Better Government Association

Seven infants were savagely murdered in Philadelphia by a serial killer, prosecutors say. But no one was there to weep for them, to grieve for the loss of what they might have been or to scream at the brutality. Those innocents were supposed to have been...

Former Chicago journalist Chris Hayes is continuing his meteoric rise in the TV pundit world. Today he was named the host of MSNBC's nightly 7-8 p.m. (central time) shift being vacated by Ed Schultz. Hayes, 34, is now the host......

A roundup of state and local news-review and weekly political chat shows. Descriptions provided by the broadcast outlets in most cases: Editorial Roundtable chicagotribune.com: Tribune deputy editorial page editor John McCormick and editorial board member...

How would you rate South Dakota's open records/open government laws? What information do you think should or should not be available?   South Dakota ranked worst among all 50 states for open government in the Chicago-based Better Government...

For those in Cook County who care about the state of our politics — and I’ll offer evidence in a moment to demonstrate how depressingly small your number is — here’s a helpful slogan to remember as you prepare to......

The news came as a surprise.  After 19 years on the Cook County Board of Ethics, the Chairman John Pikarski resigned just one day after WGN-TV, Chicago Magazine, and the Better Government Association raised questions about his own ethics. For nearly...

Federal grand jurors have sought records of legislative scholarships handed out by Democratic state Rep. Dan Burke of Chicago, a sign that authorities kept up a probe of the tuition waiver program even as legislators were moving to end it this spring. On...

A joint investigation by WGN-TV, Chicago Magazine and the Better Government Association raises ethical questions about the head of the Cook County Ethics Board. Once a month, tucked away on the 30th floor of the County building, a group of men and...

The 16,000 residents of south suburban Country Club Hills are struggling through this economy just like you are. Taxes are up, homes are for sale, some are in foreclosure. Yet a joint investigation by WGN-TV and the Better Government Association found the...

Where do our lawmakers stand on the issue of legislative scholarships -- those tuition waivers that members of the state house and senate have traditionally been allowed to dispense to constituents? As part of the renewed effort to abolish that......

During a meeting at the Tribune with reporters and members of our editorial board today, Ald. John Arena (45th) observed that the city's parking-meter deal has become a cautionary tale for municipalities around the country looking to privatize different...