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Andy Shaw: CHA keeps leaving Chicagoans out in the cold
Follow @andyshawbga It’s tempting to describe our dystopian city, suburban and state governments in Shakespearean terms —“A Comedy of Errors.” But too many lives and livelihoods are at stake to...
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Andy Shaw: Proper response time: Release videos in 30 days
Follow @andyshawbga Thirteen months. That’s how long it took Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration to release the horrific dashcam video of Laquan McDonald crumpling under a barrage of bullets fired by...
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Andy Shaw: Referendum would give you vote vs. gerrymandering
Follow @andyshawbga Last Tuesday’s primary election had enough twists, turns, fits, fights and intrigue to attract a record 3.3 million Illinois voters, 400,000 more than ’08, when homegrown...
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Andy Shaw: ‘A fight to make the CHA do its job’
Follow @andyshawbga The Chicago Housing Authority has operated for decades with limited oversight from the federal housing agency that provides most of its funding. That includes hundreds of millions...
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Weakened state: Problems plague Illinois’ watchdogs
Follow @andyshawbga Watchdogs can’t watch everything. So while the Better Government Association and many other anti-corruption crusaders were pushing earlier this year for an inspector general with...
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50 ways to choose Chicago’s next top cop
Paul Simon’s song about “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” came to mind recently as I was reviewing the myriad ways cities around the country choose their top cop. There’s not a “best practice,” per se, as...
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Shaw: Will it take human tragedy before Springfield moves?
Follow @andyshawbga “If it bleeds it leads.” That catchy trope, coined decades ago to capture the ethos of TV news, where I worked for years as a political reporter, still makes me cringe because it...
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Nobody likes a government diet — except taxpayers
Follow @andyshawbga Diets are no fun. We trade the rich, tasty foods we adore for low-calorie meals we abhor. Want to lose weight? Eat what you hate. Rhyming aside, the diet scenario also applies to...
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When is jail guard force brutal and excessive?
Follow @andyshawbga Jails are tough places — filled with inmates who are frequently angry, aggressive and unpredictable. That poses daunting challenges for guards who have to use the right amount of...
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Investigative journalism more important than ever
Follow @andyshawbga Investigative reporters at newspapers like the Sun-Times and watchdog organizations like the Better Government Association do what they do because they’re committed to uncovering...
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Illinois too chicken to talk about taxing retirement income
Follow @andyshawbga Most of us don’t like to pay taxes, but it’s our legal and civic obligation in a democratic society. It’s also galling in states like Illinois, where real estate, sales and gasoline...
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CPS had crisis in 1980, too, but we had leadership
Follow @andyshawbga // I still shiver when I remember January of 1980 — covering the education beat for NBC 5 and freezing with the other reporters mustered outside the gates of the governor’s mansion...
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Sneed: Does Emanuel have a backup plan if he loses Lucas museum?
Hmmm. And a little pssst? Sneed hears rumbles Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his advisers are trying to figure out how to absorb the hit if “Star Wars” titan George Lucas, who has been entertaining offers to...
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Andy Shaw: Navy Pier should quit hiding how it spends tax money
Follow @andyshawbga We kicked off our long-awaited summer season over Memorial Day weekend. Finally! And Navy Pier, Illinois’ most popular tourist attraction, celebrated its centennial anniversary. It...
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On bright side, Legislature passed 23 good reform bills
Follow @Andyshawbga A funny thing happened on the way to meltdown, gridlock and dysfunction in Springfield last week as our elected leaders were failing to approve a budget of any size or duration to...
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Better late than never, Council acts to scrutinize borrowing
Follow @andyshawbga Last week I wrote about 23 good government bills that made it through the same state legislature in Springfield that still can’t pass a comprehensive budget or even agree on a...
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Andy Shaw: McDonald’s returns to a city of two worlds
Follow @andyshawbga Laquan McDonald: Victim of a graphic police shooting that rocked the city and roiled the South and West Sides. Ronald McDonald: Symbol of an iconic fast food chain that’s moving its...
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Andy Shaw: Quinn is back to shaking up political system
Follow @andyshawbga Pat Quinn is back. After a quiet year out of the limelight — licking his wounds, giving a new governor a grace period, and doing volunteer work — he is once again trying to shake up...
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Andy Shaw: Airbnb? I’ve been there
Follow @andyshawbga I’ve been following the City of Chicago’s regulatory battle with Airbnb closely in recent months, not from my normal Better Government Association watchdog perch but because bed and...
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Andy Shaw: Quotes worth sharing from Abner Mikva
Follow @@andyshawbga After President Barack Obama celebrated Abner Mikva’s distinguished career in 2014 with a Medal of Freedom award, we featured Mikva in our “BGA Good Government Spotlight” series...
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