mental healthcare and mentions violent crime. Chicago Documenters notes from Nikebia Brown-Joseph, Katie Busch, Fabienne Elie, Ava Grubb, Holland Harmon, ...

Chicago Documenters notes from Layla Brown-Clark, Katie Busch, Madeleine Davison, Katrina Herring and Brandi Scarber were used to help report this story. Find more public meeting coverage at ...

Editor’s note: Our Civic Reporting Fellowship reporting series, Decoding the City Budget, relied on extensive Documenters notes covering City Council budget hearings last fall. Find more public ...